As you all probably know by now, I am a contemporary reader at heart. Light contemporary, including single title or series. Occasionally I’ll dip a toe into a novel by a favorite historical author, or the occasional romantic suspense. Not often. My first foray into the paranormal world didn’t take me too far from home. It was Michele Bardsley’s Broken Heart series. Because it was light, I didn’t feel I was betraying my contemporary love, and it was set in Oklahoma, afterall. So I came to know Vampires a little more. My next dip out of my comfort zone came, as I mentioned here last year, with Larissa Ione’s Demonica series. Not light, but not dark either, these books whet my appetite for paranormal romance. So much so that when I was at Rom Con in Denver, and met Meagan Hatfield, a new HQN author writing paranormal, I charmed her into giving me a copy of Shadow of the Vampire (yes, I’m shameless for those of you who don’t know). I started Meagan’s book on the plane home, and I was stunned. Meeting Meagan, I thought for sure I was getting a light (of sorts) read, but this was darker and deeper than anything I’d read before. It was about Vampires and Dragons, and they were portrayed in a whole new way than I’d seen before. There was blood and gore and beatings, and yet I was transfixed. So I kept reading. Couldn’t put it down, in fact and ended up buying the prequel and reading it too. So now, I think, hmm. I’m getting braver (in between my contemporary reads) … and since I follow Eve Silver on Twitter, when I saw her book, Sins of the Heart in the store I thought, let me give her new paranormal a try.
I hadn’t really read the back copy and if I did, it just didn’t register. So I naively go into her world of SOUL REAPERS and I am shocked to my toes when the HERO reaches into someone’s chest, rips out his heart, places it in a bag, and then goes back into the body for his soul. Yep. I’m floored. In a, am I really reading about this kind of way. But I’m determined to keep going. How can I like this hero or fall in love with him? I have to find out. And sure enough, once I hit halfway, I’m IN THIS WORLD and I’m OK with it, LOL. This dark twisty hero (I think I’m missing my Grey’s Anatomy fix … where else would dark and twisty come from?) would invoke his powerful father’s name to keep her safe. Yeah, I’m hooked. And in love.
Whew. Who knew I could get into these stories? Of course, I’m now up to date on all these authors books, and eagerly awaiting new ones … so based on my comments above, what paranormal authors would you suggest I dig into next and why?
PS – just read a couple of comments and wanted to clarify – I MUST have a HEA (happily ever after) – I”m not really an ongoing series w/same heroine/hero kinda girl!! And not necessarily looking for dark/gritty. Those just happened, but it means I’m not longer OPPOSED, LOL. So just a good, solid paranormal read. (Other wordly – when it’s gritty in THIS world like it could happen = not so much for me.) Boy I’m pickier than I thought! 
Carly Phillips would like to take 100% credit for all her stories but the truth is, Carly’s strength is writing family, emotion, funky elderly people and animals. She couldn’t plot her way out of a paper bag, which is why she smartly found her plotmonkey pals early on in her writing career. Thanks to their support, Carly is now a NYT Bestselling author of 23 plus novels. Because writing doesn’t keep her busy enough, Carly is also a wife, a mother of one preteen and one teenage daughter, the primary care giver of her soft coated Wheaten terrier and an expert carpool mom.
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OMG, OMG YES! STACIA KANE!!!! Sorry, but I just have to gush. Now she writes an extremely gritty,dark, often ugly series called Downside Ghosts. The books so far are UNHOLY MAGIC, UNHOLY GHOSTS, AND CITY OF GHOSTS. It’s urban fantasy, so no HEA in every book, but keep reading! The main character, Chess is a drug-addicted witch. Yes, she takes drugs. But she’s so damn likable that you can’t hate her. Well, she does make me so mad sometimes though too, but the place she’s coming from makes it believable and real. It’s not an easy series, but it sucks you in completely. There’s even a support group at GoodReads called “I Gots Terrible fever”, which yes, I belong to LOL.
