Paranormal Romance and Its Leading Ladies
A Look at Some of the Strong Female Protagonists in the Romance Genre
Apr 19, 2009
The romance genre started out as a venue for handsome princes and damsel’s in distress, but it has grown to encompass both male and female heroes.
Evolution of Romance as a Genre
Romance is often discredited as fluffy chick lit when this is no longer the case. Romance in general has evolved to encompass evocative plots, daring adventures and bold leading ladies. Plots do not discredit their romantic beginnings and of course involve love/sexual aspects, but they’ve grown to include well-crafted plots and endearing characters that have drawn in a wide-spectrum of readers.
Among the most impressive changes to the genre is the addition of female protagonists. The list of strong female leading ladies is quite expansive and definitely too long to discuss in a singular article. This list, however, is an adequate sampling of the sassy seductive leading ladies.
Paranormal Romance’s Leading Ladies
This list only includes women from paranormal romance series’, not as a way to discredit self-contained leading ladies, but instead to usher novice readers towards characters that span more than one novel. (In no particular order.)
- Cassandra Palmer
Cassie Palmer is your regular run-of-the-mill vampire raised psychic. Her father worked for the vampire master Tony and when Cassie’s psychic abilities manifested, Tony killed both of her parents and claimed her as one of his own. A human raised in vampire captivity, Cassie often proved helpful to her vampire brethren…until she escaped, acquired time travel abilities, colorful cohorts and the title of Pythia—a human woman with remarkable magical and abilities charged with the quest of keeping the timeline safe. (Novels by Karen Chance)
- Sookie Stackhouse
Sookie is an outcast in the town of Bon Temps, La. Locals have long regarded her as slow or a freak due to her odd mind-reading abilities. It wasn’t until the vamps descended on Bon Temps that Sookie finally found her calling, aiding supernatural beings by reading minds or nursing them back to help. Sookie’s mixture of humanity and supernatural ability have made her a magnet for sexy creatures of the night—vampires and shape shifters alike. (Novels by Charlaine Harris)
- Rachel Morgan
Rachel, an ex-supernatural cop gone rogue to form her own agency with the beautiful bi-sexual vamp Ivy and a pixy named Jenks, is constantly putting herself in danger in both the regular and supernatural worlds. Her taste in men ranges from rogue apprentice wizards, all the way to sexy solo werewolves and blonde haired living vamps with exotic names like Kisten. (Novels by Kim Harrison)
- Kitty Norville
Kitty Norville, though unfortunate circumstances, is a werewolf radio talk show host in Denver Colorado. Her show focuses on supernatural issues and when her abusive pack master starts questioning the potential exposure of her kind, Kitty takes flight and is tossed into an underground of shifters, vampires and other supernatural beings—including a sexy bounty hunter named Cormack and his best friend, her lawyer turned lover Ben. (Novels by Carrie Vaughn)
These leading ladies all pack a punch. They are all from different walks of life with different goals, talents and aspirations and are a mere fraction of what the world of Paranormal Romance has to offer. As with any novels, some cross over into different genres: Sci-fi, Horror, Mystery and Fantasy to name a few. So, keep an eye out in all sections of the bookstore—sexy, powerful paranormal ladies are lurking everywhere.
