Romantasy seems to be the word on everyone’s tongue when talking about books these days. A portmanteau of the words Romance + Fantasy brings together two powerhouse genres and this new subgenre includes many books that have been at the top of best seller lists and some of the longest holds lists at LPL. I’m talking Fourth Wing, the ACOTAR Series, Divine Rivals, basically anything that blows up on Tik Tok. Romantasy seems to be the genre darling of the internet. And while I’m a huge reader in both Romance and Fantasy, I have to admit that a lot of times Romantasy leaves me hungering for something that feels a little more real. I mean how many times can we watch a 20 year-old who just doesn’t know how powerful she is fall in love with a 200 year-old Fae? Or a rival that she’s going to hate til her dying day…well, until they get a chance to make out and declare their love for each other. All of these stories are set in obscure fantasy lands with unpronounceable names complete with political maneuverings and societies that take hundreds of pages to sort out and get correct in your head. Sometimes I just want my romance to have a little less brain gymnastics. Sometimes I want my smut with a dose of reality and a world I can more easily digest. Which always leads me back to one of my favorite subgenres, an oldy but a goody: Paranormal Romance (usually abbreviated as PNR).
Paranormal Romance blends supernatural elements usually with a contemporary setting and a good old love story to tie it all together. It usually features fantastical concepts overlaid on the world we already know. Traditionally, PNR leans heavily on the supernatural. We’re talking werewolves/shifters, vampires, fae, ghosts, cryptids, witches. Anything that could fall out of a book of myths, folklore or urban legend, they end up in PNR. Paranormal romance was hot and heavy during the early 00’s which is probably why I have such nostalgia for it and why I wish everyone would wise up, ditch the fantasy lands, and write more of it already. Luckily vampires and werewolves seem to never go out of style and the uptick in Monster Romance has definitely led to some resurgence/crossover into Paranormal Romance. Luckily, I am a librarian and used my skills to seek out as many recent PNR novels as I could get my adorable, grubby little hands on. I found a few gems that definitely made me feel like Paranormal Romance should get a little more love. I mean who doesn’t love a main character with sharp, pointy teeth that just can’t wait to take a bite out of you? 😉
One of my favorite new books that I believe falls squarely in the PNR camp, but has been marketed in a variety of ways is Bride by Ali Hazelwood. Ali Hazelwood has been slowly accumulating a rabid following in contemporary romance and then the zagged, so hard and wrote Bride. It's got werewolves and vampires and a mystery. Plus some of my all time favorite tropes: forced proximity, insta-love, clueless heroine. Add in some top tier banter and every perfect scene between a werewolf and a vampire, you get me falling in love in a completely unhinged way when it came out earlier this year. It made me FERAL for more.
This one is fun because Grace (our main character) has no idea that werewolves or vampires or anything supernatural exists. Yet, she moves away from an abusive ex to Alaska and winds up the darling of a pack of werewolves. It's so rare to find a book where you learn with the main character about the super natural world existing beneath our noses. There's also a pretty good twist in this one that kept me guessing. Plus I love that Grace and Caleb fight so long against their attraction to each other. *chef's kiss* Love a slow burn that hits a patch of lighter fluid.
I'm a HUGE Kathryn Moon fan and when I found out she was writing some contemporary romance with a monstrous twist, I sure did read them. This one is the second in the series that you can jump into without having to read the first and has been largely marketed as monster romance which it totally is. BUT I'll also argue to the death that monster romance belongs under the paranormal romance umbrella AND Howl for the Gargoyle is a fun exception to the rule because both of our main characters are monstrous (instead of a monster/human combo). Hannah and Rafe have a ton of chemistry and I just loved the whole book, okay?
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
While known for being gritty and a close cousin to Urban Fantasy, there's nothing that says that PNR can't be cozy! I'd argue that this runaway hit from 2022 is a paranormal romance: because witches! This book is honestly just adorable and everyone should read it. It's got some found family feeling mixed with a healthy dose of magic and a romance to sweeten the pot. I didn't think this book would charm me as hard as it did. But it really did. I am eagerly awaiting the sequel!
Okay. Remember how I said I love a slow burn? Moon Called and Rosemary and Rue are a VERY slow burn. We meet the main love interests in the first books, but really things don't start to heat up 'til later books. I'm throwing these ones together because they share a lot of similarities: mystery of the week plots, slow burn love interest, many supernatural communities, series named after main protagonist (Moon Called- Mercy Thompson series, Rosemary and Rue- October Daye series). What makes these series both so remarkable is that they are still being published to this day! Honestly, if you're looking for a romance mixed with a mystery mixed with supernatural communities ruining humanity, then look no farther. These are both unputdownable. There are a LOT of books in both and I've read them all!
Honorable Mentions
Here are the books I put on hold while making this list, that I have yet to read, but can't wait to!
A Werewolf's Guide to Seducing A Vampire
-Lauren Taylor is a Senior Childrens' Librarian at Lawrence Public Library.
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