There is something so mysterious about reading a sexy shape shifter romance and ever since I discovered this sub genre in paranormal romance, I fell madly in love. Years ago, I liked vampires a bit more, however I love the group of features that normally come with a shape shifter romance theme. I pretty much love all romance, but especially the past couple years, this is definitely been one of my favorite genres to read. I think its mostly because there is something so mysterious and dangerous about shape shifters and there are so many different angles an author can go with this topic in a story. I honestly never know what I am going to expect when reading a shape shifter romance unless its an on going series but depending on the author….most times I still come away surprised.
It is very interesting to see how much growth there has been in this genre over the years. Ten years ago, when I first started reading romance, there wasn’t much of paranormal romance. But now, boy has it grown, and when you talk about shape shifters there are various types of animals and/or creatures or even aliens that you can see that will fit the bill for this. What I have loved is seeing the research that authors will go into in discovering instincts of the animals they are focusing on and their attitudes, strengths and weaknesses. This is an element I also look for in any of the books that I read that have shifter elements. For example some authors such as Lora Leigh, Christine Feehan and Nalini Singh are great with implementing this genre. However each of them handle it in a very different way===somewhat. Lora Leigh and Christine Feehan are more alike than not. Their books are super heated but they do great with the handling of animal instincts. Nalini Singh, Terry Spear, and Deborah Cooke are a bit different. We see the instinct, but we also see the joy in shifting forms and we see the close bonds of pack animals and groupings. Which is most fun and my favorite element to see.
What I also have loved seeing is the variety of groupings of animals. It started with just werewolves (probably due to the fact they are part of ancient myths and legends) but then we shifter to feline forms, and now a days we have dragons, bears, tigers, sea life creatures, and even dinosaurs and aliens. There is such variety now, that even on my goodreads shelves (which I talked about last week) I have a shelf for each kind of creature because authors are becoming more creative and there are times I am more in the mood to see a bear over a wolf….or other times I want to see a dolphin over a panther. There are many forms we can choose from when picking out a shape shifter romance. One of my personal favorites is the leopards…..they do so well for a shifter romance and many authors have done leopards. Which makes me want to do a happy dance.
Having Shifter Romances and seeing the growth and change in them has been an adventure and I am excited to see what will happen in the future.
Personal FavoritesΒ
Questions For My Readers:
Do you enjoy reading shape shifter romance? Why?Β
What are your personal favorites? Tell me, and if I haven’t read it, they will go on my next to be read list.Β
Yes! I love shifter romance, too. I’m not picky about what kind of shifter and like them all. I like them to have the dangerous wild and earthy animal quality.
My very first encounter was with Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series and I fell in love with the werewolf culture and the distinction from Mercy’s coyote shifter ability. Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels’ series would probably be my next favorites. I like Kresley Coles’ Immortals After Dark werewolves. Mary Calmes writes an intriguing panther culture in her m/m shifter series. There are so many more, but most that I like are part of series that include other paranormal races, too. The humorous ones that I like are Eve Langlais shifter series.
I want to try more dragon shifter stories.
I like them wild and earthy too!!! I do need to read Patricia Briggs, I hear she is phenomenal. Kate Daniels is amazing right? And oh my Curran is one of my favorite heroes when it comes to shifters. I love those dragon shifters….have you read Thea Harrison? If not you would love her. And you are right, Eve Langlais is so great to read, so lighthearted and funny.
I still need to try Thea Harrison’s dragons. I’ve heard good things. Thanks!
Yes, I love shifter romances. Kate Daniels is my fav9rite.
They are fun aren’t they?? Kate Daniels is great, and I really love how this couple team slowly built up their relationship instead of a insta love deal that comes with most shifter romance themes.
I’m a huge fan of shifters. I’ve read a bunch of them. I love Ilona Andrews and Nalini Singh. I also love J.C. Daniels, Eve Langlais, Molly Harper and many more. I read more shifters than anything else, probably.
Eve Lanlais is great—I swear every time I read her I can never stop laughing. And Molly Harper is great too as well as Shelly Laurenston. Nalini Singh is fantastic, she is one of those authors that can handle any genre. I keep expecting her to announce she is doing HR….because she has her fingers in all kinds of pies now. LOVED Kiss of Snow and her Psy Changeling series has become so fantastic and better with each book. I do need to try out J.C. Daniels though. Thanks for stopping by.
I love shifter romances! I really like Ilona Andrews and Patricia Briggs. I have liked all of the Christina Dodd shifter books that I have read but I have fallen way behind there. I am going to check out some of the other ones that you mentioned.
Yippee for Ilona Andrews. I just adore this couple team. And I do need to pick up Briggs soon. Christina Dodd has done fabulous with her shifter books. I loved the Wilder family.
I’m not super into paranormal romance, but I am thinking I should look more into them. I do like the Werewolf series by Molly Harper, but they are very light. I’m so glad you really have been enjoying these. ROMANCE IS THE BEST!
I agree….Molly Harper is great with her werewolf series. I haven’t cared much for her vampire series….but those werewolves….dang those were fun books to read. You should think about Eve Langlais, Jennifer Ashley and Kerrelyn Sparks. They are more lively, and have great humor.
Totally agree, I love how much this genre has evolved. I epsecially like that there are so many different types of shape shifters. I love the Kate Daniels series, and The Others by Anne Bishop are two of my fav series right now.
