UPDATE: 2/26/2016
Here is an update to this list that includes pink-links to all of my "best of" lists from 2010 through 2016. Just click on a list title to go directly to that list.
NPR Survey: "Happy Ever After: 100 Swoon-Worthy Romances." Which Paranormal Romances Are the Most Popular? Which Ones Missed the List?
<<<>>> <<<>>> <<<>>> <<<>>> <<<>>>
Following is the original post--the 2010 list:
Here is my TOP TEN PARANORMAL COUNTDOWN FOR 2010: the best of the best paranormal reads. Click on the individual titles to go to their amazon.com pages. Click on the series titles to go to my reviews.
By the way, my top nonfiction pick for 2010 is (TRUMPET FANFARE!!) Fang-tastic Fiction: 21st Century Paranormal Reads (by yours truly), the go-to source for reviews and read-alike lists of all your favorite paranormal romance and urban fantasy series.
10: Jennifer Rardin's Bitten in Two, the seventh (and second-to-last) book in her JAZ PARKS series. Rardin passed away in 2010, so the upcoming The Deadliest Bite (June 2011) will be the final book in this great series.
9: Allyson James's Stormwalker and Firewalker, the first two books in her STORMWALKER series. A change of scenery: our heroine is a Native American who lives in the Southwest and has weather-related magic. Love that motorcycle-riding, dragon-shifter boyfriend!
8: Yvonne Navarro's Highborn, first book in her DARK REDEMPTION series. This series is literally all about angels (fallen ones) and demons.
7: Kasey MacKenzie's Red Hot Fury, the first book in her SHADES OF FURY series. Seriously, don't get this heroine mad at you! Green Eyed Envy is coming in June 2011.
6: Stacia Kane's City of Ghosts, third title in her DOWNSIDE GHOSTS series. This heroine has more problems than any UF heroine I've run across, and her hero is definitely not your run-of-the-mill tall, dark, and handsome dude.
5: Carolyn Crane's Mind Games and Double Cross, the first two books in her DISILLUSIONISTS TRILOGY. What a fresh take on UF: dumping your troubles on the bad guys, thus making you feel a lot better and punishing them for their various sins against humanity. Looking forward to the final book in 2011.
4: Laura Bickle's Embers and Sparks, the first two books in her ANYA KALINCZYK series, which exquisitely captures the dark and gritty cityscape of Detroit and gives us a heroine with unusual magical talents. Plus, I LOVE Sparky!
3: Lilith Saintcrow's Heaven's Spite, the cliff-hanging, second-to-the-last book in her JILL KISMET series. Jill gets herself into some (literally) deadly serious trouble by the end of this book.
2: Rachel Vincent's Alpha, the sixth and final title in her WERECATS series. I think I speak for all WERECATS fans when I say that I sincerely hope that Faythe and her family live happily and safely ever after.
1: First place in the countdown goes to the zombies—all of them—in print and on TV. Let's start with AMC's fantastic new series, The Walking Dead, which brought new life (or at least new undeadness) to zombies everywhere. Can't wait until this fall for season two. I'll be searching for some more zombie fiction series to get me through until then. In the meantime, here are some great zombie series (and one stand-alone) that I read in 2010: David Wellington's MONSTER/ZOMBIE series, Bianca D'Arc's GUARDIANS OF THE DARK series, and Jesse Petersen's LIVING WITH THE DEAD series, and Joan Frances Turner's Dust (a stand-alone novel in which the zombies are the good guys and gals). Keep checking the Creature Search on this blog for more zombie series and stand-alones. I'll add them as soon as I find some more.
Cool idea Pat! I would love to see a top ten recommendation list for people who are new to the genre too!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Pat! I'm thrilled that you enjoyed Sparky! :-)
ReplyDelete