After Twilight Saga... and anyone read Sookie Stackhouse series

[Super Glue Mommy]

What books did you love after twilight (and can you please give a brief summary)

I can't find anything to compare... I am going to try the Sookie Stackhouse series next though... anyone have any review on those?

[fullofgrace]

For another YA/Teen series you could try Vampire Academy. There are 3 out currently.

I love the Sookie Stackhouse novels! The first book is what the HBO series True Blood was based on (and they stayed pretty close - they had to add some plotlines for peripheral characters to have it extend for a season). Season 2 is coming out this summer.

For an adult series, I highly recommend the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost. The first book in the series is Halfway to the Grave.

Have you ever been to Good Reads? http://www.goodreads.com You can browse some of the groups there that match the type of book you are looking for and get some suggestions. It's great. Like for the type it sounds like you are looking for, you could try Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Vampire Romance Lovers.

[Super Glue Mommy]

I am o good reads and shelfari. thanks for the rec!!!

[fullofgrace]

I haven't tried Shelfari. Off to peek now. How do you like it?

[Super Glue Mommy]

its much prettier! I use Shelfari for my novels and I use goodreads for parenting - educational type reads.

[Oriole]

I read the first one of the Sookie's series. I liked it, but didn't love it as much.

I loved(!) The Hunger Games by Collins, it was recommended by Meyer, and very well worth it. I couldn't put it down. Nothing else caught my attention to the same degree since then. Still looking.

[holyhelianthus]

I heart Shelfari though for like 5 months I could not log on. Still I love it there! :

I am reading the Sookie series now. It's more grown up than Twilight for sure. Honestly though I am not a fan of Twilight (I read the first 3). Another good YA fiction/fantasy pick is the Gemma Doyle Trilogy.

[journeymom]

I read the first three Sookie Stackhouse books and enjoyed them a lot. Very entertaining and reasonably well written.

[phathui5]

I went to Sookie Stackhouse right after Twilight. I LOVED them.

[CaraboosMama]

I have read all but the last book (#9) of the Sookie Stackhouse series and love them sooooo much more than Twilight!:

[tbone_kneegrabber]

I read the first Sookie Stackhouse book (because we wanted to watch trueblood) I HATED IT, she is overly concerned with HEINOUS clothes, and the sex scenes are so far from hot! BLECK! They also took everything I love about vampires (dark, sexy, brooding etc) away with a vampire who shops at Dillards! sorry I had to get it off my chest!

[crl]

I've read the Twilight books and all the Sookie books. I liked, but not loved, both. The Twilight books are too much teen angst for me and I didn't really bond with any of the characters. The Sookie books are a much quicker and lighter read in my opinion. I watched part of one episode of the TV show and didn't like it at all. I like the books better. If I had to pick Bella or Sookie to go to lunch with, it would be Sookie hands down.

I really enjoyed the Melissa Marr books I've read. They are young adult and deal with fairy (but really dark fairy); there is a romantic element to them.

I also love Patricia Briggs' books, particularly the Mercy Thompson (and companion Alpha Omega) books. They are urban fantasy/paranormal romance I guess. Her other books are probably more science fantasy? Anyway, the Mercy Thompson books have a likeable, strong female lead. I think they are more violent than Twilight (though certainly not more violent than the Sookie books), but there is still definite plot and character development. Mercy is a skinwalker (which is a shapeshifter who turns into a coyote) who was raised partially by werewolves. There are vampires in the books, but they are mostly the bad guys and not nearly as sexy as the werewolves. . . . Her other books are quite enjoyable too in my opinion. I actually (gasp) PAY for her books--even the latest Mercy Thompson book in hardback--rather than wait for them from the library.

I also really like Ilone Andrews books, Magic Bites, Magic Burns, etc. They are closer to science fiction I guess. They are set in a world where magic and tech are in conflict. There are shape shifters (werewolves, werehyenas, etc) and vampires. But the vampires are really, really, really not sexy in this series. Another strong female lead and I like the characters.

I've seen some other similar threads lately so you might search as well to get more ideas.

Catherine

[*Jessica*]

If you have any interest in Celtic legends, I highly enjoyed Juliet Marillier's The Sevenwaters Trilogy. The first book is Daughter of the Forest, followed by Son of the Shadows, and finishing with Child of the Prophecy.

[sebarnes]

I read the Sookie books after Twilight. They were pretty good. It's like Twilight with adult scenes, a backwoods heroine and the 'good' vamps are more like the Volturi than the Cullens. It doesn't have those things, IMO, that drew so many people to Twilight, but they're a fun read.

[raksmama]

Yes I agree!

I finshed Sookie Stackhouse "Dead Until Dark". It is a fun read but does
not have the same magic that drew me into Twilight. If you just finshed the Twilight Saga and want to stay in the world of Vampires, and don't mind a bit more sex and violence, I would still recommend them.

Originally Posted by sebarnes

I read the Sookie books after Twilight. They were pretty good. It's like Twilight with adult scenes, a backwoods heroine and the 'good' vamps are more like the Volturi than the Cullens. It doesn't have those things, IMO, that drew so many people to Twilight, but they're a fun read.

[LaLaLaLa]

I haven't read the books, but just last week DH and I started watching the "True Blood" series based on the Sookie Stackhouse characters. Woo, woo, what a lot of sex and foul language!

Anyway, the story and characters aren't as compelling to me as the "Twilight" universe, but we're still enjoying the show and I'm definitely planning on checking out the books.

[raksmama]

They are definitely not for children, that’s for sure! While reading the Twilight Saga DS(11) would often ask me about what I was reading and I always felt comfortable talking to him about it. Not the case with Sookie Stackhouse.
I have not seen Cold Blood, but I saw the trailer on youtube and I think the books are not as bad as the show

[SparklingGemini]

Not a vampire story but the Gemma Doyle trilogy has the same romantic epic feel to it.

The first one is called a Great and Terrible Beauty. Lovely stories. Truly!

I actually read them before Twilight but the aura is so similar that I typically recommend them to anyone who loved Twilight.

[Aquitane]

I have to second The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. One of my new favorite books. I've read the entire Twilight and Sookie Series. I liked the Hunger Games better than both. (But not as much as Harry Potter.)

FWIW the sequel to Hunger Games is coming out in September, earlier than originally thought. So if you haven't read it, you won't be bummed when you finish and have nothing else in the series to read! (Like I was when I finished it.)

For YA - Tanith Lee had a series of Wolf books called Wolf Tower, Wolf Queen, etc., but they weren't about werewolves or anything. It was a sci-fi/fantasy type book. I liked those too.

I just finished City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. It was pretty decent.

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by sebarnes

I read the Sookie books after Twilight. They were pretty good. It's like Twilight with adult scenes, a backwoods heroine and the 'good' vamps are more like the Volturi than the Cullens. It doesn't have those things, IMO, that drew so many people to Twilight, but they're a fun read.

I agree. and the adult scenes were quite hot.