Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy discussion

Hey ;)
I’m new on goodread and I’ve just started reading adult romance books, paranormal and urban fantasy in particular (YA books just became too ‘innocent’ after a while).
One of the first adult series I’ve read is the Night Huntress Series, and I absolutely love it, it’s become my all time favourite. And I’m looking for something similar to read, and I hope you can help with some recommendations ;P

A few demands for the books I’m looking for: it has to be romance books (I enjoy the luuuuve) and I would rather that it is either paranormal or urban fantasy. I would prefer it to be a trilogy or series, but not to long (shipping prices are over the edge!) And it has to follow the same couple throughout the books. (a lot of the books I’ve seen recommended in this group is with different leading couples in each book)

- I don’t think that the Mercy Thompson or Sookie series are for me. But I’ve thought about the fever series, it’s supposed to be great? ;D

Sorry for any mistakes in my writing – I’m from Denmark (Europe) so English is my second language.

These are not going to fit all of your criteria as neither is urban fantasy but they definitely follow the same couple. One is fantasy/romance and I am never sure what Outlander is. Anyway my two by far all time favorite adult series with incredible LOVE stories (definitely not YA) are Diana Gabaldon's Outlanderseries and C.L. Wilson's Tairen Soul series starting with Lord of the Fading Lands. Outlander is time travel back to Scotland 18th century with some paranormal twists in addition to time travel. The Tairen Soul series is fantasy and so wonderful I have trouble putting it into words. Jamie and Claire's love story was the greatest I ever read until I discovered Rain and Ellysetta, and now I feel guilty in saying Rain and Ellysetta took over my all time favorites. Nothing close to these two. Neither is "innocent".

sounds good, I'll take a look at them. the main thing is that it's the same couple through the books and that it's romance.
Thank you very much for answering ;)

The fever series is a slow building romance, and when I say slow, I mean slow! You may like the Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh. Night Huntress is my favorite series as well, and the only other two series that rival it IMO are the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews ( first book is slow, lots of world building) and The Shifters series by Rachel Vincent.

You're going to have a hard time finding a romance series with the same couple throughout in the paranormal genre. Frost's Night Huntress series is a rare exception. There are 2 main subgenres, Urban Fantasy (UF) and Paranormal Romance (PNR), and this is pretty much how they break down:

In PNR, the main focus is on the romance, with storyline/action being secondary. Each book focuses on a different main couple, and they get a Happily Ever After (HEA) at the end of the book. Usually, they then show up as secondary/background characters in the later books, but their romance is never again the main focus of the story.

In UF, the storyline/action is the main focus, with the romance being secondary. It is often written in first person, and the main character is often a butt-kicking chick. Each book in the series has the same main characters, but you usually have to wait a few books for any romance--UF usually deals with romance in one of two ways--either a ton of sexual tension, where you know they want each other, and you keep yelling at your book, "Would you just do it already?!?":) Or UF sometimes has a love triangle, where the main character can't decide between 2 different guys for a few books.

If I were you, I would try a PNR series and a UF series, to see which of your criteria are more important--lots of romance or the same characters throughout.

I'm a UF girl--I just really like how we get to know the characters more and more with each book, and I am a fan of the sexual tension--it just feels a little more realistic to me than PNR, where people meet, fall in bed, fall in love, and live happily ever after, all within one book. :)

I don't read much PNR, but here are 2 series that I really like, and they're super popular around GoodReads:

Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series - the 10th book comes out in July.

J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood (BDB) series - the 9th books comes out next month.


And for UF, I would recommend these:

Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series - the 5th book comes out in May.

Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampires series - the 4th books comes out in May, and the 5th in November.

