Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy discussion
General Discussion
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Your first time...with paranormal romance.
I've always had a facination with vampires and I attempted to read Interview with the Vampire when I was very young...it was a little over my head at the time. So I watched the movie instead! I was relunctant (because I'd heard it was middle school smut) but I finally broke down this year and read the Twilight series and was completely consumed! I am currently reading book 3 in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris.
Kyrie wrote: "I'd read most of the Anne Rice books but I'd never thought of them as "romance". I think Sookie Stackhouse is what drew me to the genre, and then I read Richelle Mead's Succubus books and I was h..."Yeah, Anne Rice's books are definitely not romance. Paranormal fiction or urban fantasy maybe?
I would have to say Twilight and the Sookie Stackhouse series. I was reading both at the same time. After that, I was reading all kinds of authors in PNR.
Heather wrote: "Toni wrote: "For me it was Darkfeverby Karen Moning and it was VERY recently. It is more Urban Fantasy but still kind of similar. I read about the Fever Series on a thread in one of..."Heather here is the link to the fever group.
Hope it works!
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/3...
One bad thing out of my discovery of PNR/UF is I have SO many non-PNR/UF books now sitting on my bookshelf that I have no desire to read now.
My first was Twilight, and I still think Twilight was a great book. It's one of the few books I re-read. Usually just the first one though, I didn't really like the others. I didn't read it for a while after I bought it for somebody else because I thought a book about vampires would not be a match for me. It made me realize that, if a book is good, I'll like it whether or not it's what I imagine my preferred genre is. Thanks to Twilight, I've picked up books that I would normally think I would hate, and while I've hated some of them, there are many that I'm glad I gave a chance.
My first vampire book was SALEM'S LOT by Stephen King. My family were going on vacation and we had an 8 hour car ride, so I asked my brother for one of his books and he gave me that one. That book scared the bejesus out of me. When I was 14 I started reading historical romance then I found Futuristic romance. These were few and far between, I had to look on the spine of every book in the romance section to see if it said futuristic if it did I grabbed it up. Paranormal romance did not exist then. Finally years later I found DARK PRINCE by Christine Feehan right after it was released and also Sherrilyn Kenyons first dark hunter book. Loved them both and kept reading anything by both of these authors, but only these two authors. Then in 2007 I found DARK LOVER, and that was it I was hooked on vamps and looked for everything I could find. I am poorer but very happy.
My first was Darkfever. I downloaded it free on my Kindle and was, I don't know if hooked is right, but I was curious about the paranormal and urban fantasy genres. After reading a few more books in those genres, I'm hooked.
Oh my Goodness. The first time I read a paranormal romance, it was with the Twilight books. I really liked them but I kinda wanted something with a kick. So I turned to the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris. And boy! They were entertaining! But now I have found Jeanine Frost's The Night Huntress series and The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward. I'm in heaven.... I haven't been this exited over books in a REALLY long time. And I found them mostly by reading your review's, so thank you all!
Jennmcglone wrote: "I've always had a facination with vampires and I attempted to read Interview with the Vampire when I was very young...it was a little over my head at the time. So I watched the movie instead! I was..."I completely forgot that Silver Kiss was my first ever vamp book! I can't believe I forgot about it! I checked it out over and over in either middle school or high school, I can't remember.
My first Paranormal Romance was The Three Sisters Trilogy and The Circle Trilogy both by Nora Roberts (which I recommend)....after that it was a rap!
Gosh, I think it was Anne Rice's, Interview with a Vampire.
I fell madly in love with all of Kerrlyn Sparks Love At Stake books. Than My Vampire husband became one of my favorites. I love that forbidden kind of love story, the one which two should not be together but they fall in love after some hardache.That makes me want to read more than I get to the end, whats next.
Toni wrote: "One bad thing out of my discovery of PNR/UF is I have SO many non-PNR/UF books now sitting on my bookshelf that I have no desire to read now."I have a bunch too! All hardcovers and I spent some good $$ on them. I am going to save them, and maybe I will come back around to them again...
