Krista emailed me about a problem she’s having, and oh, I can so relate:
I have a problem. I recently read Karen Marie-Moning’s Fever series, and
since finishing it, have lost my will to live. The hero (I use this term
loosely) is absolutely my favorite of all time, and I feel like I’ve just
been dumped. I’m not looking for someone to replace him, just something to
numb the pain. A rebound sorta thing, ya know? Someone to show me that there
can be life after Barrons.I have searched the website for a review, thinking surely one has been done
for this series, but I fail to find it if one exists. If you haven’t read
the series, I recommend it highly, despite the after affects it had on me
(for real.) My only advice is to not throw it out the window during the
first few chapters. It gets better.So, if you have read the series, my question is: Do you have any suggestions
on what to pick up next, during this Life After Barrons period of my life?
Oh, book rebound! That feeling you get when you read about a character that so rocked your world, you’re not sure what to read next?
Alas, I haven’t read the Fever series, but I do remember book rebound, that feeling where you’re not sure what to read next, and you’re let down that you’ve finished reading about an amazing character and a story that pretty much embedded your socks in the drywall.
I remember that feeling after finishing The Windflower. I remember clearly thinking to myself, “Well, that’s ruined me for historical romance forever.” And it was awhile before I could pick up another book without measuring it against the complete absorption I experienced with Windflower.
*deep sigh* Sometimes there’s almost a penalty for discovering truly superb romance, you know?
So: got any recommendations for book rebound for Krista? What book or series gave you rebound feelings? And did you find a cure?
I had this same issue when I finished each book in the Fever series as I was reading it. The year long wait between them felt decades long. When I finished Shadowfever, I immediately read it again.
Then, when I still couldn’t stop thinking about it, I switched to catching up on a TV show I’d been meaning to watch. When I went back to reading I completely switched genres. Stayed away from paranormal and urban fantasy. Nothing could have compared and I didn’t want the awesomeness of the Fever series reflecting badly on anything else. I think I did re-reads of favorite contemporaries and tried out some new historicals that were recd’ to me.
Two months later I jumped back into the paranormal genre with J.R. Ward.
stop47 – I’m supposed to stop after 47 re-reads??
oh God I felt like that after Harry potter. I haven’t read the fever series but the highlander series is fantastic. also, kresley cole rocks my paranormal socks
I thought Barrons was the most interesting character in the Fever series, even aside from his hot badness. Thought the way KMM ended the series was totally lame – Barrons bbquing for the family? Seriously? I read Kate Daniels series at about the same time so between Curran and Barrons, I got totally maxed out on alpha males, so it was easy to move on to just about anything else.
I read the Fever series too, and i had- have- the same problem. But reading some other books has helped take the edge off a little. . .
Diana Gabaldon—Outlander
Ilona Andrews—Kate Daniels series
Night huntress novels
Paradise – Judith McnNught ( I love all her novels, and they are more fluffly romance. But this is a contemporary novel and my all time favorite of hers. Some how Mat reminds me of Barrons. He’s intensly focused, brilliant, is in love with the heroine, AND he’s amazingly wise and teaches Meredith a lot. Some how that teacher-protege relationship reminded me of Barrons and Mac.)
Also, Karen Marie Moning posted on her blog site a few recommendations of books that she loves. The two i read were:
Connie Brockway – As you Desire (set in Egypt (some how i think Moning really has a love for the desert!) ) The confession of love here is epic. One of the best i’ve ever read.
Dreaming of you -Lisa Kleypas
I can totally relate. I miss the series so much, I played around with the idea of re-reading the highlander series over again but decided to back off for a while. I second trying out the Anne Bishop books, her world is so amazing and her male lead will also carve a place in your heart. Ahh Daemon Sadi I miss you and I just listened to all her books in the past 2 weeks. The narrator is amazing!!
Also I burried myself in Bones!! Gotta love Jeaniene Frost!!
Downside Ghosts! Downside Ghosts! Stacia Kane’s series is amazing and completely unique. Her villains actually scare l’il old me and I’m a pretty tough cookie. Plus, I am way more in love with Terrible than Barrons (although I do quite like him AND I still think he’s too good for Mac).
@eggs: Do you mean you can only find the first three Kate Daniels books in brick-and-mortar stores like Dymocks? I’m in Australia too and I’ve bought all five of the books published so far from the Book Depository. My library also has all five books.
@becca: I’ve read two of KMM’s Highlander books though I can’t remember their titles. The first one I read was the one where a fairy gets turned into a human man. It was a while ago, and I remember it being okay but forgettable. The second one I read was the first in the Highlander series and I found it incredibly irritating all the way through. I did enjoy the Fever series, but mostly because it has Barrons in it. They are pretty consistent, so if you read Darkfever and can’t stand it, you won’t like the others either.
Delurking because i too, feel the rebound problem. I’m a serial novel reader, so I am always looking for the next great thing. As it is, i still haven’t stopped listening to the soundtracks, so perhaps I won’t get over the books fully.
My current rebound is from the Alexander and Tatiana series by Paullina Simon. MY GOD. There is not a heart string left and I have one book to go. I had to order myself a break before i lost it after the suspense of book two. Hubby would come home and see me reading in tears and I could not properly explain the complete heart-wrenching, soul-crushing anguish and joy of love I was feeling. In fact, I may have to go on beta blockers to finish the last book,
I agree with the above posters on the outlander series (so long! So technical!) or, why not the new Maya banks highlander trio? Sexy scots in sexy scenes in sexy medieval times. Jr ward is another good bet, or maybe even the Acheron series (20 book or something close to it). Each one is a different character, but builds on the world a bit more. Short books for easy reading.