Terrible is the “hero” of the story. And such an unlikely hero. He’s big, ugly, brash, yet so incredibly wonderful you can’t help falling in love with him. Just ask Shiloh Walker about these books. She can tell ya.
I HIGHLY recommend them!!!!!
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I will need to add these to my list too!!
Today is going to break me, I just know it. My bank acct will be empty before I even get to DragonCon.
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Ev, like I said, it’s a tough series, so I think it’s so worth it. Just be ready for anything. Chess is only human, makes mistakes, but then that’s what makes these books so incredible. And since I am the hopeful romantic, there is “something” there to hold onto. There just has to be LOL.
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Hmmm…it might be easier just to come and play on my bookshelves.
Marta Acosta- Happy Hour at Castle Dracula is the first of 3 so far. Light, funny but with a bite.
Katie MacCallisters stuff also good.
MaryJanice Davidson’s Undead series. Really good.Funny. Sexy and sometimes you want to cry. Love this series
That’s only 3 off the top of my head. I will see what everyone else comes up with and maybe add to it later.
I like my paranormal. Are you only dipping into vampires at this point? There’s some good Were stuff out there too.
And Les and Julie have dipped their pens into some stuff that’s really good (ya know, your fellow monkeys. LOL)
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Marta is not in the romance section usually either- she’s over in Fiction and I can’t figure out why. I really think they are missing a big group of readers by shelving her there.
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lol…yeah, just a toe or two!
COLD TOUCH actually dips my whole foot (and part of my leg!)
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I read mostly romance. It can be a mystery, suspense, paranormal, contemporary, hot & steamy, or best of all a combination of all the above! My first ventures into the paranormal were written by Christine Feehan. She writes several series but I only follow 2 of them: The Drake Sisters and the Ghostwalkers.
Drake Sisters: Each sister has her own unique power and all work together along with the men who are their soul mates. Even their house has magical powers! No vampires, no dragons, no soul reapers; but lots of villains who use magic for darker purposes. Good verses evil with magic and romance thrown in.
Ghostwalkers: The men are mostly in the military, and their missions for country. All main characters have been genetically enhanced mostly without their full knowledge. Again, no vampires, no dragons, no soul reapers; but some really hot romance!
Each book in both of these series stands on its own. There are a lot of references to past and future characters but you won’t feel you are missing a crucial element if you haven’t read the other books. I, of course, started at the beginning and read each book…in order.
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Love the Drake Sisters books. I hope she continues with the seven brothers next.
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If you have not read Patricia Briggs then you are missing out. She has a ‘voice’ that will pull you into the story and keep you there. The MC of her Mercy Thompson series is a cyote shape shifter who was brought up in a pack of warewolves. She also has fae, witches, and vanpires; and they all live in individual comuties within the same area.
Patricia, not Stephanie, is the reason I am now a paranormal fan
. I look forward to trying some of the authors mentioned here today.
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sorry for the misspellings but was in a hurry.
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A whole new (under, other)world awaits you!
Surprised you didn’t start with Jayne Ann Krentz’s (Jayne Castle’s) Harmony series…they have a lighter, contemporary sort of feel. The supernatural aspect comes in because they generally take place on a world that resembles Seattle but is actually a different planet. The para element is that the characters have psychological “talents.”
As for vamps, though. Eh. They don’t do a lot for me. No getting around the fact that they’re dead. Or, you know, undead.
I didn’t think I would like shifters much, but I’ve gotten into them through Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series.
Have fun!
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ah yes! Nalini’s writing is really sexy and her Psy/Changling have HEA’s! I love her Guild Hunter series A LOT but it’s dark so IDK if you’d be into it…
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OK FYI if anyone checks back, I just downloaded Nalini’s first Psy-Changeling book!
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You’ll have to tell us how you liked it!
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Agree with several of the other recs….Stacia Kane, Patricia Briggs and MJD are great but you said you didn’t want on going characters per say.
If that is the case then I would reccomend Sherrilyn Kenyon, she is amazing and her Dark Hunters are oh so YUMMY.
