The Appealing Oddness of Paranormal Romances

My past posts are amazingly bent towards paranormal/sci-fi/fantasy romances. So, I thought I'd share the 7 reasons I prefer them over others. Just so you know, I do read other genres, but none spark my imagination more than alternate realities and universes.
                                                 

 

1) Worldbuilding - whether it be Lynsay Sands, Kerrilynn Sparks, Terry Spear, Dianne Duvall, Jennifer Ashley, Robin D. Owens, Gena Showalter, Christine Feehan, Nina Bangs, Ilona Andrews, Erin M. Leaf, Sandra Hill, Alanea Alder, Mimi Jean Pamfiloff, Jayne Castle, Alexandra Ivy, R.E. Butler and scores of others - their imaginations have created a different reality with its own rules, social structure, challenges, lifestyles, and unique methods to finding their mates/loves that lead to the coveted happy ever after. No matter if it's in outer space or a variation of our own Earth, or a combination of both, the possibilities are endless.

2) Being surprised. I enjoy the intrigue of the unknown, and the comfort of being able to relate to the hero and heroine no matter how odd their environment. I like seeing the 'human' side of things even among non-humans and the unexpected means of courtingship and claiming. That makes me think of the series by Cheryl Brooks. Those first few books in the series contained lots of surprises.

3) The claiming. Yes, I know it's been done to the point of overkill, that moment when the hero or heroine catches a whiff of a particular scent that can only mean one thing - mate. In reality, humans marry hoping that their union will be one for the record books - celebrating 50, 60 or 70 years together until death does them part. Alas, for many people, it's not to be. Yet, we never lose hope.

In paranormal romances there is that tantalizing idea of nature providing a spark which points them in a guaranteed direction. For them; it's more than hope, it's seeking what they intrinsically know for a fact, an assurance that there is someone special for them. They know without a doubt when they cross paths. Their hope is more along the lines of fate making them stumble upon each other at just the right time. In my most favorite romances, the hero is (steared or steered?) towards his mate but it's not a given. He has to work for it; woo her, impress her, convince her, romance her and maybe even protect or fight for her. I'm not a fan of whiff-grab-mark-have sex and call those steps 'romance'. No, I want the protagonist to EARN the privilege of their mate's love, devotion and trust. I need a meeting of the minds, a clash of circumstances, a plot to overcome and conflicts I can relate to, before they rumple/tear/burn up the sheets in physical expression of passion, lust and love. The claiming can be by bite, marking or some other mystical manifestation and it's always super steamy, exotic, erotic, and the best part - forever.

                                         

4) Meeting non-humans. This is where an author's creativity can shine. Can gargoyles, dragons, elves, fairies, were-wolves-cats-bears-rabbits find love? Yes. I've read about were-skunks, were-moose and were-beavers. I read about aliens that are truly reptiles-tails included, beings that have an extra arm, or two, and aliens that are essentially blobs that can take whatever form they wish. I've seen aliens turn into madmen because they've not found their mates in a certain time frame - and the heroine has a huge undertaking in saving him in time from permanent insanity with the power of her love. Like I said before, paranormal/sci-fantasy offers unique situations that will never be found in straight contemporary or historical romances. Those genres have set parameters and rules that must always be kept in mind. Non-humans have no such constraint except what the author chooses for them.

5) Sex. Yes, paranormal and sci-fi/fantasy romances offer varied levels of heat - spicy to erotic, and odd or unusual courtship practices. Aliens and paranormal beings do it better. They always seem to know what and how to touch, bite or lick. :) I don't like books where the only plot is how many sex scenes can be squeezed in between a thin vehicle that claims to be a story conflict. I need my emotions involved, I need to be invested in the characters. I need to care. When the criteria is met, the books have a solid chance of going on my keeper shelf. The bedroom door doesn't have to be blasted all the way open but I like being seduced the same time as the heroine. I like when the sensual buildup, tantalizing teases, and near misses culminate in the satisfaction of seeing the protagonists succumb to their passions. When done right, paranormal romance sex is fun.

