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Hieronymous Alloy posted:I should try some of those, I'd mostly written a lot of those authors off as more "paranormal romance" than "urban fantasy". Seanan McGuire especially, in the October Daye series she kept retconning things in annoying ways and then it was all magical kittykat boyfriend all the time and I just checked out. You know this, but Anita Blake 1-9 are extremely heavy on the noir influence. Beyond that there's still noir, but, well, thread title. Of the ones I mentioned above - Sagara writes fantasy. Kim Harrison is more of a comedy of errors mixed with a noir supernatural adventure. Patricia Briggs is back to the noir side of things, but nowhere near as gritty...sometimes. Nalini Singh is firmly paranormal romance, but her Archangel series gets kind of noir/uf sometimes? But she's clearly on the romance side of things. McGuire, well, October Daye starts intensely tragic noir and I need to read more to see if that ever lifts.
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Mar 7, 2024 03:36
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:I should try some of those, I'd mostly written a lot of those authors off as more "paranormal romance" than "urban fantasy". Seanan McGuire especially, in the October Daye series she kept retconning things in annoying ways and then it was all magical kittykat boyfriend all the time and I just checked out. If you haven't tried them, I would recommend Stephen Blackmoore's Eric Carter series. It's sort of a middle point between Dresden, Sandman Slim and Daniel Faust. The first three books take a bit to get their footing but I would recommend the stand alone City of the Lost that is shared setting. I finally got around to reading Incryptid after bouncing off of McGuire earlier, and find them an enjoyable read. Kate Griffin's Midnight Mayor/Matthew Swift books are also a decent pickup, though they can take a bit to get into.
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Mar 7, 2024 04:50
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I'm just finishing up a relisten of the October Daye books and one of the things I noticed, hearing those early books for the second time, is how much is actually set up for reveals down the road. None of the reveals have felt like bullshit to me. I also have a low tolerance for romance in general and cis/het romance specifically and the books don't feel very romance heavy, even the one specifically about her wedding. Now, the Incryptid books, those had me fast forwarding through some poo poo.
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Mar 7, 2024 04:58
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Soonmot posted:Now, the Incryptid books, those had me fast forwarding through some poo poo. Amusingly one of the reasons I like the InCryptid stuff over other UF is the romance is so toned down comparatively.
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Mar 9, 2024 05:09
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:What I really miss is the first few books of Dresden where the noir influence was still strong and it hadn't devolved into a MMORPG with level-ups. Even Alex Verus is over now and Jacka's new series is expressly progression fantasy. The new Felix Castor novella (The Ghost in Bone) is a good read for this, just a return to a nice and grimy supernatural mystery.
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Mar 10, 2024 06:20
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I have a loved one who has fallen down the rabbit hole of what I would term "low quality werewolf erotica." The thing is...she skips the sex scenes which she terms 'annoying', but she's into the whole Alpha thing. She's on this app where she keeps listening to commercials to unlock 5 minutes of content. I'd like to direct her to some higher quality content, but it's been aaages since I read any and I don't remember which series were tolerable and which devolved into endless orgies. No shame if that's your thing, they were very readable. I seem to remember the Kitty books weren't too bad. Any other ideas?
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Mar 15, 2024 06:19
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Beachcomber posted:I have a loved one who has fallen down the rabbit hole of what I would term "low quality werewolf erotica." The thing is...she skips the sex scenes which she terms 'annoying', but she's into the whole Alpha thing. She's on this app where she keeps listening to commercials to unlock 5 minutes of content. I nominate the Mercy Thompson series and related Alpha and Omega series, both by Patricia Briggs. I always recommend them because I think they're one of the best series out there. But for your loved one specifically, she can get her Alpha werewolf romances, but well-written and without the tawdry sex scenes. The series starts off with her split between two men (probably some publisher-required bullshit) but it's quickly resolved by the third book. Spoiler trigger warning though: The protagonist is also raped in the third book.
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Mar 15, 2024 07:19
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Dubious quality shifter romance you say? Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews Magical midlife madness by KF Breene World of the Lupi by Eileen Wilkes All involve wolves but the first two's love interests are a tiger and polar bear respectively
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Mar 15, 2024 07:59
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Azhais posted:All involve wolves but the first two's love interests are a tiger and polar bear respectively for some reason this just killed me. i was already losing it at ad-supported family friendly radio-edits of second rate werewolf erotica but polar bear love interests was just a bridge too far
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Mar 15, 2024 08:10
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awesmoe posted:for some reason this just killed me. i was already losing it at ad-supported family friendly radio-edits of second rate werewolf erotica but polar bear love interests was just a bridge too far There is also a silverback gorilla shifter named Broken Sue.
