What I like in a good author is not what he says, but what he whispers.
~ Logan Pearsall Smith
~ Logan Pearsall Smith
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ne of the side effects of undergoing emergency surgery is that it necessitates staying in bed for two weeks. At least that’s what happened to me. And since I tend to ride the social merry-go-round without always scheduling down time, this is a good thing.
Not so good: the post-operation pain that also necessitates heavy pain medication. I know ~ everyone says a drunk Ernest Hemingway was a better writer. But seriously, a doped up Mikaela D’Eigh was No. Writer. At. All.
I am, however, a voracious reader. And discovered a genre I thought I'd never get into: YA Paranormal. The operative word here being YA. I mean, I not exactly Y anymore Although sometimes the A seems pretty remote too.
But the two of the five authors I’m going to introduce to you today go beyond the YA box; they are simply great writers. And all five have detail-oriented editors: no misuse of words like alter vs. altar, then vs. than, or - and I’m appalled how often I’ve seen this – peace vs. piece. Misuse of words is a pet peeve of mine and I shall rant often about it when talking about books and writing.
So without further ado, I give you the five lovely ladies who have won my writerly, readerly paranormal-loving heart and my respect for their incredible skill as storytellers.
Everyone cries foul on Amazon ~ and trust me, I buy local 80% of the time ~ but I have to say, Amazon has been a boon to indie and self-published writers. And Amazon “recommended” this series based on my previous purchases and reviews of other paranormal books.
Okay, fine: also, the cover has a hot, dark brooding guy on the cover with wicked green eyes. How could I not purchase it?!
Warning: I don’t know how far along Ms. Armentrout is with the 4th book in the series, but I am in agony after the ending of Book 3. But it’s so worth it – get this series.
Wow. Just, wow. I loved this series so much I read the whole series in five days (remember, bed rest) and then re-read it twice right after that. Yeah, it’s that good.
One word why you should read this series: soulmates. Come on, you can’t tell me you haven’t dreamed about finding yours. We may settle, but we never complete forget the ideal. I think I’ll wait for my Caleb.
Bonus ~ there’s a movie version coming out.
After Caged, this was the second paranormal series I bought. It has a gritty feel, so if you are uncomfortable with cussing and sweaty love scenes, then maybe this isn’t for you. But I loved it, gritty urban scenes and all.
My one issue: Book 3 seemed cut and pasted together. A small thing, but I did have a couple of scenes where I went: Huh? But she already did X in Book 2? Why is he now saying she doesn’t do that? However, this wasn’t enough to make me fall out of love with Silver, Justus, and all the other characters.
My one word for you here: Logan Cross. He makes me wish Chitah men were real. Also: soulmates. See? Every woman dreams she has one!
Gritty. Dark. Horrific. Real. Karina Halle is not afraid to tackle some pretty heavy subjects in this series. And she does it with a well developed plot (I really envy her brain), and Perry and Dex are characters you can’t help but invest in and hurt with. Again, I am in agony waiting for the next book to come out, but it is so worth the pain.
Caged was one of the first werewolf books I downloaded on my Kindle app. I know ~ I’m such a book traitor! Argh! Anyway, I lucked out on my first try: the dialogue flows naturally and sounds real; the characters are well developed (in more ways than one, haha), even the ones that play seemingly minor roles; and most importantly, the plot makes sense (well, as much a werewolves shifting, killing, and getting’ it on makes sense) – someone must have done story boards or spread out chapters on her living room floor.
Do yourself a favor: wait until February to read Books 1-4. Number 5 is set to come out in March. You’ll be glad you didn’t have to wait as long as I am to find out the next chapter in Ruby’s life.
Oremus pro invicem,
~ Mikaela
Do you have any favorite Paranormal (YA or otherwise) titles you'd like to share?
1 comment:
Don't know about this paranormal romance stuff...but isn't most romance paranormal? When I need to be spooked, I've been going to Dean Koontz...he is a Catholic who's been rewriting the same novel every year for the past three decades at least, but is at times brilliant and does care about the triumph of the good, even though some of the scenes are reminiscent of "B" movie horror and sci-fi flicks. I liked his book, "Brother Odd," featuring Odd Thomas, who is "gifted" in a "Sixth Sense" sort of way with being able to sense danger and see and talk to dead people...like Elvis.
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