6) Alien landscapes and cultures - This pertains more to sci-fi/fantasy stories. Obviously this is part of #1, Worldbuiding, but it's the descriptions that are the showcases here. If an author can describe to me what the protagonists are seeing, and I can clearly visualize the scene, then it's worth noting. One author who can illustrate that talent is Elsa Jade because there is this one story that takes place on a hostile planet. The flora and fauna described, as well as a specific predator, knocked my socks off. Of course, there are magically guarded pockets on Earth that are doorways to a supernatural culture that is hardly benign to its denizens. Leave your earthly humanity at the gate because a whole new world is described to take you away from normality.
                                                         

 

7) Pure romantic escapism - Those three words say it all. I don't need a book to educate me on heavy subjects that dog my steps in real life from television, news radio or newspapers. I want to escape the negatives, the stress, and my worries of dealing with every day drudgery and crisis. Take me to another world, another culture where their conflicts are removed from my own. Show me heroes and heroines who are falling in love despite their unusual circumstances. Show me a romance with a happy ending to lighten my day, a story that makes me feel good, and a book that takes me on an adventurous roller coaster of emotions that culminates it the good guys winning and the bad guys getting what they deserve. Romantic escapism is my mental vacation. Paranormal/Sci-Fi/Fantasy pulls me out of my world and sends me into uncharted destinies. The lure is impossible for me to resist.


Paranormal romances may take me to odd places with quirky characters, but they are always entertaining. Love is their end goal. The pursuit of love and a solid happy ever after are such appealing hooks, I'm a pushover.

Now I get to ask you. Of my 7, which one speaks the most to you? Do we have anything in common?

This post is due in large part to Long and Short Reviews - A site where I've discovered so many new authors while browsing their reviews, it's a favorite of mine. I'm happy to be a part of their Saturday Seven.

So Addicting, I Binged Bought

Good moring! This Saturday I'm going to share books/series/authors who've inspired me to binge buy. Many people talk about what series they've binge watched on Netflix, but hardly anyone crows about doing the same with books.

The first one I want to share is:

1) Big Sky Alien Mail Order Brides By Elsa Jade

They were looking for love in all the wrong galaxies… -

With a teaser like that, my curiosity prompted me to buy the first story in the series. After Alpha Star, I immediately bought 6 books by Ms. Jade, then I bought a couple of others. And I read to my heart's content. They weren't all first-place winners but every single one entertained, engaged and provided wonderful escapism with an HEA.



2) Wolves of Angels Rest is another series by Elsa Jade

The mating moon is rising...
The wolf-shifters of Angels Rest are on the prowl.


I bought 10 of the books right off the bat and I devoured every single one. I think I read all the books in both series within a week and a half. They were so much fun!

3) The title grabbed me - Monster in My Closet (A Monster Haven Story, Book 1) but the book enchanted me. The concept was so different and original, how could I resist? My reading frenzie resulted in the immediate purchase of 7 more books in the series and I devoured them within a matter of days. Fascinating stuff!!




4) Alanea Alder is my next binge buying event - it started with My Commander and I was so hooked I promptly bought 5 more and enjoyed every single one.

In researching book covers for this, I noticed that there are 3 more books in the series I missed!!! Guess what I'm going to be doing today??? **grin**

5) I think I've lost count as to how many of Lynn Red's books I've bought and read. I stopped looking at titles after I hit 10, lol. If you like shifter romances be it bear or wolf, then she's got the goods.



6) Caris Roane is another author that I simply could not get enough of. I discovered her Blood Rose series when she was 6 books in - I bought them all and then as soon as the others came out... 3 more I believe, I bought them as well. How could I not? I loved her heroes! So yeah, I binged until I read them all.




6) Jennifer Ashley and her paranormal shifter series. I've bought books in binge style twice, both times it was 5 books in a row. She has so many to choose from! Her heroes and heroines are strong and compliment each other nicely. Her world building is certainly unique and I was always vested in her heroes finding their HEA. They didn't have it easy. Their falling in love is the greatest hook!






