Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy discussion

Just trying to get a good idea of people's feelings about the UFs coming out lately, or the general trends that show up in UF!

Personally I have three top things I would like to see change more/less in each category:

I'll start with what I would like to see less of:

1. Badass fighters with long flowing tresses. Unless it's set in the past when they didn't cut their hair. I'm sick about hearing about how great someone is in hand to hand combat and they have shiny flowing hair like a river. Yeah right. There is a reason for a buzz cut in the army. Saying over and over again that they have a survivor mentality yet cant part with their hair kills believability in characters for me. Their pretty, don't get me wrong, but it's just overdone.

2.First Person perspective. Unless they break it up and have other characters perspectives done in first person, I'm tired of it. One of the main reasons I read UF is the world building and most of the time its not as good if the book is solid First Person.

3.Girl with a golden vagina. Rampant in UF today. Everyman she comes across instantly wants/loves her. I'm cool with a triangle or break-ups and new romances in a long series, but when it gets to love hexagon status I hate that. Unless she's some sort of love goddess no. Just no.

Now onto what I'd like to see more of:

1. Eastern lexicon of mythical creatures running amok. I like fey, vampires, and werewolves but their so familiar I would like to spice it up with some Asian influence. It excites me to hear about fantastical creatures that I've never heard of and makes me want to read further so I can know more about them.

2. A Main Character that doesn't start out a jaded badass but slowly becomes that way over the course of a series. I like stories like this because I feel like I went on the journey with them. I like tough-talking hero/heroines but sometimes I want to see them become that instead of just hearing about how they became that way in flashbacks or dialogue.

3. Relationship changes. Love is a tangled web. I would like to see someone date around, break-up lose some people or retry with past lovers. It's a nice break from, "hey I met this great guy and now for the next seven books it's all about me and him and the challenges we face." It gets kind of old. A series I can think of to show how it can be done is the Sookie Stackhouse series. I didn't like how it ended but the ride was fun and different in the romance field.

So that's just what I would like to see.

Great topic here!! And Katt, thanks for making me spew coffee! I laughed so hard over the Golden Vagina, sounds like a horrible syndrome to develop.

I have nothing to add because I think you have both "hit the nail on the head", so to speak. Those are my same pet peeves as well.

Oh, I forgot to add one thing.

Can we please, please, see more realism in the shape of homosexual relationships? Not everything has to involve romance, but I would really love to see more of this evolving into UF!

These are awesome :) Thanks for answering guys!

I agree with the Golden Vagina thing, haha. I like it sometimes but other times it ruins the immersion a bit, because everyone doesn't just suddenly up and decide they want you :P

I like more of the it takes more than a chapter for the Golden Vagina to fall in love. Golden Vagina meets hot guy and boom RELATIONSHIP then lots of jealousy and other dudes trying to steal the Golden Vagina but she can't beacuse she LOVES Hot guy.

I liked Kate Daniels for this... it kept me reading because I wanted to see what would happen with her.. But, I wish she would have dated more or atleast gave more guys a chance.

I like when their powers develop over time, but I hate when it pops up out of nowhere. Like, in H.P. Mallory's Jolie Wilkins series. One minute a tarot card reader and the next Queen. There was no magic development. So it was from Left Field to me.

I like believable badasses with believable not annoying personalities that have a bit of a bite. But, I want them to get stronger as the series develops. I like them to have a background romance that doesn't just fall into place, but isn't so doomed that the relationship falls apart and gets picked back up every 4 pages either... Is this too much to ask? LOL

I completely agree with all previous posts... especially GVS (Golden Vagina Syndrome).

I would elaborate on the diversity piece... I'd just like to read more about characters from different races/cultures/ethnicity.

Danielle Cause I'm the Book Boss wrote: "I completely agree with all previous posts... especially GVS (Golden Vagina Syndrome).

I would elaborate on the diversity piece... I'd just like to read more about characters from different races..."

Danielle, I want that too. It makes no sense that Asia and Africa seem to be immune from so many werewolf and vampire strains. Especially, since both species have a hard time keeping it in their pants and it's easy to catch in a lot of series.

"Golden Vagina" made me laugh, but I knew exactly what you meant.

I'd like:

More world building, and it has to make sense. You can't blow up several blocks of a major city regularly and have no public reaction.

Less romance. I like Paranormal Romances, but when I choose UF, I want any romantic relationships to be sub plot, not main plot.

More creature variety

If you must have 5000 year old characters, give them the emotions, powers of survival, hardships, and general life experience of 5000 years. "Ancient" characters acting like teenagers just doesn't work.

I'm just really really tired of the "hey-I-just-literally-met-you-but-I-want-you-now" and "hey-I-don't-know-anything-about-you-but-let's-have-sex-and-zomg-I-think-I-love-you" cliches.