Karen Marie Moning's Fever series - the 5th (and final) book came out last month


I also agree with Terry on the Outlander series--it's not paranormal, it's about a woman from the 1940's who time travels back to 1700's Scotland--but if you want a romance series that has the same main characters throughout, you can't go wrong with Jamie & Claire. Jamie...sigh. :)

Cait is right, Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter series is similar to Frost's Night Huntress, it reads more like a PNR with lots of romance, but the 1st 3 books all have the same couple as the main characters. The 3rd book just came out this month. But the 4th book will feature the romance of a supporting character from the series, and so will any later books in the series.

Pretty much the same thing Frost did with Night Huntress World, but Singh is keeping them all in the same series, instead of starting a new series for the other character's romance stories.

You all who love Outlander (and there are many!) should read The Tairen Soul series. I would not have believed a romance could move me like Jamie and Claire, and the only reason I read it was because a Goodreads friend claimed it would. I have been raving about it ever since.

Thank you so much ;)
yearh, I knew I would have problems finding something I’d like, but I didn’t know it would be this hard- at least know I know why... - There should be a mix of Paranormal and urban fantasy, would make it so much easier to find a book to read. - But I guess UF wins of the two.

I agree, I find it very hard to believe that to people meet and fall in love at once (like in the books), I think that's why I prefer the same couple throughout a series. - And at the same time, I don't really have the patience to wait for them to just get it on, conundrum I know ;P

So far I think I’m leaning most towards the outlander series and the shifter series... Argh, you get really picky after reading a lot. It shouldn’t be this hard ;D

*now

One comment on the Outlander series. Each gets thicker as the series progresses. And when I say thick, I mean thick. Think over 1,000 pages. So if you're looking for a real big series that follows the same couple, that fits the bill.

In order:

Terry--I love the Outlanders (not a fan of Echo, though) and I read the 1st two Tairen Soul's earlier this month and didn't like them. Ellie was just too breathy & perfect for me, and Raine was too creepily over-protective. I liked the back story of the fey & mages stuff, but I found the characters to be two-dimensional. Jamie & Claire are just such wonderfully fleshed out and realistic characters--the two series just don't compare at all for me. :( I am a cynical beeotch, I have a really hard time with fated-to-be-mated stuff, like Ellie & Raine. It almost feels like a cop out to me--the author doesn't have to work on building an attraction, because it is there instantaneously. I'm not enough of a romantic to enjoy the idea of two people out there who were literally destined to be together--they have no control over it, and he will actually die if she doesn't accept the soul bond. I like when characters actually meet someone, develop an attraction and a relationship, and choose to be with them. Not some overwhelming magical bond. ;) And all that breathy gaspy-ness from Ellie made me want to punch her in the head by the end of the 2nd book. Lol. :)

But I am all about characterization, it's what makes or breaks a book for me. I think that's why I prefer UF to PNR--in UF, an author has so much more time to flesh out a character, since we get to read about the same characters from book to book.

I know we don't all like the same things. The beauty of Ellie's story is how she evolves. But I agree - to each his own. I've read these books twice since December so it worked for me and for several of my other Outlander fan friends.

Wow, there wouldn't be many books if we all liked the same thing!

Nanna--the Shifter series is one with a love triangle, so you can get a taste of one of those suckers. And there is some sexy times action in those, so you won't have to wait too long. :)

hahaha, thanks Laura Lulu, looking forward to that ;)

Gasp, that's some thick books... and there are so many of them (numbers from shipping prizes are going on in my head) ;)

what would you recommend if it were just 1 book (without a sequel) .? Are there more choises then, or are my expectations too high?

Terry (Ter05 TwiMoms/ MundieMoms) wrote: "I know we don't all like the same things. The beauty of Ellie's story is how she evolves."

And maybe that's why, since I only read the 1st two--I didn't get to see much of Ellie's evolution. :)

My opinion on romances doesn't count, since I'm not a big fan. The Outlanders are an exception to the rule--they are epic. :)

And Nanna--good luck finding a stand alone in this genre. Everything is a series.

