What do you as a reader get, from reading a Paranormal Romance & Urban book?

[Katt]

Interesting question. I'll start with PNR. PNR normally is a way for me to indulge in sexual fantasies and escape from the world for a few minutes. Since romance is mostly the focal point of those books I don't really take them that seriously. They are just pure escapism to me. I like PNR but to me it's just a romance book with a little extra bite in it.

As for UF what attracts me to them is probably my inner child and my interest for the human condition and what makes us human. I have for a while thought of UF as grown up modern day fairy tales. Fairy tales in essence were/are allusions about to how to be morally or what makes us human for the time period in which they were told/written. The most popular fairy tales involve heroines going on a journey to become what women were supposed to be at that time. This normally involved beauty, kindness, an eagerness to please, grace, perseverance and loyalty.
UF generally is no different. The heroines in go on a journey exploring and comparing new or different social structures and what is moral, what is human, and what is other. The aspects of what makes them the hero are vastly different due to the way women are thought of today and how we believe they should be portrayed or what they should aspire to. Eagerness to please, grace, and kindness have fallen way to independence, intelligence, and sacrifice. Though there still are themes of loyalty, beauty, and perseverance within UF storylines.
As a child I loved fairy tales. I wanted to be beautiful like Sleeping Beauty, I wanted to be smart like Belle from Beauty and the Beast, I wanted to be kind like Snow White. As I got older I found my childhood ideas of what I wanted to be as a woman changing and they still are. UF gives me that fairy tale feeling like I had when I was a child. I want to be loyal like Kate Daniels, I want to be independent like Anita Blake, I want to be smart like Hermoine. These may not be the best examples but this is why I read UF. I want to identify with these characters and escape for a moment to visualize myself in situations in which I too become epic and go on a journey. It's escapism but normally I learn something about myself morally too or get a moment to think about an aspect of the human condition I hadn't thought of before.

[Rachel]

That is a good question to ask!
The funny thing is, I liked Urban Fantasy books before I'd ever heard of that genre. I read Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and simply loved the idea of the Norse gods living among us (I hope I'm correct in saying that book is UF). I absolutely love all the fairy tale retellings out there, both the urban fantasy versions and the high fantasy versions. There is something fascinating about the idea of good and evil battling it out in modern day society. And there seem to be a number of books and series out there that have both elements of UF and PNR in them, which I also find interesting. I wonder what genre those books fall into? I looked up several different definitions for both genre names and learned more about them.
The PNR books are lovely to read because for the time that I am in that world, I get to believe that the concept of true love is actually real. That there is someone out there for everyone, someone who would, without hesitation, do absolutely anything for you is so sweet. It's a beautiful notion, and one that is wonderful to be lost in for a while as I am reading that book.

[K.D.]

Mel wrote: "Another great series is Chloe Neill's Chicagoland Vampires. It's actually Urban Fantasy, but Merit is a strong female character."

Whereas I like the series, and have read most of them, I disagree that Merit is a truly strong charactor. She seems to hinge too much on what Ethan thinks or feels for her. (SPOILER) I have been waiting for her to take over her own house through the whole series but I guess she's just not up to it, even though she has had ample opportinities.

[K.D.]

Say... What would you all think of a UF/PNR that didn't feature an Alpha-Male hero or a super strong heroine? Average people caught up in extraordinary situations.

[Belinda]

Escapism into a world of magic where anything is possible.

[Belinda]

Escapism and a fluttering of my heart. If the male character is really good, I might secretly fall in love since I'm a closet romantic..

[Danielle]

KD wrote: ".Say... What would you all think of a UF/PNR that didn't feature an Alpha-Male hero or a super strong heroine? Average people caught up in extraordinary situations."

YA UF

[Trilogy99]

I get to escape from reality for a little while.

[Vivica]

It's been my experience that even when a female character is the main protagonist, she will still function more to give the main male character(s) a reason to do things than anything else. It's a bit disheartening.

Saying that, I do love the genres. I enjoy the dangerous, forbidden aspect of it all.

[Dena]

Karen wrote: "I love the paranormal romance and urban fantasy books because they take me into a world that is so removed from mine that I can really lose myself in it. Anything can happen and whether good or bad..."

I couldn't have said it better!

[P.K.]

I echo the sentiments about escapism, but then that could be said for most fiction. I'm a supernatural junkie so I love to see where the writer is going to take me, and what fantastic beings I'll encounter there. Ghouls in a graveyard? Werewolves in a dark forest? Vampires in Europe's grandest cities? Faeries in the garden? Stir in some major passion and a budding romance, a little twisting and turning, and some kicking action, and for me that's the recipe for the better paranormal romance novels. I agree somewhat with the post about domineering alpha males, that seduce the heroine despite her instincts, bordering on abusive. Hardly romantic to me. And so overdone. Just give me true love and I'm all in.

[Sonya]

KD wrote: "Say... What would you all think of a UF/PNR that didn't feature an Alpha-Male hero or a super strong heroine? Average people caught up in extraordinary situations."

I'm fine with that. It's the reason I've enjoyed Charlaine Harris' books in the past - faults and all. Sometimes I like the alpha male hero, but sometimes it's really refreshing to have regular people caught up in something extraordinary.

I'm also not much of a fan of the strong heroine who is so Mary Sue amazing at everything she does that she has a string of admirers following her everywhere.
It always seems to be one or the other in this genre - I prefer a bit of balance to it!

[Julie]

As stated above, an escape from reality. I have enough real life all day. Nothing like something that could never happen to enjoy!

[Philisha]

When reading paranormal romance, I love the ability to immerse myself in an unknown world. If I wanted reality, I'd put the book down and make dinner or clean house. The joy in reading is that it is better than watching a movie because my imagination can take me places that reality cant.

Of course, the hunky men on the cover are an added bonus!