The very first "Paranormal Romance" I ever read was Sherrilyn Kenyon's Fantasy Lover...back when it was a brand new release in 2002. It was so completely different than anything I had ever read before (my Mom's Sandra Brown books I used to sneak off to my room with, hehe) and I was instantly hooked to the genre. So I went searching for more stories to read, and all I could really find at the time (using my high school's computer) were dark and broody books by authors like Anne Rice. About a year later I came across a book by the name of "A Girl's Guide to Vampires" by Katie MacAlister. After reading it, I finally realized my niche. I LOVE HUMOROUS PARANORMAL ROMANCES!! It made me realize that the element of humor is what was really important to me. Why do I love my husband so much? His wonderful sense of humor. Why do I refuse to watch his "Gangsta Flix" (he's obsessed with all gangster/gang related movies, shows, documentaries)? No element of humor in them. Why do I love my job as an office manager of Gymnastics Academy? Because my coworkers are the funniest group of women I've ever met! Why is the lovely Kristin Williams the greatest bestie of all time? Because my stomach hurts from laughing so hard after our EVERY conversation. OBVIOUSLY humor makes my world go round. Its why when I start reading a book, if I haven't at least snickered to myself by the 100th page, I give up on it. While reading Katie MacAlister books, you will have tears streaming down your cheeks from laughing so hard!!! I'm scared that I will get on a tangent about this series and reveal to much, so here is just a little snippet from Katie's website:
"Dark One n. (Origin: Czech, also known as vampires) A Moravian Dark One is doomed to spend his lifetime cruising the singles' scene in search of the one woman who can redeem his soul. You think dating is hard? Try it when you're nine hundred years old and you've used every pick up line in the book. Forming a lasting relationship is even more difficult when the woman who makes your heart sing sees dead people and likes to play with demons."
What I like about these books is there's no doubt. When a Dark One finds his mate, there is no question its her. There is ONE woman in ALL of his centuries of life that will restore his soul, and the signs that his soul have been restored are hilarious. Oh, one last thing...their soulmates are called "Beloveds". Let me finish up by saying: I love this series so much that I got a tattoo on my foot as a dedication to its awesomeness. I got Jason's Beloved because there's no doubt in my mind that we were put on this earth for each other so I thought it very fitting :-) I'll post a picture for you guys to see!
Here the reading order for the Dark Ones series (taken from KatieMacAlister.com):
A GIRL’S GUIDE TO VAMPIRES
Dark Ones, Book 1
Originally published 2003; reissued Jan. 2011
Hero and Heroine: Raphael St. John and Joy Randall
Secondary Character: Christan Dante
Comments: Christian! Christian! Christian! I wrote him just for myself, but decided I would share with everyone. First mention of GothFaire and Miranda Ghetti, Francesca’s mother.
SEX AND THE SINGLE VAMPIRE
Dark Ones, Book 2
Originally published 2004; reissued April 2011
Hero and Heroine: Christian Dante and Allegra Telford
Secondary Characters: Noelle the Guardian, Asmodeus the demon lord, Sebastian Mercier
Comments: The first introduction of a Guardian and demons. Joy, Raphael, and Roxy from Girl’s Guide also appear in this book.
SEX, LIES AND VAMPIRES
Dark Ones, Book 3
Originally published 2005; reissue Sept. 2011
Hero and Heroine: Adrian Tomas and Nell Harris
Secondary Characters: Sebastian Mercier, Asmodeus
Comments: Christian and Allie appear in this book. Also included are the first references to polters.
EVEN VAMPIRES GET THE BLUES
Dark Ones, Book 4
Signet (May 2, 2006)
Hero and Heroine: Paen Scott and Samantha Cosse
Secondary Characters: Finn, Avery, and Daniel Scott; Noelle the Guardian
Comments: The first book where you get to “see” a polter. Avery later found his Beloved in the Unleashed novella in Cupid Cats.
BRING OUT YOUR DEAD novella in JUST ONE SIP anthology
Dark Ones, part of the series
Love Spell (Oct 3, 2006)
Hero and Heroine: Sebastian Mercier and Ysabelle Raleigh
Secondary Characters: Adrian, Nell, and Damian, as well as Noelle the Guardian, and Asmodeus.
Comments: This short story picked up where Sex, Lies, and Vampires left off, and was intended to satisfy people who wanted to see Sebastian and Noelle together. Noelle refused to cooperate.
THE LAST OF THE RED-HOT VAMPIRES
Dark Ones, Book 5
Signet (April 3, 2007)
Hero and Heroine: Theondre (Theo) North and Portia Harding
Secondary Characters: Christian Dante, Noelle the Guardian
Comments: This was the first Dark Ones book with a hero who wasn’t a vampire at the beginning of the story. Noelle is present in the guise of a test proctor, while Christian is there as the head of the Moravian Council.
CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE short story in MY BIG FAT SUPERNATURAL HONEYMOON anthology
Dark Ones, part of the series
St. Martin (Dec 26, 2007)
Hero and Heroine: Raphael St. John and Joy Randall
Comments: This short story was written to satisfy readers who wanted to know why Raphael was so wigged out by werefolk.
ZEN AND THE ART OF VAMPIRES
Dark Ones, Book 6
Signet (Dec 2, 2008)
Hero and Heroine: Kristoff von Hannelore and Pia Thomason
Secondary Characters: Alec Darwin, Christian Dante, Sebastian Mercier, Ulfur the ghost
Comments: The first part of a two-book story that introduced two new elements into the Dark Ones world: reapers, and the Moravian Council. Christian and Sebastian have cameos.
CROUCHING VAMPIRE, HIDDEN FANG
Dark Ones, Book 7
Signet (May 5, 2009)
Hero and Heroine: Kristoff von Hannelore and Pia Thomason
Secondary Characters: Alec Darwin, Christian Dante, Allegra Telford, Sebastian Mercier
Comments: The second part of Pia’s story, with a look at how Allie and Christian are doing, as well as longer appearances by Kristoff’s brother and cousin. Ulfur the ghost is also present in this story.
UNLEASHED novella in CUPID CATS anthology
Dark Ones, part of the series
Signet (Jul 6, 2010)
Hero and Heroine: Avery Scott and Jacintha Ferreira
Secondary Characters: Paen Scott and Samantha Cosse, as well as Jas’s sister Cora
Comments: This novella sets up the story of how Alec Darwin finds his Beloved despite the fact that she was killed some five centuries before. It’s also the story of one of Paen Scott’s brothers, and the first time I deal with Moravian finding his Beloved (i.e. Avery has his soul before he meets Jas). Trivia: Jacintha owes her nickname “Jas” to my beloved dog, who died a few months before I wrote this story. More trivia: all my proceeds from the sales of this anthology goes to three local animal charities: Purrfect Pals, Old Dog Haven, and Save a Forgotten Equine, in memory of my dog.
IN THE COMPANY OF VAMPIRES
Dark Ones, Book 8
Signet (Nov 2, 2010)
Hero and Heroine: Benedikt Czerny and Francesca Ghetti
Secondary Characters: Miranda Ghetti, Eirik, Finnvid, and Isleif (ghosts), Imogen, Loki
Comments: The long-awaited adult story with Ben and Fran, set five years after Circus of the Darned. Ulfur the ghost (now a lich) is in this story, and makes mention of Pia and Kristoff. Two characters seen for the first time are David and Petra, who will be given their own book.
GOT FANGS? and CIRCUS OF THE DARNED in the CONFESSIONS OF A VAMPIRE’S GIRLFRIEND omnibus
Dark Ones, part of the series
YOUNG ADULT
NAL (Nov 2, 2010)
Hero and Heroine: Benedikt Czerny and Francesca Ghetti
Secondary Characters: Miranda Ghetti, Eirik, Finnvid, and Isleif (ghosts), Imogen, Loki
Comments: First printed in 2003 and 2004, these two books were released as YAs, and brought back the GothFaire introduced in A Girl’s Guide to Vampires.
MUCH ADO ABOUT VAMPIRES
Dark Ones, Book 9
Signet (Oct 3, 2011)
Hero and Heroine: Alec Darwin and Corazon Ferreira
Secondary Characters: Kristoff Hannelore and Pia Thomason, Ulfur the lich, Bael, Sally, and Christian Dante
Comments: Jacintha’s sister Cora’s story, including the uber short story My Heart Will Go On And On, and explaining how Alec could have a Beloved when she was killed 500 years before.
A TALE OF TWO VAMPIRES
Dark Ones, Book 10
Signet (Sept. 4, 2012)
Hero and Heroine: Nikola Czerny and Iolanthe Tennyson
Secondary Characters: Benedikt Czerny, Francesca Ghetti
Comments: This is the story of Ben’s father, who supposedly “died” a few centuries ago. Ben, Fran, and Imogen all feature heavily in the book.
SHADES OF GRAY novella in the UNDEAD IN MY BED anthology
Dark Ones, part of the series
Pocket Star (Sept. 25, 2012)
Hero and Heroine: Grayson Soucek and Noelle the Guardian
Secondary Characters: Michel de Nostradame, ghostly cousin of the infamous Nostradamus
Comments: A novella that finally gives Noelle her Dark One.
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