Summer readin': My top 8 Addictive Authors

Summer is here!

I love summer. The island girl in me really awakens and my skin itches for sand surf and salty sea air. When relaxin by the pool, having a quiet afternoon or just wanting to have some night time reading, I always turn to a few authors for great reading. I have so many but these are my top 8. Not all are series books but each author has had me addicted to their style and their attention to character development that i find myself itching for the next book to release even if it's a year or two away.

1. Clive Cussler - Dirk Pitt, Kurt Austen, and Fargo series are my fave. Great action adventure novels with underwater action and Historical tie-ins.  Great stuff. I've been reading Cussler since I was 15. My Dad started me with Inca Gold I've been hooked ever since!

2.Lauren Willig - The Flower Spy series. Mystery, intrigue, Jane Austen settings, romance and great historical fiction fun! Can't wait for the new book to come out in January 2012.

3. Charlaine Harris - Sookie Stackhouse Novels aka Southern Vampire Mysteries. These are the books that started the whole True Blood Series on HBO. I love these books! Mystery suspense, thriller, vampires, weres, Fae, shifters, witches and a whole lot more and a little small town bar maid who is more than she appears to be.  What more could you want?  (Eric in person! duh)  The audiobooks are great!

4. Sarah Addison Allen -  Her novels all take place in the south and have such great magic and small town lore about them. Her first couple of books even have recipes. There is always great food involved in her books. But the mystery is what really keeps you going. Her main characters are strong and curious. These for me are especially great summer reads.

5. Michelle Moran - If you are fancying a trip to the ancient world, then Michelle Moran is your author. Her first novel Nefertiti, is rich in historical fact and fiction. Heretic Queen is another wonderful trip down the Nile and Cleopatra's Daughter are all wonderfully written books with rich landscapes and powerful storylines that will keep you turning pages well into the wee hours of the night. Audiobooks are great here too!

6. Colleen Gleason - Before there was Buffy there was Victoria Gardella. Lady of the ton by day and vampire slayer by night. As her website says " Balls, Beaux, dance cards..and fangs?" Great page turners and the characters are all interesting with their own histories and tales. You will love Victoria and how she naigates her new role and tries to balance family and romance through out this series.

7. Kresely Cole - Immortals After Dark Series is HOT! Paranormal Romance fans will find this a great series as will other readers who are just getting into vampires, werewolves and the like. Cole weaves in mystical characters with myths and legendary characters like the Fae and Valkyrie along with vampires werewolves and witches. The men are hot and the women are strong and complex. Plot lines are always winding and weaving leaving the reader wanting more. Great cover art too.

8. Sherrilyn Kenyon - Dark Hunter series. Love Greek gods and vampires then this series is the ticket. Kenyon blends myth and romance beautifully. You will find you have a love-hate relationship with Artemis goddess of  the hunt and her temper tantrums and love of family. You will totally go for Acheron and his band of dark-Hunters who are sexy strong and captivating. The cast of characters is long and wide in Keyon's Dark-hunter world but all is explained and as you delve into the series, it becomes easier to remember who does what and what things mean. Various Pantheons of gods and goddesses are used to bring in different characters so that there characters are not limited to just greek and roman type characters. Audiobooks here are also great and you will Love Simi! If i had the money I would so get the custom doll.


I hope that this list can provide you with some great summer reads. Let me know what authors you find addictive and love to read cover to cover almost in one sitting.