Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The Books I Recommend to Friends



Top Ten Tuesday is a meme sponsored each week by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week I'm listing the ten books I recommend the most. I've sorted them by genre. I had difficulty keeping this to just ten books! I love so many different books and authors and want to share the love!

In a series with an ongoing story arc in which we slowly find out more about the characters as they grow and change I usually recommend the first book and that they be read in order. Other books in a series are more standalone and it doesn't matter as much the order they are read.

Urban Fantasy 

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs is the first book in the Mercy Thompson series. Mercy is an auto mechanic who can change into a coyote because of her Native American heritage. She grew up with werewolves and in Spokane where the stories usually takes place there are a variety of other supernatural beings. There is adventure, mystery and wonderful characters. The characters grow and change during the course of the books--sometimes in surprising ways.

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews is also the first book in a series--the Kate Daniels series. The books are set in an Atlanta where magic is leaking back into the world and defeating the technological world (causing skyscrapers to tumble down, plants to take over in places and other strange events). Again lots of adventure, mystery, romance and great characters.

Science Fiction

Agent of Change by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller is a space opera written in the Liad Universe created by the authors. All the Liad Universe books are full of adventure, romance, characters you care about and are just fun books to read. This is the one I recommend my friends start with though the books are not a linear series about the same characters. However, there are a few books with the same characters. The authors give several suggestions about reading order!

Archangel by Sharon Shinn is part of the Samaria series. This book and this series by Sharon Shinn are ones I recommend over and over to friends. Sharon Shinn is one of my favorite authors. This is my favorite of her series. This book is also her best selling book. The series features angels who sing to change the weather on their planet. The worldbuilding is incredible, characters aren't infallible and don't always act for the greater good, different characters see the events and settings differently and events aren't always what they seem. This is also a series set on the same world, but with different main characters over a great many years. A great series.

Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon is the first book in the Vatta's War series. Ky Vatta is expelled from Spaceforce Academy after making a mistake. Her family is a powerful trading family and give her a wreak of a spaceship and a remote trading route, but Ky finds adventure anyway! This is a great series. I like military science fiction and Elizabeth Moon has several good series.




 

Mysteries

In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming is the first book of the Claire Fergusson/ Russ Van Alstyne series. These are very good mysteries, but it's also the relationship between the two main characters which grows and changes throughout these books that I look forward to in each book. The characters act in very human ways. Sometimes they are difficult books to read because the characters are human and not infallible.

Skinwalkers by Tony Hillerman features both Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee of the Navaho Tribal Police. I'm fascinated by the way they each look at their Navajo heritage and interact with their world. Some of Tony Hillerman's books feature Leaphorn and some Chee and some both. The characters age and things change for better or worse in their personal lives through the years. I've recommended Tony Hillerman's books to many people. He evokes the Southwest setting and the Navaho so well.

Mandarin Plaid by S. J. Rozan is part of a mystery series which features Lydia Chin and Bill Smith who are private detectives. The books generally take place in New York City and every other book is written from either Lydia's or Bill's point of view . Also the mysteries feature either the Chinatown Chinese American community or the Caucasian world. Very good mysteries, great settings and complex characters.


Historical Mystery

And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander is the first book in the Lady Emily series. The mystery, the setting, the characters all create an atmosphere which makes this a book and series many people will enjoy.






 
Contemporary Romance


Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie is a great book to offer to people who don't think they like to read romances. Jennifer Crusie always creates such fun romances with quirky characters. Her books make me happy. I love so many of her books, but this is the one I come back to again and again and recommend. This is a book I re-read every couple years.

What about you? Do you recommend books? Which ones and why?




10 comments:

  1. I actually haven't read any of these books, but I definitely think I'd want to read some of them. Moon Called and Magic Bites both sounds very good!
    Thanks for stopping by my blog :)

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  2. They are both very good books and series. Let me know what you think of them if you do read them!

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  3. I havent read any of these but they all sound wonderful!

    Teresa @ Readers Live A Thousand Lives

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    1. I hope you try some and enjoy them. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

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  4. I haven't read any of these! I know my mum is a fan of Ilona Andrews so will have to raid her bookshelf at some point :)

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    1. The Ilona Andrews books are good especially if you like urban fantasy!

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  5. Great picks, I love the Mercy Thompson series, I recently began recommending Amanda Stevens Graveyard Queen series

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    1. I haven't read any of Amanda Stevens' books. Thanks for the recommendation!

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  6. So it looks like we are in the same boat. You haven't read any of the books of our TTT but I haven't read any on yours! Looks like we both have some reading to do! I think i'll start with Welcome to Temptation :)

    Thanks for visiting!
    Nicole @ The Quiet Concert

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  7. I haven't read any of them yet but they look really good. Thank you for the recommendations!
    And thanks for dropping by my TTT

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