Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Armchair BEA 2013: Genre Fiction


Design credit: Nina of Nina Reads

Today's book-related topic is genre fiction. Paranormal is easily my favorite genre. I am a big-time paranormal reader, particularly YA paranormal. Vampires, witches, wizards, warlocks, angels, demons, aliens, werewolves and any others I’ve forgotten—I love reading about them all, especially vampires. I read for escapism, and for me, nothing is better than a book that pulls me into a world where anything is possible and the impossible seems real.

Not surprisingly, a good number of my favorite books, the ones that I would reread over and over again, are from this genre. If I had to pick a few to recommend to someone looking to try out paranormal, here are the ones I'd go with:

  • The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead: I put off reading this for a very long time because the cover did absolutely nothing for me. I finally gave in last year and read it, and I LOVED these books! I love that Rose is no-nonsense, and Dimitri . . .aaahhh. Also recommended: the VA spin-off, Bloodlines. Adrian . . . aaahhh.
  • The Unearthly series by Cynthia Hand: I tried quite a few angel books before this series, and they were all duds. Unearthly turned out to be exactly what I'd been looking for, and the love triangle is exceptionally well-written (i.e., it doesn't make me want to pull my hair out. I actually LIKE this one!)
  • The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff: I read this a month ago, and I'm still thinking about it. Fantastic novel about demons.
  • Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan: I found the humor in this book laugh-out-loud hilarious. The novel also takes on a dark tone at times, but it was the humor that made this an instant favorite of mine. The one thing about this book that was not funny at all? That evil, evil ending (If you've read Unspoken, then you know what I mean.).

Are you a fellow paranormal fan? Or is there another genre that you happily read time and time again?

38 comments:

  1. I completely agree. I don't want to read about anything that could happen to me in real life - it's all about the escapism for me as well. Love VA and Bloodlines :D Jaclyn @ JC's Book Haven.

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    1. That's why I don't read too much contemporary fiction; I like reading about a world that's entirely different from the everyday. And both VA and Bloodlines are just awesome! :)

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  2. I love Paranormal Fiction as well. I still have to finish the Vampire Academy books. I am so behind.

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    1. It took me forever to start reading them. The cover of the first book didn't impress me at all, and once again, I learned that I really shouldn't judge a book by the cover. Hope you get to finish the series soon!

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  3. I really liked the first two books from Unearthly (but I hated the last one). I can't wait to get started in the VA series! I have them waiting on the shelves :D

    Development + Fiction - Mel@thedailyprophecy.

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    1. I hope you love VA! It's my favorite vampire series. :)

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  4. I love the escapism of paranormal books too.

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    1. Definitely! I love forgetting about whatever is going on in real life for a while by immersing myself in a good paranormal read.

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  5. Paranormal fiction is one of my all time favorites as well. I haven't read the Unearthly series but you peaked my interest on this one. Just added it to my TBR pile:)

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    1. Yay! To me, it's the best angel series out there! Hope you love it as much as I do!

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  6. Thanks for all the suggestions, Lee! I'll check them out on goodreads! I love paranormal! :)

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    1. I hope you decide to give them a read! They're some of my absolute favorites. :)

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  7. At first I thought to myself, I'm not that in to Paranormal but then I remembered Sherrilyn Kenyon. Love the Dark Hunters!

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    1. Hooray! Another Dark-Hunter fan! Chronicles of Nick, her YA series, was my first introduction to the Dark-Hunter world, and it made me want to check out the adult series, which I'm also really enjoying reading.

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  8. I love paranormal :) So we definitely have that in common. I'm looking forward to the Vampire Academy movie as well :) Dimitri, *sigh*
    I have a series to recommend to you if you haven't read it yet - the Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent.

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    1. Thanks for the recommendation! I do want to check out the Soul Screamers series; I saw some of the books at my library recently, and I really hope that my branch has the first one.

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  9. I dip in and out of paranormal as the mood strikes. Thanks for some great recommendations!

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  10. I'll have to try Unearthly and Unspoken, they sound fantastic.

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    1. I was so sad to see Unearthly end, but at least the sequel to Unspoken comes out later this year!

