Welcome to the What to Read next podcast. Today we're talking about urban fantasy series because we're the era of other worldly. Let's just get out of this day and age and go somewhere else where we have the power to overturn authoritarianism and fascism and all this great. Things are happening right now because reading is political. Just an f yi, just in case you didn't know. So our guest today is Francesca, as always. She's like a returning guest. She's like a second co-host of this podcast, and she's our go-to expert for all things fantasy, paranormal, or fantasy and whatnot. So. Francesca, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me. I'm always excited to be here. Awesome. So talk to us about urban fantasy because it's a little bit different than high fantasy and paranormal and all the different things for urban fantasy. I think it's. Is a great intro to fantasy because it's not as intimidating as other fantasy. There's not a lot of new language sometimes, so it's kind of like interesting. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's such a great entry point. It's actually probably one of my original favorite genres. That's what I cut my teeth in with. When I was in high school, like the true classics of Ann Rice and like that kind of stuff. And I think the easy way that people can be introduced to it is because it is set in a real world. So it's always set in a place that like you already kind of know the rules. The only thing that's different is that there is a paranormal world. Kind of blended into the normal world that we already know. So maybe sometimes can be post-apocalyptic. So, something happened, end of the world, whatever, and now the paranormals are out, or maybe the paranormals are not out. And there's all these like lot of politics usually involved to it. And wars between the. Different factions and things like that. So there's a lot of really interesting series. A lot of them are finished series. So that's kind of what I'm focusing on today is some of the must read paranormal urban fantasy series that are already completed. So you could actually binge through the whole series 'cause those are really satisfying, especially when I was really reading. Urban fantasy at the beginning. I would pick up one series and just read through. And the reason why you have to do that is because you don't have a resolution in a book. Yeah. That is one caveat. With a good urban fantasy series, there is no like end of story in. Book one and then, get, you get a different story. Book two. No, you gotta read the whole series to know what happens. Yeah. So, I think binging is probably the best way to go about it, and that's why I'm bringing complete. Yeah, and it might be broken down to three arcs, like the character arcs are happening, so it might just be like a 3, 6, 9 book series. And then there's like a new character arc that's happening, right. Or there's a new thing that's happening. So, yeah. So sometimes like series get extended, but there's the character arc that you're completed series is like the arc, the resolution has is satisfied. Yeah. At this point of this level of this book. Yeah. But they're definitely easier to get into it. 'cause like with regular high fantasy or even like when we are talking romance there's other things that you're. Talking about like in a fantasy world, you're learning what are all the, what's making that world? There's a lot of rules that you have to learn and understand, and with urban fantasy, it's more like you get in and you're up and running. Not all of them. Sometimes some of them are kind of slow building in, but for the most part, I think that it's quite easy. And also. When it comes to the romance, some urban fantasies have romance and some don't. For the most part, the one that I'm gonna talk about today have an element of romance, but I also feel like a lot of times these books get marketed as romance, like a paranormal romance. And they are not. So if you're a romance reader and you pick up a urban fantasy with a romantic subplot, you're probably going to be a little bit disappointed because your expectation is that you're gonna get a lot of the tension between the characters. And sometimes in a whole book, it's just like a little bit, maybe it's just a touch, maybe it's just a small interaction, and you have to wait three books for something to even happen. So. Prepare your expectations when it comes to the romance, but yes, all of the ones that I'm gonna talk about today have romance. It's just a sprinkle. Awesome. Alright, let's get to the recommendations. Let's hit in, let's hit it. Let's hit it. Okay. So I'm gonna talk about the one that's most romance leaning. And it's one that I consider kind of like blends the two genres between urban fantasy and paranormal Romance. And it is the 900 series, so by Janine Frost. So this one has basically vampires, that's the main thing. There are other supernatural creatures, but they come in more as like the bad guys or the things of. Let's call them cases because it is, does have a very military operation feel throughout the series. Maybe not so much in the first book, but as you're going through the series it is kind of like these military type things that they're going through and that they're investigating. So that's the best like vibe that I can give you. But basically our heroin is a half breed and she. Just knows that she's a half breeded because her father or the sperm donor raped her mother and she's made it her mission that she's going to go and kill all the vampires. So she becomes a vampire hunter. And she's not trained by anybody. She's just self-taught and she just goes out every night and tries to kill the umpires until she meets the. Main hero of the story, who's this very old vampire, and he kind of takes a liking to her, of course, but he also decides that he's going to teach her things and then she's introduced to the, larger world of paranormal