Top 5 Wednesday - Series Titles

 

Welcome to the first Top 5 Wednesday for December!  So the countdown to Christmas is on and with only 3 more T5W to go until the jolly fat man comes it's time to get down to the nitty gritty and get on with this weeks list... what are my Top 5 Series Titles?

I had to think long and hard about this, but eventually I just ended up grabbing books from my shelves.  Thankfully it didn't take too long before I had a couple of interesting titles - and as luck would have it, my postie dropped off another parcel yesterday that contained the first book in a series with a great name ;-D.  So, without further ado, I give you my Top 5 Series Titles...

 

 The Iron Druid Chronicles

Although this is a fabulous name, I had to put it in at numero 5 as I've only read Hounded from the library.  I've been meaning to add this series to my bookshelves, but I just keep getting sidetracked.  The series is about an immortal Druid who is hiding from certain Gods in America.  It's great.  Lots of action, a bit of mystery, and funny as can be.  My favourite character would have to be Oberon.

Recommended for those who love urban fantasy, magic, or mythology.

 

 An Aurora Teagarden Mystery

With a name like Aurora Teagarden, the main character could never go through life unnoticed ;-D  This is a great cosy mystery series that revolves around our main protagonist, Aurora, who is a librarian in a small country town in Southern America.  Full of mystery, and a few murders, this series will keep you guessing until the last page.

I absolutely adore this short series - 8 books - by Charlaine Harris.  Recommended for anyone who works in the library industry, loves cosy mysteries, or just enjoys a great fast paced who-dunnit ;-D

 

 The Black Dagger Brotherhood

A great adult vampire series.  Ward has a different take on the whole vampire genre and I very much enjoyed reading about the original members of the Brotherhood (books 1-6).  There are 9, or 10,  books in the series now, and it doesn't seem as if Ward will stop any time soon.  

Would recommend to those who love Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series.

 

 The Parasol Protectorate

Series actually listed under 'An Alexia Tarabotti Novel', but to anyone who's read these books it's a Parasol Protectorate book ;-D  Fabulous characters, intriguing mysteries and all the Victorian era Steampunk you could want.  Highly recommend to anyone who wants to get into Steampunk, or just likes vampires and werewolves.

 

 The Gentlemen Bastard Sequence

Just got this book in the mail yesterday, so it's on my TBR pile, but I just love the title of this series. From the reviews I've seen on YouTube this should be an amazing read.  Hopefully I'll be able to get to it before Christmas ;-D

So Christmas is now one T5W closer ;-D.   Thank you for dropping by, and I hope you found something new to read, and if you want to find out more about this series, it was created by the lovely Lainey at GINGERREADSLAINEY and I'll include a link to the Goodreads group {here} if you would also like to participate.

If you have any questions or comments, then please feel free to leave them down below.

Until next time,

 

Hounded

Hounded
The Iron Druid Chronicles Book 1
Kevin Hearne

Back cover...

Atticus O'Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona running an occult bookshop and shapeshifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound.  His neighbours and customers think this handsome, tattooed Irishman is about twenty-one years old when, actually, it's twenty-one centuries.  Atticus 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 the sword, and he's been after Atticus for centuries.  Now the determined deity has trackef him down and Atticus will need all his powers -  plus a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of lawyers, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good, old fashioned Irishluck - to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.

Its a few days since I finished reading Hounded.  I wanted to give myself time to soak it in.  Now, as I start to write my review I'm reminded of how much I loved this book.  I just want to get my hands on the next book, but unfortunately my local library doesn't hold any of them.  So it's off to my family's place to raid the library over there.

As I have said in earlier blogs, I usually don't enjoy books written by men.  Don't ask me why, I don't really know?  But Atticus was so much fun.  He's a hip old Druid who has managed to make a living doing what comes naturally.  His lawyers are supernaturals (werewolf and vampire respectively), he's being harassed by a local coven, some faerie dudes tried to kill him, a Celtic God wants his sword, and his best bud is a throwback Irish Wolfhound who has a thing for poodles.  What more could a girl ask for?... I had a ball!

Hearne's world building is a joy.  I lost myself completely in the pages.  Our hero has to deal with all manner of difficulties, and he does it with grace and style.  And while the popping in and out of Celtic/Norse and other Gods and Goddess' could have been a stumbling block, it just seemed totally natural - like every guy has a hot Norse Goddess popping in for a bit of nookie.  It was so well written that I didn't even balk, I just took that as an everyday occurrence and kept on reading.  

For those of you concerned with graphic sexual content, rest easy.  While there is a bit of horizontal mambo, it's not graphic {nothing like LKH} so I feel confident in recommending it to all.  There is a little bit of violence at the end, and some characters don't make it in one piece - literally - but there is no real gore or horror to it.

After finishing the book, I tracked down and listened to the audio book sample online - SO GOOD! - and have placed it in my wishlist to order at a later date.  There is just something about Atticus that will keep me coming back for more.

What do you say to an Iron Druid?

Wow!  That's all I can say.  I just plucked this book off the library shelves as I was running out of time and it had a fantasy tag stuck on the spine - and I was running out of time - and I'm so glad I did.

Now, after starting it, I feel bad that it had sat neglected until now because truthfully, I usually don't enjoy male authors.  I know, that sounds really bad, but seriously most of my paranormal/urban fantasy books are written 99.9% by women and I like it that way.  Kevin Hearne however seems to be one of the few that I'll be making an exception for and adding to my bookshelves in the future.

Hounded is such a surprise.  A 2,100 year old Druid who looks and sounds like a 21 year old who happens to converse with Gods and Goddesses on a seemingly daily basis.  Added to that is his throwback Irish Wolfhound who can 'talk' to Atticus (our favourite Druid), a Vampire and Werewolf law firm, mean Sidhe and a much fought after sword and you can just tell it's going to be a wild ride.

So far I'm a little over half way through, but I was so delighted with this book that I just had to let everyone know about it, if you don't already that is - and if you did WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?  Now I'll have to scout the library and hope that books 2 and 3 are available.

I'm seriously considering ordering a signed copy!  Try it, if you like Jim Butcher, Kylie Chan, or Sherrilyn Kenyon's style, then I'm sure you'll enjoy the Iron Druid.

P.S - Hounded review still to come.