My first experience with vampires was a long time ago and it was Salem's Lot by Stephen King. I was about 12 years old.There wasn't much about vampires way back when. My all time favourite vampire movie is the original Lost Boys. It is 23 years old.
I was 12 also when I read SALEMS LOT. And I still love THE LOST BOYS.
Jen wrote: "I'm 100% grateful for the Twilight books! They caused thousands of non reading teens and adults to pick up reading again!! I have nothing against it and very happy it became hugely popular, it's ..."I agree. I think Twilight has had the same effect Harry Potter had on kids - it starts people reading who weren't interested before.
My first paranormal read was Sookie Stackhouse, then I found Sherrilyn Kenyon and I was hooked.
BDB was my first foray into this world. Haven't looked back since. <3
My first was Lover Avenged. I was flipping through an issue of Cosmo, and it was listed as one of their summer beach reads. I read the little excerpt, thought it sounded good and the rest as they say is history. I checked it out of the library and just loved it. And after i finished it, then i began working my way through various other PNR/UF authors. And thanks to this group, have added to my TBR list considerably. But i didn't read Twilight until months after I'd read LA. I probably would have loved it, had i read it before BDB. But after BDB? Sorry Stephanie, you never stood a chance. I like the Twilight saga quite a bit, but nowhere near as much as i love the BDB.
ya for me it was a goosebumps episode. it was on werewolves and vampires lol after that i was like i wanna be a werewolf lol
I read Interview with a Vampire in the late '80s in college. I fell in Lust with Lestat. He was just sooo 'bad'! Thats when I realized I liked 'bad boys'. It was hard in the '80s & early 90s to find anything like Anne Rice's work with other authors, but now its taken off and I can't read the stuff fast enough.
I was a huge Buffy fan and read the books written to go along with that series, but my first paranormal romance was none other than The Twilight Saga. What can I say, I was hooked after the first page!
Mine was Twilight, too. I soooo wasn't going to have anything to do with Twilight. It was not long after the movie came out, and a girl at work was all caught up in the hysteria (still is, lol). I just didn't want to believe the hype. Somehow the movie ended up in my Netflix queue (I still swear I didn't put it there, and hubby wouldn't either). I watched it, and even though it was not great (ducking), it made me curious about the books. So I read one... then the next... then all four were read.A different friend was into PNR and found out I was reading Twilight and started loaning me books and suggesting new authors. W...o...w.... So much great stuff to choose from! After Twilight, I read Karen Chance's books, then Charlaine Harris, then Lara Adrian, and now JR Ward. I'm sure there were others peppered in along the way, too.
I never read before Twilight, but Twilight opened up a whole new obsession for me.
Mine actually was the Anita Blake series - I know, not exactly the teen romance. But I fell in love with the story and the characters and the tension. I like the was Anita thinks and how she acts though a lot of the times it's plain stupid. And after 18 books I can't wait for the next one and it gets better and better.And, ironically, the exact next books I read were the Twilight saga. It was so drastically different that I had to blink at some points 'till I got into the story. And I loved it. I don't like all the fuss after the movies came out but I still truly love this story.
And then it just went from there. Now I've read so many PNR books and series that it's getting boring sometimes, XD
Although I loved The Lost Boys and Interview with a Vampire when I was younger I never got sucked into reading "vampire" books. I tried the Anne Rice books and didn't see the attraction.I know Harry Potter isn't PNR but it's definitely fantasy and it got me into reading after many years of not reading. But I too proudly admit that it was Twilight that brought me into this genre. I then read some YA series - Vampire Academy, House of Night, etc. BUT once I found that there were adult version PNR - I was gone! I think Sookie Stackhouse and Richelle Mead's Succubus books were among the first and sealed the deal. Now there are just too many great books out there to name! I can't wait to get to them all.
