Archive for paranormal romance
Science Fiction Paranormal Romance in SkyLark
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This is a very different kind of paranormal romance, and one that isn’t even a romance until well into the second half of the book. But it is a great start to what promises to be a very interesting fantasy world that will definitely include enough paranormal romance in it to satisfy anyone. We begin with our girl Skylark, a teen in a city that is the last remaining holdout of humanity, enclosed in a bubble and slowly crumbling into a lower state as its power sources dwindle.
But when we meet Skylark she has no awareness of any of the political ramifications of where she lives. She only knows that in a city where everyone takes pride in their childhood ending and their true life as an adult beginning when they are called upon by the state to have their innate gifts “harvested”, she has been left behind. Every year when they call on others her age, and younger, to be harvested, her name is never called and she doesn’t know why.
But then she is called, and discovers that she has been held back because she has a special power, for she is a Renewable. This means she can give her magical ability for harvesting again and again as it regenerates itself after each harvest. Unlike the others who are harvested and then returned to the city to contribute as adults, she will stay and be harvested endlessly.
A Secret Uncovered
While in the hands of the city architects she discovers a secret that changes everything and makes her more determined than ever to get away. Finally, tortured beyond her ability to stand, she escapes into the wilds of beyond the city dome, unsure if she can survive but determined to never return to the city.
Outside the city dome the world has gone crazy. Most of the world has been destroyed by war, and what has survived has been twisted by it beyond recognition. Her struggles to not only survive, but find others like herself bring her in touch with a wild boy.
An Unlikely Paranormal Romance
He helps her to elude the cannibalistic creatures that once were humans and hide in the pockets of magic that dot the earth. In time she finds the answers, not only to her quest for others like herself but also to understand the wild boy and just what he means to her.
This story will grab you almost from the start. There is an element of the science fiction post-apocalypse world here, and a fair bit of magic as well. There are fearsome creatures written so starkly you will envision them all too easily. But most of all, what I loved about this was the relationship between Skylark and the wild boy who befriends and rescues her.
I consider it a kind of paranormal romance, even if it never quite progresses there physically, because the paranormal romance is there emotionally for both of them. There is an insight into what it would take to survive this kind of world, and into what it takes to love someone as different from you as they are to each other.
A Coming of Age Tale for the Future
Skylark’s journey through a terrifying and sometimes beautiful countryside to find the Iron Forest is a classic journey from childhood to adult but with none of the clichés we find so often. Skylark believes that even monsters can be redeemed and her ultimate belief in the goodness of others is both her strength and her weakness.
It is what makes her so human, and so much a character we cheer on to succeed. In Spooner’s Skylark we find the perfect fable of the journey of discovery we all make in our life, wrapped in a paranormal romance adventure that is just really beginning. I can’t wait to see where she goes from here.
Lusty Paranormal Romance with Unwilling by Kerrigan Byrne
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This is a paranormal romance with an historical twist set in the 1400s of Scotland. He is the laird of the Castle MacLauchlan and a berserker whose inner demon can unleash a deadly power in the midst of a battle-crazed blood-lust. She is Lindsey Ross, a daughter of the Regent of Scotland and promised in treaty as wife to a cruel laird who has been terrorizing the area. When Conner comes across her as he and his men look to find and destroy the cruel lord, he sees in her his bride and takes her to his home. And that, as they say, is when the fun begins.
Conner is a rough tough guy, not stupid and certainly not shy. But he is a man who has some dark demons inside him and is not looking for a wife. He struggles to find a way to deal with a feisty woman like Lindsey and for all her fiery ways Lindsey is trying hard to understand this man who obviously is drawn to her but fights it all the way. Conner’s rough around the edges way of wooing makes this a paranormal romance with a bit of humor to it.
As they come to know each other, we feel and see the passion begin to grow between them. There is plenty of steam in this book, and the great thing is that it arises from the story and never feels contrived. This is the second book in the series but you can enjoy it just fine the way it is. I will tell you that for a paranormal romance there is a lot of fighting and action, but it never detracts from the central story of our two characters.
The feelings between them will grow until one day Lindsey must look into her heart to find out how she feels when Conner is taken prisoner and she must find a way to help him. Does she see herself as his prisoner still or is she finally willing to admit in her heart what she and the readers have known all along. If you love paranormal romance that isn’t just vampires, you will lust for this Unwilling as one of the more colorful and passionate reads. Steamy and just enough action to make it a great fast read.
Haunting Paranormal Romance in Her Dear & Loving Husband
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Her Dear & Loving Husband by Meredith Allard
How long would you wait for the one you love? That is the central question in this paranormal romance that spans the history of the Salem Witch trials and yet is as modern as yesterday’s cappuccino. Sarah Alexander has come to Salem from Los Angeles after a divorce and a new job offer that she is looking forward to beginning. Her work in the university library brings her in contact with Jennifer, the head librarian who also just happens to be a witch, of the Wiccan variety. While driving her home during a rain storm one day they pass an old house that Sarah recognizes from her dreams. She knows this place, for she has kissed a man and been kissed by him by that old gnarled tree many times in these dreams.
A Charmed Paranormal Romance
When she returns to look at the house she meets James, and the most impossible paranormal romance begins. For James has a secret, one that has left him alone and lonely for hundreds of years, mourning the loss of his wife Elizabeth, the woman that Sarah is the spitting image of. When they meet it is kismet and somehow they know each other. In time we find out why, and the mystery of old loves returned and patience in a paranormal romance that longs for closure moves forward.
Unfortunately, life and love is not without its snags, and theirs comes in the form of a reporter by the name of Kenneth Hempel. He has some information, the kind that may put Salem in an uproar and bring back the witch trials on an even bigger scale then the first ones. The question is can he prove what he suspects? Is he a hunter out for prey or simply a curious reporter looking for a good story?
Love in a Backward Glance
As we watch Hempel pursue his ideas and James try to convince him he is following a false lead, the history of Salem is told as a backdrop that is embellished by Sarah’s dreams. They are dreams so vivid, of events that she couldn’t possibly know about, that she doubts her own sanity at times. But they tell her a story that at first she questions but in time begins to accept in dazed amazement. It is the story of a love worth waiting for.
The story is well told, and the characters are charming. Allard has made a bit of a name for herself in the world of historical fiction and her comfort with that genre shows in the story as she intertwines just enough of the true story of the Salem Witch Trials into this paranormal romance to make it all work on both levels.
I always enjoy any kind of paranormal story better when there are parts of it that make it more believable, and she has brought this history in for just the right effect. You come to care about Sarah and James, and to feel their bond as the story grows. I know that the second book, Her Loving Husband’s Curse has recently come out and I am looking forward to grabbing it and reading it soon. There is just something so satisfying about a paranormal romance like Her Dear & Loving Husband; it makes you want to curl up and keep reading. Do pick it up if you love romance with that paranormal twist.
