Some of Jennifer’s favorite books and series …

• Posted in About Books, Elemental Assassin series, On Writing

Note: This post will also appear tomorrow at Magical Musings.

Hey, everyone! I am continuing our April posts about some of our favorite books and series. Here are my picks in no particular order:

Sugar DaddySugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas: I know that many folks love Kleypas’s historical romances, but to me, her contemporaries  really shine, especially Sugar Daddy, the first book in her Travis contemporary romance series.

This book focuses on Liberty Jones, who is growing up in a trailer park in Texas. Really, it’s more of a coming-of-age story than a romance, since Liberty deals with everything from losing her first love, to her mother dying, to raising her little sister by herself, to growing up and becoming a successful businesswoman. The thing that I love about Liberty is that no matter what happens, she never gives up, and she always finds a way to take care of herself and her family.

The Dortmunder series by Donald E. Westlake and the Parker series by Richard Stark (aka Donald Westlake): These series are both about thieves, and they are like the two sides of the same coin, since they are both written by Westlake.

The Dortmunder series are comic crime capers, about a group of quirky, lovable (if sometimes inept) thieves who continually have the worst luck imaginable, but always manage to scrape by. Contrast that to the Parker series, which is about a loner, tough-as-nails thief named Parker, who usually shoots first and ask questions later. If you like crime fiction, check out Westlake’s books.

Captain America Winter SoldierCaptain America: Winter Solider by Ed Brubaker, et. al.: Back in 2014, the Marvel movie Captain America: The Winter Soldier came out. I loved the movie so much that I got the comics collection that the movie was inspired by and read it.

And it was fantastic.

The basic story arc is that a deadly assassin called the Winter Soldier is on the loose, and it’s up to Captain America aka Steve Rogers to stop him. But surprise, surprise, the Winter Soldier turns out to be Steve’s old friend Bucky Barnes, who has been brainwashed into becoming the ultimate assassin. So it’s up to Steve to try to figure out if he can save his best friend — or if he’ll have to stop the Winter Soldier once and for all. This story has all the things that I love — action, adventure, superheroes, and a truly epic friendship between Steve and Bucky.

The James Bond series by Ian Fleming: Just about everyone knows James Bond from the movies — a suave, supercool superspy who saves the world on a regular basis. But I discovered the James Bond books back when I was in high school. The books differ quite a bit from the movies, but I love the mixture of action, adventure, and spy shenanigans, in both the books and the movies.

Where the Red Fern GrowsWhere the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls: If you’ve read my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series, you know that Gin Blanco, my heroine, has a blood-spattered copy of this book hanging up on the wall of the Pork Pit, her barbecue restaurant. Why? Because it belonged to her murdered mentor, and because the book is about love and loss.

In fact, this is the first book that I remember just absolutely breaking my heart. It’s about a young boy named Billy who gets two dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann, and all the adventures that they have together. If you don’t know what happens at the end of the book, I won’t spoil it for you, but just be sure that you have some tissues handy. Because you will cry. A lot.

So those are some of my favorite books and series. What about you guys? What are some of your favorite books?

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6 Responses to “Some of Jennifer’s favorite books and series …”

  1. Johnny Carruthers says:

    Let’s see . . . in no particular order:

    Fantastic Voyage by Isaac Asimov — This is my all-time favorite movie, and Asimov’s adaptation was the first book of his that I ever read.

    The Hitchhiker’s Guide series by Douglas Adams.

    The Lensman series by E.E. “Doc” Smith — Space opera from the man who I believe invented the term. At the very least, he used it in one of the Lensman books.

    The Honor Harrington series by David Weber.

    Bimbos Of The Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb.

    And I think I’ll stop here before I write a novel-length treatise. Take a look at my Goodreads shelf if you want to see more. (A lot of the time, I might mention something just because I’ve recently read it.)

  2. Melissa (Books and Things) says:

    I’m going to have to read The Dortmunder series. The characters sound interesting. Oh and no to Where the Red Fern Grows. I saw the Disney movie and was love/hated by a neighbor (I gave them the movie… they love dogs) because they cried so much. It is a love/hate kind of book. 😉 I always thought it was a good prop for Gin to have in the resturant. Made sense.

    • Jennifer Estep says:

      The Dortmunder books are really funny. Like a comedy of errors with thieves.

      Yeah, dog/cat/pet books and movies always get to me. Like Marley & Me.

  3. Gail kreis says:

    This year loved Orphan X by Greg H can’t spell last name. And Brotherhood of the wheel R SBelcher. Really strange and sort of twilight zone cross with Steven King n mythology. And try Sarah Maclean regency books n also CS Harris St.Cyr books . And loved Bimbos sci fi convention/mystery hilarious Bitter bite was great, Finn and Gin loved it.

    • Jennifer Estep says:

      Thanks! I appreciate that. Glad you enjoyed BITTER BITE.

      I’ve heard a lot of good things abuot Sarah MacLean’s books. I keep meaning to try them.

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