I'll have to add to the Twilight group. I read them in 2007 and didn't even know they were popular. I had seen Interview With A Vampire and tried to read the book but just not into the dark vampire stuff. I had read fantasy (Dragonrider series, Eragon, Dragonlance books) but not anything like what I am reading now. Twilight introduced me to YA (and I am a grandmother) books, and led me to a lot of books I have really enjoyed about vampires, the fey, and fallen angels. Twilight also got me started reading again after some years of not being interested in books.
I was an still am working third shift an my cousin told me to read 'Twilight" before i watch the movie.And now I am hooked on reading these kids of books...I love them..If any one has any suggestions pls i am open.
The Vampire Diaries books are good and along the same lines as Twilight, but I would quit before reading the most recent two as they just seem like they were written by someone else. The first ones were written ten years before Twilight. L.J. Smith's Night World books are also pretty good and in a similar theme. My other very favorite YA series is The Mortal Instruments books (starting with City of bones). I liked Hush Hush and Shiver but they are not about vampires - but paranormal YA romance (not to do spoilers).
yeah I read Hush Hush and the The Mortal instruments (love them)..I was thinking about Shiver but I was not sure...I am going to pick it up next tuesday..I will try the First vampire diaries I just dont really like the show an I was not sure if the books would be like that..BUT I will try thanks.
mine was the Anita Blake series, which I learned about from my mystery book group, when they went X rated, I gave up on them and this genre. Then twilight came along, checked them out and have now discovered so many more books in this genre to enjoy
Brandee wrote: "I was an still am working third shift an my cousin told me to read 'Twilight" before i watch the movie.And now I am hooked on reading these kids of books...I love them..If any one has any suggestio..."check out The Mortal Instruments Trilogy by Cassandra Clare and The Circle Trilogy by Nora Roberts
Brandee wrote: "yeah I read Hush Hush and the The Mortal instruments (love them)..I was thinking about Shiver but I was not sure...I am going to pick it up next tuesday..I will try the First vampire diaries I just..."I was not impressed at all with the Vampire Diaries. I couldn't even finish the first book. I just couldn't feel the connection between the love interests. Others may disagree and maybe if I pick it up again I'll feel different?? But definitely go to the library for that, just in case... :)
I found the first VD book hard to get into at first (I disliked Elena totally) but it gradually got better and I enjoyed the others - until the new ones which were pretty awful.I recently read Poison Study and Magic Study and liked them a lot - have Fire Study close to the top of my to-read list but am totally into Juliet Marillier's books right now.
Oh, if you like books about the world of the faeries, The Iron King is REALLY good.
Terry (Ter05 TwiMoms/ MundieMoms) wrote: "I found the first VD book hard to get into at first (I disliked Elena totally) but it gradually got better and I enjoyed the others - until the new ones which were pretty awful.I also disliked Ehlena in the beginning...at least she gets less annoying as the series goes on. I'm keeping up with the series mainly for Damon...I want him and Ehlena together. Stefan is sweet but I like the chemistry between Ehlena and Damon better.
I have had a hard time getting into the Vampire Diaries as well. I plan to read them over the summer. I love the series on CW and wonder if that has something to do with it. Shiver is also another book I have picked up. I've heard lots of good reviews so my interest has been piqued!So many of you have such good picks! It's great to see that I'm not alone in this reading obsession!
I loved Shiver! Can't wait for the sequel to come out this summer.
I read a few vampire novels in the 90's can't even remember them clearly to be honest. But about 5-6 years ago I was in my local pharmacy checking out their meager book selection, when I saw a book by Sherrilyn Kenyon. It was part of her DH series, the one that features Wren-sorry the title alludes me. And I was thunderstruck, wow this shit was GREAT! Where can I get more?! So back to that same pharmacy I went like a true junkie and I found a book by Christine Feehan, one of her Carpathian novels-and then I was done for. Now UF/PNR is pretty much all read.
I'll definately have to get it read before the next comes out!
