Vaginal Fantasy Book Club discussion

One of the things that I loved about the Parasol Protectorate books is that they didn't end with the romantic couple getting together/married. The "In Death" books by JD Robb similarly have a couple who continues to be portrayed after committing to each other. So many romances seems to have marriage as the end (and often an obligatory child in the epilogue), are there other series out there that portray life after marriage?

Two off the top of my head:
Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels' series has some books post-commitment... The Weather Warden series by Rachel Caine also has some post-commitment, I believe.

J R Ward and the black Dagger Brotherhood is really great at this. the last 3 of this series have revisted the ast couples to show that their marriages and the life after their book hasn't been easy. it actually makes you care for the characters even more

Here are a few series that continue post-commitment/marriage:

Patricia Briggs-both Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega series
Katie Macalister-dragon series
Jeaniene Frost-Night Huntress series

I really enjoyed the "In Death" version of watching the relationship grow after marriage. They still have sex, she still wonders why the frak he loves her and he still adores her.

Samantha- I agree with you, the "In death" series by JD Robb is so enjoyable to read and watch the relationship between Eve and Roarke grow and change as they are married. Wish there was more books like these!

I agree J R Ward does an excellent job of keeping the characters story's going also Lora Leigh's breeds books even to a point go back and mention other couples from previous books. ooh also a good one is Hanna Howell's Highland series keeps it in familys and generations

Jessie wrote: "The Outlander series portrays life after marriage and children."

Not only a lifetime committed couple but hot sex at 50! There are children and grandchildren and still Claire and Jamie want to do each other in totally realistic ways.

Bonus: My husband LOVES these books for how honestly they treat life-long love. He recommends them to friends getting married as an example of how love deepens over time and 'new' is replaced by 'known'.

I'm taking notes here! Thank you all for your suggestions!

It's been a while since I've read the whole series, but I think McCaffrey's Rowan series covers life post-marriage. (And throws in the multi-generational aspect as well!)

This is making me really want to re-read the Outlander series (again!) but I don't have time. Maybe if I just start in middle with Drums of Autumn?

Jean wrote: "It's been a while since I've read the whole series, but I think McCaffrey's Rowan series covers life post-marriage. (And throws in the multi-generational aspect as well!)" Yes, McCaffrey's novels almost always continue after the marriage, not just the Rowan series. For a different type of story, Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series continues after the main characters commit, however unconventional they may be. And while it may super old, and not at all romance, Dorothy Gilman's Mrs. Pollifax shows her life as a widow and her life after her remarriage (although they are elderly spies, so I am not sure how into that you might be)

Carolyn wrote: "I'm taking notes here! Thank you all for your suggestions!"

I agree, Carolyn. Thank you all for your additions to this thread. I have been wondering if there are any romances that go beyond marriage. I am glad there are some highly recommended ones which don't suffer the fairytale-ending syndrome: marriage is the goal as well as the end of the romance, gah.

There are two ways I've seen this handled. One way is to have a new couple in each book but have couples from previous books in the later books so you get to see how they are doing but you still get a romance in each book.

Ilona Andrews- The Edge series
Jeaniene Frost- Night Huntress World series
Nalini Singh- Phy/Changling series (we read the first one Slave To Sensation) and the later Guild Hunter books
J.R. Ward- The Blackdagger Brotherhood series and The Fallen Angels series

The other way is just to have the same characters in all the books and have the main romance be in the first book and the later books focus more on other aspects of the story.

Ilona Andrews- Kate Daniels series
Patricia Briggs- Mercy Thompson series and Alpha and Omega series
Jeaniene Frost- Night Huntress series
Nalini Singh- Guild Hunter series

Brittney wrote: "There are two ways I've seen this handled...."

That makes sense, Brittney. I think I prefer the second way, at least with characters I really enjoy. The subsequent books for the second VFH book by Deanna Raybourn, Silent in the Grave, use the second method, developing Lady Julia and Brisbane relationship over the course of their investigations.

If you like The Parasol Protectorate, I highly recommend Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody series -- no gentleman werewolves, but they revolve around a plucky Victorian heroine and mystery-solving Egyptologist. She has a child fairly early in the series and gets along just fine (though I much prefer Gail Carriger's handling of a child, which keeps it largely in the background).

Most of Lois McMaster Bujold's work isn't really a great example of this, but her Sharing Knife books are a great exploration on this theme (among others).

Jill Kismet, in the series by Lilith Saintcrow, meets a love interest partway through the series. They end up moving in together and go through a sort of handfasting ceremony, which is as good as marriage among the Weres (which her love interest is), and more than enough for Jill. The story continues for a couple more books after that happens (it's not even a scene, the ceremony happens in between two books).

I also have not read, but have heard of Married With Zombies, which is about a married couple going through the zombie apocalypse together. The review I read loved the book, and apparently it's the first in a series.

Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series has several married couples as the leads in various books. There's usually an earlier book that deals with how they met, etc but later books carry the stories on after marriage and, in some cases, children.

This is one of the things I LOVE to find in a series...I am not a fan of love triangles, and am a HUGE fan of couples that stay together...ESPECIALLY if we get to see them post marriage. :) The first series that popped into my mind is the Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost I love Kat and Bones :D The other series that come to mind have also already been mentioned...Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, and the Blackdagger Brotherhood series by J. R. Ward...

I am about to download the first book in the "In Death" series now :)

There are two series that I think of.

Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville series. Kitty has gotten married, and their relationship is wonderful, if not too deeply delved into.

Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. While Dresden himself hasn't been able to walk down the aisle, the Carpenter family is an excellent example of a loving family, complete with a whole passel of kids of all age ranges. The dynamics between the family, in both their supernatural dealings and in their personal dealings with each other, as well as the repercussions of being so connected with Harry, are one of the main reasons that I read the books. They are a very loving and positive family and have been from book one.

Also? Can I say that I love that Harry has a child and is dealing the the consequences of that? One of the things I hate about reading supernatural romance series is that so often the writers add in a reason why their character can't have kids, or won't have kids, which so many times seems like a cop-out. I can almost hear the author telling me that they don't want to deal with it.

Eddie Louise wrote: "Jessie wrote: "The Outlander series portrays life after marriage and children."

Not only a lifetime committed couple but hot sex at 50! There are children and grandchildren and still Claire and Ja..."

It's one of the reasons I love these books so much, and they have great re-readability.

The Grimspace novels fit the description! It still focuses more on the adventures they have together than the stuff in between the sheets, and they're dark, but I'm loving all the subsequent books.

I would say vorkosigan saga too. Though Cordelia isn't a main character after the first two, she is still a force to be reckoned with. And in general I love that bujold writes worlds where people over 50 still get laid, main characters or not.