I'd like to see more wit and humor, confident women, relationship and character development. Oh and a book with strong secondary characters who are just as interesting as the main.

please explain excuse any grammatical errors this was all done from my Kindle Fire HD.

Jeanae wrote: "I like my heroines strong spirited, not one of those who are waiting for superman types but she goes out and becomes her own wonder woman.
I would also, whether it be male or female, like to see m..."


I think I understand exactly what you mean. I actually really enjoyed Laurell K. Hamilton's Danse Macabre but was completely annoyed (view spoiler)[ the blurb hints of a pregnancy, the angst about a baby takes up a lot of the huge novel, just for it to go completely no where at the end. (hide spoiler)] It was pointless and I felt tricked. There was enough vampire politics that served to make that one of the best vamp centered novels in the series. It was a cheap soap opera device that didn't need to be included.

I would love to see more relatable protagonists. I get the whole craving for 'strong, female role models in fiction', but I prefer to see them grow into this role, rather than start out as awesome sausage. Maybe I just fail at life, I dunno, but I find it exceedingly hard to relate to someone who's introduced as the female version of James Bond /w lightning powers.
I suppose this also counts for Golden Vagina Syndrome. (best term ever)

And could there please be a little less 'Heroine was kind and generous and brave' narration, and a little more displaying it throughout the story? I get so aggravated when I'm being told a character is a certain way, while there's little to no evidence of it throughout the book.

Sarah wrote: "And could there please be a little less 'Heroine was kind and generous and brave' narration, and a little more displaying it throughout the story? I get so aggravated when I'm being told a character is a certain way, while there's little to no evidence of it throughout the book. "

I second that comment!

This will probably sound rude or catty but I'm tired of the heroine always being perfect. She's always the prettiest/hottest/sexiest but no guy ever notices her. This is really ridiculous, in my opinion. Why can't our heroine be normal with some badass abilities or be loved for her personality? I haven't really read any book where the "plain jane" is the main chick, whats up with that? I don't think every heroine needs to be super model tall or really short (usually described as a doll type), to get a man. I know it's fantasy, and romance mixed in, but us normal gals get love to. :)
** I have nothing against tall or short women, just don't like the stereotype of it.

Lanie wrote: "I know it's fantasy, and romance mixed in, but us normal gals get love to. :) "

I agree wholeheartedly. For me, the best Urban Fantasy is when an otherwise normal girl gets involved with the supernatural elements, and gets the guy and saves the world by doing something other than being the fairest of them all*.


*I'm not saying beautiful women can't save the day, just that it'd be nice to see them sit one story out once in a while.

Sarah wrote: "Lanie wrote: "I know it's fantasy, and romance mixed in, but us normal gals get love to. :) "

I agree wholeheartedly. For me, the best Urban Fantasy is when an otherwise normal girl gets involved ..."

That's what I mean! It's almost refreshing when you have a story like that because it's a nice change of pace. When every heroine sounds the same from story to story, you can almost predict what will happen.

Jeanae wrote: "please explain excuse mean grammatical errors this was all done from my Kindle Fire HD."

Jeanae wrote: "please explain excuse mean grammatical errors this was all done from my Kindle Fire HD."

I'm sorry ... was this excerpt from an actual book?

Joined and I am making this my first post in/on any group...

I would like to see more confidence in women/girls in the books I read. They all either think their ugly or can't have the hot guy because they think they're ugly. But everyone else in the world -including the hot guy- thinks they're cute. That's so old.
Give me some "I know I'm hot and just because you equally hot doesn't mean you're hot enough for my hotness." lol -something like that!!

Peiri wrote: "Joined and I am making this my first post in/on any group...

I would like to see more confidence in women/girls in the books I read. They all either think their ugly or can't have the hot guy beca..."

Welcome to the group/community! :)
I definitely get what you mean. I'm reading something like that right now. The girl thinks that everyone around her are stunning people and she sees herself as somewhat of a plain Jane. When everybody else thinks she's really pretty/cute.

I don't know about the I'm hot and I know it part. Lol but I definitely want the heroine to at least admit that "hey, the people around me are attractive but I'm not so bad looking myself." Or at least think that she's well suited for the hot guy because really, most of these women think that they do not measure up to their partner's attractiveness which is sad.

RabidReader wrote: "Jeanae wrote: "please explain excuse mean grammatical errors this was all done from my Kindle Fire HD."

Jeanae wrote: "please explain excuse mean grammatical errors this was all done from my K..."


No it is not I came up with that on the spot to show what I hate about authors who try to fit everything in a book and there's no flow or transition. Thank goodness it's not a book excerpt or I would've went into shock and wouldn't want to live on this planet anymore.
P.s. I typed it using my Goodreads app on my kindle and my keyboard likes to think it's a mind reader and incorrectly finishes my words. I.e. I type pencil, but my kindle puts puppy pusher.