Catching Up On Series

I have to admit that I’ve never been a trendsetter. In fact, I’m usually waaaay behind the curve. I’m probably the last person to get any sort of gadget, and I never, ever recognize the music my students talk about in class. So it’s no surprise that I’m behind on some really popular series. Right now I’m playing catch-up on a few, and I thought I’d share some thoughts on my current favorites, which no doubt all of you have already read. Of course, once I’m finally caught up, I suspect I’ll learn that everyone else is reading some OTHER series, and I’m way behind. C’est la vie…

Meljean Brook’s Guardians series

A few years ago I clicked on an Amazon recommendation for Meljean Brook’s Guardians series, which begins with Demon Angel. For some bizarre reason, that book wasn’t available for the Kindle at the time, so I had to start reading with the second in the series, Demon Moon. I have to be honest, the Guardians’ world is so complex that, while I enjoyed the book, I didn’t really love it. It wasn’t until I checked out Demon Night (#3) from the library that I really got hooked. I just used up the last of my Christmas Amazon gift cards to finish out the series so I can finally read ALL the books.

If you haven’t read any of this series, I highly recommend you start with Demon Marked, book 7, because the heroine has amnesia and gradually learns about the Guardians who defend our world from Demons and Nosferatu, making it easy for you to pick up the series without getting lost. Also, Demon Angel (Guardians #1), just became available for the Kindle this past week, so you can start with book 1 if you’d like, but even the author suggests that you begin with book 3 or 7 because of the complexity of the world.

J.D. Robb’s In Death series

Nora Roberts’s futuristic police procedurals featuring Lt. Eve Dallas and hottie gazillionaire Roarke are frankly addictive. Since Ms. Roberts is a lean, mean writing machine, she churns the In Death books out at an amazing pace. Thankfully for my pocketbook, you don’t have to read these books in order, and I’ve been slowing catching up on this series thanks to all the markdowns at Barnes and Noble and Paperbackswap.com. That said, I recommend starting with the first book, Naked in Death, just so you can see how Dallas and Roarke met for the first time.

Kim Harrison’s The Hollows series

This Urban Fantasy series is outstanding. Witch and Bounty Hunter Rachel Morgan and her sidekicks Vampire Ivy and Pixy Jenks are a winning team, and the world they live in is complex. You’ll absolutely want to begin the series with book one, Dead Witch Walking, and read from there, because Rachel frequently finds herself having to make quick decisions that change her life, not always for the better. But no matter her choices, her relationships with her friends are what really sell these books for me.

Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books

A friend recommended these books to me, but I never got around to reading them until I saw that the first book, One for the Money, is coming out as a movie this Friday. And since Jason O’Mara is playing Joe Morelli, one of New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum’s love interests, well, let’s just say I’m DEFINITELY interested in seeing how this series turns out. These books never fail to crack me UP. Stephanie is fired from her job selling lingerie and decides to take up bounty hunting in order to pay the bills. Trust me when I say that much hilarity ensues. Very funny!

So what about you? Are there any great series that everyone else seems to have read, but you’re just now catching up on?