Niki’s Book Recommendations! – If You Liked Sword of Shannara…

If you liked: Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

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Then you might like:

a2Title: The Cleric Quintet

Author: R. A. Salvatore

Series: Cleric Quintet 1-5

Genre: Fantasy

I felt the need to include this book in the list because, although it’s not highly adventurous, the overall writing style and character development made me nostalgic of Brooks’ work. Salvatore also happens to be excellent with epic battle scenes and intricate sword-fights, something I think fans of the Brooks’ books will enjoy (also consider reading the Drizzt series).

a4Title: The Name of the Wind

Author: Patrick Rothfuss

Series: Kingkiller Chronicles

Genre: Fantasy

This is the best book that I’ve read in a long time! It has the same overall world-building and general feel to the story that I loved in Shannara, but takes it so much further with everything from character development to plot. I deem this a masterpiece that any fantasy buff should have on their shelf. Read Full Review

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a3Title: Pawn of Prophecy

Author: David Eddings

Series: Belgariad

Genre: Fantasy

Arguably one of the first-movers in the genre, these books have everything you’ve come to expect from classic fantasy: fun characters, high adventure, and good conquering evil. These novels are short, but memorable. Read Full Review

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a5Title: The Misenchanted Sword

Author: Lawrence Watt-Evans

Series: Legends of Ethshar

Genre: Fantasy

This is one of my favorite authors and one that not many have heard of. All of his books are highly entertaining, and I daresay I liked them better than Brooks. Don’t let the cover scare you off – these are great!

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a7Title: Magician: Apprentice

Author: Raymond E. Feist

Series: Riftwar Saga

Genre: Fantasy

This series is a family favorite, and my go-to for customers wanting a good fantasy. While it has the same adventure, I think the character development and overall storyline drew me in a bit more than Brooks’ work. It was also more fast-paced. Read Full Review

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a8Title: Eragon

Author: Christopher Paolini

Series: Eragon

Genre: Teen Fantasy

For a kid’s book, this series actually reminds me the most of the Shannara series. Between the characters, the adventure, and the dark creatures they battle along the way, the similarities are endless – including the fact that they are both lengthy and entertaining.

eheTitle: The Eye of the World

Author: Robert Jordan

Series: Wheel of Time

Genre: Fantasy

I don’t think there are many people who haven’t read the Wheel of Time novels, but in case you haven’t, they follow along the same basic storyline of a young man taken from his home for a grand adventure. It compliments the Shannara series quite well. Read Full Review

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a9Title: Dragons of Autumn Twilight

Authors: Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

Series: Dragonlance

Genre: Fantasy

My final recommend is a series that boasts some of the funnest characters in the entire genre, and is yet another epic fantasy that most people I talk to really liked (including me).
There you have it! Did I miss any? :)

Coming Soon: Alien in the House

koch 5:7Title: Alien in the House

Author: Gini Koch

Series: Katherine “Kitty” Katt #7

Genre: Urban Fantasy / Scifi

Release Date: May 7, 2o13

I’ve nominated this series a couple of times for my Your Pick for Nik! book club, and always feel a tinge of disappointment when it doesn’t get voted for. I’ll admit the whole thing seems really bizarre, and with a first book titled Touched by and Alien, I can see how that would put some people off. It just sounded like a fun read, especially after seeing the reviews. My husband got me really into the Stargate SG-1 series, and when I read that the main character in these books is “like a female Jack O’Neill” I knew I had to read it eventually…

Your Pick for Nik! – March Nominations!

To cast your vote, just leave a comment indicating your chosen titles (up to 3) – and may the best book win!

It’s that time again for us to pick our next book!

Voting starts today (February 18, 2013) and you’ll have all the way until Sunday the 24th to choose your favorites (Remember: YOU CAN VOTE FOR MORE THAN 1).

For those of you new to the book club, Your Pick for Nik! is a monthly feature where I turn over control of my reading list to you!

