Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy discussion

Finally!!!
I've been waiting for Lover Mine so long and finally next week it arrives. Our best bookstore didn't have any idea when the book comes, all they kept saying since April 27th was: "Maybe sometime in May... have patience..." Patience? Are you kidding me? So, when I finally ordered it online, it was sold out. I was so close to starting to rip my hair off. But last week, I found it on my online bookstore and yes, I was one very happy woman =) Plus, I ordered first book of Demonica series by Larissa Ione. It was very random decision, hopefully I don't regret it... But the title Pleasure Unbound and the cover told me perhaps it is my kind of book... Oh,well.
Share my joy!!! I've missed the brothers...

I really liked the Demonica series by Larissa Ione. I think the 5th book in the series comes out this month. SCORE

I agree. I like the Demonica series. I'm only 3 into the series but its good. Hopefully you won't have buyers remorse.

For some reason i cant finish Lover Mine....I Love BDB but i feel Lover Mine is lacking in someway. i just cant put my finger in it.
The Demonica Series are awesome, you wont regret reading them.

Enjoy Lover Mine when it arrives : ) I thought it was good, I honestly couldn't put it down!

I'm in the middle of Lover Mine and I'm really liking it. I just try to ignore the utterly stupid slang she has the brothers use and her complete disregard of the question mark.

I have always loved John Matthew, and I really like Xhex too, she's not your usual BDB woman-as-a-supporting-character. But I actually think my favorite parts of the book so far are the Blay/Qhuinn stuff. I really hope they get their own book.

i guess i'll have to take on the book one more time...and see if i get into it since i only made it to halg of the book. i hope am wrong because i am a huge fan of JR Ward. :)

The Demonica series is one of my absolute favorites!! Can't WAIT for Sin's book!!

Enjoy the series and Lover Mine!

i loved the demonica series and cant wait for the next one...i was actually disappointed with lover mine, it just wasnt the same as the other books for some reason, just felt like something was missing.

Are you guys who didn't like Lover Mine more PNR fans than UF fans?

I'm wondering if the reason I'm really liking this one is that I'm a UF girl. The only PNR series I've read are the BDBs and Nalini Singh's psy-changeling series. And now that I think about it, Lover Mine is reading a little more UF lately, isn't it?

Don't get me wrong, it's still totally a HEA romance--um...the sexy times scene I just read featured a "weeping core"--they don't talk that crap in UF. :) But Ward's adding more side storylines and action--I guess you could now classify them under the newest genre: Urban Fantasy Romance. UFR is still a romance with a HEA, but it has more action & intrigue than your typical PNR.

I think they're def more UF now. :)

Hey Laura Lulu, I've noticed that it depends on the author. I do like UF and it seems that the Sookie Stackhouse series is going that way as for the last two books there was no hea. It seems to be the same thing for the BDB series. And I have always loved John and Xhex..

Laura Lulu wrote: "Are you guys who didn't like Lover Mine more PNR fans than UF fans?

I'm wondering if the reason I'm really liking this one is that I'm a UF girl. The only PNR series I've read are the BDBs and Nal..."

Oooh...Urban Fantasy Romance with HEA? I thinking I'm liking that idea. Any books in that genre yet?

I'm so loving Lover Mine right now! And I have only read the first of the demonica series and I loved it.

Samantha wrote: "I'm so loving Lover Mine right now! And I have only read the first of the demonica series and I loved it."

Lover Mine was really good but i was more into Qhuinn and Blay's story than John & Xhex's!

Marilyn wrote: "Samantha wrote: "I'm so loving Lover Mine right now! And I have only read the first of the demonica series and I loved it."

Lover Mine was really good but i was more into Qhuinn and Blay's story ..."

I think that goes for a lot of us. Blay and Qhuinn's story blew me away. Their relationship is so emotional.

Maybe theirs will be next Who knows!

Samantha wrote: "Maybe theirs will be next Who knows!"

Nope, JR Ward has already said Payne & Manny's book is next (April, 2011). But before then, she is supposed to release a short story/novella about Rhage and Mary.

hmmmm

I agree, Blay & Qhuinn's story stole the show in Lover Mine. And I have to say, before LM I was on the fence with Qhuay, just because I didn't feel like that slut Qhuinn deserved Blay. But I'm cool with it now. :)

As far as UFR books, ones that are more action like a UF but have a HEA for the main couple like a PNR, 2 series that come to mind are:

I love those books, they are both great series

Laura Lulu wrote: "I agree, Blay & Qhuinn's story stole the show in Lover Mine. And I have to say, before LM I was on the fence with Qhuay, just because I didn't feel like that slut Qhuinn deserved Blay. But I'm cool..."