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Mar 15, 2024 09:59
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What would be the worst were-thing to enter a paranormal romance with?
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Mar 15, 2024 10:03
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Your Uncle Dracula posted:What would be the worst were-thing to enter a paranormal romance with? Were-tapeworm
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Mar 15, 2024 11:45
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Depends on whether you're looking at physical or personality traits. Either way it's goose.
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Mar 15, 2024 12:18
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Your Uncle Dracula posted:What would be the worst were-thing to enter a paranormal romance with? were-rat of course
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Mar 15, 2024 12:50
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Wizchine posted:I nominate the Mercy Thompson series and related Alpha and Omega series, both by Patricia Briggs. I always recommend them because I think they're one of the best series out there. But for your loved one specifically, she can get her Alpha werewolf romances, but well-written and without the tawdry sex scenes. The series starts off with her split between two men (probably some publisher-required bullshit) but it's quickly resolved by the third book. Spoiler trigger warning though: The protagonist is also raped in the third book. Sex scenes exist in the series, but not the steamy erotica of the worst of that ilk. Cringe inducing but not explicit. Also strong emphasis on the Alpha bit, so it really fits OPs ideal.
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Mar 15, 2024 13:22
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Incryptid has a Tanooki (small raccoon dog) in a relationship with a waheela (giant loving werewolf that stands on 2 legs). Speaking of Incryptid, the last few books have been pretty dark. Aftermarket Afterlife spoilers: Jane and Dominick both killed in rapid succession. Artie effectively dead as his brain is fundamentally broken and poorly reconstructed. Sarah spiraling towards a dark phoenix moment. The series seems like it’s heading for a conclusion soon and it probably won’t be a happy one.
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Mar 15, 2024 15:55
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torgeaux posted:Sex scenes exist in the series, but not the steamy erotica of the worst of that ilk. Cringe inducing but not explicit. Also strong emphasis on the Alpha bit, so it really fits OPs ideal. Yeah, I should have clarified better; there's sex, but no purple prose regarding it.
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Mar 15, 2024 16:11
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Shelly Laurenston's shifter books aren't bad
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Mar 15, 2024 23:53
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Saltpowered posted:Incryptid has a Tanooki (small raccoon dog) in a relationship with a waheela (giant loving werewolf that stands on 2 legs). I saw that was out and was planning on a relisten after I finish Murderbot.
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Mar 16, 2024 02:37
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Saltpowered posted:Speaking of Incryptid, the last few books have been pretty dark. Aftermarket Afterlife spoilers: Spoiler tag didn’t work for me, but glad to know there’s another in the series I need to pick up.
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Mar 16, 2024 04:27
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I tried to find the release date of the next Dresden Files book, hoping for a surprise like the last time I looked when two books had been released under my radar. No such luck. Oh well. Butcher's The Olympian Affair is very enjoyable. Butcher needed to take a break from writing a smartass, loud mouthed hero, and the restrictions of the quasi-Victorian Age setting with a quiet main character built on bottomless conviction and a clear moral compass is a nice change of pace. Don't worry though, Butcher still gets to insert some trademark male gaze and horniness here and there, made better with setting-appropriate euphemism use.
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Apr 4, 2024 06:27
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MadJackal posted:I tried to find the release date of the next Dresden Files book, hoping for a surprise like the last time I looked when two books had been released under my radar. No such luck. And the cats?
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Apr 8, 2024 13:42
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I decided to do a complete re-read of The Dresden Files since I'm on deployment. Okay not a FULL reread, I skipped Fool Moon, and I will not apologize. I'm on Summer Knight right now. I know it's basically a meme now, but boy did I forget just how bad the male gaze was way back when. There was a funny/sad moment in Grave Peril where Rudolf tells Harry something like, "If you let Murphy get hurt I'll kill you." Ah, they were all so young.
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Apr 13, 2024 11:02
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I listened to fool moon on audiobook while working last year, it was much better than I remembered.
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Apr 16, 2024 06:21
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I like Full Moon. I just think it is the weakest Dresden book.
