Opinion: Monster Romance: A Trend Here to Stay?
Lions and tigers and bears - oh my! Monster Romance seems to have taken BookTok and Bookstagram by storm. Forget about princes and billionaires, readers want their men to be more than human - give them wolf shifters, dragon shifters, bear shifters, gargoyles, serpent shifters, and even aliens with some seriously interesting appendages. And let me tell you, as a dragon shifter series author, I've seen it all!
Is this more than a trend or will it stick around for paranormal, fantasy romance authors to get a piece of the action?
Now, I've never been one to follow trends. In fact, I'm usually a little late to the party. But the more I've researched this trend, the more I realize that there's something going on here. According to Google Trends, the term "Monster Romance Books" is pretty steady in terms of popularity. It has its peaks and its bounds, but over the past five years, both in the United States and Worldwide, “Monster Romance Books” are a force to be taken seriously. And if my TikTok and Instagram feeds are anything to go by, readers are absolutely loving these types of romances. From fan art to book recommendations, it's clear that everyone wants a monster!
Interestingly enough, do you remember when Guillermo del Toro’s romantic fantasy, The Shape of Water, won Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 2018? Yes, in this case, the male main character wasn’t a shifter. He was full on fish man and the country loved it! Some of the related topics and queries that come up under “Monster Romance Books” are: demon, paranormal, harem, orc, and fantasy - literary genre.
THE DATA
“Is this more than a trend or will it stick around for paranormal, fantasy romance authors to get a piece of the action?”
For something that appeared to be taboo for mainstream media, monster/shifter romances certainly exploded since I joined the online book community in 2019. I’d even argue, that “Monster Romance Books” are at their peak. On Google Trends, a score of 100 ranks peak popularity in the Interest Over Time category. During March 5-11, “Monster Romance Books” ranked a Interest Over Time number of 90 when searched by the past 12 months - Worldwide.
But what exactly is a monster romance? Well, if you've written about a human character who has a relationship or develops one with a not so human character, then congratulations - you've written a monster romance! Well, its a little bit more than that. The not so human characteristics of the love interest are more than just being magical and casting spells. They have to literally become a monster or beast. And the good news is that readers are looking for exactly that. While sex does sell, it's important to market your monster character as well. Use hashtags, rewrite scenes to showcase your monster's unique qualities, and let your creativity run wild. Whether you're writing about wolf shifters, dragon shifters, serpent royals, gargoyle knights or even aliens, there's a market for it.
Of course, it's important to keep in mind that trends come and go. But based on the data and the current state of the online book community, it seems like monster romance is here to stay. So, if you write fantasy or paranormal romance (or romantic fantasy - because there’s a difference!), it might be worth considering marketing the shifter, monster, or alien of your next fantasy/paranormal romance novel. If you aren’t, you might be doing yourself a disservice.
When I realized that my Heavy is the Head duology is a shifter, monster-adjacent, romance, I began to tap into a crowd that I didn’t necessarily know would enjoy my work. That’s not to say it didn’t go without some imposter syndrome, but the proof is in the pages. The Okoros shift into dragons. Calla Emery, a regular woman, falls in love with said Okoro prince, who sometimes fights his own inner magic. Is it full on monster romance? Absolutely not. But there’s enough sprinkle of it in there to market!
So, put it in your hashtags, rewrite that one scene so your monster character gives the protagonist a good olé’ monster kiss, and if you like to turn up the heat, then the world is your oyster! Who knows? You might just end up with a bestseller on your hands.
