DRAGONS
1) The 'Memoir By Lady Trent' Series by Marie Brennan.
Everyone who has read my recent review of 'The Tropic Of Serpents' (the second book in the series) will know how much I adore this series. I left a fair amount of time between Books 1 & 2 but I won't be making the same mistake again because it's so great! This one doesn't have quite so much of Dragons being Dragons, but you do get to learn a lot about them (the POV is a Natural Historian who studies them) and the Heroine is brilliant. I love it though if you want to see more fire-breathing and human-killing then these might not be the books for you.
2) The 'Inheritance Cycle' Series by Christopher Paolini.
I chose this series because it has what my first choice lacks. Kick-ass Dragons. It was a toss-up between this set of four books or George R.R. Martin's 'A Song Of Ice & Fire' series but this one focuses way more on the Dragons and less on other plot-lines. It's beautifully written and the world-building magnificent, but the bond that Eragon shares with his Dragon Saphira is one that's not easy to forget.
FAIRIES
3) The 'Modern Faerie Tale' Series by Holly Black.
I've read two of the three books in this series and I have to say that it was Book Two that sold it to me. The world of Faeries that Black builds is fantastic and a heck of a lot of imagination went into it. It contains a lot of common Faerie Lore (aversion to Iron, stealing Children, etc.) and mixes it with a gritty, urban vibe that's impossible not to love. The Faeries in Black's series are not the friendly kind that live at the bottom of the garden looking after flowers, let me tell you.
4) 'Winterspell' by Claire Legrand.
This book received a fair amount of mixed reviews thanks to the dark sexual energy it contains, but that was part of the appeal for me and one of my favourite parts of the book was when Clara found herself abducted by the Faery Queen Anise. She was a wonderful villain and her court was both magical and seductive. I like the idea of extravagant Faeries and this book had them by the bucket-load.
ANGELS
5) The 'Daughter Of Smoke & Bone' Series by Laini Taylor.
Angels have long been part of legend and are included frequently in all sorts of Mythology. I may not have overly liked the ending to this series, but there's no denying Laini Taylor's imagination or distinct style. I loved learning more about the Angels that fought the Chimaera: their lifestyles and hierarchy in particular as in conflict with the belief that they are protectors, most are greedy, lustful and self-serving. I would recommend this series to anyone who loves Urban Fantasy, forbidden love and most importantly, Angels!
6) The 'Penryn & The End Of Days' Series by Susan Ee.
What would happen if Angels came to Earth? More importantly, what would happen if they turned out to be our doom rather than our Guardians? This series is a post-apocalyptic thriller which sees the Angels taking over and humanity cowering in fear. More importantly, it follows the unlikely duo of Penryn (human girl) & Raffe (angel) as they race to regain something precious to them. I've only read Book One (I have the second on May's reading list) but I love it!
DEMONS
7) The 'Demonata' Series by Darren Shan.
This series was my very first introduction to Demons and I highly recommend it if you are a fan of those particular creatures. These ones are particularly bloodthirsty. The series as a whole is told from various different viewpoints and only becomes more interesting as it goes on. Darren Shan won't coddle you: there are a whole bunch of gruesome character deaths and the Demons he creates are vile in every way possible. You only have to look at the cover art to get a taste of what I mean.
8) The 'Dark Days Club' by Alison Goodman.
This was a recent read of mine and I adored it for a number of reasons, but the Demons played a pretty big part. So did the ass-kicking league of humans that are born to stop them. This book is set in an alternate history, a retelling of Pride & Prejudice in fact but with a whole lot more ass-kicking action and a more extensive plot-line. One of my favourite new releases this year.
GHOSTS
9) The 'Light' Series by Laura Whitcomb.
I love me some Ghosts and this duology is a real favourite of mine. I finished the second book while in Amsterdam recently and enjoyed it a lot, though you could easily read Book One and be just as happy. I loved the ideas that Whitcomb had about how the Afterlife works and the way that the ghosts inhabited the lives of the bodies they possessed and tried to help them was heart-warming to read. It's a ghostly love story that's well worth getting into.
10) The 'Afterlife' Series by Terri Bruce.
Thoughts on the afterlife are always really interesting to me, and Bruce's imagined 'beyond; is one of the best I've come across. I didn't overly enjoy the MC in Book One but I realise that the point of Bruce's series is to start with a flawed character and help her to grow and develop so that she might reach her goal of 'moving on'. I'm really interested in what Book Three will offer (it was released less than a month ago) and really think that more people should get into this series.
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