9 Interracial Paranormal Romances You Should Read
9 Interracial Paranormal Romances You Should Read
A reader and fan commented the other day that it's hard to find interracial paranormal romance books to read. “Nonsense,” said I, quite airily. And as it turns out, quite wrongly. Therefore, this is me, making amends with recommendations for 9 interracial paranormal romances you should read.
I write interracial paranormal romances. It never occurred to me not to create characters of all races and mixed races, because they mirror the relationships of my family and friends. However, I'll admit none of my friends are shifters, vampires, or magic users (at least that they'll admit 😜). Similarly, my space opera series has multicultural romance and scifi. They have adventures in spaceships, overcome the obstacles and defeat the villains, and fall in love.
Readers Won't Buy Paranormal Romances with…
In talking with my paranormal romance author friends who came from the traditional published world, it was apparently common for editors to pressure authors to change the overtly Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, and others to white. Or to edit out references to skin color and race and let readers assume the whiteness. I suspect it was equally true for contemporary and historical romance authors, too.
Some actions were more overt. For instance, marketing departments put pretty white people on the covers, even if the characters weren't. The marketers believed white readers wouldn't buy books with non-whites on the covers. Also, that non-white readers didn't buy books.
No, seriously. “African Americans don't like to read,” one author friend was earnestly told. Admittedly, the conversation was 15 years ago, but I'll bet you the frou-frou beverage of your choice that thinking isn't dead at old-school traditional publishers. And don't even get me started on how publishers and other organizations treat—and probably still treat—authors of color.
Who Is The Audience?
The thing is, trad pub's customers aren't readers. Their customers are bookstores, or more specifically, distributors, buyers at the bookstores, and librarians. So their claim that “black people don't read” is based on no actual data, but tons of anecdote and assumption. Not to mention generous amounts of sample bias and unconscious white privilege.
Bookstores at least track which books readers buy. However, their only metadata about the readers themselves is “cash, check, or charge.” In other words, more anecdote and assumption.
Side note: National newspapers sometimes publish statistics that claim the average American only reads six or eight books per year. I cry bullshit on the survey size, methods, and metrics, with an extra helping of confirmation bias, but that's a subject for another day.
9 Interracial Paranormal Romances
The world needs more interracial paranormal romance books to read, and I and my author friends aim to please.🌞 Consider this a place to start for finding multicultural and interracial paranormal romances. Note: This is a subjective list based on my wish list, plus recommendations from author friends and readers, and though they're on my to-be-read (TBR) mountain, I haven't read them all yet.
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Torn: A BWWM Wolf Shifter Romance by Brooklyn Knight. As it says right in the title, it's black woman-white man romance, as are all her books. There's a second book in the Alpha series coming soon. Torn looks good from the preview, so it's on my TBR. Amazon ~ Free to read in Kindle Unlimited |
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Pride of Africa by Tori Knightwood. The entire Hotel Safari series has interracial relationships set in Kenya. Knightwood lived in Kenya and Rwanda for several years, and her knowledge of the people and the culture make the series a great read. Pride of Africa is currently free. Amazon ~ Apple Books ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Kobo Books |
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The Darkest Secret by Gena Showalter. This was recommended by a friend. Showalter is a fantastic paranormal romance author. However, this book is in the middle of the Lords of the Underworld series, so you might want read earlier books to understand the nuances. Amazon ~ Apple Books ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Google Play ~ Kobo Books |
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Red in the Morning by D.B. Sieders. Part of the Magic, New Mexico series. He's a dragon shifter and Asian man, and she's dragon shifter and white woman. Like most of the series, the story has a generous helping of light-hearted humor and snark. Well-balanced characters make it a fun read.
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Alpha Wolf (The Blue Mountain Wolf Pack Book 1) by Emma Dean. Asian man, white woman. Okay, I admit I was seduced by the cover first, and the blurb and excerpt caused me to exercise my one-click skills. This is also on my TBR. Amazon ~ Free to read in Kindle Unlimited |
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Firefighter Sea Dragon by Zoe Chant. It's book 4 in the Chant's Fire & Rescue Shifters series, but this one can stand alone if you want give it a try. He's black, when he's not in his magnificent sea dragon form, and she's white. I love this whole series, with decent people who deserve love, and fight for it when they meet their perfect match. Amazon ~ Free to read in Kindle Unlimited |
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Seduction by Blood (A Vampire Alliance Novel) by Melissa Schroeder. Recommended by a friend. Vampires are part of London society in the Victorian age. He's a black vampire hunting a killer, but distracted by a sexy white widow who wants nothing to do with commitment. It's on my TBR because I like a delicious-sounding historical paranormal romance series now and then. Amazon ~ Free to read in Kindle Unlimited |
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The Minotaur's Kiss: BWWM Paranormal Romance by Erin St. Charles. This is book 1 of the Shifter Enforcer series, all of which feature interracial paranormal romances. Not your usual shifters/vampires universe, either. This one got hoovered into my cart based on the blurb and the preview, and is waiting on my TBR. Amazon ~ Kobo Books |
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Touch of Beauty (Magic, New Mexico) by Jessica Aspen. This is a fun and silly beauty-and-the-beast tale with a Latinx witch and her white hero, when he's not wearing a curse as a green-skinned troll. Amazon ~ Apple Books ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Kobo Books |
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But Wait, There's More
I'm planning another post on interracial science fiction romances to read. In addition, I am working on a post about paranormal and SFR authors of color. They're hard to find, and that's just wrong. When I write them, I'll update this post with links.
In the meantime, feel free to recommend more interracial paranormal romances in the comments. I'm absolutely certain that all of our to-be-read piles need more books. 📚
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Thank you so much for the feature! I’ll be filling up my Kindle with these amazing reads!