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I suggest reading JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood. They were my first vampire books. I can also suggest Kerrelyn Sparks, Chloe Neill(thanks to Stacy), Jeaniene Frost(Cat & Bones books), and PC Cast & Kristin Cast(House of Night YA series).
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I second this suggestions. I was going down the list, and was surprised the BDB wasn’t at the top. There definitely is and HEA in every book, Carly. I think you will love this world that the WARDen has created; it’s freaking phenomenal. I don’t really read many paras, but I stick with the authors I like. Gena’s Lord of the Underworld is pretty good. I met her because of you guys. You should also try Kresley Cole’s Immortals after Dark (IAD) series too. Oh, and Deidre Knights Gods of Midnight series is pretty good too. Collen Gleason’s Gardella Vampire Chronicles are great, check out the first one and then see if you want to give it a shot. The first book is Rises the Night. Her new series as Joss Ware is AWESOME too; the Envy Chronicles (that’s what I call it). The first book is Beyond the Night. Okay, I guess I read more paras than I thought. I will stop there. Happy huntin’…LOLOLOLOL!!!
I finished Kiss Me last night and I loved it. It was so, Carly, and I was jonesin’ for one of those. Thanks for a great read!!!
Peace and love,
Paula R.
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Jumping in here to say I third this suggestion!! The BDB books are all on my keeper shelf and among the very few books that I’ll read over and over and over and…well, you get the picture. LOL
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You should give Shadow Bound by Erin Kellison a try she takes you on a slightly different journey through paranormal which was refreshing.
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I would suggest Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter series. They are so good.
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I’d TOTALLY agree. I love the Dark Hunters. Sherrilyn Kenyon creates an amazing world.
I also really enjoy Kerrelyn Sparks and Erin McCarthy’s Vegas Vampires series.
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Also, Cynthia Eden, the series starting with Hotter After Midnight.
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One last suggestion, I swear. LOL
The Arcane Society series by Amanda Quick/Jayne Ann Krentz/Jayne Castle. The series is a mix of historical, contemporary, and futuristic
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Love the Arcane Society!
In any time period!
.
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No, really. This is the last suggestion. Karen Marie Moning’s Highlander series. Very good paranormal series. Plus, there are highlanders. You can’t go wrong with highlanders.
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Love the Vegas Vamps and now must ad the Arcane Society to my reads list.
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Hi carly I’m not a paranormal reader, but I was on a blog earlier this week and the author said she will read any Erin McCarthy she will read her paranormal and her contemporary she will follow her in any direction. That is all I know not much help lol
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I’m not much of a paranormal reader and, like you, I MUST have my HEA. The only things I’ve read are some of the Cherry Adair T-FLAC, those are pretty good. Also, Shannon K. Butcher has a Sentinel Wars series that is also really good.
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Not much of a paranormal reader. I agree with you, must have a HEA. I watched a movie last week and it was a romantic movie and it didn’t have a HEA and I was depressed. Not good.
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I have to say that I agree w/ all the other suggestions. Mel and I ate dinner w/ Erin Kellison @RomCon and tried her book and loved it.
Nalini, Christine, Sherilynn, Kerrelynn, Kresley Cole and Gena Showalter are all auto buys for me in the paranormal world. Gabi Stevens is a new paranormal author and her first book is really cute.
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You have to go with Sherrlyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter series. It is like a cult following, but once your hooked, you have to have more.
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I really enjoy books from Kendra Leigh Castle… she has these Highlander Werewolves that were very yummy to read!
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Highlander Werewolves? Ooh! The best of both worlds. Gotta check them out!
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Uhm…this this book, FAERIE FATE, out now with a second one coming in September, FAERIE FIRE…
Just kidding. Sort of. I love my books, even if I did write them. Let’s see…I second Katie McAlister’s Aisling Grey series which then rolls over to a Dragon series. Her demon, Jim, lives in a Newfoundland dog’s body and I crack up every time I read them.
