Paranormal Romance vs Urban Fantasy

A few years ago I had my most traumatizing reading experience ever. Jennifer Armintrout’s Blood Ties series was marketed in the romance section of my local Barnes & Noble. So I bought the first book. (One might think the cover would have clued me in, but it was in the romance section!) I was Traumatized. Romance, wha-? Her skill, her story, her characters, none of this is under debate. It wouldn’t matter if she was the most gifted writer since Shakespeare. I picked up a Romance Novel and got Horror. I expected LOVE and got violence, cynicism, and death. The same thing happened with two or three other books, resulting in me avoiding paranormal romance like the plague until recently (much to my loss.)

Last week I visited Seattle’s famed Elliot Bay Bookstore and found that while they did not have a romance section, they had a horror section. What did I find there? You guessed it, books that would make a true horror fan quite unsatisfied to say the least. In my humble opinion, the “Paranormal Romance” printed on the spine might be a clue to bookstores about proper shelving, but who asked me? Obviously proper book shelving is my pet peeve. I should have been a librarian.

While Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance sometimes intersect and are often marketed and shelved as the other, there is a fundamental difference between the two. Keri Arthur wrote a great article explaining this difference.

Paranormal Romance:

Usually written in the 3rd person. Main characters are Hero and Heroine and they MUST have a happily ever after together. This couple is exclusive. Love shall overcome is the theme. Each book in the series has a new hero/heroine pair, and these characters often show up as secondary characters in the other books in the series.

Examples: JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood, Nalini Singh’s Psy/Changelings series, Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series, Marjorie M. Liu’s Dirk & Steele series, Meljean Brooks’ Guardian series, Lori Handeland’s Nightcreature series , Lara Adrian’s Midnight Breeds series, Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter series, Alexis Morgan’s Paladins of Darkness series,

Urban Fantasy:

Usually written in the first person. Theme is horror, not love. A single protagonist often narrates the entire series. (Kelly Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld is a notable exception). The protagonist is often a cynical, fiercely independent, tough chick with commitment and trust issues. lol. (Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden is a notable exception.) There may be a love interest, but it is subtle and may build over the course of the series. Or maybe the more the merrier, a la Anita Blake.

Examples: Laurell K Hamilton’s Antia Blake series, Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels’s series, Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series, Kelly Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series, Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan series, Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series, Marjorie M. Liu’s Maxine Kiss series, Keri Arthur’s Riley Jensen series, Karen Chance’s Cassandra Palmer series, Jeanine Frost’s Night Huntress series

Now that I know what to expect, I really enjoy Urban Fantasy. But it has to be my choice. Sometimes I’m in the mood for love, and I need a book that’s going to give me love. Sometimes I’m in the mood for edgy world building, and I devour UF. Truth in marketing is important. Thank goodness I’ve learned how to differentiate a Paranormal Romance from an Urban Fantasy, because the bookstores still don’t get it.

What are your favorite Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy series? Are there things about one genre that you prefer over others? Does it bother you when books are shelved or marketed as the other?

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Tags: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy

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