VF and Urban Fantasy Recommendations with People of Color?

[Dragongem]

So the casting of our VF reads has got me thinking wouldn't it be nice to read some books where the main character(s) have little different skin tone.

I have read Seressia Glass's Shadowchasers series, C.E. Murphy's Walker Paper series and Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock series.

Any other series/books out there I should read?

[Nicole]

Another urban fantasy with a black/mixed race main character is Ben Aaronovitch's series. I enjoyed book one Midnight Riot. Not much of a romance element tho.

[Stacia (the 2010 club)]

(neither is smutty up front though; both are slower to build in the romance area)

[Philippa]

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms trilogy has protagonists of color and romance. They are vaginal fantasy more in the Kushiel's Dart category: intensive world building and broader narratives with a strong focus on relationships.

Another great urban fantasy / AU book with a protagonist of color is Three Parts Dead. There's really no romance per se, but the story is deftly done and quite compelling.

[Jess]

Nicole wrote: "Another urban fantasy with a black/mixed race main character is Ben Aaronovitch's series. I enjoyed book one Midnight Riot. Not much of a romance element tho."

I absolutely second this suggestion - the original title is Rivers of London, by the way, followed by Moon over Soho and Whispers Underground (which I am currently reading). The books are not so big on romance - flirting and a liiiittle bit of sexy tiems in book 2 are all you're going to get. However, the main character's observations regarding his (extended) family and people of colour are very well done and delightfully funny. The books are great, packed with Brit slang, pop culture references, magic and a hero who is SMART. Good stuff.

[MsMica]

One of my favorites is Lynn Viehl's 'Darkyn' series.
The 1st book, which got me hooked, featured a mixed race female plastic surgeon... great 'sexy times' and good plot. I liked the character development too... the two main characters in the 1st book (and several others) recur throughout the entire series as well.

Excellent series that I read back to back to back.

* If Angels Burn: A Novel of the Darkyn
* Private Demon: A Novel of the Darkyn
* Dark Need: A Novel of the Darkyn
* Night Lost: A Novel of the Darkyn
* Evermore: A Novel of the Darkyn
* Twilight Fall: A Novel of the Darkyn
* Master of Shadows: A Novella of the Darkyn
* Stay the Night: A Novel of the Darkyn

[Dragongem]

These all sound great! Thanks everyone and keep them coming.

[Erica]

Fledgling by Octavia Butler isn't so much a romance (although there is that, I think), and I don't think it quite qualifies as urban fantasy (more post-apocalyptic) but it is SO STRANGE and SO GOOD and really important in terms of social messages or whatever.

But also just really good.

Octavia Butler in general kicks so much ass. http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...

[Eliste]

Magic to the Bone has a Mr Zayvion Jones who is dark skinned and yummy.

[Elia]

The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs lead female is half Native American.

[Beth]

I love the Mercy books! I second that rec.

[Brigid]

both the mercy thompson books and the allie beckstrom books are great reads!

[Brigid]

Dragongem wrote: "So the casting of our VF reads has got me thinking wouldn't it be nice to read some books where the main character(s) have little different skin tone.

I have read Seressia Glass's Shadowchasers..."


are the shadowchaser books good? just curious.

[Victoria]

I know they've already been recommended once, but I have to recommend them again. Ben Aaronvitch's urban fantasy series is brilliant. I tore through all four books over the course of two weeks and I regret not a single moment.

The first one is called Rivers of London (or Midnight Riot in the US) and is also a great book to read if you have any anglophile tendencies as it paints a very evocative and accurate image of London. Though maybe it was just easier for me to visualise because I lived there and he consistently mentions street names and glances upon the history of the area.

[Robin]

I really enjoyed the Shadowchaser books.

[Lindsay]

I just read The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemison and it was absolutely incredible. Sublime world building, a fantastic cast of characters, and some genuinely exciting sexy times. ^_^

Loved, loved, loved it. I cannot recommend it more highly.

[Robin]

Lindsay wrote: "I just read The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemison and it was absolutely incredible. Sublime world building, a fantastic cast of characters, and some genuinely exciting sexy times. ^_^

Love..."


My SIL just said the very same thing to me two days ago. I've got to move this up on my TBR pile

[Haikufall]

Bear Necessities By Dana Marie Bell or is also a great book.

[Katie]

Not romance, but terrific noir urban fantasy - have you read any Daniel José Older? Salsa Nocturna: Stories is AH-MAZE-ING. His new series should be good - I'm more excited about the second one with 3 POV characters, 2 of them women, than I was about the first one, Half-Resurrection Blues.
And I've heard nothing but praise so far for Shadowshaper, which is next on my to-read list.

[Jocelyn]

Kate Griffin's "Magicals Anonymous" series (starting with ) has an Asian female lead. Not much romance in them, sadly.

Meljean Brook has a lot of POC throughout her novels, especially in the steampunk series. Specifically, Annika in was black, and the titular "Kraken King" was Asian in . I know we read the first book in the series, , at some point. The later books are just as good or better, all have a different couple and strong romantic elements.

[Alicia]

The protagonist in is Asian. And the books are good!

[Kaion]

I second the Craft sequence recommendation for nonwhite characters in a really interesting world. I'm reading Full Fathom Five right now, which takes place in an alt-fantasy-Hawaii-esque world and deals with magic capitalism. XD

Zen Cho has a new book out which seems to fight the bill, starring two POCs in Regency England: Sorcerer to the Crown. I haven't read it yet, but enjoyed her short The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo (available online).

[Toastyfrog (Ruth)]

wrote a series starting with that is about King Arthur? I havent read it yet, but i saw the author speak at GenCon and he seems like a cool dude.