Day One: Spooky TBR / Day Two: October Releases / Day Three: Bookish Autumn Bucket List / Day Four: Perfect Cosy Reading Nook / Day Five: Top 5 Disney Villains / Day Six: Strong Woman Horror Trope / Day Seven: Reading Snacks / Day Eight: 5 Autumn Reads / Day Nine: Vampires and Werewolves / Day Ten: Spooky TBR Update / Day Eleven: Witches / Day Twelve: Books I Should Have Read / Day Thirteen: Review – Under My Hat Anthology / Day Sixteen: This Time Last Year / Day Seventeen: Reading Drinks
Challenge List – Anniek’s Library
Paranormal Romance is one of those genres I really don’t read enough of. Whenever I do read it, I tend to really enjoy it. I just need to pick up more, really.
And I fully believe paranormal romance = written by women. Urban fantasy = written by men, judging by what I used to find shelved under each in bookshops, even if they have the same tropes and type of characters.
Anyway, before this becomes a rant…
Paranormal Romance comes in many different types. For every paranormal creature out there, there’s probably a romance book featuring them and a human protagonist. The ones I’m most failiar with tend to be vampires and werewolves, but the list is endlist. The main reason I know these two is because many years ago, I read two series which featured vampires and werewolves quite heavily.
Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter – Laurell K Hamilton
Something about Guilty Pleasures, the first book in the series, must have really intrigued 
me, because even though I only gave it 3 stars on Goodreads, I still continued with the series, reading 22 books before stopping. I didn’t even stop intentionally, I just picked up other books instead. But, honestly, this series started strong – I remember loving the first few books, really enjoying this world, and the blend of romance and crime Hamilton weaved into the story. The love interests were sexy and dangerous, and the horror elements were handled brilliantly.
But at some point, the books kind of tipped into just being about sex. Anita gains a power, and it turns out to be the power of sex, meaning she has to sleep with some characters pretty much instantly to save the day. And it was repeated. A lot. To the point where the sex scenes weren’t even very enjoyable any more, but repetitive. And every male character has a huge cock? I have heard it picks up again later, so I do intend to continue reading to see where the rest actually goes.
Sookie Stackhouse – Charlaine Harris
I think I read the first of these books way back in high school, and picked it up again when I was at university. The Sookie Stackhouse books are the basis for the TV 
show True Blood, but after the first book they diverge a lot, retaining some elements while making others much better suited to long-running TV series.
I managed to complete this series, at the insistence of a friend, and enjoyed it. The writing in the first few is pretty simplistic, but it matches Sookie’s character, and as the novels progress, the writing improves. And like Anita Blake, there are plenty of paranormal creatures to keep the reader invested.
Although both the Sookie Stackhouse and Anita Blake’s books have vampires and werewolves as their primary love interests, there are many others to be found within their pages, and both draw on various folklore for their monsters.
I’d suggest both these series, for anyone interested, but I really do need to read more paranormal, both with and without vampires involved, so if you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear them.
into an almost good guy, mainly because of the birth of his daughter, Hope. He tries so hard to do right by her, and to protect her, and it never works out well for him. By the end of The Originals, I was really sad to say goodbye to him most of all, despite loving the vast majority of the cast, including the other hybrid, Hayley, mother of Hope. I never got the whole Klaus/Caroline love, probably because I watched Originals then went back and watched Vampire Diaries, so maybe I did in the wrong order. THEN I read the books. And, after that, Legacies came out, and honestly, I freaking love that show. The continuation of 
Hope’s story is handled really well, and I love the exploration of the other characters around her, as well as the inclusion of others from both Vampire Diaries and Originals. Hope is a fantastic character, and though she’s technically a tribrid – vampire/werewolf/witch, I’m including her here along with her father. There is one vampire, however, I am so upset we don’t get to see more of in the show…
going, but he was always fun to watch on screen. He starts off complete bad guy, similar to Klaus, and only through Elena blah blah blah. Early seasons Damon was my favourite, he was like an antidote to his moody, brooding brother (don’t get me wrong – I love him too) and I’ve loved Ian Somerhalder since I first watched Lost, so of course I was going to love Damon. How can you not? He’s tortured, and angry, and takes that out on the people he loves AND the mortals around him, not to mention he’s a big reason why a lot of events in Vampire Diaries went the way they did.
me – he has a huge soft spot for Sookie, but his actions, no matter what he does, always make sense, and him and Pam are absolutely fantastic to watch on screen. Like Damon, some of his best moments come when he’s at his most vulnerable, and both actors deserve praise, IM-very-HO, for the way the characters are portrayed. Out of all the True Blood vampires, he’s by far my favourite, again adding something extra alongside the whiny, brooding Bill.
of Pennywise, played Roman in Hemlock Grove, a series I have only recently actually started watching. And again, deeply tortured vampire, but Roman isn’t evil like some of the others. He’s a rich, entitled prick to start with, but he’s confused and lost and doesn’t know what he’s going half the time. Once more, his most vulnerable moments are his best ones, even if the character goes in some seriously questionable directions. Not my VERY favourite vampire (see previous entries) but definitely one I thoroughly enjoy watching.
most gory, most amazing werewolf transformation I have ever seen on screen. Once more, Peter is just a joy to watch, as he agonises over his nature and tries to prevent others discovering what he really is. If you’ve never seen it but want to check out the transformation, have a look on YouTube. Just make sure you’re not eating at the time.
atypical alpha male, he will do anything to protect his loved ones and his pack, and I was actually upset when the romance between him and Sookie didn’t continue in the series. But Alcide is amazing and yes I actually really struggled to find a picture of him with his top on.