Kate Daniels is great right? I love seeing the culture of the pack, so different and unique. I do need to try Anne Bishop soon though. She has been on my list for the longest time.
I do. I love them for so many reasons. I like how they are so strong, yet loving. One of my favorite series is by Jennifer Ashley. I just love reading her books.
They are a blast right??!!! Love them to death. And there is so much a author can do with this theme. Love Jennifer Ashley as well. Whatever genre she writes in is fantastic.
I love everything paranormal. If you haven’t tried it, I also recommend Jennifer Ashley and if you can handle the heat, Yasmine Galenorn and Laurell K. Hamilton. Both series are over 10 years old…
It is such a fun genre isn’t it?? I love Jennifer Ashley….she does fantastic with whatever genre she writes. Yasmine Galenorn is an author I do need to try and I haven’t read Hamilton in years.
I love paranormal romance and shapeshifters are my favourite paranormal creature. What I like most about shapeshifters is how they aren’t fully human or animal and if an author writes it well that mix of human characterstics and animal instinct blends so well together. I also like how there are different animals now, it’s fun to read about different animals and not only have wolves.
One of my favourite shifter books is Bitten by Kelley Armstrong, it isn’t really a romance though, more urban fantasy with some romance.
They are so fun aren’t they?? I love seeing the blend too and seeing the different takes an author will go in a story. I do need to read Armstrong and soon!!! For me, as long as it has a love story in the story itself I am totally down with reading it hehe
All the UF ones, as, sigh, pnr and I have broken up. A very sad affair
Mercy! Curran! I love them all
LOVE Curran….he rocks!! Oh that is sad about pnr though. Is that true with the mix of HR and PNR?
I’ve never really been into shifter books, or at least sought them out. However, some of my favorite books/series have shifters in them … like Kate Daniels and the Weird Girls. But I don’t know why I’m so reluctant to pick up books that only revolve around shifters.
no that’s not weird, I think we all look for certain things in a story. I just love just about everything but the past couple of years I have become addicted to shifters. Love Kate Daniels though….Andrews really incorporates the feeling of a pack really well and I love the variety she puts in the stories they write. Need to try out Weird Girls.
Dinos and aliens too? Whoa! That is quite a ragtag group!
yep….i like it ALL!!! LOL I have only seen one author (Nina Bangs) do a dino series and boy was that so different and fun. Because I had never seen that before.
I love shifter romances, too, Renee! There is the mystery, of course, and it’s the only kind of romance where I’m actually OK with insta-love because of the fated mate thing. Nalini Singh is one of my favorite authors, she manages to bring so much to her stories, and the way the shifters interact with each other and other packs of shifters always makes me feel like her stories are realistic π
This is a great post! Will you do one where you share some of your favorite shifter series? I may not have read them all yet π
Have a great week and happy reading.
Shifter Romances are just fabulous to read. And it is the one time I am TOTALLY okay with insta love…because it makes sense right? Nalini Singh is fab too. I love how she incorporates the feeling of closeness, touch and affection that is very realistic. She always makes me wish I was part of a pack. Its ironic that you mention series….because coming up next I am going to do a series on all my favorite genre series. So stay tuned for those.
Awesome! And I have one you may not have tried yet… Mageri by Dannika Dark (and also Seven which is set in the same universe) π
I’m also a huge fan of shifter romance – despite vampires having always been my fav. π Ilona Andrews would definitely make my fav list, and I really like Jennifer Ashley as well. Patricia Briggs’ series (Mercy Thompson and Alpha & Omega) are both on my favs list, too. One thing I enjoy about shifter romances, besides the mystery and romance π is seeing pack dynamics. I find it fascinating. Oh speaking of, have you read Nicky Charles’ shifter series? Check her out!
Lovely post! π
Well Vampires are just a classic right? However there is something unique and special and heartwarming about shifter romances. Jennifer Ashley is pretty great with her shifter series. I haven’t read Patricia Briggs though….which book do you recommend I go with first? I love pack dynamics. Nalini Singh does great with that one and I also love seeing how she incorporates affection between pack members….she always makes me wish I was a part of them. I haven’t read Nicky Charles…..but I must now!!! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this and I got some new books to try out.
I also love shifter romances, even if I haven’t been reading any lately (simply because I bought too many books and have to read them !). Ha, thinking about it, I’m wrong, I read my first Ilona Andrews 2 months ago and I met Curran – great expectations there, he looks dangerous and intriguing. Another shifter series I love, with wolves, was Suzanne Wright’s series – The Phoenix pack. Lots of heat but also lots of humor, I really laughed while reading them π
I enjoy shifter romances though I don’t read them as much as I used to. I think I got a bit burned out a few years ago, but I’m wanting to get back into them. My favorites are the Kate Daniels series, the Were-Hunter books, Psy-Changeling series, and the Feral Warriors.
Shifter romances are my favorite as well. I love Nalini Singh’s stuff to death. I’m hoping that we get another Psy-Changeling novel that focuses on the changelings again soon.
Ilona Andrew’s Kate Daniels series and Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld are also favorites of mine. I’ve recently been getting into P. Jameson’s stuff as well. Her books tend to lean more toward erotica, but I’m liking her different series quite a bit.