I’ve been hearing about this author for a few years now, namely for her VERY DARK book called Heat, that has been on my TBR list… just waiting for me to stop being a chicken and dive in. 😉 Tee hee! All dark/paranormal/sci-fi/eerie-sounding but with incredible intensity and you’ll fall hard for some of her heroes.
But there are a few here that have recently discovered her other books and have gone absolutely CRAZY for them. My friend Sali said:
“If you’re in a sci-fi-ish sort of mood, take a little look at this author!!! Don’t know who they are … Male/female etc lol but OMG the character development & world building is MIND BLOWING!!!!! Anyway. Just thought I would share the sci-fi/dystopian love with U lol Seriously Maryse….. There is something really special in this authors writing. & I don’t say that lightly.”
Whoa. 
AND WOW!!!!!!! And my friends… she’s not the only one going nuts for this author. My book-buddies are going CRAZY for her books (not just one, but many of ’em) and saying she’s now one of their absolute favorite authors (and best find of 2015). I KNOW she’s for me!!!
Paula: Hi Maryse, since you like Paranormal and Urban Fantasy, I figured I’ll tell you about the book I’ve read recently. For me it’s the best paranormal/dystopian book I’ve read. Actually, it’s the best book I have ever read and maybe it would be something for you. It’s ‘Land Of The Beautiful Dead’ by R. Lee Smith. I haven’t read any other. Am not ready yet to crush on a book boyfriend that is a lizard or a bug (Cottonwood). But the writing is absolutely amazing and Land of the Beautiful Dead is one of the best stories I’ve ever read. I don’t think you’ll regret it.
Mag: Did you read HEAT by R. Lee Smith yet? The darkest. Unbelievable. This features 2 stories; a criminal alien who comes to earth to kill humans to harvest them for drugs and the alien cop who is chasing him down. Each kidnaps a woman to help them meet their goal. The relationship between the criminal and his captive is un-freaking believable. It is BAD!. He is the most evil thing ever…and yet, I find myself rooting for him. And the cop, I’m rooting for him too. This book is not for the faint of heart. It is plot driven and it is long! I stayed up night after night until 3am even though I had to get up in 2 hours to go to work. When I finished it, I started it again immediately. It is cracktastic!
Michelle: Working on Heat by R. Lee Smith. Love how long and in depth her books are. Might be my author pick for the year since this is my third book in the last couple months. The Land of the Beautiful Dead was my favorite so far but TLHoG was close behind.
Jennifer: Heat was my first R. Lee Smith book….highly recommend if you haven’t read it yet. I’ve downloaded The Scholomance…that will be my next read by her.
caroleDee: R. Lee Smith’s The Scholomance is so twisted. But the end? Just nuts.
Fabi: I am so completely lost in The Last Hour of Gann. I’ve been reading nonstop and am only a bit over halfway through. I never want to leave this book. I think I’ve officially become an R. Lee Smith stalker. I have to read all her works. Maybe I’ll do one of Bev’s “gloms”. … There is no doubt that these epic length books are my favorite kind. And R. Lee Smith is one of my favorite authors now.
Sali: The Last Hour of Ghan was also amazing!!!! Let me know if U start either of them. I would LOVE to go through this experience with U!!! Last hour of Gann was my 1st read from this author & it had me in a total reading-bubble!!!! It totally immersed me in the world the author created & the inner mono from both characters had me giggling A LOT!!! The feedback I’ve received, regarding this latest release, is that is EVEN BETTER than the others!!!!
Jan130: Finally finished Last Hour of Gann last night. Yeh, it’s a megaread, but so totally worth it. Completely gripping adventure. A lot of it is about desperate people behaving badly, and you just never know what’s going to happen next. The story is actually quite uplifting in many ways. Smith isn’t afraid to show us the worst side of humanity (and of the aliens, who behave just like humans anyway). But she also shows us how people (and aliens) with integrity can grow and develop wisdom.
I usually can’t stomach books or films with too much violence or darkness, but in this case the violence is totally an essential part of the story and the characters. You even find some sympathy for some of the bad dudes (like Zhuqa) when you understand their history and motivations.