Susan Sizemore’s Prime Vampire series is pretty good, though set contemporary.
OH! Christine Feehan’s Drake Sisters series: 7 sisters with magical powers each searching for their true love.
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I have to catch up on Katie’s stuff. I am waaay behind and I have many of them in pb which is why probably.
And I second the Faerie stuff that what’s her name there wrote.
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Like you I am really not into the vampire, paranormal, urban fantasy type books so don’t know how much help I will be.
First of all Julie’s Phantom series & Leslie Parrish Black Cats & Extrasensory Agent books are a must. You’ve probably already read them! 
Nora Roberts has been writing elements of paranormal for a long time and she does any book so well! When she was still writing for Sihouette her Donovan series are one of my very favorites to reread. I have lost track of how many times I’ve read those books. The nice thing about her books is they always get a HEA! That is a must for me no matter what I read. Another series of hers that is so good with paranormal is the Night Tales, yummy characters! Some of her more recent mainstream books also have a paranormal bent to them.
Let us know what you try & how you like them.
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Carly, I really love Kate Douglas’ Wolf Tales series! They’re not really dark and they’re very explicit,but I have fallen in love with every one of the characters!! I’m also really getting into Lara Adrian’s Midnight Breed series. I’m only on the second book, but I’m hooked on these gorgeous, badass vampires already!!!
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My favorite is Gena Showalter. She puts a new spin on dragons and vampires in her Heart of Atlantis series.
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Hi Carly!
I, too, am a contemporary reader at heart. I’ll also read historical and light suspense. I have yet to get into the paranormal craze. I’ve read one or two shapeshifter books but can’t get into the vampire thing.
For light paranormal I HIGHLY recommend Christine Feehan’s Drake Sister Series, and she has a new series Sea Haven . I thought the first book, Water Bound was excellent. They are not light reads but they are excellent.
Happy reading.
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I usually red mystery and comptempary books but like I mentioned before I liked Sheeilyn Kenyons’ bad series written with Kathy Love…I want to thank whomever mentioned Still Missing that book was great
Donna
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Thanks for all the suggestions! I’m sorry I wasn’t around to reply. Had a big scare with Buddy today. He’s 12 1/2 and hasn’t been eating, pooping like he has no control, arthritis problems and he’s lost 4 pounds in a month. I was so sick to my stomach all day, but it LOOKS like it’s going to be something we can handle like advanced IBD (irritable bowel). He had xray, sonogram, blood tests, shots, etc. So we’re home hanging out now! Whew.
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Hugs to Buddy!!!
I hope he feels better soon!!
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ditto :)
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Highly recommend them.
How can you not love a man who turns into a lion?? *faints* SOSEXY.
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Hi Carly,
No vampires, wolves, and alternate worlds in my new book “NOW WHAT?”
There is an unresolved conflict between husband and wife when the husband dies suddenly. She tries to move on but their ties still bind. Carly Evans knows from past experience, loved ones always return.
Paranormal combined with contemporary, “Now What? is a story of love and hope with a psychic grandchild and two dogs who sense His presence and guide Carly toward a true second love.
I happen to know where you could receive a hot copy-shamelessly speaking.
Best to you,
Charmaine
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I love paranormals and there have been so many great suggestions made today I can already see my tbb and tbr piles growing!
