Urban fantasy is one of my favorite genres and Lindsay Buroker has quickly become one of my favorite urban fantasy authors. One of the things I most enjoy about Lindsay’s books are that her heroines are not the typical urban fantasy heroines. (Her stories also have enough romantic elements to please my romantic heart.)

The series that introduced me to Lindsay is Death Before Dragons. At first glance, Val Thorvald, the heroine of the series, appears to be very much the typical UF heroine. Why? Well, Val is tall, blonde, wears a lot of leather, and is good with both guns and bladed weapons. How is she not the standard heroine? Val is sixty years old. Admittedly, she’s half-elven so she looks thirty, but still. She’s also divorced and a reluctant absentee mom. (Val is an assassin for the government; when magical bad guys hurt people, Val is in charge of making sure they never do so again. She stays away from her daughter to protect her from possible fallout from her job.) The hero of the series is Lord Zavryd’nokquetal, a dragon. (Dragons can take human form.) Dragons are powerful and arrogant and Lord Zavryd has both traits in spades. When Val and Lord Zavryd are forced to work together, the process is anything but smooth. Oh, I almost forgot – Val also has a magical tiger.

There are nine books in the Death Before Dragons series:

• Sinister Magic
• Battle Bond
• Tangled Truths
• Elven Doom
• False Security
• Storm Forged
• Secrets of the Sword I
• Secrets of the Sword II
• Secrets of the Sword III

While Val and Zav’s story wraps up with the of the Death Before Dragons series, the storyline continues in the Legacy of Magic series. While Val and Zav make occasional appearances, Matti Puletasi step into the role of heroine. Of all of the heroines in the three interconnected series that make up this storyline, Matti is my favorite. Matti is short, curvy, rides a motorcycle, and refurbishes homes for a living. She’s also half-dwarven and carries a magical dwarven war hammer. The role of hero is taken over by Sarrlevi, an egotistical elven assassin. (As a big fan of Zevran Arainai, the elven assassin in the Dragon Age Origins video game, I support this choice of hero. In fact, in my head, Sarrlevi looks a lot like Zevran.)

The series starts with Matti being framed for murder and Sarrlevi being the only person seemingly interested in helping her. As the series moves on, our intrepid hero and heroine move from one crisis to another – many of which revolve around Matti’s dwarven mother; the mother Matti long thought dead.

There are eight books in the Legacy of Magic series:

• Hammered
• Betrayed
• Trolled
• Tested
• Wrenched
• Fused
• Wanted
• Cursed

After the events of the Legacy of Magic series, the storyline concludes in the Tracking Trouble series. Heroine Arwen Forester is a socially awkward introvert; she’s also an archer, tracker, and forager. Much to Arwen’s dismay, she is also half dark elf, and is always in danger of being found and captured by her mother’s people. Arwen puts her skills to the test to track, rescue, and befriend the hero, genetically engineered half-dragon super soldier, Azerdash Starblade. (With a name like that, he has to be the hero.)

There are five books in the Tracking Trouble series:

• Marked by Magic
• Bound by Blood
• Driven by Destiny
• Pursued by Peril
• Tested by Temptation

If you enjoy urban fantasy, I highly recommend these books. There’s a lot of action and so many wonderful secondary characters. I enjoy the fact that the characters introduced in earlier books continue to make appearances throughout the series.

Have you read any of these books? If so, what did you think? If you like urban fantasy, who is your favorite author?