True Blood Holiday Gift Ideas: Books

Winter is the perfect time for curling up with a good book. True Blood fans will always recommend the Sookie Stackhouse books, but when you’ve plowed through those, what’s next? Here is a list of 10 books we think may fit your reading pleasure and your holiday list.

1. The Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost – Starting with the first book, Halfway to the Grave, half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father—the one responsible for ruining her mother’s life. Then she’s captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unholy partnership. There are two more books in this series, but this will get you started.
2. The Undead Series by Mary Janice Davidson – Betsy Taylor turns 30, gets laid off, is killed by an SUV and wakes up dead all in the same week. The vampire community is convinced she’s their prophesied Queen. But she’s not having any of it—she’s got shoes to buy! And now the undead world is being turned upside-down by a Bela Lugosi throwback and her subjects expect her to take care of it! Why didn’t she read the handbook? But her would-be consort, Eric Sinclair, is (annoyingly) ever-present. If only he wasn’t so tall, dark, gorgeous…and undead. Yes, Truebies, another Eric! For that alone, you should give these books a try. There are nine books in the series so far, beginning with Undead and Unwed.
3. Sisters of the Moon series by Jasmine Galenorn – “Three sisters out to save two worlds, one monster at a time” is the description on Jasmine’s blog. These books have all the beings included in Ms. Harris’s novels: witches, demons, vampires, shapeshifters and fae; and some more mythological creatures we’ve not yet seen in Sookie’s world. Meet the D’Artigo Sisters–three half human, half-Fae, wild and sexy members of the OIA–the Otherworld Intelligence Agency.  Camille, a witch, Delilah, a werecat, and Menolly, an acrobat extraordinaire turned vampire, are sent Earthside to keep them out of trouble by their superiors, who consider the girls nothing but a bunch of bumbling half-breeds.  But the girls soon find themselves smack in the middle of Demon-Central when Shadow Wing, the leader of the Subterranean Realms, decides to attempt a coup on both Earth and Otherworld. There are eight books available so far, with more on the way.
4. The Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs – Mercedes is Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. Her native American heritage has gifted her with the ability to take the form of a coyote at will. She’s surrounded by far more powerful supernatural beings, including werewolves, vampires and an assortment of fey. You may also be interested in Patricia’s other works, Dragon Bones and Dragon Blood, particularly since True Blood’s Joe Manganiello is the reader for the audio version.
5. The Love at Stake Series by Kerrelyn Sparks – How about something on the lighter side? Just read the description of book number one in this series: “So what if he’s a bit older and usually regards a human female as dinner, not a dinner date? Yes, Roman Draganesti is a vampire, but a vampire who lost one of his fangs sinking his teeth into something he shouldn’t have. Now he has one night to find a dentist before his natural healing abilities close the wound, leaving him a lop–sided eater for all eternity. Things aren’t going well for Shanna Whelan either…After witnessing a gruesome murder by the Russian mafia, she’s next on their hit list. And her career as a dentist appears to be on a downward spiral because she’s afraid of blood. When Roman rescues her from an assassination attempt, she wonders if she’s found the one man who can keep her alive. Though the attraction between them is immediate and hot, can Shanna conquer her fear of blood to fix Roman’s fang? And if she does, what will prevent Roman from using his fangs on her…” Now come on! If that doesn’t make you run out to your nearest book store to purchase this nugget, I don’t know what will.
6. The Hollows Series by Kim Harrison – All the creatures of the night gather in “the Hollows” of Cincinnati, to hide, to prowl, to party … and to feed. Vampires rule the darkness in a predator-eat-predator world rife with dangers beyond imagining — and it’s Rachel Morgan’s job to keep that world civilized. A bounty hunter and witch with serious sex appeal and an attitude, she’ll bring ’em back alive, dead … or undead.
7. The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber – Miss Percy Parker is as pale as a ghost, and she should know: her best friend while growing up in a convent was the ghost of a long-deceased gentleman. Percy isn’t a child any longer, though, and her strangely beautiful appearance combined with a gift for visions and speaking to ghosts is about to catapult her into the adventure of a lifetime. A long time favorite of ours, Miss Percy is always on our list of recommendations for what to read when you think you’ve read it all. This is the first book in a trilogy, the second book is The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker.
8. The Katie Chandler Series by Shanna Swedson – For a lot of fun and much light reading, try this series on for size. Beginning with “Enchanted, Inc.”, an ordinary young woman takes a job at a company that turns out to be extraordinary, sparks fly in more ways than one. Office politics are more complicated when your new boss is a real ogre, bad blind dates are worse when there’s magic in the mix, and there are much, much worse ways to meet men than going to singles bars. Book one is followed by “Once Upon Stilettos”, “Damsel Under Stress”, and “Don’t Hex with Texas”. There will be more coming, so keep your eyes open!
9. The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning – The heroine in this series reminded me very much of Sookie. Mac starts out thinking there’s nothing more important than lying in the sun and where the next party is. And she dresses in rainbow colors. However, as she travels to Scotland to discover the mystery surrounding her sister’s death, things become much more complicated than she bargained for, and by the time we finish the last page of “Dreamfever”, Mac is so far from the blond, brightly clothed innocent that she was, that she is unrecognizable even to herself. She experiences horrors and heartbreak like never before, while learning that discovering her sister’s murderer may cost her everything. The final book in the series, “Shadowfever”, is due out in January.
10. Anita Blake: Vampire Huntress Series by Laurell K. Hamilton – This list wouldn’t be complete without Anita Blake. Synopsis from Squidoo: As a vampire hunter and executioner, she hunts vampires and other supernatural or magical beings (think werewolves, witches, and zombies) that have used their power to hurt humans. Armed with a gun, knives, and a few supernatural powers of her own, Anita Blake is one tough cookie.

Happy shopping!