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? :)

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.

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)

Coming Soon: Blackshore

apr 9 hTitle: Blackshore

Author: Tracy & Laura Hickman

Series: Tales of the Dragon’s Bard #2

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: April 9, 2013

As a big fan of anything Tracy Hickman produced with Margaret Weis, I am forced to admit I haven’t read anything he’s done independently or with his wife, Laura. This is double ultimate shame for me because he lives in my hometown. In any case, I really like the concept behind this particular series: a bard earns his freedom from a dragon by promising him a bunch of new stories… he’s just has to go discover them first. Each book is a compilation of the tales the bard discovers in different places: the first place, Eventide, the second, Blackshore.

I Love New Books! (Noteworthy Releases 2/4/2013)

Not a huge release week overall, but definitely a strong week for the teen category. My favorite: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer!
feb 5Title: Scarlet

Author: Marissa Meyer

Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Overview: Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Feb 5Title: Unravel Me

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Series: Shatter Me #2

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Overview: tick tick tick tick tick it’s almost time for war. Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance. She’s finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch. Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible. In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam’s life.

a3Title: The Kiss

Author: James Patterson

Series: Witch and Wizard #4

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Overview: Whit and Wisty Allgood have finally triumphed over the evil that has long overshadowed their world with their defeat of The One Who Is The One. Now they move on to their next mission: becoming members of a governing Council that will return the Overworld to a place of creativity, magic, and freedom from persecution. But it isn’t long before the city is threatened from inside and out. The adults on the Council want to control the use of magic in the city, and a fearsome Wizard King threatens war. As Wisty begins a new relationship with an intense and mysterious boy and the pressures of leading the city bear down on them, Whit and Wisty find themselves growing apart. Will they be able to come together to fight the mounting threats that could return their world to the hands of a tyrant? James Patterson delivers what the fans have been asking for–the story of what happens next–with an epic fourth installment about the heroic teen witch and wizard that have captured our imaginations.

a5Title: Perfect Scoundrels

Author: Ally Carter

Series: Heist Society #3

Genre: Teen Fiction

Overview: Katarina Bishop and W.W. Hale the fifth were born to lead completely different lives: Kat comes from a long, proud line of loveable criminal masterminds, while Hale is the scion of one of the most seemingly perfect dynasties in the world. If their families have one thing in common, it’s that they both know how to stay under the radar while getting—or stealing—whatever they want.

No matter the risk, the Bishops can always be counted on, but in Hale’s family, all bets are off when money is on the line. When Hale unexpectedly inherits his grandmother’s billion dollar corporation, he quickly learns that there’s no place for Kat and their old heists in his new role. But Kat won’t let him go that easily, especially after she gets tipped off that his grandmother’s will might have been altered in an elaborate con to steal the company’s fortune. So instead of being the heir—this time, Hale might be the mark.

Forced to keep a level head as she and her crew fight for one of their own, Kat comes up with an ambitious and far-reaching plan that only the Bishop family would dare attempt. To pull it off, Kat is prepared to do the impossible, but first, she has to decide if she’s willing to save her boyfriend’s company if it means losing the boy.

a4Title: A Natural History of Dragons

Author: Marie Brennan

Series: N/A

Genre: Fantasy

Overview: You, dear reader, continue at your own risk. It is not for the faint of heart—no more so than the study of dragons itself. But such study offers rewards beyond compare: to stand in a dragon’s presence, even for the briefest of moments—even at the risk of one’s life—is a delight that, once experienced, can never be forgotten. . . .

All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world’s preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day.

Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever.

a6Title: Dead Space: Salvage

Author: Christopher Shy & Antony Johnston

Series: Deep Space Saga

Genre: Graphic Novels

Overview: Anticipating the release of Dead Space 3, we collect Dead Space: Salvage #1-6 in a stunning graphic novel, including never-seen before materials!When a group of freelance miners find the abandoned USG Ishimura in deep space, their once-fortunate luck turns into a catastrophe. With the Earth Government racing to reclaim the ship and an army of Necromorphs wreaking havoc on board, do the miners have any hope of surviving?

*Photos and Overviews taken from bn.com

Coming Soon: Blood of Dragons

Apr 9.Title: Blood of Dragons

Author: Robin Hobb

Series: Rain Wilds Chronicles #4

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: April 9, 2013

I have to say this is one of the few books I’ll probably drop everything to read as soon as it comes out. As I’ve said before in my review of  Assassin’s Apprentice, Robin Hobb is my favorite go-to author when I need a guaranteed good read! The ending of one of her books is partially what inspired me to start this book blog, and I simply can’t praise her works enough! Her writing is effortless and beautiful, her characters are real and compelling, and her story-lines are totally fulfilling. If you like fantasy and haven’t read her yet, you are sorely missing out!