What's with all the werewolf romance novels?

[lesbiassparrow]

While I was in Birmingham I happened to peruse the romance section in Waterstones. I will admit nothing, but I may have been looking for novels about pirates and the women who love them too much. And as far as the eye could see there were love stories featuring werewolves. Now, I don't mean to run down werewolves if they're your cup of tea but what about them shrieks romance? I mean, a vampire might suck your blood but at least you'd get eternally damned life in return; but with a werewolf what you'd get is being torn apart, shedding, and a boyfriend who you'd have to lock up every full moon. That sounds like kinky fun and games until you realise that it would involve beastiality and probable death for the girl if she tried anything at all.

So what is with the whole genre of werewolf romances? There were dozens of them, too, so it's not just some mad fetish thing. And when I checked Borders here, they were all over the shelves too, so it is a bona fide transatlantic trend. When did werewolves become the epitome of sexiness rather than the hairy, howling evil you will meet on the moor? And when did pirates fall out of favour?

Comments

[morwen_peredhil]

I don't get werewolf or vampire romances. Ugh.

Knights or Vikings, though... *shame*

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

I get vampires more than werewolves - I mean there's a good tradition of them being sexy.

I blame Ivanhoe for my attraction to knights.

[cryptile.livejournal.com]

Have you heard Wolf Like Me? Sexiest maddest jammingest song about romantic lycanthropy ever.

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

I love Wolf Like Me! Maybe I should listen to it on my ipod as I browse the shelves next time...

[lovinlorne.livejournal.com]

Having lived with a Siberian Husky for the past 6 months, I can't see myself EVER falling for a werewolf. Far too much hair involved. And I'm not even going to mention the obvious flea issues. This is one woman who refuses to wear a flea collar.

[lovinlorne.livejournal.com]

Oh, and as for pirates, well pirates will never fall out of favor with me. Especially if they're looking like the one to the left over there.

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

Pirates I understand; they have style, ships, and the chance of getting huge quantities of wealth (albeit from killing and plundering but you can't have everything).
And they might look like Johnny Depp. But as you say with dogs/wolves there is the hair and the fleas and also the question of whether you might need to get him all washed and clipped at the parlour.

[pontisbright.livejournal.com]

This seems deeply random. I have a friend who works for Mills and Boon, who tells me that pirates and the like aren't anywhere near as popular as you'd expect: the big sellers remain doctors and wealthy sheiks who have harems. Although possibly they have a 'batshit stuff like werewolves' department that she isn't involved in...

Apparently romance trends are quite different US to UK, though. They tried launching the Christian Romances in the UK and they bombed like a V2, to no one's surprise at all.

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

Although possibly they have a 'batshit stuff like werewolves' department that she isn't involved in...

They must do, because there was tons of this stuff. Some of them crossed categories though - there was the highland chief who was also a werewolf, etc. So maybe they can appease multiple tastes? I don't know as I rarely venture into this area of bookbuying, but there is something about planes that cries out for books about pirates and lusty wenches.

As for Christian romance, the very thought fills me with horror. Do they woo over bake sales and sermons?

[ysrith.livejournal.com]

Werewolf paranormal romances are the big romance trend at the moment. A few years ago it was westerns, then the vampire stuff (blame Buffy) and now werewolf. I have no idea what the attraction is, though maybe we could blame Van Helsing and Hugh Jackman's rippling abdomen.

So tell me did you find any pirate romances? I fancy some swash and buckle.

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

There were no pirate romances at all. I had to give up and buy some more respectable novels, one of which did promise pirates but they never appeared and I gave up on the book because it was annoying. Pah!