Favorite Five Guilty Pleasure Reads

First of all….I still haven’t had time to make a new banner. Whoops! Eventually.

I kind of dislike the term ‘guilty pleasure’. Because as far as books go, why are we made to feel ashamed of the things we like to read? If you like something, you like it. On the other hand, there are definitely some books that maybe you don’t want to admit that you totally love because, heck, humans totally judge each other all the time. I get it. So, let’s take a few minutes to unabashedly share some things we love that we may not normally admit to. 😀

 

• Dark-Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon.

This is a series of paranormal romance novels that for some reason is transitioning into regular fantasy now? Somehow? Or at least the publishing world wants us to think so? (Marketing books seems weird and sometimes arbitrary. Ahem.) Anywho, I don’t have anything against PR! I read a lot of it! I love it! Vampires, were-people, gods from various pantheons, some kind of ancient curse, immortals, romance focused plot–throw that shit in a blender and this is what you get. I love this series. Even though it’s very ALPHA MALE MANLY MEN with buried FEELINGS. Some of them also get kind of formulaic after a while. And also there’s a lot of trauma our characters have in their backstories (and sometimes the main story) so….these may not be for everyone. Also, there are a TON of books to this series. I stopped reading a while back and now I’m like over 10 books behind. Whoops!

 

• The Selection series by Kiera Cass.

I mentioned this series in another post, and I have to say, the first book I thought was totally ridiculous, but I just couldn’t stop reading them. I mean, I thought the first three were mostly ridiculous, but they were so addictive! The last two I liked, and genuinely loved that last one. It was fun! Actually, they were all quite fun, even the ridiculous ones. Anyway, short low-down: this is a YA Dystopian series that someone else said is like a cross between The Hunger Games and The Bachelor, and you know what? They’re completely right. The first one also has some of the most hilarious negative reviews you’ll read on goodreads.

 

 

• Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton.

 

I mean, the first book is even titled Guilty Pleasures so… Oh man, I read these books since the second book came out, way back in the day. Those first several books were so different from any other fantasy I’d read at that time that I immediately became hooked. Plus vampires. I love vampires. Of course, the series really took a turn into erotica at a certain point and hasn’t looked back. And…I kept reading. I think I stopped around book 15 but I still want to catch up on the series at some point.

 

 

 

• Cal Leandros series by Rob Thurman.

Speaking of Urban Fantasy, this series features two brooding brothers that are monster hunters (one of the brothers is half-monster himself so he’s extra broody). There’s sarcastic quips, lots of ass kicking, perilous situations, various side-kicks, sword fighting…everything fun. It’s a bit like Supernatural in some ways, so if you like that show you may like these books. Why is this on the list? As the series goes on it takes a bit of a turn for the ‘ok, this is how it is now? it feels a bit weird’ and yet, I was hooked and fully on board with the new road the story was going down. Was sad when this one was dropped by the publisher. I still haven’t read the last book because I don’t want it to be over.

 

 

• Black Jewels series by Anne Bishop.

Oh man, this series was my jam back in the day. I LOVED this one. I mean, I still do. One of the things I love most about it is some of the weird dream-like writing where things feel really confused. I have a thing for that. Also, that all the main characters are kind of like what would normally be ‘bad’ but are actually ‘good’? I like that inversion. But there is some weird shit in these books. And some subject matter that makes one a bit…uncomfortable. And some stuff that, looking back, may be kind of problematic. But, I still love them. I did leave off around book 5 (of 9), the first main trilogy was my favorite.

 

 

Those are some of my ‘guilty pleasure’ reads! What are yours? Leave me a note in the comments or feel free to make a post your own, I’d love to hear from you. 🙂