Vampires, Werewolves and Mermaids, Oh My!

by Sara Taney Humphreys

I'm a sucker for romance. Long before I was a romance novelist, I was an avid reader of romance. Truth be told...I still am. My drug of choice is paranormal romance. I think that when most people hear that term, they think of vampire novels. I know, I know. You're probably thinking of Twilight. I liked that series. It was nice. Sparkly vampires, innocent first love...yada yada.
It was nice...not thrilling...but nice. I know that by making the vamps all sparkly, the author made them more palatable for the masses. I don't know about you but I like my vampires a bit more...vampire.

If you want to read a hot, unique vampire series that sticks much closer to vampire lore than Twilight---then you should check out my fave vamp series.

My first foray into paranormal romance was when I read Dark Prince by Christine Feehan. This is Book #1 in the Carpathian Series. Holy Moly! I burned through that book in one day at the beach and then I couldn't get to the others in the series fast enough. You see, they are Carpathians. Their race surives on blood but they're not monsters. The men only have one mate who can bring color into their world. If they don't find that mate then they run the risk of succumbing to the darkness and turning into the snarling, drooling monsters--vampire. These classic alpha-male heros jump off the page and make you want to jump them. They are tragic, dark, intense, sexy and.....well...one word sums it up...drool.

My next romance series addiction was with werewolves, specifcally Lori Handeland's Nightcreature Series. I've read all of the Nightcreature novels but I think Hidden Moon is my favorite...so far.

Marked by the Moon is coming out November 2, 2010 and it's at the top of my TBR list! I love the heroines that she writes. They are strong, funny and independent. Not only are her books sexy as hell, but they're funny too. I laughed out loud more than once.

My new fave series is definitely not your usual paranormal. (Hmmm...oxymoron?) It's about Mermaids and Mermen. Wait. Scratch that. Mer People. I have to be honest, at first glance I didn't think it was something I'd get into. I was wrong. Really wrong.

Judi Fennell has written a refreshingly different pararnormal romance series. There are three books in this unique series. In Over Her Head, Wild Blue Under and Catch of a Lifetime. I absolutely loved these books. Hot heros, strong heroines, danger, true love, destiny, sizzling sex scenes, laugh out loud humor and did I mention the love scenes?

What I love about all three of these series is that all of them are really "stand-alone" books. You can pick up any one in the series and run with it. And believe me...you should!

So if you're looking for a unique spin on vampires, werewolves and mermaids then stroll on over to Borders, B&N or Amazon and get started. Trust me...read one in the series and you'll be dying to read the rest!