One of them, the MC has half vampire, half werewolf. Seriously, how does that work? On the full moon you turn into a werevamp and bite people's necks? How does one become half vampire half werewolf? Did a vampire bite the neck of a werewolf? Wouldn't that be dangerous even for a vampire? I'm all for creativity and putting a twist on things, but I read "half vampire half werewolf" and I tossed the book back on the shelf and didn't read anymore.
Let us think for a minute about the vampire as male love interest. He needs blood for nurishment. How do you take someone like this out to dinner? How do you cook dinner for him? And what about family barbecues, holidays, and other get togethers? And let's not forget that he can't go out in the sun. There goes that romantic cruise in the Caribbean.
Hello, big time publishers of romance novels, there are some of us who are not interested in reading about vampires or werewolves or zombies as romantic leads.
Sigh. I picked up the thriller "Deadlock" by Iris Johansen instead.
And yet people are buying the books about half vampires/half werewolves. I'd like to know how you like "Deadlock."
ReplyDeleteI know. And that's okay, but not everyone who reads romance want a vampire or werewolf as the male MC. I like the Fantasy/Romance hybrid, but I would like a little more variety.
ReplyDeleteTurn it around, if the majority of what they published was Regency romance, then those who want vampire romances would be complaining that everything was Regency romance.
My point is give us some variety to choose from, they might sell more books.
This is kind of akin to my frustration that fantasy / mystery crosses are almost exclusively the paranormal detective ala Harry Dresden. Nothing wrong with it, but there's so much else interesting to be done. At least it's not all vampires and werewolves, though.
ReplyDeleteTara, I might not finish reading "Deadlock." I tossed it aside the other night when Emily did something I thought was really stupid. My personal pet peeve is main characters doing something that doesn't make sense to me.
ReplyDeleteThere will always be non-paranormal romance novels out there..you may just have to search a little further. (Harlequin publishes a lot of these novels a year)
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that the reason all you see is vampires/werewolf romance novels on the shelves is probably because most are for YA's and let's face it that is what's really selling well these days. And YA's do have the tendency to read about vampires after having read Twilight.
Some of my friends (I'm 18) hardly ever read, but decided to try Twilight. They loved it and now they seriously only read something if there is a vampire in it. Vamps are hot right now..that's the bottom line really. In a year or so it may be something new like Nathan Bransford mentioned on his blog.
Well, I was in the grocery store where the selection is limited to current bestsellers and what they think might sell. Usually, I can find something that will save me a trip to the bookstore to get my new book fix.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, YAs are not the only ones who read books. I have a heck of a lot more money to spend on books, than a teenager does. Then again, maybe this is really a good thing. If there aren't as many books available that I want to buy, I'll spend less money on books. Good for me. Bad for the publishing companies.
Lol that's true, but supposedly because of the market more parents are skipping the whole buying a book for themselves and just getting one for their kids. Plus a lot of YA novels are kind of capable of being read by young adults and adults alike. Lol sorry, I've been reading a lot of Alice Pope's blog and Guide to Literary Agents blog. The YA market is apparently increasing and doing well during this whole recession deal.
ReplyDeleteI'll be honest, I go to the MG and YA section to look for fantasy books to read. I haven't had a whole lot of luck finding enjoyable fantasy in the adult section of the bookstore.
ReplyDeleteI've actually never read an adult fantasy.. I'm not sure what's better. But I do love the fantasy in the YA section. :]
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