Ones I've read:Interview with the Vampire (by Anne Rice)
- ★★☆☆☆ (2.5 out of 5) - I found it difficult to read, honestly. I only forced my way through it because everyone and their mother talks about it. The characters themselves were interesting enough, but the writing style was just... ugh. Not my thing.
The Twilight Saga (by Stephenie Meyer)
- ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5) - I'm not a hardcore Twilight fan at all, but I actually quite liked the first book. The rest of the series was a little meh, but still enjoyable enough. I don't care if the vampires in books are monsters or softies; as long as the characters are interesting to me.
The House of Night series (by PC and Kristin Cast)
- ★★★☆☆ (3.5 out of 5) - The amount of teenage slang and giggly "boy talk" in this series
drives me absolutely crazy, but for some reason I still love to read it. Some of the books are much better than the others.
Thirsty (by M Anderson)
- ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5) - I just really liked this book. It was engaging, interesting, and I liked the darker sides of it.
Peeps (by Scott Westerfield)
- ★★★★★ (5 out of 5) - I really liked this book because of its perspective on vampires. I like books that don't use all of the same typical "rules" for vampires. The characters and writing style were great.
The Blue Bloods series (by Melissa de la Cruz)
- ★★★☆☆ (3 out of 5) - I keep falling in and out of this series. I enjoy it when I read it, but it's been very easily forgettable for me. I completely lose track of what's going on, and end up having to re-read the books again each time a new one comes out.
Companions of the Night (by Vivian Vande Velde)
- ★★☆☆☆ (2.5 out of 5) - Was okay. Nothing particularly bad nor great about it. Just an average vampire book.
The Anti-Vampire Tale (by Lewis Aleman)
- ☆☆☆☆☆ (0 out of 5) - This was a really terrible book. I hated pretty much everything about it.
Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side (by Beth Fantaskey)
- ★★★☆☆ (3 out of 5) - A light and easy read. I liked most of the characters.
Thirst (by Christopher Pike)
- ★★★☆☆ (3 out of 5) - I've only gotten through Thirst No. 1 of the four books, but it was okay. It was a little slow in some parts, but I like the main character. I'm going to continue reading the rest when I get a chance.
Sweetblood (by Pete Hautman)
- ★★★☆☆ (3 out of 5) - Like Peeps, I appreciate this one for its fresh perspective on vampires. The story isn't as well executed as the one in Peeps though.
Ones I currently have but still need to read:My Blood Approves (by Amanda Hocking)
The Sookie Stackhouse series (by Charlaine Harris)
Vampire Academy series (by Richelle Mead)
There's also a few in this thread that I am interested in getting at some point. It's just hard to keep up with too many series at once.
Based on my history of books I end up liking, these are the general guidelines of what I am likely to enjoy:
- Female protagonist (preferably one with "strong" character, rather than a damsel in distress)
- Unique vampire theories
- Humor
- Dark themes (violence, vengence, uncontrollable urges to kill/maim)
And things I tend to dislike:
- Stories that stay strict to traditional vampire "rules"
- Boy drama (as in, "OMG these two totally hot guys are drooling over me, MY LIFE IS SO DIFFICULT OMG." or "LOOK AT THOSE 16-PACK ABS AND GLITTERING WHITE TEETH *swoon*")... Ugh.
- The main character being just plain stupid and dramatic for no reason.
But these are obviously not "set in stone" rules. I can put up with minor annoyances. And sometimes those things that are normally annoyances are actually helpful to the story. So whatever.
Topic: Vampire Books (Read 5561 times)