Shannon's comments
(member since Nov 14, 2007)
Shannon's comments from the Paranormal Romance group.
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Good news!! You can actually download a free PDF copy of "The Warlord Wants Forever" here:
http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/...
It's 112 pages long and since you now don't have to buy the anthology I really recommend you read it! I don't know how long it'll be available for free but...
I read "The Warlord Wants Forever" after book, ah, 3 I think - a few books in, anyway. It did shed light on Myst's story and I loved the short story for its own sake (but then, I love them all!), so I didn't regret buying the anthology.
The other two stories weren't as interesting. The first one, forget what it's called, was really boring. The second one was a bit weird.
My advice is, read the books you have and if you love them you'll want to read the short story, but if you don't then don't dish out the money for Playing Easy to Get (or maybe your local library has it?)
I completely agree with you new_user - the writing is always pretty bland and very cliched. The worst ones were books sent to me so I didn't get to check them first, but sometimes I just like to give a new book/author a go and see, even if I am banging my head against the door a few chapters in! I never learn ;)
new_user wrote: "Actually, that sounds more like a lot of the historical romances that I've read! xD I tend to avoid those kinds of PNR because that's kind of a weak conflict. I like a more compelling problem."
Definitely! I've read way too many PNR books that have the yearning-in-denial hero; it's actually put me off and I'm on a bit of a hiatus lately. It's such a boring cliche!
Maybe you could tell me your secret for avoiding them, because I don't know how you tell before you start reading it! (Granted, some of them have been ARCs which I read out of a sense of obligation, but still...)
new_user wrote: "Well, just because there's sex in the book doesn't make it PNR, ladies, LOL. That's probably more true for Anita Blake than any other series."
No, I mean that getting a book from the Romance section leads to an expectation that there will be sex, whereas any other genre it's not a pre-requisite. Sex doesn't make a book a Romance novel! But any contemporary Romance novel will have it.
Michelle M. wrote: "Shannon, I've been to so many B&Ns here in NY and all the UF books are in scifi/fantasy, with the exception of Jeaniene Frost. I usually find hers in the romance area, but on a side table, oddly en..."
I would expect to find UF books in the fantasy section, but it bugs me when they get labelled Romance instead! Ah well.
And I find UF sex hotter because I get tired of all the yearning and longing language that seems more prevalent in PNR.
Oh yes, the yearning and longing wears thin doesn't it? I especially hate the hero's oh-so-stoic "I WILL resist her because ... because ... I just will! I must!! Oh her skin - but I will resist!!" *yawn*
Tina wrote: "Ward is definitely PNR, imo. Each book has to have a couple that has a HEA ending in their book, no matter the setting or the larger story arc that winds through the book. This is probably why she did what she did with Jane. If Ward's books were UF, then Jane would've died and stayed dead."
Oh I agree, I just mean that as the series progressed, the books became more obviously urban fantasy though still with the romance thread. The romance/sex side of things seemed to decrease - haven't read the most recent yet though.
It seems that a book is categorised under the romance genre and sub-genres, like PNR, when there is a clear expectation of sex and romance (the Happily Ever After ending isn't always there in the series, but that I think is poor categorisation!); whereas in urban fantasy there can be sex and romance and a HEA ending, but there's no requirement or default expectation for it. That's pretty much how I separate those two in my head :)
Anita Blake is in the horror section at Chapters too. I don't think there's anything romantic about her!
Anthony wrote: "The JR Ward series on the other hand is a perfect example of what constitutes PNR to me: an overarching storyline with each book containing the relationship arc of a set of characters."
I know what you mean, but I still find them to lean heavily on urban fantasy. Christine Feehan's Carpathian books are what springs to mind for PNR, for me. Plus many others ;)
I've only read the first Anita Blake book (and hated it), but from all that I've heard I wouldn't consider the series to be PNR at all. There was no romance in the first book at all, and everyone seems to agree that the rest of the series is just about sex, not romance. So I'm perplexed?
Have you seen the new covers for them? They're simple but lovely, kind of atmospheric. A bit Twilight-ish perhaps...
new_user wrote: "PNR is romance first-- basically an HEA in one book and then moving on to the next couple, in a nutshell. UF can carry on a relationship or plotline through several books, etc. They also tend to be more action-oriented/gritty (not always the case, of course). There are a few series that cross the line, but most are very strongly in one direction or another."
