Book Buying Help

[Melissa]

There are several authors that I am interested in that I'm not able to get from my library so I am going to have to buy a few to try them. I'm hoping for some help from all of you as to which author's are worth spending money on. The authors that I have been wondering about are:

Kelley Armstrong - Women of the Otherworld Series

Christine Warren

Jeanne C. Stein - Anna Strong Chronicles

Carrie Vaughn - Kitty Norville series

Jackie Kessler - Hell On Earth series

Jennifer Rardin - Jaz Parks series

L.A. Banks - Vampire Huntress Legends

Laura Anne Gilman - Retrievers series

Lori Handeland - Nightcreature series

Jenna Black - Guardians of the Night series

Lilith Saintcrow - The Watcher Series

Any opinions on these books would be greatly appreciated. I see so many mixed reviews, but none with many comments that help me decide whether to try it or not. I'm hoping for some more specific info.

Thanks so much!

[Nicole]

Be sure to check with your library if they offer ILL (Inter-Library Loans). In some libraries, they will borrow the books from other owning libraries for you for FREE. In some libraries, they have a small charge (like shipping). This may be a cheaper option :)

[Anita]

My best advice to you is to start using www.paperbackswap.com. They have over 800 paranormal romance titles posted for trade. You can post any book you have laying around that you don't want anymore as long as it's in good shape.

Kelley Armstrong - Women of the Otherworld Series
Read the on-line fiction on her website first to get a feal for this series. Warning, though: this is a very suspense-filled series. I find heavy suspense uncomfortable, so I gave up on the second book, but it is well written and an interesting world.

Carrie Vaughn - Kitty Norville series
I enjoy this series very much. It's a nicely balenced storyline - light and fun sometimes, deadly serious other times.

L.A. Banks - Vampire Huntress Legends
I seriously can not stand this series. It tends towards the dark and tragic, and I just can't accept the "band by day, warrior by night" assumption.

Lori Handeland - Nightcreature series
Again, a bit on the dark side for me. Interesting stories, but not straight-up romance. I liked a short story in this series, but stopped at page 32 of the first book, fed up with several bloody scenes/violence in the first couple chapters. Personally, I don't like excessive violence in romance novels.

[Melissa]

Nicole - I do use the inter library loan system often, unfortunately these are authors that I either cannot get at all or I can't get the first book in the series. Seems most libraries around here aren't big on the paranormal.

Anita - I used paperbackswap awhile back, but it didn't work out so well. It was great in the beginning, but then nobody wanted the stuff I wanted to get rid of and I didn't have anything else to post so I was in a holding pattern there.

Thanks for the info on the L.A. Banks series because I've been thinking of that one for a long time and I'm glad I've held off.

Keep the advice coming!

[Amie]

I have to second the vote for Carrie Vaughn. I've only read the first two books but thought they were great! A word of warning (if this matters to you)...there are sorta romances in the story but they AREN'T romances.

[Gina]

When it comes to recommending novels, not everyone has the same tastes. We all like different stuff. As for the inter-library thing, I don't know how that works - I don't go to the library, I buy my books. Lately, I'm finding more and more authors put excerpts of their books on their websites, which gives you a feel for their writing. I usually check out reviews on Goodreads, Shelfari and Amazon. With Amazon, it'll give you a small grid of how many reviews and ratings, and you can get a feel for how many liked them. Second-hand stores will surprise you with what they have in stock, and I've been doing quite of bit of buying on eBay lately. Never know what you'll find for a good price.

[Karen]

I love and would recommend Kelley Armstrong, Carrie Vaughn and Lilith Saintcrow. I cruise through books so quickly and read so much that I usually don't have "loved this book in the series, hated that one" preferences.
I would add Keri Arthur to the list. Her fifth, The Darkest Kiss, just came out in paperback and I'm about halfway through it. I really enjoy he stuff.
Sorry, I don't know anything about the rest of your list.

[Aelin]

My husband and I used BooksFree for awhile. (Our local library and the system it's connected to don't like to carry anything but literary fiction and books ages out of date.) It's like Netflix for books.

It didn't work out so well for us because we suck at sending the books back, but it might an option worth looking into. It's certainly cheaper than buying all new books. :P

[Nicole]

That's so sad about your library not having much on the paranormal. We can't keep it on our shelves - its so popular!

[Rowena]

Melissa,

Have you tried going to their websites and reading a free sample chapter or two?

On the other hand, if you have a Barnes and Noble near you, a lot of readers treat it as a library, and go in and simply read whatever they want, in a comfy loveseat, or even over a latte, or at least read as much as they need to in order to make a decision whether or not to buy.

True! You can do that without embarrassment, and no one will bother you from what I've seen.

:-)

Rowena Cherry

[Jael ~ *~ Syhren ~* ~]

Wow I really need to get to a Barnes and Nobles so how often can you go in and read books?

[Jessie]

I work at a Borders and people do it there too. We have kids who come in and sit on the floor in the Manga isle and just read read read away. There are other people who sit in some of the big comfy chairs and in the cafe and read for hours too. The kids in the isle bugs me, but the others don't. The only thing that bugs me is that peple will take stacks of books and magazines then just leave them in a pile on the floor...

[Jennifer]

Our library system is happy to order any books they don't already have, I just get the URL. They just ordered for me the new Gina Showalter The Darkest Night (about Pandora's Box) and an audio book of one of my favorites of all time The Dark Highlander by Karen Marie Moning.

[K]

I read all the magazines in the Borders coffee shop.

[[deleted user]]

Most of the books you've listed are Urban Fantasy, not Paranormal Romance. Have you tried asking the Urban Fantasy group for advice?

If you like Urban Fantasy I just finished Magic Burns and Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews and they were bloody brilliant. I highly recommend them.

Paranormal Romance - usually in 3rd person, main plot is love story and hero and heroine get a Happily Ever After. Each book in the series typically gets a new hero-heroine pair.

Urban Fantasy - usually in 1st person, tends toward horror, not love, and there may be a happy-for-now at the end but rarely a happily-ever-after as the protagonist is usually the same through the series.