Difference Between Paranormal and Paranormal Romance?
Recently I was asked about paranormal romance, in a general way, kind
of a “what is it?” kind of thing. My simple answer was that it was
stories that contain both paranormal and romance elements. But that's
a little too simplistic, don't you think? So, really, what's the
difference?
First, I suppose we should define “paranormal” and “romance.”
Paranormal, or urban fantasy, or any derivation of the word would mean
a book with supernatural elements that are primary to the story.
Ghosts, witches, vampires, zombies – all these things make a book
paranormal. Romance, any version thereof, would be a book where the
primary point of the story is to get the two main characters to fall
in love, whether forever or not.
So, with that in mind, a paranormal romance book would be a love story
with paranormal elements in it. But again, it just doesn't seem that
simple. Nearly every book has a love story element to it. Even the
hard-boiled noirs have the guy getting the girl. So where's the line
between the two?
I know that when it comes down to it, I tend to favor the more
straight-up paranormals versus those deemed paranormal romance. I
love Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher, Jeanne Stein – all straight
paranormals in my mind. I also love Rachel Caine, Richelle Mead and
Carrie Vaughan, all of whose books feature a love interest, some
spanning a single book, some over entire series. Are these paranormal
romances? And then there's Angela Knight, Dawn Thompson and Larissa
Ione, some of whom not only bring the love but bring the sex.
Where's the line? What's the difference? If the love story takes up
half the book it's a romance, but if it's only a fourth of the story
line, it's not? Maybe I am wrong and all books with a significant
amount of sexual tension/love interest/sex is a romance, paranormal or
otherwise. But that just doesn't seem right.
So I am asking you, our readers, to tell me what you think. What is
the difference between the two? What makes it a romantic paranormal
or just a straight paranormal? Where do you draw your line? Tell me
in the comments!
Nicole
of a “what is it?” kind of thing. My simple answer was that it was
stories that contain both paranormal and romance elements. But that's
a little too simplistic, don't you think? So, really, what's the
difference?
First, I suppose we should define “paranormal” and “romance.”
Paranormal, or urban fantasy, or any derivation of the word would mean
a book with supernatural elements that are primary to the story.
Ghosts, witches, vampires, zombies – all these things make a book
paranormal. Romance, any version thereof, would be a book where the
primary point of the story is to get the two main characters to fall
in love, whether forever or not.
So, with that in mind, a paranormal romance book would be a love story
with paranormal elements in it. But again, it just doesn't seem that
simple. Nearly every book has a love story element to it. Even the
hard-boiled noirs have the guy getting the girl. So where's the line
between the two?
I know that when it comes down to it, I tend to favor the more
straight-up paranormals versus those deemed paranormal romance. I
love Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher, Jeanne Stein – all straight
paranormals in my mind. I also love Rachel Caine, Richelle Mead and
Carrie Vaughan, all of whose books feature a love interest, some
spanning a single book, some over entire series. Are these paranormal
romances? And then there's Angela Knight, Dawn Thompson and Larissa
Ione, some of whom not only bring the love but bring the sex.
Where's the line? What's the difference? If the love story takes up
half the book it's a romance, but if it's only a fourth of the story
line, it's not? Maybe I am wrong and all books with a significant
amount of sexual tension/love interest/sex is a romance, paranormal or
otherwise. But that just doesn't seem right.
So I am asking you, our readers, to tell me what you think. What is
the difference between the two? What makes it a romantic paranormal
or just a straight paranormal? Where do you draw your line? Tell me
in the comments!
Nicole
posted at 11:13 AM
1 Comments:
I would say almost all, if not all of the authors you mentioned are Urban Fantasy not PR. All of those books are set in Cities, which seems to be the whole Urban in Fantasy. UF focuses more on the action then the romance, even if romance is thrown in.
PR on the other hand focuses more on the romantic element of the story.
Post a Comment
<< Home