In An Effort To Save Nimblnymph's Soul & Sanity....

[redbrunja]

enderxenocide  and I went shopping today, and we kicked ass. I found three bras, two shirts, and part of pants ALL of which both a.) fit and b.) were on sale. Plus, I had gift cards for half of it. (Hello, there, awesome new shisedo lipstick in a red 1930s harlots would wear.) Plus I knocked off half my Christmas list. (Shut up, I know that it's not even thanksgiving. In my defense, I come back from Turkey Day and have Dead week and then finals and know I won't want to shop then.) As a result of this, I got to go home and throw away two bras that were old and needed to be taken out to the back forty.

Get your lulz for the day: 28 Reasons That ‘Twilight’ the Movie Is Better Than ‘Twilight’ the Book

I would totally be seeing this movie, because the movie would be better than the book and I'm a sucker (heh) for vampire stories, except that the author is a Morman, and a certain percentage of her earnings go to the Church.... the same Church that helped get same-sex declared illegal in California.

The Church of Latter-Day Saints is not seeing one fucking dime of my money.

And nimble? About writing a good vampire novel since no one else is? You totally should and I think I will. I've been looking for a nice project for winter break and I'm a little burned out on my Reiketsukan-verse at the moment.

Since I've been thinking of good vampire novels (and been shocked by how hard it is - especially since they are my favorite) I've decided to post a rec list of damn good vampire novels.

(Some of these are stand alones and some are the first of a series.)

The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klaus

This is how you do a romance between a vampire and a teenage girl. Zoe has a life of her own, problems of her own, and so does Simon. The vampire lore is classic and has consequences and Zoe is the furtherest thing from passive. The ending is bittersweet and this is one of the few books when I can honestly say I'd have it no other way.

Covenant with the Vampire (Diaries of the Family Dracul) by Jeanne Kalogridis

I was probably too young to read this when I did. I'm still not sure if I liked it but the author doesn't shy away from either the horrific nature of the vampires or the sex=death metaphor. (In fact, there is a sex scene in the first book that is pretty much burned in my mind. I could probably quote a couple lines word for word. Considering I read this about ten years ago....)

Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

The teenagers in this book feel real - mature and young and all trying there best. Also, there's Eve. A barista who grew up in a town ruled by vampires and so dresses Goth as a 'fuck you' to people who could kill her for being too uppity.

Life Sucks by Jessica Abel

A graphic novel this time, Life Sucks, is a screamingly creative retelling of vampire mythology in modern times, and what immortality would really look like in our capitalist world. I'm praying this will be the beginning of a series but this works as a stand-alone. While it will leave you wanting more, stands very well on its own merits.

You Suck by Christopher Moore

Imagine if Carl Hiaasen wrote about vampires instead of Flordia. Yeah.

Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, No. 1) by Charlaine Harris

Everyone and their best friend's mother has read this but I feel it's good enough to deserve a place on the list, even if I do feel that is and has teetered dangerously close to succumbing to Anita Blake-itis.

Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

Her latest book made me think I'd made a grave mistake in buying it in hardcover and I spent a hundred pages cursing her editor and LKH. And then Harrison pulled out a fantastically interesting plot that has nothing whatsoever to do with the main characters love life and her next book regained will-be-pre-ordering status. That said, her first book (linked) is fantastically interesting, has a great, original mythology, and gave me my first femmeslash OTP.

Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop

"I am Tersa the weaver, Tersa the liar, Tersa the fool."

While not strictly a vampire novel, there is a hot, scary, bad ass dead guy who I want to adopt me. I say it qualifies. As you can see, I've read this series so many times I have chucks of it memorized and the spine has a tendency to fall open to my favorite passages.

Blood Price by Tanya Huff

Scary romantic vampire love interest writes historical romance novels to pay the bills. Heroine is an ex-cop who quit the force because she got a degenerative eye condition that means she's effectively blind at night. Which is not going to stop her from being an awesome P.I.

Edited To Add:

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

"Talk to me. Remind me that you are a rational creature."

In in one line, McKinely gives us an ominously hungry vampire who is nonetheless that kind of vampire you'd want to be chained next to. Also, McKinley gives us a deliciously interesting world and a protagonist with a deliciously mundane day job (she's a baker).

Comments

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Yep, the Morman Church flooded money into California to help get prop 8 passed.

[lightprincess89.livejournal.com]

Loved the 28 reasons list. It made me laugh.

Thank you for the list of books. I always knew there had to be better books about girls and vampires out there. Especially books that were written with actual sentences and none of this double positives or double negatives crap. heh.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

I wrote this list specifically because I was starting to forget there where good vampire books out there.

It was like being trapped in this crazy bizarro world where there was only ever Twilight and the would only ever be Twilight and it was horrible.

[iapetusneume.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the list of recs! I totally need to get to some of these.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

You're welcome!

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I was unimpressed with Dead Until Dark. I think I gave it a C grade in my head. I watched two episodes of True Blood and was unimpressed with that too. I thought Bill was okay as a character, if a bit boring (and creepy, but vamps are supposed to be creepy), but Sookie gradually irritated me more and more over.

Much, much for fun was Dead Witch Walking. I'm halfway through the sequel right now--both in audiobook. It drags a bit in places, but I love the world Harrison has created and I like that she's brave enough to have Ivy as a character, and Ivy/Rachel as two female characters with heavy UST and explicit acknowledgment of the sexual connotations of their relationship. I don't ship them, but I do ship their friendship, and I feel bad for Ivy's unrequited affection.

I loved the mink and rat fights sequence in DWW, that whole section of the book. Sometimes I get tired of Rachel's "yeah, whatever, I'll handle it" attitude, but she's a very sympathetic character and I love how much guts she has.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

I can totally understand being unwhelmed by Dead Until Dark. I personally enjoyed it (the first one especially) but I can easily see why other people won't.

