Book List: Books With Bite

Books With Bite

One of the many libraries in our system still has a number of folks asking for books "like Twilight." Enough so that I decided it was time to create another book list. And so Books With Bite was born:




Twilight Read Alikes - YA books with Vamps and Romance:

Title	Author
Vampire Academy series	Mead, Richelle
Marked series	Cast, P. C.
Blue Bloods series	de la Cruz, Melissa
Bloodlines series	Mead, Richelle
Morganville Vampire series	Caine, Rachel
Evernight series	Gray, Claudia
Blood of Eden series	Kagawa, Julie
Night World series	Smith, L.J.
Vampire Diaries series	Smith, L.J.
Interwined series	Showalter, Gena
Dead Is series	Perez, Marlene
Coldest Girl in Coldtown	Black, Holly
Vamped series	Lucienne Diver
The Immortals series	Noel, Alyson
Chronicles of Nick series	Kenyon, Sherrilyn

YA Vamps Outside the Box:

Title	Author
Vladimir Tod series	Brewer, Heather
Vampire Knight series	Hino, Matsuri
Cirque Du Freak series	Shan, Darren
Chibi Vampire series	Kagesaki, Yuna
The Reformed Vampire Support Group	Jinks, Catherine
Finishing School series	Carriger, Gail
Department Nineteen series	Hill, Will
The Hunt series	Fukuda, Andrew

Paranormal Romance - YA Without Vamps:

Title	Author	Notes
Mortal Instruments series	Clare, Cassandra	supernatural
Wicked Lovely series	Marr, Melissa	fairies
Shiver series	Stiefvater, Maggie	werewolves
Grisha series	Bardugo, Leigh	magic
Hush Hush series	Fitzpatrick, Becca	angels
Fallen series	Kate, Lauren	supernatural
Lux series	Armentrout, Jennifer	aliens
Caster Chronicles	Garcia, Kami	magic
Legion series	Garcia, Kami	hunters
Strange Angels series	St. Crow, Lili	hunters
Splintered series	Howard, A. G.	Wonderland
Raven Cycle series	Stiefvater, Maggie	paranormal
Darkest Powers series	Armstrong, Kelley	ghosts

And now to the Adult Read Alikes:

Vamps in Adult Titles:

Title	Author
Jane Jameson series	Harper, Molly
Sunshine	McKinley, Robin
Jane True series	Peeler, Nicole
Vampire Chronicles	Rice, Anne
Dark Hunter series	Kenyon, Sherrilyn
Black Dagger Brotherhood series	Ward, J. R.
Sookie Stackhouse series	Harris, Charlaine
Immortals After Dark series	Cole, Kresley
Night Huntress series	Frost, Jeaniene
Fever series	Moning, Karen Marie
Otherworld series	Armstrong, Kelley
Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series	Hamilton, Laurell
Dark series	Feehan, Christine
Undead series	Davidson, MaryJanice
Dark Ones series	MacAlister, Katie
Parasol Protectorate series	Carriger, Gail
The Hollows series	Harrison, Kim
Cassandra Palmer series	Chance, Karen

Adult Paranormal Romance:

Title	Author	Notes
Outlander series	Gabaldon, Diana	time travel
Mercy Thompson series	Briggs, Patricia	werewolves
Lords of the Underworld series	Showalter, Gena	demons
Charley Davidson series	Jones, Darynda	supernatural
Naked Werewolf series	Harper, Molly	werewolves
GhostWalkers series	Feehan, Christine	supersoldiers
InCryptid series	McGuire, Seanan	supernatural
Dark Kings series	Grant, Donna	dragons
Broken Destiny series	Frost, Jeaniene	visions/paranormal

Book Review - Feint of Art

Feint of Art (An Art Lover's Mystery #1) 
By Hailey Lind (Pseudonym for Juliet Blackwell and her sister Carolyn)
*****

This cozy was fantastic! It had a little more action than most cozies, enough that I'd totally watch it as a show on USA or TNT. Annie is a struggling artist who had a little run in with the law as a teen when she joined her grandfather in a forgery spree. After quickly learning her lesson and going straight, she tried to make a career in art restoration, only to have her past bite her in the butt as she got booted out personally by the Brocks of the Brock Museum.

Fast forward several years and after a short spurt in ho-hum office drudgery, she was inspired to turn to interior design, with faux-finishes and the like. Until an ex asked her to verify a painting. Chaos, murders, kidnappings, thievery, and shenanigans ensue.

Annie was a great heroine, with a lot of spunk, some moral fiber, and a healthy helping of knowledge about the world of art forgery (her grandfather is one of the greats, after all). In addition, there were a lot of minor characters that I also loved - Inspector Annette was pretty darn awesome (I'm totally picturing Gina Torres), neighbor Pete was endearing, and the X-Man was very Neal Caffrey, and Fender Bender has the potential of joining X as a potential suitor. 

I'm oddly drawn to books about art forgery. I don't know why - it's not like I can draw anything better than a stick figure - but I find it fascinating. Hence, the career background and plot set up for this particular amateur sleuth was a lot of fun. It also made sense that Annie would find herself investigating, considering she has a very distinctive skill set and knowledge base that even experts in the field wouldn't be able to compare to. I prefer my cozy detectives to have a good reason for getting mixed up in the investigations. 

Highly recommended.