Robin McKinley's Sunshine

A discovery of witches by Deborah harness.

Children of the Night by Mercedes Lackey (actually part of her Diana Tregarde trilogy, but the only one with vampires as a major part). 1970s NYC, some romance, both psychic and true vamps, sex, drugs, rock'n'roll...

Edited at 2012-12-27 05:21 am (UTC)

Hrm - there's Charlene Harris, who is what they based the True Blood series off. Or Kim Harrison - very very similar to Rachel Caine, but actually published first and for a slightly more adult audience, unless I'm much mistaken?

Yeah - I'd go along with the Anne Rice suggestion precisely - that is if you haven't already read them :)

P.N. Elrod has 2 vampire series - the Jonathan Barrett series has some romance, and the Vampire Files are a gumshoe private eye series with the lead character being a vampire - both highly recommended!

Also second the recommendations for Sunshine and the Lackey vampire books.

Chloe Neill's Chicagoland vampire series is EXCELLENT! *Highly* recommended!

Jeaniene Frost has a series with vampires that is fun as well.

I thought the Morganville Vampires were teen?

You might check out The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. Can't get further from Twilight than this and I say that as someone who has read and enjoyed both.

I know people love to hate them (hurr), but Anne Rice's books were my door in, and I'll always cherish them for that. They're better read in order of publishing though, and then you can still decide how far you want to follow. I think the last two or three weren't so much my cup of tea, but nonetheless she has interesting ideas, and the vampires are serious stuff, not glitter bath bombs.

I enjoyed Christopher Moore's vampire trilogy (starts with Bloodsucking Fiends), but it's more humor than romance. There *is* a bit of romance thrown in, but it's sort of secondary, really.

Those who hunt the night by Barbara Hambly. Her vampires are some of the most convincingly inhuman that I've come acrosss. Definitely not twinkly.

I'd also recommend Christopher Moore's Bloodsucking Fiends and the two sequels if you're in the mood for some humor mixed in with your vampires.

- The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward
- Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
- 30 Days of Night ( Graphic Novel )
- Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead( Young Adult book )
- House of Night series by PC Cast ( Young Adult )
- The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

I would recommend The Vampyre" by Tom Holland. It revolves around the idea of Lord Byron being a vampire, chronicles his life with a mix of fact/fiction & is genuinely very scary in places.