And the romance of Amber and Meoraq is totally lovely. This isn’t one of those schlocky human woman meets hot alien with extraordinarily large **** for kinky sex type books. It’s a well-written book that also explores some very interesting philosophical questions through the storyline, without being preachy. Well done, R. Lee Smith.
I believe most of her books are standalones so this is not a reading order. It’s a “reading list” 😉
Lords of Arcadia series:
Yah!!! I just added the 180th comment on the post above about Tuesday’s releases to share that Cottonwood was my only 5* read in May! When I am in a book slump I always look for an R. Lee Smith book, almost guaranteed 5 star read.
Well you all know I lerved Last Hour of Gann. But I’ve tried samples of some of the others listed and found them VERY DARK AND SCARY!! Don’t know whether I’m brave enough to go there…. Maybe like Jennifer, when I hit a book slump, I might ….. *bites fingernails in nervous fear but also in scary anticipation*
I read Heat a year and a half ago and really got wrapped up in it. Dark and nasty and found myself rooting for the bad guy. Definitely would recommend.
She is my ‘one click’ author. I have loved everything she has written and even read some twice ☺️ Her imagination is just amazing. I love the world building and each story is just so unique. They don’t feel long when you are reading them. Once you start her books you will be hooked
What does everyone recommend for my first R.Lee Smith book??
Susan, I’ve only read three of them so far. My favorite was The Last Hour of Gann. I think all of her books have unique flavors so everyone may end up with different favorites.
Amy, Maryse, how far along are y’all? I’m at 30%. Just kind of wondering where this story is going. Was part 1 just background? *sigh* I’m hoping for action coming up.
Oops !!! Posted that on the wrong thread. Please ignore.
I’ve read them all and while The Last Hour of Gann was my fave, Heat is a close second. It’s insane and amazing. How does she come up with this stuff?!?
Mara, Heat and TLHoG are my two faves also. Insane and amazing is a perfect way to describe these books.
I read Gann and Brautiful Dead… Loved both, but Gann was my fave. Such an AMAZING read. Will never forget it. Long, but oh so worth it. I fell in love with a lizard man, oh yes I did!!! Highly recommend it.
Well Susan I’ve only read Gann but I totally recommend it as a fabulous book in every sense. Haven’t read any of the others yet :-/
I had no idea that I had LHOG already so I started it. Thanks everyone!!
LOVE this author! I’ve bought all her books now and pick them up when I want a sure winner that is completely unique. Beautiful Dead is still my favorite, and since that’s the most recent publication, I’m soooooo excited to see what she comes up with next!
I’ve been following this blog for a few years now and whenever I’m in a book slump I can always count on this page to steer me in a wonderful direction. I’m a huge fan of literally everything but my soft spot is for Sci-fi or fantasy and when I can add Romance to the Sci-fi, even better, unfortunately the majority of these are just cheesy, Mars needs women, yards,yards, and then I found Cottonwood by R.Lee Smith, after devouring that, I have read everything by this author, a few, more than once. They are not for the faint of heart, but they are so very unique and addictive that you’ll be searching for anything remotely like her work!
***yada, yada***
YAY!!! I’m so happy!! You guys are making me want to do a month long marathon-read of just her stuff.
Gah, it sounds like every book will be awesome. And every one sounds so unique and deep, and kind of scary-dark but also that there is a romance angle or a love story angle just takes the cake, for me! 😀
Hi Jen. I agree. I love sci-fi too, but the combo with romance is so rarely done well. LHOG was such a nice fresh change from all those “romance”/sci-fi shockers out there.
And yeah, this blog always helps me out of a book slump, too. 🙂
For those who have read all her books…is there any romance in the Arcadia series? The potential lack of romance is the only reason I haven’t read those yet. I may still dive in anyway as Olivia is the only standalone of hers I haven’t read yet.
Jennifer there is romance in the Arcadia series. As always with her books the love interest is not human ☺️ It is a good series. Worth reading.
Oh good! Thank you Jodie!
Love her books… read all of them but my favourite are Cottonwood and Last Hour of Gann. The Land of the Beautiful Dead was nice too…especially how it all came to pass – the acceptance of moving forward.