In author spotlight, I want to write dedicated posts to highlight an author that I believe deserves more attention both in and out of the NA literature fandom.
It was a no-brainer for me to start out with Karina Halle (pronounced like Halle Berry, my stupid brain pronounced it differently for a long time). She is definitely one of the hardest working authors out there. Plus she’s a hometown girl for me (both of us were born in Vancouver, Canada (and she still lives close by)), which bleeds into the settings of so many of her books.
Karina is a machine. She is my most read author, and here’s the proof from Goodreads… (and I haven’t even read all of her books)
Karina has written in so many different genres, that I really believe there is something for everyone in her arsenal. Instead of going through each book by itself, I am going to group things together and hopefully some catch your eye.
Let’s start with a Karina classic…
Experiment in Terror
If you are in the mood to marathon a longer series that is completed look no further. This was a plunge into paranormal that I’ve only done in small doses, but this was full on ghost hunting and actually a little freaky at times. So many places were really close to home for me, some I had visited or live nearby. This was just an added bonus to me. What makes this an essential read from Karina is the slow burn angsty romance between Perry and Dex. The burn over the entire series is perfect, an essential if you love watching a beautiful romance develop slowly. If you ever have a chunk of time or go on a holiday pick this up and read it straight through.
Another essential marathoning experience from Karina is…
The Artists Trilogy + Dirty Angels Trilogy + Sins Duet
I accidentally did not read it in this order (I read the Sins Duet first) but you would benefit from reading chronologically if you wanted to read them all.
I wanna warn that these books are the darkest in Karina’s portfolio (especially Dirty Angels). Each series got better and improved upon the previous one. These series have produced some of Karina’s most interesting characters, as most are not good or bad, but are rather somewhere in between (if you’ve read these you know I’m talking about Javier).
The Sins Duet is actually my favourite thing from Karina that she’s written so far. I absolutely love the romance and how sucked into the story I was. I became so invested in these characters. Again I would highly recommend these as another marathon experience, it would be great to delve into these on a holiday.
Now I’m going to discuss Karina’s best contemporaries…
If you want to explore vibrant international settings…
Love, in English
Where Sea Meets Sky
Racing the Sun
Heat Wave
Love, in English and the subsequent concluding short story Love, in Spanish are beautiful and heartbreaking. This book is everything you could possibly want in a contemporary romance, it would make the most perfect film romantic dramedy. The protagonist was from Vancouver so that sold it to me from the start. The book is mainly set in Spain through and the setting is wonderful. This is one of Karina’s bests.
Where Sea Meets the Sky tells the story of the brother of the protagonist from Love, in English and it is also that sweet, emotional contemporary romance. This book’s setting is almost 50/50 Vancouver and New Zealand. This is a great one.
The protagonist of Racing the Sun is a character that is introduced in Where Sea Meets the Sky. This story is wonderful and is reminiscent of what I love about Love, in English. The Amalfi coast was such a gorgeous setting and my favourite of this kinda trilogy (I’m biased being Italian and all). If you want to swoon over some wonderful love stories then I highly recommend marathoning the last three interconnected books I just discussed.
Heat Wave was based on Karina’s frequent trips to the island of Kauai in Hawaii. The setting is gorgeous and the story is just wonderfully emotional. The romance was a wonderful burn. This is worth a read. I feel like it would be wonderful to read this while on a beach in Hawaii.
Next up a wonderful set of contemporaries…
Books set in Vancouver and surrounding areas…
Before I Ever Met You
After All
Smut
Before I Ever Met You is a wonderful story of a couple falling in love. Vancouver is the backdrop to this story and it does really come across as a book written by a born and bred Vancouverite. From the film industry to the insane housing prices that keep the protagonist living at home with her parents, this book is so Vancouver. Even if you don’t have the Vancouver connections I have this book is wonderful.
After All features characters from Before I Ever Met You and is another wonderful contemporary. Read these two together and you won’t regret it.
Smut was an early favourite of mine from Karina. If you are new to NA and unwilling to accept your undying love for it, this is a great read. This story should leave any NA reader proud to read what they read. Many characters mock the romance novels, but by the end, many come to respect what they contribute to the literary world. After the Sins Duet, Smut is my next favourite.
Next up is a great trilogy…
North Ridge
The North Ridge series takes place in beautiful Northern BC and tells the story of three brothers and the women they fall in love with. If you love the small town trope this is perfect. This is riddled with drama and emotion. If you ever need a good trilogy read this one.
Now for Karina’s most recent stories…
The Swedish Prince
The Wild Heir
My favourite of her latest stories The Swedish Prince, tells the dream we are all dying to live of a normal girl, falling for a Prince in disguise. Karina even went to Sweden to research this story and took photos of the book all over major sites. This was a wonderful story and if you are in a royals kick after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding, you can continue that high by picking up this novel.
And to close, this month Karina released The Wild Heir, the story of the Prince of Norway who is introduced in The Swedish Prince (it isn’t really necessary to read The Swedish Prince first. These are both complete standalones.) This story is one of the best marriage of convenience style tropes I’ve read in a long time. The Norwegian touches are great, as Karina is Norwegian herself.
I really hope this has convinced you to pick up some Karina Halle if you have not already or if you have to continue with some of her other books. I did not discuss all of her books here leaving out many more contemporaries that are also really good.
If you want her whole arsenal check out Karina Halle’s books on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4785031
I will also link some other ways to connect with Karina Halle online:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetalBlonde
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorhalle/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/912577838806567/ (such a fun Facebook Group to be a member of)
Thank you so much for reading!
