Nancy A. Collins' Sonja Blue series, which is compiled in the trade paperback, Midnight Blue is definitely worth a read.

For fun, try MaryJanice Davidson's Betsy the Vampire Queen series.

^I second the Betsy books! They are so fun, I read all of them in a little over a weeks time.

Originally Posted by bag-mania

Try the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost. Cat and Bones are a great couple.

This is a fun series, I'm on book 2 and am really enjoying them!

I LOVE Vampire and Paranormal Romance in general. My criteria is: there must be blood, sex and violence (romance is good too).

I'm in need of some more suggestions as well.

Originally Posted by Kitsunegrl

Black Dagger Brotherhood

Very hot brothers! I blushed pretty much the entire series. Definitely for adults only.

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bag-mania Try the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost. Cat and Bones are a great couple.

Loved this series! Lots of fun! Cat is so bad-***.

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Junkenpo It's not for everyone & the earlier books seem to be more action oriented than the latter books which border on soft-core porn to me, but the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series was a mostly enjoyable read.

Lol...IMO the latter books are pretty hard-core porn.

Another vote for The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series. lol at blushing through the series.

Originally Posted by bag-mania

Try the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost. Cat and Bones are a great couple.

second this! Love their tension - Cat is half vampire, and in the first book, her "life goal" is to exterminate all vampires... but then she gets caught by Bones and everything changes. Halfway to the Grave is the first book - read the teaser here and I guarantee you will be hooked...

The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead is also pretty good - it's more along the lines of Twilight, and directed towards teen (high schoolers, probably) readers. Got all that teenager angst, but a pretty good plotline too.

Black Dagger Brotherhood is a bit different - it belongs more to the "clan of tough (angsty) dark (tortured) heroes who run around chopping things up until the right woman comes along and calms them down" group that has gotten more popular lately... JR Ward's writing can get on one's nerves easily (especially with all that slang), but the plotline is generally good (until Phury's book, which is the 6th?). It's also got a huge cult following.

OP, is there anything specific about the vampire books you've read that you loved/hated? That would probably help in finding recommendations.

Great!

Originally Posted by cheetah_pita

second this! Love their tension - cat is half vampire, and in the first book, her "life goal" is to exterminate all vampires... But then she gets caught by bones and everything changes. Halfway to the grave is the first book - read the teaser here and i guarantee you will be hooked... yes... All of this. the vampire academy series by richelle mead is also pretty good - it's more along the lines of twilight, and directed towards teen (high schoolers, probably) readers. Got all that teenager angst, but a pretty good plotline too. i loved this! I don't know how i could've forgotten. The last book "last sacrifice" will be out on december 7th. This is a ya series and is much better than others i have read. black dagger brotherhood is a bit different - it belongs more to the "clan of tough (angsty) dark (tortured) heroes who run around chopping things up until the right woman comes along and calms them down" group that has gotten more popular lately... jr ward's writing can get on one's nerves easily (especially with all that slang), but the plotline is generally good (until phury's book, which is the 6th?). It's also got a huge cult following. it took a while for me to get used to their names. I was rolling my eyes for a good 3rd of the first book. I couldn't even finished the last book (lover mine). I will, but i was really disappointed with where it went. The next in the series will be out march of 2011 (lover unleashed)

Anita Blake has 19 books in the series so far (with 1 coming out in 6/2011), so you know it's got an ardent fan base. however, i do have to say that the first 10 books are the best, so don't rush through them, unless you like a lot of sex, which is featured prominently in the second 10 books. i personally don't mind them because they are just part of the background by now, but the first 10 really are the best.

Umm, do Ann Rice books count in this category?
I did read the first book of the "Brotherhood of the Dagger" series and felt like my retinas were going to burn out from all the graphic "encounters". But yes, JR Ward does have a huge following.

Even though it is werewolf series (though there are vampires in it), I'm going to recommend the Mercy Thompson books by Patricia Briggs.

Mercy is a shapeshifting VW mechanic who relies on using her wits rather than supernatural abilities to get herself out of trouble. Love the twists and turns of her adventures.

Jeri Smith-Ready has some good vamp books; 'Wicked Game', 'Bad to the Bone', 'Bring on the Night'. Vampire radio DJs is the premise.

Is Sherrilyn Kenyon vampires? I have a few of her books on my 'To Be Read' pile that I haven't gotten around to yet.

I was also going to suggest Mary Janice Davidson for a fun chick lit vampire read. or Kimberly Raye which kinda feels like a MJD knock off.

Kim Harrison is pretty good. I think there are also some vamps starting in Kelley Armstrong's second book 'Stolen' but she hasn't much focused on them yet. Although, Kelley Armstrong's books are pretty great in my opinion. 'Bitten' and 'Stolen' are werewolves and then 'Dime Store Magic' and 'Industrial Magic' are witches .

^I just realized that I have 4 or 5 Kelley Armstrong books on my to be read pile, need to get them out!

I think I'll try Kelley Armstrong. Any books you recommend first?

'Bitten' and 'Stolen' were my favorites (they are also the first two books of her 'Women of the Otherworld' series). I really like all of her books but those two I will still pull out and re-read just because I liked them so much.

Originally Posted by selkiewriter

Is Sherrilyn Kenyon vampires? I have a few of her books on my 'To Be Read' pile that I haven't gotten around to yet.

nope, Keyon's Dark-Hunter series (which I assume you're talking about? It's her most popular) isn't about vampires... they're "dark hunters" aka vampire hunters. It's a fun series, pretty graphic/erotic from what I remember. There are also a couple spin-offs like the Dream-Hunters and Were-Hunters.

also love Kelley Armstrong's books, even though it's not vampire-focused, there are vampires in her world. None of her books have been from the vampire's point of view, though there is a short story somewhere about them. Bitten is one of my absolute favorites- narrated by Elena, the only female werewolf, and is about her coming to terms with being a werewolf while trying to track down a serial killer.