Actually, I went looking through my list and so far I have a OVER 20 books by Ms. Ashley. That's quite the investment in an author, eh? Worth every dollar. :)






7) Aileen Erin - Nook had her first book, Becoming Alpha, on sale at a price I couldn't pass up. The premise sounded interesting. At first I thought it was going to be a YA series, but instead I think it's a New Adult .. or whatever the term ... it's a paranormal with lots of drama, action, challenges and witches - both good and bad. It follows the journey of a young girl who was accidentally bit and turned into a werewolf. The set up might sound familiar to avid paranormal readers, but trust me, there's a lot that is wholly unique to Ms. Erin. I was blown away and had to, simply HAD TO find out if there were more and I found a total of 8 books. It was the PERFECT Binge Read experience!!!! The books have to be read in order because it's following Tessa's journey and I am so SO glad I discovered Ms. Erin's Alpha series. It rocks.





There you have it - my 7 most amazing binge reads. When I look back over my post I realize I'm REALLY into paranormal binge reading! I had no idea! That's funny.

The good thing is, I know more are waiting for me out there in bookland and I can't wait to find my next addiction. Do you have any to recommend? :) I adore discovering new authors.

Anyway,
Thanks for visiting!

Authors Who Write with Bite

Happy Saturday! And, welcome to my fandom.

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a huge fan of paranormal romances. I've been giving a bit of thought as to what I'd want to contribute to this today's Saturday 7 and I thought I'd list the names of my go-to authors whose heroes love to nip, bite and claim.

To be chosen by using such a basic and visceral method appeals to that part of me that responds with an ancient female instinct similar to our furry counterparts in nature - to wait and watch while suitors joust, show physical prowess, strength and dominance so a female can mate with the strongest male, -.procreation with the strongest is an intense survival instinct in nature. Humans have a much more difficult time of it and muck it up a lot.  I think that's why I like stories about heroes who have a penchant to bite, mark and claim their chosen lady because nature gives those guys a bit of a push - usually a scent or other sign that she's 'the one'. Their assured exclusivity and monogamy to one woman, and all that focus of sexual drive, the need to protect and the treating of a woman like the sun rises and sets in her eyes, has a huge appeal to the romantic within me. These 7 authors have captured my imagination like no other and I'm thrilled to share them with you.

1) Christine Feehan




Ms. Feehan's Carpathians have been thrilling me for over 15 years. She's been entertaining readers since her first book, Dark Prince, exploded on the shelves in 1999.  In them, her heroes cannot see colors, have no feelings and within them lies a spreading darkness that will consume them and turn them into vampires unless they have the fortitude to recognize the end is near, can no longer hold out on hope and loyalty alone, and face the sun before they succumb to evil. Their one hope, as slim as it is due to a plot thread woven throughout many of the early books, is to find their lifemate; she's a woman who is their one - the other half of their soul who can save them from the darkness within. She gives them back their ability to feel and to see color.

What I enjoy is watching these merciless killers of the undead get knocked on their butts by the colors that blast their eyes, and the return of lost emotions that overwhelm their good sense. Their protective streak explodes and their about-to-be lifemate is faced with a man who is not only macho, alpha, dominant and arrogant - those protective instincts are in overdrive.  His woman must be protected at all costs and when she's not happy he considers it a personal failure. The guys are stymied by the fact that all the heroines are modern women who push right back and refuse to be the 'little woman at home'.  That's quite a learning curve for men who are usually a few hundred years old or older.

The reason Ms. Feehan's Carpathians are on my list is because of; HOW they claim their woman. It's sensual, sexy and there are fangs involved. The author makes it romantic because there are these ritual words that are said which encompass all what a woman can hope for in her man in real life. She is first in all things and her happiness is of major concern as well as her safety. Her hero can do no other than to love her above all others - she truly is the light of; his life. What's there not to like about that? There's a new Dark book coming out in 2018 and I can't wait!

My second choice is considered controversial by a lot of readers out there.