Yep, that's the reason Qhuinn won't be with Blay...he doesn't think he's good enough for him or deserves him. But just the fact that he thinks that, makes you know that he IS good enough for him. I sure hope the Warden has a little about them in Payne & Manny's book or else I might just combust! I just got done reading the 4th Cat & Bones book! They were great! I didn't know it was considered UF though. I considered it PNR. Now Rachel Morgan hits me more UF but there's no HEA. The first series I haven't heard of though. The Edge? Will check them out...as long as the romance and HEA is there, I will probably like them. Thanks for the suggestions!

I know everyone has different definitions, but to me, PNR is when all books in a series take place in the same world, but each book has a different main couple who get their HEA at the end. They may show up in other books, but more as a 2-D side character. And the books are more centered on the romance, where the plot plays 2nd fiddle.

So the Cat & Bones books ride the rails for me--there's really not much in them that screams PNR to me, much more action packed and plot-centric like UF. With of course the big exception being that the main characters hook up & fall in love in the first book, instead of you having to wait like a typical UF.

Interesting. I can see how UFR might work as a genre for those series. To me UF is really about the adventure, and PNRomance is about well developed characters and a romantic relationship that ensues. In PNR, the adventure for the most part works to help explore the character's traits. So a UFR would have a clear and powerful adventure that dominated each book and could hold it's own, but would also have well developed characters who go through that back and forth struggle towards a romantic relationship/ HEA. Here they get together in the first book, but I can think of some where it is book 2 or 3.

Why is it called Urban Fiction and not Urban Fantasy? It seems to me all UF has somesort of Fantasy character in it... weres, vamps, mages, fae.. something. Some book sites don't list UF and it can be tough to find what I am looking for.

Michelle wrote: "Interesting. I can see how UFR might work as a genre for those series. To me UF is really about the adventure, and PNRomance is about well developed characters and a romantic relationship that ensu..."

Hmmm...I didn't know it was also called Urban Fiction. I'm thinking I would like UF and UFR just as long as I don't have to read 6 books to get some romance or HEA with some of the characters. I see what you mean about Cat & Bones. Now I think that's a good example of UFR. I like the fact that they're together and going through everything together. Too bad that television doesn't think the same thing. They're so paranoid about having characters get together on a show, they think it ruins it. But no one has really given it a chance to see how it goes. They might fail at first but then I think viewers would like it. I think the shows Castle and Bones would be good examples for it. I think the couples could get together and still solve crimes and do their jobs. Sorry! Kind of got off the subject didn't I? lol!

Exactly. Except for me, I find the characters in UF to be more fleshed out and developed, because we're getting to know them on their own, and not just in relation to the love interest. And most UF does have a romantic interest, but it's more about the sexual tension--at the end of the book, you want to throw it across the room and yell "would you two just do it already?!?!?" Lol. But I actually prefer that type of romance. I'm a glutton for punishment. :)

I have a hard time with most PNR because the couple usually falls in love so damn quickly, and more times than not they are fated-to-be-mated, which I have a hard time with--it seems like a cop out by the author. She can just throw the "destined to be my mate" thing in there and then she doesn't have to actually write about people growing to be in love/lust--it's an instantaneous thing. My top 2 reason for loving or hating a book are character development and whether an author actually shows me stuff, rather than just telling me. You can tell me til the cows come home that one character loves another, but if you didn't actually show the process of them falling in love, or show me reasons why they would love them, I have a hard time totally submersing myself in their story.

An example of a UF series where the characters are so wonderfully developed that I feel like I know them is Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series. I just started the 4th book, Magic Bleeds yesterday and man, did I miss those characters. But that's another difference between UF & PNR in character development--in UF, you deal with the same characters book after book, so you really get to know them. But in a PNR, after you read the character's book, yes, they show up again in later books, but not as a main character, more as a side character, and they never feel very fleshed out anymore.

A perfect example of this is the BDBs. In Lover Mine, Z, V, Butch & Rhage make brief appearances, but we don't get much or learn anything new about them--they already had their book, and that's all the fleshing out of those characters we're going to get. Which makes me worried about JM--he has been one character that we have gotten a nice chunk of time in his head in each book--will we still get that, or will Ward relegate him to the background in future books since he has had his story?

Man, I just went off on a tangent. :) Oh, and UF does stand for Urban Fantasy, not Urban Fiction. :)

And I thought of another example of UFR--Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter series.

In her Psy-Changeling series, we have textbook PNR--each book has a different couple who get their HEA at the end, with a background overarching political intrigue storyline that carries over from book to book, with the romance being the main story.

In her Guild Hunter series, the 1st 3 books have Raphael & Elena as the main characters. I don't know if she's going to continue that after the 1st three, because she has given us side characters who could have their own book, but as of now, Raphael & Elena are the main characters. They hook up & fall in love in the 1st book, although not in a HEA fashion--in the 2nd book they still have issues to address in the romance department, but they are together. And the action and intrigue plays a bigger part than in her Psy-Changeling world.

I always thought it was Urban Fantasy.