Thursday, May 22, 2014

Beyond Twilight, Through Breaking Dawn, and Over Vampire Diaries: Teen Paranormal Romance

Beyond The Veil Of Twilight and

The Vampire Diaries

(Shhh! I heard that chorus of hisses and boos)
 
 
 
I have to admit, I read Stephanie Myers Twilight books, bought the books, and seen the movies. I liked them. Maybe not on a crazed Twi-Mom level, but I enjoyed them for the works that they were. I also read a few of The Vampire Diaries as well and well they were okay. I watched the first few seasons of the show until it conflicted with other programs that I like watching and it was okay too.
 
I do not write teen paranormal romance though I have read it mostly because I have a daughter and niece and wanted to "preview" the books that they found popular or might have wanted to read. My own daughter's love of paranormal teen romance was quite short lived, but I still find many titles a great read even though I am grown and write adult paranormal romance. So, for all of you out there whether you be a teen, young adult, parent, or just someone who wants to get their feet wet with my genre, here are my picks for great teen paranormal romance.
 
 
Chronicles of Nick Series by Sherrilyn Kenyon
 
Now, these aren't "romantic" novels even though there is the light blush of blossoming young love amidst puberty, zombies, demons(both good and bad), Greek Gods, and Dark Hunters who hunt vampire like Daimons-sounds great, doesn't it? The Chronicle of Nick books are AWESOME! I have to say it again, THEY ARE AWESOME! Sherrilyn Kenyon has encompassed every thing that a kid goes through when they are in high school and shows how a kid can go from nothing and still struggle through poverty, dysfunction, and being bullied at school. Her character Nick is infamous in her Dark Hunter Series for adult readers, but her Chronicles of Nick books start when Nick Gautier is an awkward teenage boy and goes through what most kids his age have to go through, well without the supernatural stuff of course but the books are great for every teenager to read.
 


                        Infinity is the first in the series and is set to become a motion picture which starts filming sometime in 2015.
 
Blurb:
 
At fourteen, Nick Gautier thinks he knows everything about the world around him. Streetwise, tough and savvy, his quick sarcasm is the stuff of legends. . .until the night when his best friends try to kill him. Saved by a mysterious warrior who has more fighting skills than Chuck Norris, Nick is sucked into the realm of the Dark-Hunters: immortal vampire slayers who risk everything to save humanity.
Nick quickly learns that the human world is only a veil for a much larger and more dangerous one: a world where the captain of the football team is a werewolf and the girl he has a crush on goes out at night to stake the undead.
But before he can even learn the rules of this new world, his fellow students are turning into flesh eating zombies. And he’s next on the menu.
As if starting high school isn't hard enough. . .now Nick has to hide his new friends from his mom, his chainsaw from the principal, and keep the zombies and the demon Simi from eating his brains, all without getting grounded or suspended. How in the world is he supposed to do that?
 
 
Everneath
 
Brodi Ashton's Everneath is a great paranormal romance for a mature teenager that doesn't hit Rated R and is a great introduction into paranormal romance of love, loss, and immortality.
 



Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she’s returned—to her old life, her family, her boyfriend—before she’s banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.
Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance—and the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.
As Nikki’s time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s queen.
 
 
 
Ready for a rollercoaster ride? This next book delivers on action, adventure, and a darkly written tale that teens and adults alike will eat up, and maybe have to sleep with the lights on.
 

Blurb:
 
In the middle of The City is the pit of the world --- it is called the Carnival of Souls. To live there is to live on the edge with murder, violence and corruption as your only companions. The City is run by Daimons, and their leader is Marchosias. Although Marchosias was born in the lowest caste, a Cur, he fought and killed his way to leadership. Ruthless and cruel, he knows everything that goes on because he “owns” everyone who lives in his City. The Carnival of Souls exists with his permission; it serves as a perfect place to breed those desperate, hungry, angry creatures that make up the “misfits” and the Curs.
 
