Paranormal Romance wasted potential?

I finished The Savior by J.R Ward in April. I'm a BDB fan so I try to stay up to date on the Caldwell scene. This is one of the series I picked up when I was younger, had more time and was really into paranormal romance novels. I really enjoyed series like Immortals after dark, Dark-hunters, and Lords of the Underworld. Paranormal Romances almost always focus mainly on the sex and romance plots which makes sense I suppose. However, some of them have such rich lore and worldbuilding I feel like it's a waste and I end up so disappointed. The plot and world it functions in always ends up submitting to the romance plot.

I did not enjoy The Savior. It was lacklustre and very fluffy. I still enjoyed visiting the world of BDB and the characters. However, it felt very cheesy, lots of new characters and subplots coming in and not for the sake of the story but for the sake of adding more characters and romance plots. The characters and stories just seem recycled.

Immortals After Dark especially has some cool worldbuilding and a bigger story around the romance plot. It was heading to something apocalyptic. However, somewhere down the line, it jumped from paranormal romance to sci-fi with the introduction of new characters...from another planet.

Strong and mysterious characters like Nix  (IAD) and Lassiter (BDB) and Jaden (Dark-hunters) who are intriguing end up getting the short end of the stick because they too will have to submit to the romance angle.

It's such a waste because I feel invested in the story and the characters (esp. Lassiter and Jaden). I want them to get their HEA, not something rushed. I want them to drive the story and world they exist in. Maybe I'm just angry because my favourite characters are being neglected and watered down or maybe I've read too many PR novels and am tired of the same formula. Let me know what you think?

Hunting Fear ( Bishop/Special Crimes Unit , #7 ) by Kay Hooper

There's a new psychic on the scene, and he's ready for action: introducing Lucas Jordan, the latest addition to Noah Bishop's crackerjack Special Crimes Unit. 

Lucas Jordan has an extraordinary psychic skill that police all over the country find invaluable: he locates missing people. And since being recruited by Noah Bishop for his FBI Special Crimes Unit, Lucas has learned to hone his remarkable ability so that what he does seems little short of miraculous.

He's called in on what appear to be a series of ordinary kidnappings-for-ransom, but almost immediately Lucas realizes the situation is far from ordinary—and more deadly than anything he's ever faced before. Because a brilliant, twisted madman is out to win a sick game, matching his wits against the best hunter he can find: Lucas.GOODREADS



Finally picked this up from the library.  I reviewed book #9 Sleeping with fear earlier on . I had picked it up randomly ( something new to read) hence the disorder. Although that's all it takes to grow fond of this series, one book. You don't even have to read them in order, they are as good standalone as a whole. Although if you're like me and hate not having some background information then I suppose it will be a bit annoying but not so much as to ruin the book.

This one was better than Sleeping with fear because they were in a bigger state (setting) and there were more characters ( list of suspects). It wasn't as predictable as the previous book I'd read and not so much centered around the romance. Lucas comes to investigate a series of murders and Sam ( former lover) shows up. Sam is a great female lead, she's intelligent, confident, strong , straightforward and a smart ass. Lucas is a tight ass, but he isn't an unpleasant character. He just has issues ,which Sam helps him overcome. So enough about asses

The thing about a mystery thriller is trying to figure out who the killer is . Give up now, you'll never figure it out as a reader ( I didn't). The mystery in Sleeping with Fear was easier and lacking compared Hunting Fear because  of the small setting and the small cast. Hunting Fear is way better and not so easy to figure  out. The killer turns out to be a victim from a last cast Luke had worked on. Who set up this well thought out game to lure and emotionally break Lucas. He did this by kidnapping and ingeniously killing them. Building machines ; like a guillotine, or a tank to drown his victims. Even getting Sam was a move on the killers part, only it backfired on him because he didn't expect Sam to help Lucas.

Then there's the mysterious Bishop. Who has Lucas and Sam tailed by other members of the BS/CU and who also shows up at the end to tie up the knots. Yeah, he's mysterious I'll give him that but I don't know if I should like the guy or not.

The book isn't very lighthearted . There's death, lots of nosebleeds, kidnapping , past issues. At some point in the story a Female cop gets taken by the killer and Lucas finds her but too late to save her. The suspense keeps  building up , because the povs switch from between  the characters. One moment you're with Lindsay (female cop) while she's in the tank about to drown but still alive and the next you're with Lucas looking at the tank with Lindsay's body floating in it. There' are also some povs from the killer ( only one if I remember right).

It's a relatively happy ending I guess. They kill the killer but his partner ( his son) gets away. Sam joins the BS/CU and marries Lucas.

All around great book. except for this one thing. It's probably really obvious or maybe an ambiguous thing . but the last line. Sam offers to tell Lucas his fortune ( BTW Sam is a psychic who use to work as a fortune teller).  To which he says ( the last line of the book)

"No need, I already know how the story ends"

How does the story end!?

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Moon Called ( Mercy Thompson #1 ) by Patricia Briggs

Mercy Thompson's life is not exactly normal. Her next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a VW bus for a vampire. But then, Mercy isn't exactly normal herself.

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This has been on my TBR list for a  while now and turned out to be exactly what I had expected. A fun , fascinating and engaging world of shapeshifters and other supernatural beings.