Here’s how it works: I will nominate titles from my TBR list and YOU will choose which one gets featured. It can be one you’ve already read and want to discuss, one you want to read but wish to see my feedback on first, or – and this is my favorite part – you can read it along with me!

Depicted below are my 10 nominees* for March. Simply vote for your favorite, and let the best book win! At 10:00 am (MST) on Monday the 25th I will announce the winner. Come the end of March, I will post a thorough review of the chosen title – and hopefully find out what you thought of it as well!

March’s Nominations: 

b2Title: The Cloud Roads

Author: Martha Wells

Series: Book of the Raksura

Genre: Fantasy

Overview: Moon has spent his life hiding what he is — a shape-shifter able to transform himself into a winged creature of flight. An orphan with only vague memories of his own kind, Moon tries to fit in among the tribes of his river valley, with mixed success. Just as Moon is once again cast out by his adopted tribe, he discovers a shape-shifter like himself… someone who seems to know exactly what he is, who promises that Moon will be welcomed into his community. What this stranger doesn’t tell Moon is that his presence will tip the balance of power… that his extraordinary lineage is crucial to the colony’s survival… and that his people face extinction at the hands of the dreaded Fell! Now Moon must overcome a lifetime of conditioning in order to save and himself… and his newfound kin.

b1Title: Geist

Author: Philippa Ballantine

Series: Book of the Order #1

Genre: Fantasy

Overview: Sorcha, powerful protector of the Empire against malevolent hauntings, is called to a small settlement. But more is occurring there than “geist” activity. It’s a conspiracy of evil that reaches back to herown Abbey. Even if she survives, what hell would she be returning to?

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b3Title: The Selection

Author: Kiera Cass

Series: Selection #1

Genre: Teen Fiction

Overview: For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn’t want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she’s made for herself—and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

b4Title: The Darkest Minds

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Series: Darkest Minds #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Overview: When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

9780441016945_p0_v1_s260x420Title: Death’s Daughter

Author: Amber Benson

Series: Calliope Reaper Jones #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Overview: Calliope Reaper-Jones so just wanted a normal life: buying designer shoes on sale, dating guys from Craig’s List, web-surfing for organic dim-sum for her boss…

But when her father—who happens to be Death himself—is kidnapped, and the Devil’s Protege embarks on a hostile takeover of the family business, Death, Inc., Callie returns home to assume the CEO mantle— only to discover she must complete three nearly impossible tasks in the realm of the afterlife first.

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Title: Beautiful Creatures

Authors: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Series: Beautiful Creatures #1

Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance

Overview: Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she’s struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

gggTitle: Hounded

Author: Kevin Hearne

Series: Iron Druid Chronicles #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Overview: Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old—when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.

Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.

1111Title: Seraphina

Author: Rachel Hartman

Series: Seraphina #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Overview: Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty’s anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen’s Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

c3Title: Pure

Author: Julianna Baggot

Series: Pure #1

Genre: Fantasy

Overview: We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . .
Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.

a1Title: Alien Taste

Author: Wen Spen

Series: Ukiah Oregon #1

Genre: Scifi/Urban

Overview: Abandoned as a child, Ukiah Oregon was found running with a wolf pack. Now considered one of the greatest trackers in the country, this private investigator puts his nose to the ground to track down missing fugitives. When he crosses paths with a criminal gang called the Pack, Ukiah discovers just how much he has in common with the Pack.