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  11. YAY for Paranormal reads :) I love Unearthly and VA and Bloodlines... Unspoken didn't really work that well for me, even if I love SRB, but I guess that happens sometimes.

    I need to check out The Space Between, haven't heard of that one before.

    Here's my Better Blogger / Genre Fiction post.

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    1. I've seen some readers say they couldn't get into Unspoken, and that's sort of how I felt about SRB's The Demon's Lexicon. I liked it, but not nearly as much as Unspoken.

      I highly recommend The Space Between! I loved everything about it: the writing, the characters, the premise, and the setting.

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  12. I love escaping into a book that is far fetched (or maybe not?), and dive into that world! I did that with the Twilight series, during a difficult recovery time for my husband, and it was just what the dr. ordered! I loved every bit of it and vampires and werewolves were just what I needed :D

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    1. There have been so many times when getting lost in a book at the end of a rough day has helped me unwind. And for me, the more unique and imaginative a paranormal book's premise is, the easier I find it to forget about anything that's bothering me for a while.

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  13. Unspoken is one of my absolute faves! And I like the Bloodlines series too.

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    1. By the time I'd read the first few pages of Unspoken, I knew this was a book that I was absolutely meant to read. I can't wait for Untold!

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  14. I love Paranormal! I really enjoyed Unspoken! I liked the Vampire Academy books and need to catch up on the Bloodlines books! I really like Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Angelfall, which both involve angels.

    I love all kinds of genres! Right now I'm really into fantasy. I talk about it in my post!

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    1. Daughter of Smoke and Bone was amazing, and I have Angelfall, which I bought after seeing so many great reviews of it. I just have to get around to reading it.

      Fantasy is a favorite genre of mine, too, second only to paranormal.

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  15. SO many people point out Unearthly as the angel book to read...I haven't had any luck with the angel topic before, either so maybe...I should try that one ?? I guess I will ;) Thanks for the recommendation!

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    1. I don't know why I had so much trouble finding an angel book that I liked, but am I ever glad that I read Unearthly. Its take on angel lore is very well done.

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  16. Unspoken was fantastic! Everything you said about it is so accurate. And yes, ugh, that ending was awful in a good way. I can't wait for the sequel.

    I've heard so many things about Unearthly being a great example of an angel book. I recently had the chance to see the author at a book signing, so I have a copy on my shelf waiting to be read!

    Daniela @ The Cozy Armchair

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    1. If the ending of Untold is anything like the ending of Unspoken, I'm definitely going to need therapy, lol.

      Unearthly is such an awesome book. I can't recommend it enough!

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  17. I love, love, LOVE paranormal books! I've been reading them for years. I enjoy the Vampire Academy series, House of Night, Nightshade... there are so many to choose from. :)

    Feel free to stop by and check out my Genre Fiction post.

    ~ Louise

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    1. I want to kick myself every time I think about how long it took me to finally read VA. I'm loving Bloodlines, too, and I'm so happy that Richelle Mead decided to do a spin-off.

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  18. I had quite a few problems with paranormal books, mainly angels, and I tried to refrain from reading anything paranormal. BUT, BUT, BUT... I READ UNEARTHLY A COUPLE MONTHS AGO AND IT JUST COMPLETELY BLEW ME AWAY. It was freaking amazing!! The only reason I stopped reading paranormal was because it seemed as if things were blurring together, just with different characters.

    - Leanne @ Escaping With Books

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    1. That was precisely my reaction to Unearthly- I was utterly blown away by how good it was. I can't wait to see what Cynthia Hand writes next.

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  19. Oh my Lee, reading these posts makes me think we're something like book sisters >.< Paranormal is a favorite for me too, I also read for escapism which is why I tend to not be attracted to basic contemporaries...I need more imagination and less limitations! I also really loved all your recommendations - all of which are on my reading list! At least I own book one of VA & Unearthly haha ;)

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    1. I think we might be long-lost book sisters, too, especially since we both also love some good epic fantasy! And VA and Unearthly are two amazing series- hope you read them soon so we can chat about them!

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