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Apr 16, 2024 13:20
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Sadly, Dresden Files and I have gone our separate ways at this point. Not Butchers fault, not the books fault, I'm just not the same person anymore that first picked up Summer Knight and fully bought into the series. I've changed, and Dresden hasn't, and I'm taking a weirder road than urban fantasy these days. I'll still pick up the latest book in paperback whenever that happens, just for nostalgia's sake, but I'm not actively waiting for it either.
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Apr 16, 2024 23:04
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rndmnmbr posted:Sadly, Dresden Files and I have gone our separate ways at this point. Not Butchers fault, not the books fault, I'm just not the same person anymore that first picked up Summer Knight and fully bought into the series. I've changed, and Dresden hasn't, and I'm taking a weirder road than urban fantasy these days. This is kind of my feeling too. It got me into the urban fantasy genre, but all the books it inspired are just better.
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Apr 16, 2024 23:36
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Killing Murphy off so he could write more about sex vampires made it clear that whatever Butcher wanted from the series is not what I wanted. Admittedly the COVID denial did that first.
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Apr 16, 2024 23:43
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It doesn’t help that Dresden seems to have gone from a book a year to a book every five years or so.
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Apr 17, 2024 00:29
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now that murphy's dead maybe the books will stop randomly going on about how great the local cops are. the local cops, of course, being the chicago pd.
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Apr 17, 2024 00:46
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ImpAtom posted:Killing Murphy off so he could write more about sex vampires made it clear that whatever Butcher wanted from the series is not what I wanted. Pah, she's obviously coming back for the ending, given that she's literally part of an army that's supposed to show up for Ragnarok.
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Apr 17, 2024 01:10
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Tunzie posted:It doesn’t help that Dresden seems to have gone from a book a year to a book every five years or so. Dresden lived on the quick ride and downhill pacing in each book and ironically no one is interested in waiting a decade for that kind of quick read
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Apr 17, 2024 01:39
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I think it's just that butchers hot new cosplay wife probably isn't as good at helping him write as his professional writer ex wife was.
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Apr 17, 2024 01:46
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:I think it's just that butchers hot new cosplay wife probably isn't as good at helping him write as his professional writer ex wife was. He's also added the Codex Alara and Cinder Spires series, so gotta rotate three books Could always start reading James Butcher instead
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Apr 17, 2024 01:52
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Codex Alera finished with book 6, afaik.
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Apr 17, 2024 02:03
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:I think it's just that butchers hot new cosplay wife probably isn't as good at helping him write as his professional writer ex wife was. The sacrifices we make for love…
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Apr 17, 2024 02:06
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Beachcomber posted:Codex Alera finished with book 6, afaik. yes, 15 years ago. the son is the better writer, IMO, I enjoyed the two books he's put out so far.
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Apr 17, 2024 08:14
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Doktor Avalanche posted:yes, 15 years ago. I actually agree entirely that his son is the better writer. I hate pretty much all the Dresden Files books, but I actually didn't think his son's debut was that bad. I was very pleasantly surprised.
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Apr 17, 2024 10:29
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ImpAtom posted:Killing Murphy off so he could write more about sex vampires I recall Murphy getting killed off/permanently sidelined being something that most of the thread assumed was imminent for a while before it happened, and for valid story-telling reasons. I mean even if she was in her early/mid 20's at the beginning of the series (IDK about cop ranks, but isn't an LT somewhat up there?), she's still past her prime physically by Battle Ground, and that's not even taking into account that absolute grinder her body has gone through.
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Apr 19, 2024 04:16
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Mr. Bad Guy posted:I recall Murphy getting killed off/permanently sidelined being something that most of the thread assumed was imminent for a while before it happened, and for valid story-telling reasons. I mean even if she was in her early/mid 20's at the beginning of the series (IDK about cop ranks, but isn't an LT somewhat up there?), she's still past her prime physically by Battle Ground, and that's not even taking into account that absolute grinder her body has gone through. Yeah, you can't go to police academy in Chicago until 21, which takes 6 months, then must spend 5 years as an officer before you can be recommended for training for promotion to sergeant, then once that is complete and promotion happens there must be 3 years before being recommended for training for promotion to lieutenant. The absolute youngest she could have been just based on her rank, would be a little over 30
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Apr 19, 2024 04:42
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