Recommendation: Author Richelle Mead

#5 Sunday, why you here so soon?

Today I'm going to be doing a more general recommendation.

A year-or-so ago, when I officially came down from my Twilight high (I'm a self-proclaimed recovering Twilight addict), I started scouring the internet for reviews/recommendations of books that would be sure to catch my interest.

Among those that captivated me were The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins and The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. However, among those YA books, an adult series also captivated my attention.

Georgina Kincaid series, by Richelle Mead

book 1: Succubus Blues

book 2: Succubus on Top

book 3: Succubus Dreams

book 4: Succubus Heat

book 5: Succubus Shadows

I'm not going to list off the entire series, so here's the breakdown for book 1, Succubus Blues

-pages: 343

-series rating: 4/5

[Goodreads info]

And here's the Goodreads summary for Succubus Blues

Succubus. An alluring, shape-shifting demon who seduces and pleasures mortal men. Pathetic. A succubus with great shoes and no social life. See: Georgina Kincaid.

When it comes to jobs in hell, being a succubus seems pretty glamorous. A girl can be anything she wants, the wardrobe is killer, and mortal men will do anything just for a touch. Granted, they often pay with their souls, but why get technical?

But Seattle succubus Georgina Kincaid's life is far less exotic. Her boss is a middle-management demon with a thing for John Cusack movies. Her immortal best friends haven't stopped teasing her about the time she shape-shifted into the Demon Goddess getup complete with whip and wings. And she can't have a decent date without sucking away part of the guy's life. At least there's her day job at a local bookstore--free books; all the white chocolate mochas she can drink; and easy access to bestselling, sexy writer, Seth Mortensen, aka He Whom She Would Give Anything to Touch but Can't.

But dreaming about Seth will have to wait. Something wicked is at work in Seattle's demon underground. And for once, all of her hot charms and drop-dead one-liners won't help because Georgina's about to discover there are some creatures out there that both heaven and hell want to deny...

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This Urban Fantasy series is a great fun, quick read. I blew through all of the available books, and am looking forward to book #6, Succubus Revealed, which will be released in September. Mead's leading lady Georgina Kincaid is a spunky, intelligent paranormal who is conflicted about the consequences of her existence. Add a dash of intrigue and a bit of mystery, and hopefully you'll be blazing through these books as quickly as I was!

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Mead has also received a lot of notice for her Vampire Academy series. I'll admit, I avoided reading these books for a long time because I'd had enough of the whole vampire thing, but I finally caved. I read them ALL last week. Like my life depended on it, I couldn't stop reading.

The Vampire Academy series, by Richelle Mead

book 1: Vampire Academy

book 2: Frostbite

book 3: Shadow Kiss

book 4: Blood Promise

book 5: Spirit Bound

book 6: Last Sacrifice

Vampire Academy

-pages: 332

-series rating: 4.5/5

[Goodreads info]

Summary for Vampire Academy, from Goodreads:

St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . .

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

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Please just trust me when I say "Read this." This as a fast-paced, high-action plot line and isn't your stereotypical Vampire romance novel. Rose is a kick-ass young woman, funny and all kinds of awesome. Besides her amazing dynamic with her best friend Lissa, there's heaps of UST with a not-yet-mentioned-in-the-summary Dhampir named Dimitri.

I LOVE Dimitri. Beyond reason. Almost right off the bat, Dimitri and Rose gave me shivers. I heard whispers of a movie suggested, and almost fell over from the excitement.

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One more thing before I wrap up this insanely long post.

A SPIN-OFF SERIES

Richelle Mead is working on another YA series, spun off of the Vampire Academy books. Bloodlines follows Sydney, one of the ~minor characters from the VA series. I'm not going to include the summary for this book because it contains some major spoilers for the Vampire Academy books. But when this book is fresh off the presses next month (August 23!), I guarantee you I will do whatever possible to get my hands on it! Here's the [Goodreads info].

So to wrap up, you can rest assured that Richelle Mead is one of those authors that I will be following for quite some time. I have high hopes for the books she will be releasing soon, and feel confident that they will be great additions to her already quite impressive bibliography.

Which authors seem to resonate with you? Whose career will you be watching closely?

Have a great week, everyone :)