Long ago, the Daimons sent the Witches to the outskirts. Witches and Daimons are at war, each believing that the other is the most dangerous and the most deceitful of beings. In fact, all members of this society are part of a strict caste system. The lowest castes are the Watchers (bird-like spies) and Curs (Daimons who transform into doglike forms). There is only one chance to escape from this caste system. Every generation a competition to the death is staged by the City --- the winner is rewarded by moving to a higher caste and thus, gaining more power.
Three teens enter the competition in order to fight for what each most wants. Aya is an upper caste woman who pits herself against the man she loves in order to avoid becoming a breeder. She knows her secrets will be revealed if she ever has children. Mallory thinks she is human and has been raised to hate Daimons --- she doesn’t realize her real father is one of the most powerful Daimons in this world. And Kaleb is a Cur of the lowest order with great skills as an assassin and fighter. He will fight this year and prove his worthiness to gain more power.
 
 
Of Neptune (The Syrena Legacy Series book 3) by Anna Banks is more than just a romance novel; but one that includes danger, intrigue, and adventure. To be honest, this is the first one I have read and I'm scrambling to read the prior two, but for the mature teen reader, this book is a must add to their libraries and still stays on the PG-13 rating.
 
 
 
Blurb:
 
 
Emma and Galen’s kingdom and their love is threatened by long-lost Syrena in the brilliant conclusion to Anna Banks bestselling trilogy.

Emma, half human and half Syrena, and her Syrena love, Galen, need time together alone. Away from the kingdoms of Poseidon and Triton. Emma’s grandfather, the Poseidon king, suggests the two visit a small town called Neptune.

Neptune is home to both Syrena and Half-Breeds alike. But Emma and Galen didn’t sign up to be peacemakers between the ocean and the land-dwelling, freshwater Syrena. They didn’t bargain for meeting a charming Half-Breed named Reed, who can barely disguise his feelings for Emma. And they especially didn’t expect to find themselves in the middle of a power struggle that threatens not only their love but their ocean kingdoms.
 
 
 
Now for something a little more edgy and for your seventeen year old reader, Karen Marie Moning's Iced (The Dani O'Malley Trilogy Book 1/3) is a must. This is her YA series that coincides with her adult Fever series. Dani O'Malley is unlike any female character out there to date. She's fiery, smart as a whip, fearless, ruthless, and like Nick Gautier; she's a teenager who has everything a teenage girl is going through with the stipulation that she's fighting evil Fae at the brink of a near apocalypse. This book series is a non stop adventure ride with just a hint of romance or at least her hormones are entertaining the idea when she's not slaying monsters.
 
Blurb:
 
 The year is 1 AWC—After the Wall Crash. The Fae are free and hunting us. It’s a war zone out there, and no two days are alike. I’m Dani O’Malley, the chaos-filled streets of Dublin are my home, and there’s no place I’d rather be.

Dani “Mega” O’Malley plays by her own set of rules—and in a world overrun by Dark Fae, her biggest rule is: Do what it takes to survive. Possessing rare talents and the all-powerful Sword of Light, Dani is more than equipped for the task. In fact, she’s one of the rare humans who can defend themselves against the Unseelie. But now, amid the pandemonium, her greatest gifts have turned into serious liabilities.

Dani’s ex–best friend, MacKayla Lane, wants her dead, the terrifying Unseelie princes have put a price on her head, and Inspector Jayne, the head of the police force, is after her sword and will stop at nothing to get it. What’s more, people are being mysteriously frozen to death all over the city, encased on the spot in sub-zero, icy tableaux.

When Dublin’s most seductive nightclub gets blanketed in hoarfrost, Dani finds herself at the mercy of Ryodan, the club’s ruthless, immortal owner. He needs her quick wit and exceptional skill to figure out what’s freezing Fae and humans dead in their tracks—and Ryodan will do anything to ensure her compliance.

Dodging bullets, fangs, and fists, Dani must strike treacherous bargains and make desperate alliances to save her beloved Dublin—before everything and everyone in it gets iced.
 
Okay folks, there is my salute to Teen Paranormal Romance and getting past those sparkly vampire books. (HA!) So there's no reason now why your teenager can't enjoy our love of paranormal romance and adventure.
 

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