Love it or Hate it: Twilight, House of Night, The Vampire Chronicles and More

Some of the most popular book series out there are vampire series, and you know you love to debate them, gush about them and obsess over them. At least I do. One thing is clear – we all have opinions on these books. Twilight, The Mortal Instruments, The Vampire Chronicles and many more – we love to hate them, or we really just love them. Here are my opinions on some of the biggest vampire series out there. Please share your views in a comment below. Let the world know of your hate for Twilight, your obsession with House of Night, or whatever other feeling you have.

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare
9781416955078This is a hugely popular series, one that is coming to theaters this summer. I have mixed feelings on this series. First off, I stopped reading after the third book. I started book four, but didn’t finish it. The story ended at book three and the author should have stopped there. As for the story, I LOVED it. I loved the secret world of demons, werewolves and vampires. I loved the main story and the universe the author created. But I HATED the romance and many of the characters. The romance felt out of place in the awesome story and many of the characters just weren’t likable. Clare struggled with the characters, but she rocked the story (minus the romance).

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
We’re all sick of Twilight, aren’t we? I will keep this one short. I hate Twilight. I managed to read through to Breaking Dawn, but the second Bella became pregnant I stopped reading. Twilight is simply a series that didn’t click with me, some books are just that way.

The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice
Anne Rice is the queen of vampires and her novels are legendary in the world of vampire fiction. I love The Vampire Chronicles, as most vampire fans do. I started this series at the age of 14 and it blew my young mind. I had never read anything like it. So rich in detail, so haunting, full of depth and intelligence… it was, and is, amazing. The only bad thing I can say about Anne’s writing is that it’s a bit pretentious at times. Other than that, The Vampire Chronicles are a masterpiece.

House of Night by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast
twilight_D.inddUgh. This is another super popular young adult series – and I don’t understand why. I stopped reading this cringe-worthy series at Hunted. That book was such a letdown I refuse to read anymore. That book was pure filler and based on that book and others released, it’s clear the authors care more about cashing in than writing quality novels. Too many books too quickly. Plus, the lead in this series really isn’t a role model for teens. I know I sound old as hell by saying that. But the chick has three boyfriends at one point and she is tricked into losing her virginity. Yeah… OH! And the “teen speak!” Oh god. The ridiculous teen slang they throw into every sentence of this series. No teenager I know of speaks like that. None. The authors remind me of those parents who try so desperately to be cool like their teenage children. Awkward.

Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris
I haven’t actually read this popular series. I’ve read a Sookie short story in an anthology and hated it. So I have no interest in reading the books.

Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward
Obsessed. I read the first book of this bestselling series last year and quickly devoured the rest. I love this badass series. It’s romance, yes, but it’s realistic romance. It’s gritty, depressing at times, crosses multiple boundaries and lines, and totally strays from what is considered “normal.” Also, the vampires in this book are an actual species. They aren’t undead, they aren’t bitten and turned, they are born. The author put a lot of thought into her vampires and I love that. What I don’t love is how every character seems to think he’s gangsta and I also don’t love the Lesser/drug dealing storyline. The Lesser stuff is getting old, it’s the same old thing over and over. They need something new.

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter by Laurell K. Hamilton
book21I could rant about this series for pages and pages. I love love LOVED the first few books in this series. Loved them! Anita was empowering, she was a real woman you could look up to. She wasn’t flawless, she had her issues, but she was strong. And the plot of each book was fantastic. They were dark, full of mystery and twists and turns, they were amazing. But now… Anita is a giant Mary Sue. She’s pathetic. Hamilton made her moody as fuck and gave her WAY too many powers. Anita has so many super powers and abilities that she’s impossible to defeat. You can’t have conflict when your lead is now unstoppable. As for the plots, there are none. None! Laurell ran out of ideas a long time ago and you can tell by the book reviews. The first few books have 4 and 5 star reviews. Fans love them. But now, the books have 1 or 2 star reviews. The Anita Blake books have no story anymore, they are nothing more than bad erotica. It’s awful. And to make matters worse is the author herself. Going by her Twitter, her blog and the interviews she does, Laurell is arrogant as fuck. She clearly doesn’t care about her fans. She cares about cashing in and nothing else. All authors I follow thank their fans daily and even give out little free bonus goodies on their sites (short stories, wallpapers, deleted scenes…etc.). They don’t have to but they do. Laurell has that stuff too, but she charges fans. She actually charges for deleted scenes. The only author I know who does that. She writes garbage and should have stopped years ago. The first books in the Anita series will always be a treasure, they are magnificent, but the others disgust me.

And that’s enough book talk from me! Whew. Now it’s your turn! What are your thoughts on the most popular book series out there? Do you agree with anything I said above? Please share your views, I love hearing from fellow book lovers.

– Moonlight

By Moonlight

Moonlight (aka Amanda) loves to write about, read about and learn about everything pertaining to vampires. You will most likely find her huddled over a book of vampire folklore with coffee in hand. Touch her coffee and she may bite you (and not in the fun way).

8 comments

  1. I agree with most of your summaries. I also used to love the Anita Blake series until she introduced that ardor thing and became a demi-god. There are some of these I haven’t read, like the Black Dagger Brotherhood, which I might now based on your description.

    In defense of the Sookie Stackhouse series, what I like about them is the way that Harris blends the fantastic with the mundane. I like that Sookie never turns into a superhero and that she continues to have very ordinary worries like home maintenance and paying her bills despite the crazy supernatural elements in her life. The books are definitely not like the series (aside from the first season), but they’re a nice change of pace from a lot of other vampire series out there.

    As for Twilight, I tried to read the first book and couldn’t finish. I don’t get that series at all.

    1. I’ll admit I didn’t give Sookie a fair shot. But I’m still unsure if I want to read it. Maybe one day… after getting through my massive to-read list lol.

  2. I was allllllll about Laurell K. Hamilton until she got all lazy and sex-obsessed. I actually enjoy Merry Gentry more—but sadly it’s becoming a mish mash Anita series.

    Sookie is the bomb, give her a chance and you’ll fall in love. She kept where Laurell should’ve; a mix of mundane+fantastic.

    Anne Rucw. The master of the genre. Truly. I can pick up any of her books; from Blood&Gold to Blackwood Farms to the Vampire Lestat- -and find something new 20yrs after my first read. Allllllll should bow down.

    As for BlackDaggerBrotherhood, I’m slowly but surely getting there.

    Twilight? Movies only. Books? Meh.

      1. I was completely skeptical up until finally both reading and watching the series — the series (of course) doesn’t always stick to the books (do they ever?) but two words make up for that: Lafayette Reynolds. !!! LOL

  3. You guys should take a look at Blood and Spirits by Dennis Sharpe. Don’t let the simple cover fool you. More “bite” than the Sookie novels, the lead character is a female vampire who rocks like Anita Blake back in her glory days. Its a rare find!

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