I have tried reading a vampire book and just couldn't get into it.  I don't think I understand the lure, especially for people who are into romance.  How can you have a romance with a vampire?  I kind of feel the same way about warewolf and other shape shifter books. 

Because the men are larger than life, they are more than ordinary, they are mysterious and sensual.

Among the first vampire romances that I ever read were Forever the Night, For All Eternity, Time Without End by Linda Lael Miller.  I also enjoyed the Amanda Ashley books from the 1990s (I don't read her any more)

I agree, I don't get it either. Give me a man with a BIG.....sword or horse :>)...................................

I go both ways. ;-)  I don't completely adore the paranormal genre, but some authors make it work.  The bloodsucking thing can be really sexy (IN FANTASTY! IN FANTASY!) I've been terrified of vampires all my life so it's kind of a love/hate thing.

I started reading paranormals before they were the "in" thing so I think in my case it was that it was something totally different than what I had been reading before (I only read straight romance before).

Also, I can't watch any type of movie that has vampires or stuff in it lol.

Paranormal romance introduced me to the romance genre. Its fantasy like anything else we read really just with a supernatural spin. The heroes are immortal (or almost immortal) they are beautiful can in some case offer immortality to others. They are often incredibly alpha. The Black Dagger Brotherhood which imo is the absolute standard for the genre has the most incredible heroes. I adore that they "bond" with one woman forever. They find their mate in a variety of ways and their biology reacts almost instantly to this match and they just know that this woman is "MINE". They have super sexual abilities and this can be very erotic. They are often tortured in some way which I enjoy as a plot device. One of my favorite heroes is Zsadist from J.R. Ward's Lover Awakened. Its one of my very favorite romance novels and one of the only ones I have ever re-read multiple times. Having said that, I haven't read a paranormal romance in a very long time. I'm really into the historicals and prefer them at this point. Maybe its because I just can't find anything to match J.R. Ward or Kresley Cole.

MARGARET - You've got to get caught up on Gena Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series. In "Kiss of a Demon King," Cole sent Nucking Futs Nix off to Budapest to visit the LOTU. Which leads me to speculate a collaborative effort is in the works... Rather unusual to have the characters of one author appear in another author's books...

LOTU is fun to read because of the variety. Each of these ancient warriors is inhabited by the demons they unleashed when they opened Pandora's Box. So each is a tortured soul, but in unique ways. i.e., The Darkest LIe is due out on July 1. Gideon is inhabited by the Demon of Lies. He cannot tell the truth without suffering tremendous pain. So how can he tell a woman he loves her?

The appeal of neck-biters and shape-shifters definitely depends on the author. Some take a little too much license with the supernatural abilities of their characters. i.e., Sarah McCarty's Caleb (Shadow Wranglers 1) was a definite disappointment. Doubly so because I love her Hell's Eight and Promises series. Her vamps suddenly sprout supernatural powers according to the crisis of the moment. Another example is Kate Douglas' Wolf Tales. A shifter who shifts into his beastly self during sex is not sexy. EEEWWWW!

But then you have Diane Whiteside's Texas Vampires series. Where a man who was forced into immortality and imprisoned, has suffered through the ages with the guilt of not being there to protect his wife and child when they were killed, and now finds his Texas ranch (originally a Spanish land grant) invaded by a scientist who wants to study the eagles that nest there... Did I mention she looks just like the wife he has mourned for centuries? (this is the plot in Bond of Blood)

Whiteside's vampire series is among the best I've read. The history and heirarchy are well-developed, making for a much more believable storyline.

What's the appeal? These guys are the uber alphas, but... they experience constant inner conflict between their demonic, destructive side that can mesmerize and compel cooperation and their human side that desires love freely offered. They are also frequently filled with self-loathing, certain that no woman could ever love a beast. And perhaps that's the story here. We all love the "Beauty and the Beast" story. Vamps and shape-shifters are just different flavors of the beast.

Colleen

I'm with you. However, I'm not into fantasy worlds like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter  or fairy people or stuff like that either.  I think it is just a matter of what a person likes.  I like stories with an anchor in reality.  Just me.

I have been recommending the Sookie books for those who can't imagine enjoying vampire books.  I was of that bend until I read Dead until Dark.  As my sister said, "if you asked me if you would ever read a book about vampires, and like it, I would have said, 'Hell, No!"    And I haven't enjoyed many others to be honest.  Diane Whiteside's books are really well written, but I didn't enjoy them the same way.   the Sookie books have vampires, shapeshifters, romance, mind readers, lots of humor, regular 'ole crackers, witches, naids, fairies, YOU NAME IT.   And it all works for those of us who don't get paranormal. 

PS.  I couldn't read The Lord of the Rings trilogy if you put a gun to my head.

PAMELA said, "I couldn't read The Lord of the Rings trilogy if you put a gun to my head."

I did when I was much younger and everybody else was doing it. But now? Why would I when I could watch Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) and Orlando Bloom (Legolas) in the movie???

