Thursday, February 5, 2015

Giants in my paranormal romance world

I just struck upon this idea to talk about two of my favorite paranormal romance authors of all time. Originally, I had thought to make the post about some of my favorite authors but then it would be a very, very long post, after all, there are just so many authors out there that I love.

As you know, I predominantly read the romance genre and I've been reading it for years and years. Perhaps in another post, I'll talk about the evolution of my reading habits over the years but for now, I'm focusing on romance and paranormal at that, but first, some history.

I would say that my love for the paranormal stems from the fairy tales my mother used to tell me as a child, then reading The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton growing into my reading years and moving onto a lot more epic fantasy fiction such as David Eddings and Anne McCaffrey, but the fairy tales stuck with me from my early childhood and my mother taught me to love a happy ending. Then I discovered romances and their obligatory Happy Ever After (HEA) at the end of the story and I haven't looked back since. :-)

Paranormal romance is a subgenre that I love dearly and go back to read over and over again, even when I stray and try other things like contemporary romance, romantic suspense, etc.

So who are my favorites, you ask?

To start of with I'd say Thea Harrison. She has been a favorite year in year out ever since I discovered her in Dragon Bound. Hello, my love for dragons AND a happy ending? Bliss! Of course, it doesn't hurt that all her books are superbly written. I fell in love with Dragos (her hero in Dragon Bound) and the Elder Races world that she created. I frequently re-read her books when I just want to read something I know I enjoy and will love, and that's saying something because ... so many books, so little time! My TBR is out of control. I think I've read Dragon Bound at least three or four times, and Oracle's Moon a close second at about three times. I've also loved the novellas that she has self published and Hunter's Season is a favorite of mine. I've read that one about four or five times too, and once, even just went right back to the beginning and started reading again right after I had finished it.

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Another author that I love who consistently writes amazing stories, and she just keeps getting better and better is Nalini Singh. When I first started reading her books, it was with the Psy-Changeling series and she had so much hype surrounding her, I just wanted to find out what it was all about. Then I read her first Psy-Changeling book and I was hooked. Interestingly, when I first started reading her books, they were consistently good 3 or 4 star reads for me, depending on the book in the series, but lately, her writing has improved by leaps and bounds. The reading experience leaves me breathless with her latest two in the Pys-Changeling series. I would use words like breathtaking, awe inspiring, incredible, to describe her books and her writing. Her two latest in the series, Heart of Obsidian and Shield of Winter have been as close to perfection in a book as I have ever come, both 5 star books for me. It definitely leaves me with the cliched "book hangover". After reading them, I think about them for days, even going back and re-reading parts just to experience them again. I also bookmark my favorite parts of the book as I read so that I can quickly go back to them and indulge again and again.

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Of course, I cannot leave out her Guild Hunter series which is in a class all of its own. It's just that good. When I was first told about the series, I have to admit that I was reluctant to read it as it came across more as an Urban Fantasy series than a paranormal romance series and I'm not a fan of a lot of UF, however, because it was Nalini Singh, I decided to give it a shot. I have not looked back since. This is one of my favorite series to read and follow, and I wait anxiously for the next book to come out each year. I'm completely in love with Elena and Raphael. It's unusual for me to love a female character as much as I love Elena as I find a lot of them either tolerable or annoying, but I do love Elena. She's just such an incredible character with all her strengths and flaws. And what's not to love about Raphael, right? (You'll know what I mean if you've read the books!) The love that Raphael has for Elena is so incredibly all consuming and I think every woman dreams of having a man who will love her like that.

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When talking about Nalini Singh, I've actually heard people say things to the extent of "she can do no wrong" and I guess that's likely true. She's recently come out with a rock star romance series. Amazingly written. I don't love them as much as I love the Psy-Changeling or Guild Hunter series, mostly because I'm not that into rock stars but the books are beautifully written. The love and emotion pours out of the pages and just grips you by the throat.

So that's it. It's turned out to be a much longer post than I anticipated, but there it is. My two favorites. I look forward to more from them. :-)

Who are some of your favorite authors of all time?


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