Books: Vampire reads

E’s post reminded me that I’ve been meaning to do a run-down of the vampire series I’ve read for y’all.  I’m going to put some of it under a cut since there is one Twilight “spoiler.”  Here goes:

1. Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer: I read all of these the weekend that the last book came out.  Despite my seeming dedication to them, I’m not impressed.  The writing was pretty bad - how many times did Edward really need to tell Bella that they shouldn’t be together?  And it seemed as though Meyer forgot that the books needed an actual storyline until more than halfway through.  I thought the movie was a lot better - cut a lot of the useless stuff and condensed the story quite nicely.  And don’t get me started on the fourth book; I cannot believe that was classified as young adult.  All that said, if you like young adult stuff with some angsty romance and vampires, check it out.  Just don’t read them all at once because you’ll be irritated with how predictible everything is.
2. The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith: To me, this is the original YA vampire series.  I read them back in 1991 when they first came out since I was already an L.J. Smith fan.  The whole time I was reading Twilight, I was thinking, “Boy, I remember The Vampire Diaries being so much better.”  So I re-read them recently.  And I still think they’re better.  They’re definitely written more simply, but there’s just something about the Elena-Stephan-Damon love triangle that’s so classic and perfect - and far superior to the half-@ssed triangle in Twilight.  You know there’s no way that Bella is going to end up with Jacob over Edward (well, you do if you’re paying attention).  But Elena just might succomb to the darker Damon over seemingly perfect Stephan.  And she still might!  Apparently more books are coming.  Even better, there’s a tv series based on the books premiering this fall on the CW.  (Side note: They’ve cast another Degrassi girl in this one.)  Bonus: If you like witches, check out Smith’s Secret Circle series, which is even better than the Vampire Diaries.
3. The Last Vampire by Christopher Pike: These aren’t my favorite Pike books, but they’re decent if you’re vampire obsessed.  I guess I don’t connect as well with this series since the main character is a super old vamp chick - I prefer a younger main character.  That said, if you think some of the other YA vampire books are a bit young but you still enjoyed them, you might like these better.
4. House of Night by P.C. and Kristin Cast: Despite my appreciation for Smith’s series, this is actually my favorite series.  Not only do we have a great teenage vamp chick as the main character, but it’s set at a boarding school!  I love stuff about boarding schools and secret societies for some reason.  Anyway, I thought the flow of the story is much better than in the Twilight, though you do trade off a bit in the character development area (thank goodness!  I’m really not sure if I could’ve taken even another page about Bella and Edward).  I also like how the Casts have twisted the traditional take on vampires and have set up far more interesting love interests for Zoey; this seems more realistic than finding your soulmate in high school (I know - I’m one to talk since I found my husband in high school lol).  I could, however, do without some of the childish language used by the main character.  And I definitely wouldn’t recommend it to younger readers because of the sexual content and Zoey’s bad behavior.  Side note: These remind me of a more mature version of the Daughters of the Moon series by Lynne Ewing, though those didn’t have vampires or a boarding school so I’m not sure why.
5. The Undead/Queen Betsy by MaryJanice Davidson: I’ve only read 5/7 of this series, so I can’t fairly review the whole thing.  That said, I highly recommend taking one as a beach/car read on your next trip.  They are a fun combination of chick lit and mystery.  You’ll find discussion about fashion, an interesting romance, and a simple mystery in each one.  Beware - the books are, like Janice ’s Stephanie Plum novels, very formulaic, so I recommend not reading more than one at a time.
6. True Blood by Charlaine Harris:  I’m only 3 (of 8) books into this series (and have only watched the first season of the show since we don’t have HBO).  If you’re sick of the YA novels or really just can’t get enough, pick these up.  You’ll love Sookie, the main character, who has a love affair with a vampire.  And the books are definitely at least somewhat different from the show, so no worries about one totally spoiling the other for you.  Be advised - these are written for adults, so there’s more graphic violence and adult content than you’ll find in the YA books.  The only reason I haven’t read all of them just yet is that I have to take breaks from that kind of stuff for my mental health.
7. The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice:  You know how I said Harris’s books are kind of adult?  They pale in comparison to the gore in Rice’s books.  To me, this is not lighthearted reading, so, if you enjoy any of the others I’ve talked about, you might not like these.  I really really love vampire books, movies, and tv shows, but I just can’t handle this series - or the movie.
8. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8 by various authors:  Okay, I couldn’t resist it.  I am a huuuuuge Buffy fan, so I can’t help but add these graphic novels to the list.  If you were a Buffy fan and have not started following Season 8 (which picks up where the tv show left off), check them out for sure.  They’re bizarre but fun.  Since Whedon and his gang aren’t limited by a production budget or FCC censorship, there’s some wild stuff in here.

Do you know of any other good series about vampires?  What are your thoughts on the series that you have read?  Come on, you know you want to disagree with me about Twilight!  Oh, and if it seems your taste in books might be similar to mine, friend me on GoodReads.