Have you ever bought from www.bookdepository.co.uk ? I'm in the US, so getting my hands on a book is super easy, but I have GR friends in Japan, Australia, Belgium, New Zealand & the Netherlands, and they all get their books from Book Depository--they have worldwide free shipping. :)

yes, I kind of figured that - Guess I'm a lost cause. ;P

no never heard of it, but that is goinge to save me a lot of money. So once again; Thanks :)

My favorite series....
Black Dagger Brotherhood is a must read..
Immortals after Dark
Night Huntress Series
Night Huntress World
House of Night
Vampire Academy
and Midnight Breed...

Vampire Academy is a must read um what else A Great and Terrible Beauty The Mortal Instruments series

Angel with Attitude is a great stand alone as is What Do You Say to a Naked Elf?. They're both PNR.

I read the entire Outlander series last year while recuperating from major surgery and I could not put the books down. A friend of mine would get them from the library for me. I could not stop reading them. And Jamie and claire have had lots of up's and down threw the series. The next book does not come out until the begining for 2013. Should be good. I hope I can last till it comes out.

I think Ilona Andrews' "Kate Daniels" series might be just what you're looking for. The romance builds slowly, but there's a lot of action and humor so it's not really frustrating. At least it wasn't to me.

I do like the Mercy Thompson series. There's a nice romance in that. You really might want to give it a try. The first three books are especially good.

Not really paranormal, but JD Robb's "In Death" series follows the same couple. It's actually somewhat sci fi in that it's set in the future and there are lots of strange gimmicky things; flying cars, outer space resorts and whatnot. But the romance and mysteries are solid and the writing is good. Many books already written and they aren't too long, either.

i've actually got the first in death book on my wish list. Guess i'm definatly going to order it now

i'm glad i joined goodread yesterday, all these great books you recommend I probably wouldn't even have known excisted otherwise :)

I've read the first 6 or 7 of the In Death books and #4 is still my fave. There are just so many already written I feel like I'll have an In Death TBR for a good long time. :)

After looking at your stipulations, one series on my shelves that jumps out is the Shifter series by Rachel Vincent.



- it is Urban Fantasy with a love element
- it is a limited series (6 books total)
- it does follow the same couple (there is a love triangle)
- and I love it!

Yeah. That's a good series.

Although it's YA, i highly recommend the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. It more or less follows the same couple throughout and there's lots of drama and tension and the books will definitely keep you turning the pages. And the series falls more on the steamier side of YA novels, i would not call the series innocent at all. I would even go so far as to liken Rose (the main female character) to a younger version of Cat from Night Huntress. And Dimitri (the main male character) is like a sexy Russian version of Bones. The first book does start off a little slow, but then things really start to pick up. And although some pretty crazy stuff happens, by book six (the final book) there is indeed an HEA.

The Shifter series totally rocks (although I must read Shift and Alpha soon) :)

Yes, you must! And yeah, VA is a good one, too.

how is VA compared to house of night? cause HON has become a little tiresome in the lattest books. But sounds good with a russian bones :)

seems like I've got reading material for a long time now :D

I only read the first HON novel, and to be honest i hated it, but i can tell you Rose is nothing like Zoey was in the first book and i know a lot of HON has to do with Zoey becoming a Priestess or something and there's nothing like that in VA. The series is pretty hard to sum up, but Richelle Mead manages to keep it very fresh and the series never got tiresome for me at all. From what i do know about HON, i can tell you that VA is nothing like HON.

great ;)

So far I've decided on the VA series, the Outlander series, the shifter series and the In Death series. Most of them wasn't even what I was looking for, but I'm intrigued :)

I'm having a hard time chosing between the fever series and the Kate Daniel serie! which to chose ????

any series you think i shouldn't have left out ?


Thanks for your help everybody, I REALLY appreciate it ! ;D ;D ;D

You may like Kim Harrison's Series featuring Rachel Morgan or Richelle Mead's Succubus series. Keri Arthur and Laurell K. Hamilton (at least the first 8 or 9 books) are also good and follow the same lead characters throughout.

The sucubus series by richelle mead are good Succubus Blues