My first PNR was The vampire diaries back in the 90's but I too had a bit of trouble getting into the first book, but book 2, 3 and 4 was definitely the ones that started my obssesion with PNR.After that I read Amelia Atwater-Rhodes books and later Twilight and Vampire Academy and then I found the adult PNR's.
My first Vampire read was Interview with the Vampire, a long time afterward I read the Twilight series, from there I read the Sookie Stackhouse novels. After that I got pretty addicted to Vampire television shows...Buffy, Angel and Moonlight then True Blood. Eventually I found my way here and joined this group and have now been exposed to various types of PNR and UF...Laurell K. Hamilton, Katie MacAlister,Maggie Stiefvater, Bram Stoker (had to read a classic!), MaryJanie Davidson, Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, Richelle Mead. I think my first true PNR was J.R. Ward's Dark Lover, then Dark Prince by Christine Feehan (which I HATED), then Gena Showalter(meh)and Sherrilyn Kenyon (really liked).
It never really occurred to me that the others read before weren't "really" PNR until I actually started reading true PNR...then I realized that I really enjoy Urban Fantasy more than PNR...
My first PNR was Amanda Ashley and that was because at the time I was reading her books under Madeline Baker. I got out of it for a while but got back into it with Guilty Pleasuresand really loved that series until it turned into nothing but porn.
During that time I branched out to Katie MacAlister, Lynsay Sands& Charlaine Harris.
Now it's much more the UF that I dig too as opposed to PNR. I look much more forward to a book by
Victoria Laurie or Kim Harrison than I do the other authors I read
I wouldnt have a clue what my first was - at a guess I'd say a Nora Roberts - i've pretty much always read anything. Ive always liked books with an elements of other. But I didn't start searching out the genre til I read Twilight (which i bought for my daughter LOL) because I rely on the local library which has a very small Paranormal/Horror/Fantasy section I wasn't aware of what was out there til Goodreads. I don't mind if its UF or PNR - the ones I like most blend the two.And while I love it - its still not all I read -I need variety :)
Twilight did it for me too. I reluctantly saw the movie when it came out on DVD and then decided I wanted to give the books a shot. Not only did it get me into PNR, it got me back into reading in general. Before that, all I did was read for school. I actually hated reading. Now I'm obsessed with reading and can't get enough! My husband thinks I'm insane:-) I'm in the midst of the Night Huntress series now and I absolutely love it! I'm also anxiously waiting on the edge of my seat for May 18th when Spirit Bound comes out!
Laura, if you like Cat from Night Huntress then you should pick up the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. It starts with Magic Bites it is FANFREAKINGTASTIC!!!!
Crystal wrote: "Laura, if you like Cat from Night Huntress then you should pick up the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. It starts with Magic Bites it is FANFREAKINGTASTIC!!!!"So what is the pacing of the book and is there any hot action?
The books are very fast paced. There is romance in it, but it's not romancecentric if that makes sense. There is a lot of sexual tension but the heroine hasn't done the deed so to speak with hero of the novel yet. Book 4 is about to come out Magic Bleeds and in it the author promises resolution to the relationship angle of the storyline and states that this addition to the series is the most romance oriented of all the books. The heroine is very kickass and sarcastic. The hero of the book is known as the Beastlord-nuff said.
Crystal wrote: "Laura, if you like Cat from Night Huntress then you should pick up the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. It starts with Magic Bites it is FANFREAKINGTASTIC!!!!"Thanks Crystal, I'll add it to my to-read list. I love a kickass heroine!
np. I'm seriously addicted to that series. It's my new literary drug. LOL
Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy
Books mentioned in this topic
Acheron (other topics)Dark Prince (other topics)
Interview with the Vampire (other topics)
Interview with the Vampire (other topics)
Drink of Me (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Maggie Stiefvater (other topics)Victoria Laurie (other topics)
Madeline Baker (other topics)
Lynsay Sands (other topics)
Katie MacAlister (other topics)
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There are so many great series out there. What are you specifically looking for? Likes/Dislikes?