2) Laurell K. Hamilton





A lot of early fans think the first book, Guilty Pleasures published in 1993, through Obsidian Butterfly in 2000 were the best because they focused more on the drama, the dark side of paranormal crimes and Anita Blake's role as consultant to the paranormal police division. The macabre dance of romance between Anita, Jean Claude, (vampire) Master of the City, and Richard (Werewolf), really started to form from Lunatic Cafe on.

Once Narcissus in Chains was published in 2001 things took a dramatic turn. The elements for a complicated, convoluted and unconventional romance were introduced. It would take a while for the focus of the books to really turn from external plot conflicts to personal and in the process many early fans had a hard time adjusting to the new focus - Anita's love life. During the years after 2006 the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series turned to dark eroticism. Between vampires, werewolves, a select group of werecats (jaguar, tiger, panther) there's a lot of biting, claiming, marking and sexual dynamics that make up the strengthening romance between Anita and a few key characters.

Longstanding fans who've stuck with the series, and even fans of erotic romances, gobble up every novel Ms. Hamilton produces because we've been invested in Jean Claude's, Micah's and Nathan's love for Anita and her love for them for quite some time. Marking comes with some unusual side effects and I'm enjoying every chapter of their developing romance. Complication is Anita's middle name and I never know what Ms. Hamilton has in store for her intrepid heroine. I have to wait until August, 2018 to find out what's next.

3) Kerrelyn Sparks



Ms. Sparks is an author with a ginormous sense of humor who inserts her own fandom of certain genres into surprising moments within her novels. Since I share the same appreciation and sense of fun, her books have always entertained me on various levels. The heroes and heroines are usually always vampires so you know there is a lot of biting. There are Highland warriors, French fencing experts and other paranormal beings that kept the Love at Stake series fresh, funny and addicting. Well, Howard was a bit different but he was lovable, adorable and was one of my favorite heroes. The series completed with Crouching Tiger, Forbidden Vampire so new readers can binge-read to their hearts content. Ms. Sparks' books are and will continue to be, on my keeper shelf.

4) Lynsay Sands



Ms. Sands made my previous post of Saturday 7 as one author who made me laugh. Well, she makes me sigh and swoon with her Immortal heroes, descendants from Atlantis. Of course they feed like vampires but they eat food too. How Ms. Sands incorporates eating food in her romances is unique, clever and important. However, it's when the romantic protagonists bite their love-to-be that things get really hot, steamy and very, very sexy. Her 27th book in her Argeneau series is coming out in March and I can't wait. She's managed to keep the series fresh and surprising and lately she's discovered a whole new aspect to explore with a new kind of villain to defeat - readers are in for fun and exciting times ahead.

5) Lydia Dare & 6) Terry Spear

Both authors do what I affectionately refer to as "wolfie romances'. I adore them. When those hot sexy, hot heroes bite you, you're mated and it's forever. A guaranteed love is the stuff of dreams, wishes and fantasy but it's an idea that's successfully seductive and thrilling. It's all on how it comes about - the pursuit and the claiming. ::swoon::











What's really cool is that two of the books have a tagline on the front cover from Long and Short Reviews. How cool is that??? Where do you think I go to find book recommends? :)


Last but not least,
7) Dianne Duvall

This is an author that I've been avidly following for the past 5 years or so. Oh my gosh, this series is SO AMAZING! Yes, there is transformational biting within the novels of the Immortal Guardian series - 7 so far. Only heroines and heroes with a hidden element in their DNA can be turned. The why of it, the history, and the teasing possibilities, are still being slowly revealed.

Ms. Duvall has me completely captivated. She has yet to write a story that doesn't suck me in 100%. If you've never heard of her and you are a fan of paranormal romances, then take my word for it, you're in for a treat. Of course it's my opinion but I am such a fan that I want everyone to fall in love with them too. The more readers, the more likely the author's publisher will continue to be supportive in Ms. Duvall's writing. The oldest of the Immortals HAVE to get their HEAs!! The only drawback, not that I truly consider it as one, is that each consecutive story builds on one another. You won't care about Seth or Darnell unless you've read from the beginning. And I care - greatly.