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I am known to read just about anything. I adore Lora Leigh’s BREED series! Sad thing is, I can’t locate a lot of the first part of the series, so they are on my Christmas wish list!! I also enjoy Christina Dodd’s writing, and Cherry Adair. Those are just a few off the top of my head
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I love paranormal romance. Some authors you need to check out are
Rachel Vincent
Christine Feehan
Sherrilyn Kenyon
Nancy Gideon (Moonlight series)
Carrie Vaughn
Christina Dodd ( Darkness Chosen series and The Chosen ones series)
Lynsay Sands
Kresley Cole
L.A. Banks (The Crimson Moon series)
Kelly Armstrong
Kim Harrison
Katie MacAllister
Keri Arthur
Kerrilyn Sparks
Brends Joyce (Masters of Time series)
Deborah Cooke (Dragonfire series)
Terry Spear ( Wolf series)
Eileen Wilks(World of the Lupi)
Gena Showalter
Ilona Andrews ( Kate Daniels series)
J.R. Ward ( The Blackdagger Brotherhood)
Jenna Black (Morgan Kensley series)
Jeaniene Frost
Jocelynn Drake
Lara Adrian (Midnight Breed series)
Lora Leigh (Breeds series)
Lori Handeland
Maggie Shayne
Marjorie M. Liu
Nina Bangs
Patricia Briggs ( Mercy Thompson series & Alpha and Omega series)
Rebecca York
Rhyannon Byrd ( Primal Instincts series)
Susan Sizemore (Primal Vampires series)
Vicki Pettersson
Vickie Taylor
Yasmine Galenorn (Sisters of the Moon series)
Hope this gives you an idea of some of the great paranormal authors out there. Hope you enjoy some of them. These are the ones that I follow faithfully. Some of these are urban fantasy but they are all great reads.
Julie Swaney
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If you like paranormal, don’t miss tomorrow’s Jungle Madness Friday!
Showing some love to a wonderful writer & supper-supportive Plotmonkey friend!
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I would recommend Gena Showalter. I’ve read two of her books that were paranormal but that just made it
. The Pleasure Slave& The stone Prince. 
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A new paranormal author is Lilly Gayle. Her book, OUT OF THE DARKNESS is a great suspenseful, romantic read Well worth reading.
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If you like paranormal books with a little attitude you might like MARY JANICE DAVIDSON’s books. I particularly like the Queens Betty Series(She’s a boss Vampire who LOVES shoes).
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Have you read the most recent one??? Oh. My. Gods.
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LOL, face it Carly, ur a dark & twisty girl..seriously
we’re dark and twisty people!
ok, I’m reeeally missing my Grey’s Anatomy too but as far as paranormal *MUST READS* this is my list:
~Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
Addictive! You gotta read it! It has weres, magic, and vampires. I love how all her plotlines make sense, like I never feel something fakey or forced is happening. It’s great writing,man.
~Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead
it’s marked in my library as Fiction, and it’s set in contemporary regular world, but the main character is a succubus named Georgina. Ooooh gurl, this book has a love story and excitement that will grab you and have you staying up all night just to finish it
Btw, her Vampire Academy is YA & is also a superb romance with vampires, and djampirs, and a strong heroine.
~Grave Sight (Harper Connelly#!) by the great Charlaine Harris, it’s a contemporary setting in the real world but the protagonist was struck by lightning and since then can communicate with the dead when near them. If you want more vampires, Eric in her Sookie Stackhouse is worth the time to read that long series, promise.
~Truly, Madly by Heather Webber
very funny & sweet romance novel, and very light on the paranormal;family gift is they can see auras and use it to matchmake! Has a decent mystery plot to it too.
~The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Okay, it’s YA but it has a strong romance element with Gale and Peeta, and is seriously the BEST thing I’ve read in a long time. AND, if you read it and book 2 you can get the last book in the trilogy this month when it releases on the 24th!!
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Oh! and how could I forget Bones!
Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series is HAWT! Book 1 is Halfway to the Grave
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I love the True Blood books, esp Eric and most certainly Bubba. But I am not so hot on the TV show- I watch it but have a really hard time not going WTF!!! Eric naked is worth sitting through it though, along with Alcide and even Jason.
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I rarely read anything other than contemporary but I did read Alexandra Ivy’s Darkness series I loved it!!! I think you should pick it up, I read them back to back they were so good!
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I have to say Sherrilyn Kenyon, Christine Feehan, Kresley Cole, and Jacquelyn Frank have some really awesome Paranormals out there! JK Beck and Nancy Gideon are two others that I really enjoyed.
Happy Reading :)!
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I think you should try Alexandra Ivy’s series, it is awesome!!