BETSY - I'm not into fantasy worlds, either. I don't go for the books set in the future or on some fictional planet with a really weird name. But put a bunch of not so ordinary people in New Orleans or Texas? Haven't you ever wondered about the people you think you know? LOL

Colleen

I never understood it either til one day Fangs for the Memories just clicked with me and I was 'into' vampires..from there the shapeshifters..even my coworker will no read romance if it's paranormal and has a good storyline and/or  humor(she always reads fantasy). I think it's the immortality, bonding with one for life, just varies author to author but total fantasy. I'm reading Lora Leigh's Breed series now well off and on 'cause they're pretty smokin' hot and I need a break!

gonna hav eto check out lords of the underworlds..have ward's and cole's series too to catch up on reading.

eta: oops should have said my coworker wont' read romance unless it's paranormal and total fantasy!

Not to pick on anyone but I just don't get threads like this.  So you don't like vampire books.  So don't read them!  If you don't "get" the appeal of them then no one can explain to you why they like them.  The very reason the genre appeals to one person may be the reason it doesn't appeal to another.

Why do you like the kinds of books you like?  It's just personal preference.  I don't like paranormals or historicals or sci-fi much and I don't much care why other people do like them.  To each their own.

I admit Vamps aren't my favorite but paranormal as a whole is great.  I love the werewolves best, followed by dragons.  Futuristic is good too if the author doesn't get mired in the tech.

that's true Ginger! but I remember when I didnt' 'get' them I'd read threads trying to find what others saw in them thinking maybe I was missing out on something..and one day something just clicked with me then Ellen suggested Kerrelyn Sparks and I was a goner at that point. I'd also n ever understood wanting to read historical til one day a highlander caught my attention and kept it!

I guess it's the fantasy aspect and the super-powers /longevity that just catch my eye but either it appeals or it doesn't.

Like Sherri, I'm not into vampires as much but I like the paranormal genre. I like that writers can make up a different world with different parameters than the one I'm in. It's the same reason I like historicals. The mores of the times make up for different conflicts than you would see in contemporaries.

I really enjoyed reading everyone's comments.  I tried paranormals and just couldn't get into them.  Historicals are hit and miss with me, depending on the author.  I just like seeing everyones opinion on what they read.  Many times I have picked up a book based on what someone wrote in a thread and found something that I enjoyed, whereas I normally wouldn't have looked at that particular book or author.

One thing I wish that websites and/or databases would do would be to separate vampire/warewolf/shapeshifter type "paranormal" books from books about people with psychic powers/ghosts/magic.  That's the kind of "paranormal" books I like but every time I find a list of "paranormal" authors, it ends up pretty much nothing but vampires/warewolf/shapeshifter types of paranormal. 

If anyone knows of any website with a list of paranormal authors who write about people with psychic powers, please post it here. 

As to the poster who asked why I started this thread, the reason is the same as what another poster said.  I really don't get it, but perhaps someone could describe their appeal in a way where maybe I would get it.

Kate, have you read Wendy Robert's Ghost Duster Mysteries, Sadie has the ability to talk to dead people, she does crime scene clean up along the way with a hunky ex-cop for a side kick.  (yes they are in a relationship) Then there is Heather Webber's Lucy Valentine mysteries. Well, there is only one right now. Truly, Madly, she can find objects for people. Ava Gray's Skin Game, Krya can steal a person's power for a short time, (whatever they are good at she can take that gift and use it.) Jill Barnett's Bewitching, about a cute liittle witch who has a little bit of trouble casting spells(historical). Linda Howard's The Touch of Fire, Annie has the ability to heal with her touch.(historical) I will have to think about this genre some more. This is a fav of mine as well, but they seem to be hard to find.

PAMELA said, "I couldn't read The Lord of the Rings trilogy if you put a gun to my head."

I did when I was much younger and everybody else was doing it. But now? Why would I when I could watch Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) and Orlando Bloom (Legolas) in the movie???

LOL.   You can say that again.  Around here we call Viggo Mortensen- Biggo!  

I still read LotR every year, it's one of those books I can just open to any page and keep reading and it makes me smile

I love reading why people do or don't like a particular genre or book or series etc... Its one of the things I like best about a forum!

Me, too, Margaret.

Colleen - I have never been able to read any Gena Showalter - I just don't enjoy her writing style. I tried two of the LOTU books and both were DNF for me . However I ADORED IAD except the last second to last one, Kiss of the Demon King which I thought was the weakest of the series. I also liked Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed Series and Lynne Viehl's Darkyn Series. I under LV's Kindred Series is quite good and might give it try one of these days.

If you would have told me two years ago that I'd become a fan of paranormal romance, I would have laughed in your face. Then I randomly picked up Twilight, and my love for the neck-biters was born. I'm usually a total wuss when it comes to the supernatural, but for some reason, paranormal romance appeals to me on some base, love-an-alpha-male level. Maybe it's the whole "I've lived hundreds/thousands of years, met a myriad of women, but you're the one I want" thing. And I love a good tortured hero, and there aren't many vampires who aren't tortured by their undead state. 

I haven't read a lot of the series you guys mentioned in this thread, but I have a ton of them, so I'm excited! :D