Why paranormal romance novels?

Source: freakingnews.com

It’s hard to believe that paranormal romance novels are still the highest selling subgenre of romance. One would think it’s purely the escapism factor, but with the influx of dystopian literature this year, even though much of it may have a depressing premise, the glimmer of hope most dystopian novels provide should be enough to overcome the undying obsession with vampirism and witchcraft.

Paranormal romance novels still subscribe to the hero as a knight in shining armor who rescues the female protagonist. While she may not fit the old school damsel in distress paradigm, she’s not quite the empowered female who survives an apocalypse to claw her way to some type of livable existence in a dystopian society. She’s not the Katniss or Eden Newman that we all kind of want to be deep inside.

The thing with some of the fantasy novels that are considered the best in the genre or have the highest sales is that they have these characters that possess imaginary supernatural powers that enable them to overcome tremendous obstacles and survive nearly any kind of attack to save their love. Meanwhile, the protagonists in novels that are dystopian tend to be real people with the skills, physical prowess and intelligence that may actually be within reach of most readers.

If you think about it, the supernatural powers boasted by characters in paranormal romance novels are actually a bit of a crutch. How strong is a character really if they’re able to fly at the speed of lightning, read their enemy’s minds and lift thousands of pounds with one finger?

It’s interesting that many readers consider to the best fantasy novels are those that have such little element of realism. We know that there are no such things as vampires and wizards, so perhaps fans of the genre prefer the purity of this type of fantasy. Maybe fans of novels that are dystopian prefer the mix, some fantastical elements with some elements of realism. It’s interesting to think about—which do you relate to more and why?