creatures and all of this stuff. Now our main hero, he also kind of hunts vampires, even though he is a vampire himself, but he is actually doing it to get rid of. The riffraff, the people the vampires that are ruin it for the rest of the race and they're doing things how, 'cause there's a lot of vampire politics. So they're doing things that you're not supposed to be doing. He's not necessarily an enforcer of for the race, but that is kind of what he's doing. So, and then again, there's. The aspect that becomes more government is that then they form, there's this organization that gets formed and there is a team and they go out and they hunt and whatever, and they're like looking for the bad guys and sometimes is. Ghosts and zombies, and Marie Lavo isn't one of them, so there's a lot to it. So it's quite overarching in plot. And the series is also really good because you do have the main romance of, like you said, character arc. So you do have the main romance of these two main characters throughout. A lot of the books, but there are kind of tangents to it. So there are some characters that is just one book and it's more of a paranormal romance where you get the main story for that one vampire and it's a one book and you get their whole thing. And that happens for two of the vampires. And then another vampire has a, I think it's a four book or a three book series. So they're all part of the universe, but you do get to. See those other little stories, but you kind of do need to read them in the order of the whole series because there are things going on in the background that are just gonna make it easier to digest. But it's the one that I would say has a ton of action because that is one thing that I always really love about urban fantasy is a lot of action and probably very little of like trying to understand. It's quite easy to get into all the rules. And then also it does have plenty of romance. It does have sex in them. 'cause sometimes they have romance, but there is no like on page sex. So this one does, it might get a little bit to get there, but it's coming. So yeah it's one that I always recommend for sure. Yeah, this one's perfect for Buffy Va like Buffy fans. Like it's just a vampire player in book form and it has a it has a sexy vampire who's mentoring her. Yes. I mean, that old vampire, and I know there's a lot of conversation right now about oh, well that's grooming because he's older than her. I mean, that's. All paranormals, they're all ancient. I think one of the vampires that has a side story, I think he's Egyptian, like old. Like you're, you know it, yeah. They are very old. She's okay. She's of age. She's, I she's not 15. Yes. She's not in high school. Of course, the age difference between them is very vast, but. There are lots of fun if you want like action packed. I definitely always recommend that. That series for sure. Awesome. What's the next series you wanna record? So the next one I'm gonna go with something fun like light, not lighthearted, but it is something that's gonna make you laugh. And it's Dorinda Jones, the Charlie Davidson series. So this one is, it does also have quite a bit of action and what I love about it, she is the grim reaper, basically. Yeah. And she has to help souls and whatever. And there's always some chaos that happens. And I'm not gonna spoil who the hero is in the series. But he is something, he's not human and there is a reason why he's always around her and he's always involved. And, the, there is a big reveal about what he is, so I'm not gonna say it. So it, he is involved always in all her cases. It's if you've read Cozy Mysteries or like Stephanie Plums. Generative, a Stephanie Palm series that is that, but in paranormal form, basically. There's always some like lots of shenanigans happening, car explosions, like she's always getting in some mess. Her uncle, I think is a police officer, so sometimes she also helps with the, her paranormal expertise to help solve these cases. So it is a little bit of a mystery, sometimes sleuthing, but there is some kind of. Big thing that's always happening in the paranormal world that she has to help with. And then of course there after her and the hero is there to protect her sometimes, or sometimes maybe not. Sometimes maybe he's the one causing trouble. But what I love about it is the humor. She has her little sidekick that is always adding some. Some lighthearted humor to the stuff. And of course there is also romance. So this one is also, I would say, a little bit romance heavy. There is sex on the page and I probably will say that you do have to wait a little bit. So these are not series where they're gonna be like getting together in book one, but it's worth it. It's a good payoff. Sometimes it's nice not to get GRE and book one because then it gets boring in the end, like later on series. These are long series. These are not series of one or two books. These are long series. You gotta work for the payoff, and so it is okay just to wait like it's just. It's just part of the process. Yeah. It's a slow burn. Exactly. And what's good with this one is because it does have that mystery element, you are solving a case in each one. So you do get that satisfaction of closing that chapter, but you have the overarching plot of what's going on in the background. So you do need to read them in order for that reason, but you can at least be satisfied that you're starting a case and you're finishing the case for the most part in one book. Perfect. So those are easy. Okay. So the next series that I'm gonna bring to someone's attention, because I feel like nobody really talks about it, and it's a series that I started off hating. It's the Shifter Series by Rachel Vincent. So this book is, I think the series is six books, if I'm not mistaken. It's five or six books. And the main character is a tabby in a, I think it's leopards, but there's some kind of cat shifter pack and the, she's