And Dead Witch Walking is a BLAST. Ivy has grown a lot on my over the series. When she's first introduced I didn't really get her, but as we learn more about how much she's been tweaked by her upbringing it makes SO MUCH sense.

I loved the mink and rat fights sequence in DWW, that whole section of the book. Sometimes I get tired of Rachel's "yeah, whatever, I'll handle it" attitude, but she's a very sympathetic character and I love how much guts she has.

*nods* And I do like that she'll get in over her head and in trouble and that when she pulls her own ass out of the fire she's earned it, you know?

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Yes. And, to be honest, I'd rather see THOSE books be made into a tv show than True Blood, especially on something like the production scale of HBO. There's enough going on in each book in term of A plots, B plots, C, D, and E plots, with another F and G overarching cross-book plotting, that there's a lot of activity to draw on for a tv season. I can imagine Trent Calamack (sp? audiobook!) as a multi-season Big Bad.

However, the worlds take a lot of exposition to get into, and I imagine Jinx and his family would be difficult and expensive to animate on a weekly basis.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Agreed on the whole Rachel Morgan series, although I almost wouldn't want it to get ruined, you know?

Trent would make a GREAT villain, and I'd love to have a great female/male rivalry where they mostly want to kill each other but there is this edge of sexual tension.

And you're right, Jinx and fam would be a bitch to animate.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

pretty:

http://orioto.deviantart.com/art/Anger-management-60272739

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Awesome! I totally wish more people played around with Inner Sakura.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but Inner Sakura starts to play a big part a few chapters from now in Lucid.

If, you know, I ever get off my ass and write the rest of it...stupid middle parts...

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

I know.

Those damned middle parts.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

-Trent would make a GREAT villain, and I'd love to have a great female/male rivalry where they mostly want to kill each other but there is this edge of sexual tension.


I don't really ship them, mostly because I think Rachel is scared shitless and spitting angry when it comes to Trent, but I have to admit... if they were live actors on screen? I probably would ship them. Who am I kidding? I would probably be on that OTP like a vampire on pizza.

SPOILERS FOR THE MOST RECENT RACHEL MORGAN BOOK!

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

I go back and forth. I start shipping them, and then Trent will do something that reminds me of what an evil bastard he is, and I'll go 'I can't wish him on Rachel!' and then he gets hot again.

That said, my perfect ending is Rachel deciding that she can be gay for Ivy, and those two living in a sexy, sexual, bloody, monogamous relationship, without all the crappy men Rachel tends to bring home.

I mean, the development with her first boyfriend was interesting and cool, but


SPOILER!!!!!!!!!!






Kirsten was like... boring, and latest boyfriend they're even ADMITTING he's too boring for her, yet he's still around. *sigh*

Re: SPOILERS FOR THE MOST RECENT RACHEL MORGAN BOOK!

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I'm just at the point now in book 2 where they figured out that Nick is accidentally Rachel's familiar. I accidentally started on book 3 without realizing it, and got spoiled for the fact that Nick left...and I can kind of guess why, now.

It's too bad. I like Nick... meeting a guy who's clever and resourceful and helps you escape together WHEN YOU'RE BOTH TRANSFORMED INTO RATS just shows right off the bat that he's worth a second or third date.

Re: SPOILERS FOR THE MOST RECENT RACHEL MORGAN BOOK!

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Nick was well-worth a second date, and I really did like how they wrote him out. It seemed realistic without being all Rachel's fault (or all Nick's fault).

It was only later that I started losing respect for him.

Re: SPOILERS FOR THE MOST RECENT RACHEL MORGAN BOOK!

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I think I'd ship Ivy and Rachel if Ivy didn't scare Rachel so much. Rachel clearly has so many issues with not wanting to be a vampire or vamp servant, that I (and this is just me) can't get past that to ship them. If Ivy were still the same personality but was, like, an assassin instead of a vampire, I'd probably ship them too.

Re: SPOILERS FOR THE MOST RECENT RACHEL MORGAN BOOK!

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

*nods*

I see where you're coming from. For me, and I think for Ivy too, Rachel's fear of vampires and her refusal to be part of that life is one reason that I think they'd work well.

[blackestfaery.livejournal.com]

"Rose," Jaenelle replied in a hollow voice. "He killed my friend Rose." Then a savage light burned in her eyes and her lips curled in a small, bitter smile. "He slit her throat because she wouldn't lick the lollipop." Her eyes slid to his groin before drifting up to his face. "Is that what you call it, Prince?"

Daemon's throat closed. His blood pounded in him, pounded him, angry surf against rock. It was so very, very hard to breathe.

The sepulchral voice. The midnight, cavernous, ancient, raging voice that held a whisper of madness. He hadn't imagined it, that other time. Hadn't imagined it.

Birthright Black.

Witch.

She wanted to kill him because he was male. Accepting that made it easier to be calm.

"It's called a penis, Lady. I have no use for euphemisms."

Oh God, I love this series. Daemon was hot and I so would let Saetan nibble on my neck ;D

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

For me, it was always all about Lucivar. Can I get a hell yeah?

[blackestfaery.livejournal.com]

HELLZ YEAH :D

I liked all the characters for the most part, but it was the lollipop scene I quoted that my friend quoted to me that got me reading the series, lol.

I forgot to say in my first reply, but thanks for the list. I love vampire novels too but could never must up enough energy to pick through them to find out what's good ♥

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, that was a DAMN good scene.

And you're very welcome. I half wrote it for other people, and half so I could remember that yes, there are awesome vampire books out there.