Are any of the "Hamiltonesque" books better than hers?

[Love Rhombus]

A friend of mine recently got started reading the Dresden books by Jim Butcher. On a trip to the bookstore for more in the series, I noticed that there seemed to be a group of books that looked similar to Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake novels, for example the plot revolves around a tough female in a world of magic. Maybe I'm oversimplifying. Anyway, he's interested in starting those too, but I never really liked them, and I thought I'd ask for suggestions. He ultimately bought the first of the Rogue Angel series by Alex Archer if there's something better out there. And am I naive to be annoyed at the similar ideas?

[susan_foster]

I used to like Laurell K. Hamilton. She really lost it for me with Narcissus in Chains.

I do have a weakness for women and the supernatural. Currently, I love Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan books. The end of her latest, For a Few Demons More, really was a heartbreaker.

Others I've read, but won't necessarily buy:
Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld Series - but she is growing on me
Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville series - I bought the first couple, but have taken the last few out of the library
Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series - but she is going towards the Anita side of "everyone loves/hates the heroine"
Vicki Pettersson's Sign of the Zodiac series

On the lighter side:
I enjoyed the first couple books of MaryJanice Davidson's Undead... series
Cassie Daniels' Pepper Martin books

Skip:
Karen Chance's Cassandra Palmer series

Susan

[Der Trihs]

Tanya Huff's Blood series ( Blood Ties, Blood Lines, Blood Debt, etc ) feature Vicki Nelson, a very strong willed and aggressive ex-cop and PI. She starts running into supernatural critters; a vampire ( a good guy actually ), demons, werewolves, and so on.

It's been years since I read any of the series, but the Sonja Blue books by Nancy A. Collins were good as I recall. The character is a sort of semi-vampire ( she essentially got halfway turned into a vampire, and was left with the best of both worlds ), in a world where vampires and other critters live upon humans in disguise and prey upon them. She in turn kills them. If it sounds familiar, I understand that it inspired quite a few imitations.

[Love Rhombus]

Tanya Huff's Blood series ( Blood Ties, Blood Lines, Blood Debt, etc ) feature Vicki Nelson, a very strong willed and aggressive ex-cop and PI. She starts running into supernatural critters; a vampire ( a good guy actually ), demons, werewolves, and so on.

It's been years since I read any of the series, but the Sonja Blue books by Nancy A. Collins were good as I recall. The character is a sort of semi-vampire ( she essentially got halfway turned into a vampire, and was left with the best of both worlds ), in a world where vampires and other critters live upon humans in disguise and prey upon them. She in turn kills them. If it sounds familiar, I understand that it inspired quite a few imitations.

Interesting, so maybe it's Hamilton that is the imitation? I tried Magic Bites by Kate Daniels. It was somewhat the same, yet different enough to be entertaining. I liked it; you might want to sample it.

[DrDeth]

Not quite the same genre, but Simon R Green's Nightside series is pretty damn good.

Hamilton started out OK, but degenerated, and I mean degenerated.

Tanya Huff's series is on TV, Lifetime I think. I have not seen it.

[Little Nemo]

Sins of the Blood by Kristine Kathryn Rusch is unusual in that it's a single book, not part of a series (despite the fact that Rusch developed several of her other books into series). But it's a very good book in the "female vampire hunter" genre.

[AuntiePam]

The Passion and The Promise by Donna Boyd -- historical romance with werewolves. I liked them.

[Eureka]

Not sure I'd call it "Hamiltonesque", but there's a series by Rebecca York which I've read which features werewolves--and a few witches, assorted psychics, etc.

Hers are more in the line of Romantic Suspense with Werewolves-- each book revolves around one werewolf* and his mate--whom he has not yet met at the beginning of the book. The werewolves are all brothers/cousins--in her universe, being a werewolf is hereditary, chance-y and sex-linked.

It's a far less complicated world than Anita Blake's-- or Harry Dresden's. And each book is far more independent. On the other hand, the female characters get far less facetime than Anita Blake--not surprising since she's the narrator of her own adventures. And the books are not as engaging, somehow.

*I'm simplifying slightly.