young, she's going off to college and she does have that personality. She's young and she wants to be free and she doesn't want all the rules of being in, the society and all the rules of the society of her pack. So she goes off to college, she wants to go alone and. Females are not a normal, easy thing. So of course they're very protected and she just decides that she's gonna go off to college. She doesn't want anybody protecting her. So in the first book especially, I had so many problems with her because I really did not like that kind of personality, but you gotta stick with this series because it is so, so good. And she has. So much character growth because she, we see her go from having this mentality to being exposed to so much that happens in this world. And I think the actual timeline of the series is maybe one year. So there's six books and everything happens in one year and a lot happens. There's a lot of politics and one pack, and the other pack and the rogues and all of that. So there's a lot that happens. There's a lot that she goes through. There is a love triangle. That will just kill you. And so there's, you do get to really care for all of these characters. And what I really loved is seeing that character growth because again, she starts off as this very immature woman and by the end, she's basically the leader of the pack and she's just grown so much. So it's a great journey to go on. Just know that you're gonna have to like, deal with that first book. You're gonna digest it a little bit, but it is so, so good. After that. I am adding this one. 'cause I have never heard of this years and I'm like, oh this, nobody talks about it. It's very worthwhile. So I'm like, yeah. And actually she's done a spinoff series which is more of paranormal romance. Yeah. And the spinoff series that she did is, I think it's Paranormal Romance, but like new adult. Okay. So, it does focus on. I am not gonna spoil it 'cause it has to do with part of the love triangle situation, but Okay. Kind of like it goes into that direction. So it's, it there's more to, to be had there. Yeah. So even if you wanted to just read one of those in the spinoff to kind of get a resolution after you finish the shifter series it'll be satisfying. But if you're into like paranormal politics and all of that kind of stuff, this one is full of it. I love my Chloe Neal series. Like I don't know about Al Politics, gimme like all those intrigue and stuff. It's like a little, and I mean, if you like the Chloe Neal with the heroin in that one. Yeah, she's a little bit like that. Maybe a little bit more at the beginning, like maybe a little bit more, but definitely she's very much like married. Perfect. Yeah. Awesome. Okay, so let's see. Do one more. I have. One more series. Let's do one more. Okay. So this one I'm gonna give you is one that you could actually watch a TV show as well. And it's the Women of the Underworld, the Other World Series by Kelly Armstrong. So this is one where it does have a main character arc of a main couple. They are. Shifters. And then as you go through the series, it kind of shifts. So it shifts the points of view. So I think books four and five are witches. So it does have a different HEA, and you kind of start to get the resolution of the romance part of it as you're going through. So like in book one, you may not get that couples HEA, but maybe by book three that HEA is kind of resolved. And then. It goes into another set of couples and so on and so forth, and it does rotate. There's neckers, there's demons, there's witches, there's all kinds of stuff. And I think it rotates through like maybe five or six different couples and points of view throughout the series. However, there is that overarching plot line of what's going on in the world. And they're all interconnected. So it's really fun. And it, there is a sci-fi, sci-fi channel series that was made from this. This series, it's called Bitten. So if you wanted to watch that, I don't know how many se how many seasons they did, but I actually did watch it and it was pretty true to the, for the most part, pretty true to the books and it was fun. So do recommend that also. Oh gosh. I love it. You got like a TV show watch, yes. So awesome. Francesca, tell us about the Undercover under the covers community blog and YouTube. Okay, so, on YouTube, we actually are doing our podcast episodes on YouTube now. So we are doing one. Every single day we're bringing recommendations. We're talking tropes. We're talking genres. So a little bit of discussion. So some of it, what you would consider kind of like educational content in terms of romance, like what's the difference between one type of fantasy versus another one and that kind of stuff, but also lots of recommendations. So that's. Gonna be happening on YouTube every single day, Monday through Friday. And of course, we have our live show every Thursday, which, we have lots of ti, lots of fun and lots of recommendations. And then you can always come over to Substack where we have our community. We do have some exclusive content for paid members there. We have free book lists every single week. So like additional recommendations and also. For free subscribers to Substack is the best way for you to stay up to date with everything that we're posting across everywhere. And also for paid subscribers, we have our book vault, which is like a book release calendar basically, but also we categorize older backlist titles by different tropes character type setting. So it's kind of a research to help find something that you're in the mood for. Lots of stuff. Lots of good recommendations here. Yeah. So thank you Francesca, for making chat. Thank you so much for having me. Awesome. If you enjoyed this podcast, please sends it to rate. Will you subscribe? If you're watching this on YouTube, please leave you a comment and let us know some of your favorite Urban Fantasy recommendations. So thank you.