Courtney Rene has become a favorite author of mine. After discovering her debut novel, Shadow Dancer, last year through a book tour, I fell in love with her writing right away. So it is with great honor that she is partaking in our YA Saves Reading Challenge today, with a focus on Paranormal Romances!
Paranormal Romance Anyone?
What is paranormal romance (p/r)? Well, mainly it’s defined as a subgenre to romance. But what does that really mean? What is it really? Isn’t there enough real love in the word? The answer to that question is…sorta. A great love story has it all: love, passion…sex. A great paranormal love story has all that, plus a sexy vampire or a hot werewolf thrown into the mix.
Why? Why is that so exciting? Because it’s different, it’s thrilling. It’s better than what real life can toss our way. Yes, it is. All you out there saying, no. Real love in real life is the best there is. I don’t agree. Sometimes love is painful. Love is hard. Love is….kinda plain. Paranormal love stories are fantasy, a mix of love and mystery and thriller all wrapped up into one read.
Why do we love these stories so much? Let’s face it, the sales of paranormal romance have really risen over the years. Can we blame Twilight or the Vampire Diaries? It depends on who you ask. One thing about this genre is you either love it or you really hate it. Paranormal romance novels used to be a rare and fun find. Now you can find several titles along the shelves at any given time. More and more authors are coming out with a paranormal series. It’s wonderful for us die hard p/r readers.
My personal thinking of why they are so popular is that the love or romance in paranormal fiction overcomes everything, whether it’s one human and one vampire, or a werewolf, or fairy or merperson or ghost. Or the love is separated by time. What about the gods and goddesses or angels and demons. The superhuman being loves the normal, plain, regular human against all odds and it is a stronger, fiercer, more pure love than anything else you could find on earth. That is the draw. That is why people are flocking to it. They want to believe in that kind of love. Not the dish washing, kid feeding, money constrained love of the real world.
Me, I am a fan of p/r. I hope this genre sticks around for a good long while. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
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