Adult supernatural fiction books: Five mini reviews. Five Star ratings.
“The best women are the hardest to deal with because they know their own worth.”
If you made it here, then you must be ready to dive into your next literary escape hatch.
We all know getting a new book started (and finished) is the real battle.
We have responsibilities.. lives, kids, jobs.
Where does that leave time to read?
You sneak the moments in when you can and live a secret life between the pages separate from the chaos and responsibilities of reality.
So.. if you love a heroine who is not only ready—but willing—to kick some butt?
Look no further than these tough and intelligent women in fiction.
Warning! Adult content, crude language, sexual situations, violence, and all manner of sordid behavior is likely to follow.
(Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, purchases made through my links may earn me a small commission, at no cost to you.)
Touch the Dark by Karen Chance
Publication date: June 2006
Pages: 324
Genre: Fantasy fiction, Urban fantasy, Paranormal romance
Series: Book 1 of 10: Cassandra Palmer Series
“Let me get this straight. First you decide I’m a demon because of a power I didn’t ask for and don’t even understand. Then when that falls through you label me a fallen sybil and a ho. Am I missing something or do you just not like me?”
Smart mouthed and in over her head.
Nothing like your entire world exploding in a fit of chaos to really get things going. In this gripping and fast paced supernatural comedy, the author takes you on the ride of your life as Cassie finds out she might just be more important than she thought. The vampires sure think so, the witches might, and the bad guys out for her head. Now she has some fancy new powers and a crapton of trouble on her heels as she races against the clock to stop a dark plot to control time itself. If gods and monsters think they’re going to stop this snarky, kick butt heroine.. They won’t know what hit them.
Five Stars
Liked: I loved this entire series. Cassie is hilarious. The writing really grabs your attention and the characters are so fantastically fleshed out characters and likable. And the situations they get into had me laughing so hard that it had my husband shaking my head.
Disliked: Honestly? The story was so engrossing for me that the little things I didn’t like were easily overlooked.
Witches, vampires, and accidental time travel.. Oh, my! This one has a little bit of everything and is a personal favorite.
Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara
Publication date: June 2016
Pages: 383
Genre: Fantasy fiction, High fantasy, Urban fantasy
Series: Book 1 of 16: The Chronicles of Elantra
No one appreciates what they have? Not in my experience, no. They must learn to fully understand what other people have—or have not had—first. Gratitude is a lesson we learn as we mature.
One bad choice.. it could have cost her everything but they gave her a second chance to be something.
She swore she would never go back to Nightshade, where she grew up, where nightmares hunt the streets. She lives on the other side of the river now.. Where it’s safe. Under the rule of a dragon emperor, Kaylin keeps her head down and keeps the peace. She doesn’t understand what the strange marks on her arms do, besides allow her to heal but, she knows it’s just going to bite her on the rear one day. Soon bodies are appearing with marks just like hers and now she’ll have to go back to where it all began, back to Nightshade. Something evil is waking and she may be the only one that can stop it.
Five Stars
Liked: The character’s growth is apparent throughout this series and I love seeing that. Wonderfully dark elements of the storyline are so riveting you won’t be able to put it down. The side characters and relationships with our protagonist are beautifully done. Excellent attention to detail makes Kaylin’s world come to life around you.
Disliked: Kaylin’s character starts off a little rough around the edges but, and I’m happy to say, I can’t really think of much I didn’t like about this book.
It’s the incredible uniqueness of the story, and her characters, that really makes this book stand out. You won’t find anything like it.
Publication date: March 2013
Pages: 514
Genre: Fantasy fiction, Dark fantasy horror, Urban fantasy
Series: Book 1 of 5: A Novel of the Others
People who entered the Courtyard without an invitation were just plain crazy! Wolves were big and scary and so fluffy, how could anyone resist hugging one just to feel all that fur?
“Ignore the fluffy,” she muttered. “Remember the part about big and scary.”
Here there be monsters.
The ‘terra indigene’ are the caretakers, they stand between the humans and nature’s real predators.
This wonderfully creative new take on a world ruled by supernatural creatures will suck you in and remind you that sometimes we may not be the scariest thing out there.
They’ll never stop looking for her. Meg’s a blood prophet and, for a price, she’ll tell you the future. She escaped but now she’s on the run hiding from the terrible people who sold her skin for prophecies. Whether by fate or sheer luck, she stumbles into ‘the others’ territory, where she begins a journey of self discovery and acceptance in the unlikeliest of places. Will she be able to protect her new friends and save herself in time? Or will the humans finally push ‘the others’ too far?
Five Stars
Liked: Everything. I loved everything about this story. The writing, the characters, the settings—the author did an incredible job here. There are a multitude of diverse and fascinating characters set in a remarkably distinctive world of myths and monsters. What the author has accomplished here is a stunning representation of her writing ability.
Disliked: At first, Meg’s character comes off as exceedingly young, clumsy, and unsure. She really doesn’t know what’s going on or what she’s doing. But soon this is all explained and you can’t help but follow her progress.
Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
Publication date: August 2009
Pages: 346
Genre: Fantasy fiction, Mystery, Contemporary fantasy, Paranormal fiction
Series: Book 1 of 15: October Daye
My name is October Christine Daye; I live in a city by the sea where the fog paints the early morning, parking is more precious than gold, and Kelpies wait for the unwary on street corners. Neither of the worlds I live in is quite mine, but no one can take them away from me.
She screwed up and lost everything because of it.
For years Toby has lived trapped in another form, unable to remember her own name. Time has finally worn the spell down and it’s just enough for her to break free.. too bad the world didn’t wait while she was gone. Now years have passed and her husband has remarried, her baby daughter is a grown woman, and the drama she left behind is catching up fast. She used
to be a hero, the only half fae changeling who was.. Now she’ll have to pick up her sword again because the immortal Fae are dying and she needs to find out why before she’s next.
Five Stars
Liked: A brilliant job was done with this series. The author weaves such a vividly compelling cast of fascinating characters, with a world of danger and magic hidden beneath a layer of fae glamour. The action, our protagonist’s strong personality and gift for finding trouble? All these things and more make this one of my personal favorites.
Disliked: This may come as a shock but.. Nothing. I don’t have any complaints about this book that the author didn’t clear up on her own.
Impressive, right?
Murder, action, and fae drama combine in this unique and addictive series.
Publication date: January 2014
Pages: 259
Genre: Fantasy fiction, Urban fantasy, Contemporary fantasy, Paranormal fantasy
Series: Book 1 of 12: Blood Destiny
“I have no idea what I’m doing,” I told him. “I’ve had to make this up as I go along. It’s isn’t like somebody handed me a manual, or anything.”
Care to make a wager?
Two vampires walk into a bar.. She wishes the joke hadn’t been on her.
Lissa almost never drinks but tonight is the exception, grief stricken after the loss of her husband, she becomes the butt of a cruel game between monsters. After she wakes to the realization that she’s been kidnapped, things go from bad to worse. Now she’s a vampire on the run and hiding from the ones who turned her. With her newfound gifts in mind, she sets herself up as a bodyguard for some very rich, very strange people.
Five Stars
Liked: Lissa, the lead protagonist. She’s a tough, resilient, intelligent woman and that really creates more enjoyable interactions between the characters. The people, settings, and situations were all very well written.
Disliked: It does start off kind of slow. I didn’t care for the vampire council(they’re douchebags but.. I see why the author chose to do it that way) and Gavin, the assassin, he’s just unlikable.
All of these books are series and, while I know a lot of readers prefer standalones, I hope these will get some of the attention they deserve.
When you love a book.. You want everyone else to love it too!
What is one of your favorite book series?
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