Mercy is a great character . I love her personality and the way she handles things. She's intelligent, practical and has some good instincts. She's also very kind but not a push over.And independent. I love the fact that she's a mechanic and there are also some other female characters with interesting jobs . They're  two other female pack members. One of which is a fire fighter and the other a teacher.

The book is set in a society that knows that there are supernatural creatures and later in the book the werewolves make themselves known to the society. Mercy is a skin walker and can change into a coyote but she was raised by werewolves, this makes for an interesting dynamic between her and the weres. All the females hate her, because she's not a were and she's beneath them. Wolves trump coyotes I guess. It's also fascinating to read about the dominance issue. Female pack members have to be submissive to the male members (because they're the dominant ones). Mercy has a good understanding about the chain of command in a pack and plays along.

The plot was engaging: Mercy's neighbour is a werewolf (alpha to the local pack) and has a daughter. She's close with them. They get attacked and the girl gets kidnapped. Mercy takes Adam to Bran (the alpha to the pack that raised her). Then there's speculation about motive to the attack and kidnapping of Jesse. I like a bit of mystery to a book, because I'm also speculating and guessing along .  But I was all confused and nothing made sense so I had to take back seat and be Watson while Mercy plays the role of Sherlock .

Mercy's eclectic circle of friends was pretty attractive. She's friends with werewolves, a gay werewolf (Warren) , a gremlin,vampires and a cop . Her circle is only going to grow in future books.

This is also suppose to be a romance book, but here wasn't much of that going on. At least not in my opinion. We are introduced to her background in this book, friends ,family. ex-lover and by the end she's dating or goes on a date with Adam.

There is a sub-plot ( a small) one where Mercy tells Kyle (warren's boyfriend ) that Warren's a werewolf and that's why he's sometimes distant.

I'm happy I finally got around to reading this book and it was fulfilling. I'd recommend it to anybody who enjoys all the drama in True Blood . There isn't any sex in this book ( in case you're one of those) but then again this is only book one in the series. It just kinda reminds me of True Blood only I prefer this series to a blond crazy person.

Also that cover is awesome!

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Vampire Hunter D volume 3 by Hideyuki Kikuchi , adapted and illustrated by Saiko Takaki

The third volume of the popular Japanese series comes to America in Vampire Hunter D: Demon Deathchase. The vampire hunter known only as D has been hired by a wealthy, dying man to find his daughter, who was kidnapped by the powerful vampire Lord Meierlink. Though humans speak well of Meierlink, the price on his head is too high for D to ignore and he sets out to save her before she can be turned into an undead creature of the night. In the nightmare world of 12090 A.D., finding Meierlink before he reaches the spaceport in the Clayborn States and gets off the planet will be hard enough, but D has more than just Meierlink to worry about. The dying man is taking no chances, and has also enlisted the Marcus family, a renegade clan of four brothers and a sister who don't care who they kill as long as they get paid. Beautiful illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano complement the post-apocalyptic plot, filled with chilling twists. Co-Published with Digital Manga Publishing.GOODREADS

* the description of the manga belongs to another edition. The edition being reviewed is adapted and illustrated by Saiko Takaki.

First off, I'm not familiar with the other two volumes or the story arc. This is my introduction to this manga. Not knowing certain things did bother me: like why the hell does D have a face or an ugly speaking face on his hand or why he's so mysterious and why the old guy seemed to know him. I guess being ignorant of D's background made this less impressive but it doesn't really ruin the plot,  it just makes a person curious so it's safe to read this as a stand alone. Then again I don't know why you would start at 3 when you should start with one.

The plot is predictable , I mean vampire falls in love with human, they run away, dad is disgusted, hires hunters,  girl hunter sympathizes because she likes D, a dramatic scene where the Meierlink gets killed and then human girl impales herself because she can't live without him. Predictable. 

What made it interesting was the characters and the illustrations. D's mysterious and I don't get him. Then there's the Marcus clan ( a bunch of morons, moron clan) and the Noble vampire who kidnaps the damsel. Then there's the 3 assassins from some village. They all die and the way they kept coming back was surprising and frustrating. I mean die already!

As for the illustrations. Lets see: the body of the characters ,their cloths (in this case I mean the men's cloths) are done really well and are amazing. But the faces aren't as attractive as the clothes . The faces are weird looking in my opinion but the expressions are unique and eye-catching. 

There are three female characters in this manga. I hated them all.  There's the damsel; who almost gets raped then saved by this guy who then tries to rape her and again gets rescued by a Marcus brother . Then there's the female Marcus member: she's suppose to be bad ass but is being sexually abused by her "brothers" and one of the assassins who's in this really skimpy outfit (how do you fight in that?!). The word "sexist' is swimming around in my head, but I'm not sure if I should use it. It is what it is. The assassin used her body as a weapon, the Marcus girl's a reasonable fighter but kind of weak and the damsel's too kind and naive. plus the other two aforementioned ones have these huge boobs. Maybe not extremely huge ones, but they're very apparent, noticeable. like they'd poke you in the eye or something. how do you fight with those?!

Predictable plot and crappy female characters aside, it's still a fun manga to read . I didn't know it was set in the year 12090 A.D and that this was also a science fiction manga, that wasn't as apparent in this volume as the boobs ,but one of the reasons I'd give it a try if ever I come across another volume.

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