Book Review: Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep

a1Title: Kiss of Frost

Author: Jennifer Estep

Series: Mythos Academy #2

Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: I’m Gwen Frost, a second-year warrior-in-training at Mythos Acad­emy, and I have no idea how I’m going to sur­vive the rest of the semes­ter. One day, I’m get­ting schooled in sword­play by the guy who broke my heart—the drop-dead gor­geous Logan who slays me every time. Then, an invis­i­ble archer in the Library of Antiq­ui­ties decides to use me for tar­get prac­tice. And now, I find out that some­one at the acad­emy is really a Reaper bad guy who wants me dead. I’m afraid if I don’t learn how to live by the sword—with Logan’s help—I just might die by the sword…

The Review:

One of the woes (and perks) of working in a bookstore is that I am constantly discovering new series. Because of this, my reading habits have become incredibly scattered as I struggle to read everything that interests me. I’ve got so many series going at the moment that I don’t usually get back to each author for three to six months, sometimes more (even if I really liked him or her). This system works out great when I’m up to date with the releases, but not so good while working through my ten-year backlog of titles. My point is that it’s a true testament to how much I enjoyed the Mythos series that I’ve read three of them within the last few months.

These books, aside from being fun and light reads, just get me excited to read what happens next. I raved about the first book (Touch of Frost) and have to say I enjoyed this sequel even more. The characters were more rounded and established, the plot was thicker, and the romantic tension increased. Although the story was entirely predictable, I loved every minute despite that.

Overall, I think this is a strong paranormal series from an excellent author. The series is currently planned out for six books, and I look forward to their releases over the next couple of years. Fair warning, these are probably most appropriate for older teens.

Other books you might like:

  • Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast (16+)
  • The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan
  • Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
  • Thrill Ride by Rachel Hawthorne
  • Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead (MA)

by Niki Hawkes

Coming Soon: The Elite

Apr 23Title: The Elite

Author: Kiera Cass

Series: Selection #2

Genre: Teen Fiction

Release Date: April 23, 2013

The first book in this series (The Selection) caught my eye the moment it came in. The storyline is an interesting combination of futuristic ideals found in the Matched trilogy and the classic story of rags to riches… with a twist. I will definitely be reading this series before the year is out.

Niki’s Book Recommendations!

If you liked: Moon Called by Patricia Briggs…

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Then you might also like:

a1Title: Stray

Author: Rachel Vincent

Series: Shifters #1

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Shifters was an incredibly absorbing series that I can still remember vividly years later. The first books is weakest, but the rest of the series boasts great character development, world-building, and overall story. This is my first pick for fans of the Mercy series. (MA: sex and violence)

a2Title: Succubus Blues

Author: Richelle Mead

Series: Succubus #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy / Fiction

One of my favorite authors, the Succubus series will knock your socks off! Fantastic character-driven story that also manages to build an interesting magic system while following a great story-line. I read these back to back – I haven’t done that with a series since grade school! (MA: sex and language)

a4Title: Magic to the Bone

Author: Devon Monk

Series: Ally Beckstrom #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy

This series has a strong concept and magic system, with a touch more grit than the mercy series. (MA: language (I think))

a7Title: Ill Wind

Author: Rachel Caine

Series: Weather Wardens #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy

I picked these up after reading the author’s Morganville Vampire novels, and I have to say, it’s a highly original urban fantasy. For me, it had the same overall feel as the Mercy series.

a3Title: Dead Witch Walking

Author: Kim Harrison

Series: Rachel Morgan #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy

I love Kim Harrison!!! She is quickly creeping up my list of all-time favorite authors. It’s the series as a whole that makes me feel this way, and I wasn’t totally on-board until a few novels in. Now I can’t put them down! The similarities to Mercy here are great characters, great writing, and similar genre. (MA: sex and violence) Read full review

a5Title: Grimspace

Author: Ann Aguirre

Series: Sirantha Jax #1

Genre: Science Fiction

I’m recommending this one because, even though its science fiction, it reads more like an urban fantasy. The characters made me incredibly nostalgic about Mercy, and it was one of the most entertaining series I’ve ever read. The world-building, at least in the first book, is probably its only flaw. (MA: Language/Sex/Violence) Read full review

a6Title: Full Moon Rising

Author: Keri Arthur

Series: Riley Jensen

Genre: Urban Fantasy

For the longest time, this was my favorite urban fantasy. I love the cast of characters, I love the plot, and I love how sexy it is. Definitely for mature audiences only (sex, language, and violence)