The best books for bad ass females in fantasy

Queen of the Damned features Akasha, the mother of all vampires and boy does she deliver as a badass, unapologetic, fearless, and the original boss lady of fantasy. There is no redeeming Akasha but that is what makes her so intriguing, she takes no prisoners her motivation is power and lust. If she was written as a man, it would have been the usual power trope but as a woman, Rice places a different spin on gender roles in the genre. You love to hate Akasha. As a woman I found myself rooting for her to succeed even though I know her methodology was vicious and cruel. Akasha set the standard for vampiric villainy in a sexy atmosphere and I was living for it.          

A hybrid demon witch? Bring it on! Flawed and determined that is Rachel Morgan in a nutshell. Did I mention she has a wisecracking pixie as a sidekick and a demon mentor named Al? Yes, she does and I love her for it. Rachel Morgan has grown so much from Dead Witch Walking the first book in the series to Million Dollar Demon the latest installment. Rachel survived Rosewood Syndrome a disease that should have killed her but due to a questionable intervention that made her a demon she has embraced her demonic side and is kicking butt. Her sarcastic attitude and love for danger make her so much fun to read. That and she does it all in black stiletto knee-high boots.        

Bree O’Reilly, menopause, and the supernatural—say what? I read the description and was hooked. Taking place in one of the most haunted cities in America—Savannah, Georgia. Shannon Myer mixes an “older” heroine Bree and her dealings with menopause, a nasty divorce, and finding her inner supernatural power. Throw in Bree’s sassy grandmother who is a ghost, a bigfoot, a siren, and a bisexual werewolf and the hijinks are hilarious. The best part is Bree navigating the way back to her true self and finding out she holds so much more power than she realized having forgotten it in her toxic marriage for so long. Bree is a strong, capable woman who is so much more than her extra 20 pounds or her age. She proves to be very proficient with knives and while maybe she needs to work on her cardio she is a pretty decent fighter when she tangles with the supernatural creatures of Savannah all while dealing with hot flashes.     

Half human and half vampire but all bad ass, that is Kat “kitten” Crawfield from the Night Huntress series. Kat is a vampire hunter determined to rid the world of the evil creatures since she believes she too is evil thanks to her mother Justina’s constant propaganda about the undead. Of course, that is until Kat meets Bones a dashing vampire assassin who takes her under his wing and teaches her how to be a better killer. It is Kat’s stubborn streak and loyalty for those she loves that melts his undead heart. While Kat on the other hand takes a bit longer to warm up to her vampire mentor, a lot longer. Kat and Bones’ quick banter and sexual tension is awesome. The story heats up and the training fight scenes very are well done. Kat is a kick-butt, take no prisoners gal who is far from a damsel in distress.           

This is one of my favorite Laurel K. Hamilton books, Dead Ice is Anita Blake at her best, kicking ass and taking names, as a necromancer Anita can raise the dead but she is also a US Marshal with the highest kill count in the US. She deals with misogyny and bigotry for sleeping with the Vampire king—Jean Claude. The mystery is well written in this book but the fight scenes are great and the monsters are scary as heck, Anita comes off as complex as she deals with being engaged but still wanting to maintain her independence as a woman. This is one of LKH better books as she pens the double standards about how a woman is treated in the workplace by others for being good at her job versus a man- Anita has a high kill count and is looked down upon for being violent if it was a man he would be applauded. The book is well done, love Anita being unapologetic for being a kick-ass woman!