I am likely to be rooooned from all the fabulous recommendations here.
Capcha: cent72 if only, if only….
Hmm.. having Dain with drawl at the moment. Coping with it by reading bits and pieces from Lord of Scoundrels.. just sooo hard to let go :0(
I have not read the Fever series. It has been on my TBR pile for a long time now, but things keep jumping ahead of it…perhaps I should adjust the list!
Anyway, for something within the Paranormal Romance genre, I have really enjoyed the Alpha and Omega series by Patricia Briggs so far. I have never been interested in reading her Mercy Thompson books, but I definitely like the characters in Alpha and Omega—which starts out as a short story in an anthology – On the Prowl (I did not find this out until I tried reading the first book and thought they had left out pages or something, because it started in the middle of a story-in-progress). The hero, Charles, is wonderful in this book, as he is very in control and take charge, and is the “enforcer” for the North American packs—he inspires fear in the other wolves…but he is very sensitive and patient with Anna, who was horribly mistreated by her previous pack. I think I have a bit of a crush on Charles, actually.
Agreed on the lameness of the BBQ scene, but I can forgive her that because the rest of the ending is just so damn cool.
After reading thousands of posts trying to find GOOD recommendations for an alpha similar to Barrons… I have yet to find anything close. I too had some serious withdraws after Fever, never having experienced that emotion before after finishing series. This is the first ‘comment’ I have ever made, and I was hoping to find out if there are more ladies like me out there!
To start, my leading men are as follows:
BARRONS (by far)
Curran – Ilona Andrews
Ethan – Chicagoland Vampires
Pritkan – Cassie Palmer series
There are similarities in all these men… strong, secretive, aggressive, smart, humorous, oh-so-very Alpha… and most importantly… they share a love-hate relationship with the leading lady (WHO IS INDEPENDENT, SMART, AND STRONG IN HER OWN RIGHT – very important).
I have read so many of UF/PRN and have found these 4 to be my top picks… I would love additional recommendations, but let me say this as a disclaimer:
*I did not enjoy Bones – too ‘lovey-dovey’ and too committed… I need them to have the tension throughout the series
*I enjoyed Terrible, but had a really hard time getting past the language and excessive drug use
*I do not enjoy the BDB (the women are weak, the writing is poor, and the Brothers all have some weakness they need to overcome)
*I enjoyed Adam and Samuel in the Mercy Thompson series (and she’s pretty kick-ass), however Adam didn’t live up to my expectations…
I can never understand how so many women love Barrons, Bones, and BDB… I have tried numerous times for both series and have always had to put the books down. I might be completely alone in this, but I was hoping to see if anyone out there feels the same way. Sorry this is so long!
Thanks!!!
1) Nalini Singh (esp Archangel series), as mentioned above
2) Sabriel by Garth Nix (not romance but oh so good; YA; has romantic interest)
3) Jeaniene Frost
4) Meljean Brook ***
5) Sharon Shinn-Samaria series
6) Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith (YA-no steamy sex)
7) Pride & Prejudice (b/c it’s Mr. Darcy, dammit!)
8) Lori Handeland
*If you aren’t familiar w the Gnooks Map of Literature (http://www.gnooks.com/), I recommend it for finding authors like the ones you love.
Note: My husband & his brother (fantasy lovers) LOVED the Fever series. Recommend it to men too. Make EVERYONE read it! Well, not kids.
These posts got me extremely excited! I went straight to Amazon to order the entire Fever series. I too, can relate to this. I’m currently obsessed with Kresley Cole’s IAD. Reread the book thousands times and hounding the website and facebook page just to fill the void while waiting for the next book. The last time a series made me this obsessed was Harry Potter. I actually got sick and had to take a couple days off from school. I re-read book 1-4 back to back in the weekend with minimal sleep and breaks. I guess it was a bit too much for a 12 year old me. The next day I got a raging fever and a mega headache I couldn’t even open my eyes without the room swaying. My mom banned me from reading for a month.
Back to IAD, I try to avoid paranormal to help me cope. I keep expecting big things and get frustrated when that doesn’t happen. So I read In Death series instead. I’m quite lucky that I’ve only discovered it recently. A huge backlist to keep me entertained. That being said, while I enjoy the series very much, Roarke is just ‘meh’ for me. I need my hero a bit more tortured. He’s like the perfect female fantasy: sinfully handsome, richer than God, love and understand the heroine completely with the right balance of protective and posessive. It’s like the female equivalent of the male fantasy of having a woman that can bake and give head at the same time, and somehow managed to look movie-star perfect the moment she wakes up. But then again, I’m still on the 6th book. I have high hopes for him.
Wonderful recommendations here, except some of the ‘cures’ are proving to be just as bad as the original illness! I’m looking at you Stacia Kane.
can49? Can I have 49 more in the series?
Having recently finished Archangels Blade I’m going to have to mention Dmitri.
I kinda hated him in the previous books, but I am a true sucker for the alpha male who hides a tortured past.
S-U-C-K-E-R
passed53 (times I’ve read just the Barron’s excerpts)
Oh wow…O__O All these comments made me want to check out the Fever series. I had seen various books in that series, but never got to see the comment about them. Was under the impression this was paranormal fantasy instead of 1st person UF. Om nom nom nom.
And only $1.99? That’s a pretty darn sexy price on Amazon. Thank you so much for the advice!