Thursday, June 5, 2014

Paranormal Romance: The Softer Side

    Stay with me here, I know you read the title of this blog and you're already groaning. The movie adaptation of the book by John Green, The Fault In Our Stars, hit theaters Friday and it got me thinking, what Paranormal Romances have I read that are complete tear jerkers. I mean what ones have literally caused me to weep? So get your tissue boxes handy and I'll give you my picks for a good paranormal romance that will no doubt have you getting teary eyed if not weeping. For me, these books had me ugly crying, and ladies I know you all know what that's like when you're crying so hard your face is puffy, red, and you look more like a boiled cabbage and if you've ever watched Steel Magnolias, My Sister's Keeper,  or the pinnacle of "cry ugly" movies, My Girl, you have cried ugly.


The first trio of the paranormal tear jerkers are awarded to Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunters. All of her Dark Hunter books always has one character that has literally come through some hell but none have ever suffered like Acheron, Styxx, and Zarek. Acheron and Styxx have their own stories respectfully and if you can read through either of them and not have to grab something to keep from wailing aloud, well you're made of sterner stuff than I am. Zarek's story is almost as heart wrenching and gut ripping as the two brothers but I won't give anyone away other than to say that it will melt whatever ice you might have packed on your heart. 







Inside the dark world of the Carpathians there is a war between Carpathians and Vampires. For Carpathian males, their only salvation is with their life mates; the light to their darkness. I have read just about all of Christine Feehan's Dark Series and none of them made me ugly cry like Dark Melody. Dayan is playing a small club; pouring out his heart in song, desperate to find the light to his darkness and when she walks in, his whole world changes but just as his miracle is before him, he realizes she's not only carrying a child but is dying. This is the first book in the series where the male lead has been shaken to his knees and is unable to anything. Dayan is going to have to rely on not just his own gifts but those of his own family as well as Carpathian brothers and sisters to save Corrine and her baby. Need a Kleenex yet? I needed several.


I know there are some Kresley Cole fans that are reading this and you know exactly why I chose this book. One of the most noted characters from the Immortals After Dark series is Regin the Radiant. Regin throughout the books has been full off piss and vinegar and she does it with style and a middle finger. Regin is flawless when it comes to battle and the use of quick wit, even she would make a gangster rapper blush with her use of "poetic profanity". Regin is a well loved character but in Dreams of a Dark Warrior her walls come down because Regin isn't such a stone cold Valkyrie; Regin once fell in love but it was a love that became cursed. She would never have her Berserker but that didn't stop fate from reincarnating him every few centuries but no matter how hard she tries-he always dies and she's left with the heart break.  How many times can a girl go through that? 


You know, if the a fore mentioned books don't have that thing in your chest jerking a little, then perhaps J R Ward's Lover Eternal and Lover Awakened will crank those waterworks just a little. In Lover Eternal, Rhage is a beast of a guy-literally, he's one of the biggest dudes of the Black Dagger Brotherhood but he can get a little Godzilla now and then which makes him dangerous. He's also an infamous playboy with all the female conquests he gets per night. So when he falls for a human who just so happens to have cancer, everyone is wondering," How she could have tamed the beast?" What Rhage is wondering, is what he is going to do without her in his life and how he can stop it?

One of the darkest and most volatile of the brothers is Zadist. He doesn't care about the pain he inflicts and if it weren't for his twin, Phury, he'd probably made Jack The Ripper pee his pants.He's full of rage from a horrific past as a blood slave but when Bella needs him in a way that he has never known himself capable of, he may just destroy himself in the process. 

Bella is coming through hell and Zadist is the only one she wants. She doesn't know what it is about the male that calls to her, but ever since she first saw him-he ignited something in her. Can she awaken the part of him she knows he's hidden so well?  



Okay picture this, you find this really unique mirror, and there standing in it is a naked man who is every wet dream you have ever had but he's cursed inside the glass. Imagine you're a centuries old Highland Laird who was cursed inside a mirror and standing before you is a woman who presses all your buttons yet you can't stop envisioning what it would be like to just touch her, just once. 

Cian MacKelter is on borrowed time, literally and as badly as he would love his curse broken, he wants Jessi St.James even more. However, just as their passion is creating firestorm, Cian's ancient enemy has almost found a way to keep Cian trapped forever. How far will Jessi be willing to go and what will Cian for all his knowledge of the dark arts be willing to sacrifice for Jessi?  


Gena Showalter's Lord's of the Underworld series are some of my favorites. Basically you have these fallen guardians of Olympus who became cursed with the demons that were let loose from Pandora's Box. Of all the books, The Darkest Lie just made me tear right up. Gideon is the keeper of the demon of Lies. He cannot tell the truth or he feels excruciating pain. However, meeting up with his long lost wife, of whom he has no recollection of by the way, is not really a good thing. Scarlet is the one person that Gideon cannot tell whether she is lying to him or not. Scarlet is a demon possessed female. It seems when Pandora's Box was opened, one of those little critters found a mortal woman and of course it would have to be nightmares. She is too dangerous to be left alone but she can't help but plot his death and he can't help but totally not want to jump her bones and both of them are going to find out a good many things while they're both trying to keep their hands and claws off each other. 

The tear jerker about this book, you ask? Well Scarlet deep down remembers the love she shared with Gideon. It's still there in her heart buried deep and the fact he doesn't remember makes her quite distressed. Gideon wants to remember but he couldn't tell her if he could or not because everything he says is a lie. It's both frustrating, funny, and heart breaking.

The Sentinal Wars series by Shannon K. Butcher has got to be added to your reading lists. It has all that groovy Sci-Fi feel to it yet has a great love story. The Sentinals are warriors that are born with a tree. The tree grows and leafs out but what's bad is that when the last leaf falls from their body tattoo, the good part of their soul dies and they grow dark. Each Sentinal needs their mate-the one female who can absorb all the power that is stored up within them and both can work as a team at defeating the really nasty creatures that want to eat us humans. In this book, Torr, who was once paralyzed and on his death bed was saved by the sacrifice of Grace-a woman he saved. Grace gave her life for Torr but he found someone to heal Grace but part of the cure was that Grace would lose all her memories-including the love that she and Torr shared. CRY! 
Yes, this book will take you on a emotional boo-hoo but it also delivers on adventure too so don't think it is all mush. So be sure to check this book out.





                          Are you dragging out your Kleenex yet? Got any favorite paranormal tear jerkers to share? Make sure you let me know which book(s) and authors have you crying ugly below in the comments.


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