Learn me something, internets

[megwrites]

Okay, if you had to define the difference between urban fantasy and paranormal romance, how would you go about doing that?

I'm actually more stumped by this question that I expected to be.

Comments

[readingthedark.livejournal.com]

I say a partial yes to the previous three.

Urban fantasy tends to be more city-oriented.

Both tend to "play" in our world and the protagonists are often human. (Not full-bore secondary world, for example.)

Paranormal romance, the protags are almost always women, even more so than in UF.

PR is more likely to have a bunch of romantic (chaste or explicit) love scenes, multiple suitors, etc.

UF is more likely to have the questy problem-solving be about a problem that doesn't fully involve romance. To me that, if I were to read the whole book, would be (if I felt I had to embrace what are essentially marketing labels) the key. Is the story about (without splitting hairs on what is dark fantasy and what is, etc) a love affair and there's some other stuff, or is it about an adventure and there's some romance at the beginning, a little in the middle and then at the end.