I have a few books from each series, but certainly not all.  Do I need to read every book in order of publication for:

-Anite Blake series (Hamilton)

-Meredith Gentry series (Hamilton)

-Vampire Academy (Mead)

-Carpathians (Feehan)

I don't mind waiting until I PBS/Amazon them, just wanting to know.

Thanks so much guys!

I would say its best to read vampire academy in order. The others I'm not really sure about. I have read 1 and 2 of meredith gentry, might be good to read those in order too...or at least read the first one...first just for the background story.

I would say yes on Anita Blake and Meredith Gentry. You will not know what is going on if you read them out of order. And the later books would have huge spoilers for the earlier books.

Also, the style and plot lines of the Anita books change in a major major way about halfway thru the books ... many people find that once they hit that point, they stop reading. So, you might want to read them in order so that when you get to that point (and you willl know it when you get there) you can rest assured that everything that comes after is more of the same ..... and may or may not be to your taste.

The others, don't know. Didn't read them.

Thanks ladies!  For the Anita books - did she switch editors or pick up a couple of ghost writers or something?

I haven't read any of the Anita Blake or Gentry books yet, so im not sure. I would say to absolutely read the VA books in order. Unfortunately IMO the Carpathian book are all the same so I dont think it really matters too much on that one!

PL C

No she didn't change editors or anything.  She divorced her then husband (who was a little straight-edge) and remarried another guy (who was not). 

The only series I have read is Christine Feehan's.  I think reading them in order is the way to go.  If you read them out of order, you will really spoil some of the plot lines.   Also reading in order will show you how their characters develope.

My opinion is that both Hamilton series should be read in order (about half way through the anita series they become more sex than story)  The Feehan books...you should probably read the first couple in order just to get a feel for the storyline and then I didn't have a problem reading them out of order.

LKH's first husband helped edit her books.  By the time she got to the second husband, she was a big enough name to choose her editor.  Unfortunately, she felt she did not need one.  While she really did.  Her plot lines tend to ramble at bit, with gratuitous sex scenes.  This would be great if I liked her sex scenes.  But she isn't the best writer of erotica.  Her most recent books seem to have an editor who speaks up.  At least the plot is tighter.

Feehan's books are all self contained (focused on one relationship) but they are interrelated.  (Large family and books all mention previous couples.)  Reading them in order is recommended, but not as necessary as reading LKH or the others in order.

Again, thank you. You guys are just fantastic - I'm newish to the site and I remain shocked at its awesomness.

One of the series that is often posted is the Blood series by Tanya Huff.  There is romance in the series, but not much sex.  This series was one of the first urban fantasy vampire series.  It was reissued when the TV channel Lifetime did a series based on it, making it usually available.  (Some of the paranormals have a long wait time.)

Another series is the "In Death" series by J D Robb.  This is a SF mystery romance.  And the books and wait list usually move fast.

Re; LKH.....I'm not at all offended by the sex; I just thought her books got to be the same-old, same-old thing really fast.....