I would agree with new_user. The Women of the Underworld series isn't paranormal romance but rather urban fantasy. The romance isn't the focal point, though they can have happy endings they're not Disney endings ;)
Incidentally, though, the series used to - not sure if it still is - be shelved in the Horror section. That's where I've always found them.
And, of course, even sub-genres of a genre can cross with other sub-genres. Hence you get paranormal romance that could just as easily be urban fantasy, such as Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series. Makes shelving/tagging much less straight forward!
I've read all three, and Stolen is different from the other two so the question is what are you in the mood for?
If more plot, less romance, then go with Kelley Armstrong.
If something like Christine Feehan but with less repetition in the prose, go wtih Gideon.
If something sexy and fun and the beginning of a new world etc., then Pleasure Unbound.
If you want sex sex sex, hm, can't quite remember which has more but either Gideon or Pleasure Unbound. Stolen has some but Elena and Clay are apart for most of the book, as the title hints at ;)
I get Evermore and Evernight confused too! They were okay but not great, I thought. The sequel to ... Evermore? - Blue Moon, was pretty disappointing. I love the cover of Hush Hush but I've read quite a few really negative reviews, so I don't know.
I'm really excited to read Soulless but there aren't many copies around the city so I might have to wait and order it from Amazon.
From the description, though, you might enjoy New Blood which is also historical-paranormal-steampunk-romance, and I really liked it.
At the moment, I'm not reading any pnr books :( I have quite a backlog of them on my shelf though. I can never decide where to start!
I'm late to this discussion but Kate, I thought the first book was pretty simplistic and cheesy, but there was something there that made me keep going and the books get much better. I thought the first book was the weakest.
My favourite stories are Zsadist and Vishous. Butch's story was my least favourite, mostly because of Butch himself. I liked him in the first book but in his book I found him somewhat ... cliched? Not sure exactly, but kinda boring. Too human maybe!
I find that Lara Adrian's series is too similar but without any of the spice of Ward's series. It's pretty lame, really, and not just by comparison. It lacks the "flesh" of the BDB books. I guess I love the fantasy elements, and the world-building with all the history that Ward has worked out.
I like the premise and the idea of "grimspace". I watched the movie of Jumper, is it a similar concept? And this is the first in a series?
I wanted to see your review but the link didn't work. Can you tell me a bit about it here?
Jennifer, I'm much the same when I'm reading, so my husband will say the most outrageous things to see if I'm listening (to which I usually reply "mm-hmmm").
If I'm close to finishing a book I'll leave it at home and take a fresh one to work, so I don't suddenly finish it on the subway or something. I don't go anywhere without one! And my spending sprees on books are getting a little out of hand. I went out on my lunchbreak and bought another six books. I only wish I could read as fast as I buy!
Michelle, I never even noticed a dog on the cover! I'll have to take a look when I get home, but a large white pyranees is definitely off the mark (if it'd been black would it have been as noticeable? I'm not sure what a pyranees looks like!).
I'm trying a new author, whose name I have forgotten, but the book is Pleasure Unbound. I haven't read far yet but it's about different species of demons and the humans who hunt them because they believe them to be evil, while in fact the demons seem quite civilised (and jokingly call the demon hunters "Buffy").
It's a bit overwhelming at first because there's not a lot of exposition, but I don't like lots of exposition anyway, so I'm going along with it :)
I love Kresley Cole's series, but the only title which didn't work for me was Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night. I can't help but read it literally: there were no winter nights in the book.
I liked the ones with the couples too, Anita, they seemed more fitting to the book than the guy standing alone.
It's one of my favourite book review and discussion sites, I drop by regularly :) Glad you all enjoyed it! I'm sure Fabio would be happy to know he brightened up our day!
They've changed the covers for the Undead series? I haven't seen the new one. I've seen the cover for Undead and Uneasy, which I thought was the new book, and it looks much the same.
Seth mentioned using a bible cover to hide your book - frankly I'd be more embarrassed doing that than leaving the cover open to all eyes.
Speaking of muscular men - as we were earlier - I just have to link you all up with one of the more hilarious and dreadful covers out there, for Fabio's first book, Pirate. Yes wrote and starred on the front cover! Isn't it a treat?