There's drama, excitement, sword fights and an uber villain is just getting started causing major mayhem. When the heroes and heroines get together, their scenes are sexy, seductive and truly hot.

Love, love, love this series!!!



I hope you enjoyed my Saturday 7 with Bite. All these authors are on my keeper shelf, with good reason. Many I have as print or hardcover books but I'm also getting ebook backups. Also, they have the distinction of having a high re-readability factor. Many people have movies that they'll watch again and again. I have books.

7 Authors Who Make Me Giggle or Snicker

I'm going to try something different.  I'm going to actually participate in a meme.  I've been a fan of LASR for a long time so this idea is pretty cool.

I thought about it and realized that humor is an important element for a few authors that are must reads for me.  At least once during the novel it has to make me snort and snicker and even facepalm at various points in the story. The book most definitely has to make me break out in smiles, grins and giggles to one degree or another.

1) If I'm in need of zany, madcap and startled guffaws, then Sandra Hill is a sure bet.  I adore her Vikings, both the ones that stay in the past and the time-traveling Vikings that make great navy SEALS,  as well as her sexy Cajun heros. From language issues to Tante LuLu, every one of those books in those series has something to make me giggle out loud, no matter where I am.

2) I've been a huge fan of Lynsay Sands and her Argeneau series for years. Her humor is not always knee slapping but it fills me with happiness, grins, giggles and chortles.  That kind of humor balances out some of the dark plot elements due to villians with bite issues.  Ms. Sands also writes historical and contemporary stories so I always have plenty to choose from.



The Switch was HILARIOUS! I even got my sister to fall in love with it too!

 3) I've also been a fan of Nina Bangs for a long time - probably since 2005 when I used to visit her blog faithfully. She's a paranormal author who created a most unusual cast of characters. Poor Hogarth is a great sidekick because he's so dry and caustic - a great straightman. Every novel has something to smile about.

. 
Sparkle Stardust is fun to meet.



4) Jill Shalvis - an author I was privileged to actually interview for my blog back in 2007 - has a sense of humor that never fails; her heroes and heroines always touch my emotions and most of them I would love to meet in real life.



5) Sarah Morgan - Oh my gosh, am I ever a fan of hers. Her novels have me walking around with a sappy, happy smile on my face. Her books are so romantic and gentle and the humor is so lifelike and touching that I can't pass by a title of hers and not buy and read it. She's a solid writer who is a master of her craft. I might be surprised with an outright giggle here and there but no matter what, I know a smile is always in store for me. How did I find Ms. Morgan initially? Harlequin romances. She started off as my favorite brain candy and ended up being one of my go-to authors no matter what platform she writes in.



6) What list can possibly be perfect unless it includes books by Katie MacAlister. She writes in many genres but my favorite is paranormal. Her books can be an absolute gigglefest. As far as knee-slappers, uncontrollable fits of hilarity and true snort-worthy scenes, Ms. MacAlister gives Ms. Hill a run for the money when it comes to "the most giggles found in one book". Not all of her books are home runs in the snort category, but Ms. MacAlister comes darned close. If you can find one about the Renfest, grab it. I went to our local faire years ago not long after I'd read the book and I met a 'wench' who LOVED Ms. MacAlister's books so much, I think we talked over 30 minutes just comparing the funniest notes between the books we'd both read. Two strangers laughing hysterically in the middle of a Renfest about BOOKS! How cool is that?



And finally

7) Jennifer Ashley - Her humor isn't hilarious in her novels but many have this happy vibe that pops out in unexpected ways. Her plots are emotionally meaty and have depth so when humor is exhibited between her characters it has this real feeling. It makes me smile or grin or just feel good. Sometimes feeling good is its own reward. I've read about the Mackenzie family (LOVE) and her paranormals (a bit on the dark side) but somewhere along the line, Ms. Ashley imbues her characters with a sometimes subtle humor that I can appreciate. She's well worth time spent in her worlds.



So, am I the only one who enjoys some serious humor in her romances??