Charlaine Harris: Sookie Stackhouse Series

Sookie Stackhouse is just a cocktail waitress at Merlotte's Bar in Bon Temps, Louisiana with a "special condition": she's a telepath. When the vampires went public after synthetic blood was developed by the Japanese, Sookie is thrilled to meet the town's first vampire, but her life will never be the same.
Charlaine Harris' series will have readers giggling over Sookie's predicaments and pouring over the twisted plotlines. The supernatural characters (vampires, werewolves, demons, fairies and more!) aren't always the the most unusual people in this small backward town, and each book is filled with surprises galore. Readers will appreciate Sookie's common-sense attitude and heartfelt emotion over her troubled relationships. This series has been made into the popular television series, True Blood.

The Sookie Stackhouse (aka Southern Vampire) series in order:

1. Dead Until Dark (2001)

2. Living Dead in Dallas (2002)

3. Club Dead (2003)

4. Dead to the World (2004)

5. Dead as a Doornail (2005)

6. Definitely Dead (2006)

7. All Together Dead (2007)

8. From Dead to Worse (2008)

9. Dead and Gone (2009)

10. Dead in the Family (2010)

MaryJanice Davidson: Queen Betsy Series

Poor Betsy. While crossing the street, she was fatally struck by a Pontiac Aztek. And now, it seems that a bunch of lunatics have named her their queen, and all Betsy wants is a good sale at Nordstrom's, Prada shoes, and a little romance wouldn't be bad, either.
MaryJanice Davidson is the author of several series, and her special brand of fiction always includes a wonderful sense of humor. We call these books "Chick Lit", and in the Betsy series, readers get the fabulous mash-up of Chick Lit meets Vampire Fiction. Enjoy!

Betsy, the Vampire Queen Series in order:

1. Undead and Unwed (2002)

2. Undead and Unemployed (2004)

3. Undead and Unappreciated (2005)

4. Undead and Unreturnable (2005)

5. Undead and Unpopular (2006)

6. Undead and Uneasy (2007)

7. Undead and Unworthy (2008)

8. Undead and Unwelcome (2009)

9. Undead and Unfinished (2010)

Laurell K. Hamilton: Anita Blake Series

One enthusiast of this series described the Anita Blake books like this: "She's smart, clever and funny like Sookie Stackhouse, except that Anita Blake really kicks a_ _ !"

I'd have to agree. Anita is self-sustaining, and needs no companion to come to her rescue. These books are bold, filled with mystery, suspense and sometimes gore, but Hamilton manages to mix in some romance with all of that.

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Series in order:

1. Guilty Pleasures (1993)

2. The Laughing Corpse (1994)

3. Circus of the Damned (1995)

4. The Lunatic Cafe (1996)

5. Bloody Bones (1996)

6. The Killing Dance (1997)

7. Burnt Offerings (1998)

8. Blue Moon (1998)

9. Obsidian Butterfly (2000)

10. Narcissus in Chains (2001)

11. Cerulean Sins (2003)

12. Incubus Dreams (2004)

13. Micah (2006)

14. Danse Macabre (2006)

15. The Harlequin (2007)

16. Blood Noir (2008)

17. Skin Trade (2009)

18. Flirt (2010)

19. Bullet (2010)

Anne Rice: The Vampire Chronicles

I'd be remiss if I didn't list the grand dame of vampire fiction, Anne Rice. I've been a Rice fan for years! Her amazing series begins with 1976's Interview With the Vampire. I know many of you have probably seen the Tome Cruise/Brad Pitt film version, but I urge you to read the book. As always, it is so much better! The Vampire Chronicles are not really romance, but the characters and deep and multi-faceted. You will fall in love with the saga of Louis and Lestat, even though you'll probably hate Lestat's arrogance. It's a sweeping epic of a tale, reading through the books. Particularly interesting to me was The Tale of the Body Theif, which I thought was a great adventure. Here's the series in order:

Vampire Chronicles
Interview with the Vampire (1976)
The Vampire Lestat (1985)
The Queen of the Damned (1988)
The Tale of the Body Thief (1992)
Memnoch the Devil (1995)
The Vampire Armand (1998)
Merrick (2000)
Blood and Gold (2001)
Blackwood Farm (2002)
Blood Canticle (2003)

New Tales of the Vampires
Pandora (1998) (a Vampire Chronicle)
Vittorio the Vampire (1999)

Vampire/Mayfair Crossover
In these novels the Mayfair Witches become part of the Vampire Chronicles world.
Merrick (2000)
Blackwood Farm (2002)
Blood Canticle (2003)

Erin McCarthy: Vegas Vampires

If you're looking for a light read, with a little humor and a little romance, try Erin McCarthy's Vegas Vampires series. From the jacket cover of High Stakes:
He's a bloodsucking freak of nature. But, unlike other politicians, Ethan Carrick is actually a nice guy. Not to mention a very hot, wealthy, casino-owning vampire. It's an election year for vampires, which means he'll first have to escape his opponent's hit men. Then he'll have to find a suitable First Lady, preferably here in Vegas.
Jane Austen, it is not, but McCarthy writes with wit and lighthearted humor, writing strong female characters that you'd want to go shoe-shopping with. The city of Las Vegas shines bright as a character in it's own right in the series, and her vampires are hunky, yet fallible and charming.

Christine Feehan is a favorite of many of my library patrons. Her vampire series is called The Dark Series, and it's dramatic, sweeping stories of romance and paranormal adventure. Not as light a read as I usually prefer, and much, much more spicy than my favorite Chick Lit titles. Feehan is a must-read for lovers of Laurell K. Hamilton, Sherrilyn Kenyon and Patricia Briggs fans.
From the book jacket: They are the Carpathians. For years, they have been persecuted by their enemies, and have struggled against all odds to preserve their species. Now, a new insidious plot has been devised-one that would slaughter Carpathian females and bring an end to all that the Carpathians have worked for. Even with his own lifemate, Raven, and their daughter Savannah, in danger, Carpathian king Mikhail believes that all is not lost. Gathering all of his people together, he will forge a new bond of strength, joining their powers in a celebration that will bring light even in this dark time.