{"id":789,"date":"2015-10-26T10:55:48","date_gmt":"2015-10-26T14:55:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kate-hill.com\/compellingbeastsblog\/?p=789"},"modified":"2015-10-25T21:35:22","modified_gmt":"2015-10-26T01:35:22","slug":"vampire-week-margo-bond-collins-top-five-favorite-vampire-booksseries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kate-hill.com\/compellingbeastsblog\/2015\/10\/26\/vampire-week-margo-bond-collins-top-five-favorite-vampire-booksseries\/","title":{"rendered":"Vampire Week: Margo Bond Collins’ Top Five Favorite Vampire Books\/Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

My\u00a0Top Five Favorite Vampire Books\/Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Guest Post by Margo Bond Collins<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown<\/em>\u00a0by Holly Black\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I loved Black\u2019s short story of the same name and was initially a little disappointed to discover that the novel was not, in fact, a continuation of the same story but rather a new story set in the same world. But that disappointment quickly disappeared as Black\u2019s novel drew me in. The vampires here are horrifying\u2014and being the single (potential) exception to that rule makes the love-interest vampire equally terrifying and attractive, adding up to the kind of vicarious adrenaline rush that draws me to vampire tales in the first place.<\/p>\n

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    1. Sunshine<\/em>\u00a0by Robin McKinley\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      I re-read this book every year or two\u2014I just finished the latest re-reading in November. McKinley does a beautiful job of setting up a world that is almost, but not exactly, like our own. The eponymous protagonist almost seems to ramble sometimes, but the voice is perfectly her own and the things she reveals about herself are beautifully woven back into the plot. Also, the vampires are creepy as all get-out!<\/p>\n

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      1. Quiver<\/em>\u00a0by Holly Luhning\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Unlike most of the books I read,\u00a0Quiver<\/em>\u00a0is not speculative fiction. It\u2019s a psychological thriller about obsession\u2014specifically, obsession with Elizabeth Bathory, the psychotic sixteenth-century Hungarian countess who bathed in the blood of her (many!) victims in an attempt to make herself younger. Luhning\u2019s depiction of a dissatisfied academic pulled further into a world of horror and intrigue is both compelling and unsettling. So this isn\u2019t really a \u201cvampire\u201d novel in the strictest sense\u2014but it draws on vampire mythology in interesting ways.<\/p>\n

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        1. Guilty Pleasures<\/em>\u00a0(Anita Blake, Book 1) by Laurell K. Hamilton<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          This was probably the first book I ever heard called a \u201curban fantasy\u201d\u2014though the term Hamilton used for it was \u201cparanormal mystery.\u201d In the early novels of this series, Anita Blake, is based more on the gritty noir detective than the romance heroine. Though the series shifts toward the erotic later, the early novels are still among my favorite paranormal mysteries\/urban fantasies.<\/p>\n

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          1. Skinwalker<\/em>\u00a0(Jane Yellowrock, Book 1) by Faith Hunter<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            This series has landed on my favorite vampires and my favorite shapeshifters lists. I\u2019m a fan of shapeshifter novels in general, and of this series in particular. I like Hunter\u2019s twist on the shapeshifter standards\u2014in these novels, Jane shares her body and her consciousness with a big cat she calls Beast. Watching the two of them negotiating their shared life is almost as much fun as watching them work through whatever mysteries and problems come their way because of Jane\u2019s job as bodyguard to vampires.<\/p>\n

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            \"\"<\/p>\n

            Detective Cami Davis and her sexy, cowboy-turned-vampire informant are all that\u2019s standing between humanity and monsters who would rule the world\u2014and all that\u2019s standing between them having a torrid love affair is the fact that he\u2019s an enemy of humanity.<\/p>\n

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            THROUGH DARKEST TEMPTATION<\/p>\n

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            When Dallas police detective Cami Davis joined the city\u2019s vampire unit, she planned to use the job as a stepping-stone to a better position in the department. She didn\u2019t know then what she knows now: A silent war rages between humans and their supposedly pacified predators, and the vampires are winning.<\/p>\n

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            With the clock running out on her kind, Cami will do whatever she must to defeat the \u201cSanguinary.\u201d Enter Reese Fulton, a disaffected ex-cop and a vampire. She can\u2019t exactly trust him, but with his cowboy boots and good-ole-boy drawl he\u2019s the perfect beard for Cami\u2019s fledgling undercover operation.<\/p>\n

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            Yet playing Reese\u2019s Claimed\u2014a vampire\u2019s personal bloodgiver\u2014isn\u2019t as straightforward as she was led to believe. His bite is as enthralling as his dimpled smile, and soon Cami is wondering which will pose more of a challenge: subduing the enemies of humanity…or her own desire.<\/p>\n

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            Buy Links<\/strong><\/p>\n

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            Boroughs Publishing<\/a><\/p>\n

            Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

            Barnes & Noble<\/a><\/p>\n

            All Romance<\/a><\/p>\n

            Smashwords<\/a><\/p>\n

            Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

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            About the Author<\/strong><\/p>\n

            \"\"<\/p>\n

            Margo Bond Collins<\/strong>\u00a0writes urban fantasy, contemporary romance, and paranormal mysteries. She lives in Texas with her daughter and several spoiled pets. Although writing fiction is her first love, she also teaches college-level English courses online. She enjoys reading romance and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about heroes, monsters, cowboys, and villains, and the strong women who love them\u2014and sometimes fight them.<\/p>\n

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            Connect with Margo<\/strong><\/p>\n

            Newsletter:\u00a0https:\/\/confirmsubscription.com\/h\/d\/03A21E5E161401F0<\/a><\/p>\n

            Amazon Author Page:\u00a0http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/author\/margobondcollins<\/a><\/p>\n

            Email:\u00a0MargoBondCollins@gmail.com<\/p>\n

            Website:\u00a0http:\/\/www.MargoBondCollins.net<\/a><\/p>\n

            Blog:\u00a0http:\/\/www.MargoBondCollins.com<\/a><\/p>\n

            Twitter:\u00a0https:\/\/twitter.com\/MargoBondCollin<\/a>\u00a0@MargoBondCollin<\/p>\n

            Google+:\u00a0https:\/\/plus.google.com\/116484555448104519902<\/a><\/p>\n

            Goodreads Author Page:\u00a0http:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/vampirarchy<\/a><\/p>\n

            Facebook Author Page:\u00a0https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MargoBondCollins<\/a><\/p>\n

            Pinterest:\u00a0http:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/mbondcollins\/<\/a><\/p>\n

            Tsu:\u00a0http:\/\/www.tsu.co\/MargoBondCollins<\/a><\/p>\n

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