Wow, it’s week three in November - and what a month it’s been, eh?

Despite the tumult, it’s still the season of gratitude, and some pro-romance friends and I are still exploring some of our favorite 2016 titles.  This week it’s Paranormal Romance and it turns out that most of this crew aren’t huge PNR fans. (apologies) Nevertheless, we pulled together a few great recommendations for you.

***PJ Ausdenmore is a great and long-time friend of romance at The Romance Dish. PJ says:

I haven’t read any pure paranormal romances this year so I’m going to share two favorite suspense thrillers that have paranormal elements along with a paranormal romance that earned 5-stars from Hellie, a member of the Romance Dish review team.

Kaylee’s Justice, the first book in Jennifer St. Giles’ new romantic suspense series about three crime-fighting siblings with unique psychic abilities is packed with edge-of-your-seat thrills, chills, twists, turns, and non-stop action. The suspense is expertly crafted; characters are realistic and vividly portrayed, especially the villains who are chilling in their evil realism. St. Giles has written in a variety of sub-genres but it’s her suspense thrillers where I believe she does her best work. I’m all in!

T.M. Causey’s The Saints of the Lost and Found is a novel I won’t soon forget. Avery Broussard’s ability to “see” lost items – people, belongings, pets – turns her life upside down and causes her to flee her Louisiana home and the man she loves, vowing never to return. Ten years later, a child’s abduction and a message that her brother is dying pulls her home and into a maelstrom of evil that she may not be able to escape. If you enjoy dark, Southern Gothic suspense with complex characters, enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the very end, a touch of paranormal realism, a chilling race against time to find a killer, and a second chance to recapture first love, then you’ll want to lose yourself in the brilliantly written The Saints of the Lost and Found. I read the book in March and these characters and their sometimes heart-wrenching, sometimes horrific, and ultimately, hopeful journey haunt me still. One of the best books I’ve read in years. 

In Bay of Sighs, second in Nora Roberts’ The Guardians Trilogy, a mermaid, a descendant of a sea-faring time traveler, and four others band together to conquer evil and return three stars to where they belong and forever out of reach of the darkness. As noted in Hellie’s review at The Romance Dish, Bay of Sighs is “held together with classic Nora Roberts’ banter, suspense, and unique characters.” Hellie says she enjoyed it immensely, couldn’t put it down, and is looking forward to the third book in the series (Island of Glass – Dec. 6, 2016) to discover how the guardians finally defeat the darkness forever.

*** Scandal from Scandalicious Book Reviews  - doing a little extra-lifting for paranormals this week (thanks, Scandie!) says these paranormal titles tickled her fancy this year:

Isadora (Masters Among Monsters #2) by Ella Frank

The mythology and twists and turns of this series are out of this world. We have vampires and Gods all wrapped up in a story that moves at a breathtaking pace. Two books in and I honestly have no idea where the author is taking us but I am enjoying the ride like none other. I always say the sex scenes in paranormals are hotter because the bodies are just more durable and Frank does not disappoint with the sweltering heat in this story. Start with the first book, Alasdair, to get a complete understanding of the convoluted backstory and then hang on tight! Easily one of my favorite paranormal books of the year, as well as one of my favorite new paranormal series.

The Dark Vampire (Last True Vampire #3) by Kate Baxter

I have completely fallen in love with Kate Baxter's paranormal world in this series. We have both vampires and shifters and some really terrible bad guys. World building in paranormal is so important and Baxter makes this one unique and completely believable, not always an easy task. Our hero Jenner is dangerously close to turning into an insatiable, wild predator but the love of a good woman pulls him back from the edge. Allowing himself to embrace the love of this woman is the hardest thing Jenner has ever tried to endure.

The Bear Who Loved Me (Grizzlies Gone Wild #1) by Kathy Lyons

I love shifter books, they are just so primal and wild. I don't think I've read a were-grizzly book, at least not in my recent memory but Lyons gets it right. You are able to feel the DNA traits the bear and human share without any of the cliched habits. These folks are barely contained wild animals, and some of them are close to losing their humanity all together. The larger plot of this series is very compelling, someone is hurting new shifters, young kids, in an effort to understand and exploit the genetic magic that happens within this special pack. The bad guys are über bad and will stop at nothing to get what they want. The good guys are being tested on every front.

Blood Kiss (Black Dagger Legacy #1) by J.R. Ward

You can’t read paranormal and not tip your hat to the Warden! Many of us, ummm, cut our teeth on her Black Dagger Brotherhood. With this spin off, we get some new blood as well as a hefty dose of the Brothers we've all grown to love. That part, the part after the original Brothers' happily ever after, is my favorite part of this new spin off. The new folks are great characters but don't we all want to know what happens to our favorite mated males when the honeymoon is over?

***Neither Kim from SOS Aloha nor our lovely librarian Lynne had titles to share for this genre, so I’ll add a couple of my own.

Nalini Singh’s Allegiance of Honor was a loving visit to the first “season” of the Psy-Changeling series, and though it included Singh’s typical—and masterful—romance, suspense, and action, it was mostly a fond nod to all of the couples she’s put together so far and the children they’ve brought into the world they’ve forged so beautifully (with Singh’s help). But don’t worry, she (and the series) aren’t going soft on us! She’s already laying the foundation for more intrigue, power-grabs, and villainous war-mongering, so there’s plenty more to come.

If you missed Amanda Bouchet’s high-fantasy debut, A Promise of Fire, I highly recommend it. So much action and sexual tension in a completely unique world based lightly on Greek mythology, but as if it was the same mythological backbone on a different planet. The stars of the show are main characters über-alpha Griffin and irreverent Cat, who start off as enemies but seem destined to be together, but the cast of secondary characters as well as the people and creatures we meet along the way bring the world to vibrant life. Bright, smart, action-packed, and sparking with sexual tension.

What are some of your PNR faves from 2016? Did you discover anyone new (or new-for-you)?

#HappyReading #GratefulForRomance