That doesn't surprise me. It's been a while since I read urban fantasy regularly. Years ago, I was a regular reader of Dresden Files - which seems solid Urban Fantasy to me (I would assume that it falls under your Unlucky Guy category). I would presume its your Spunky Girl category that would more likely trend Urban Romantasy as it already had paranormal romance vibes sometimes. But that was all me guessing. In the end, genre names are just categories - and things can always get kind of blurry at the edges. It is often more of a spectrum than true binary.
I have described some of my own tales as urban fantasy even though they don't fit into the category as you describe them. Although I think your description is an accurate one, it saddens me that genres are much more rigid and boilerplate than they used to be. I think genre should be descriptive, but now it is proscriptive.
I love both these genres. Thanks for sharing the breakdown because I am always blurring the lines with these two. Would you say that having a small town setting automatically takes you out of urban fantasy and throws you into paranormal romance? So far, my WIP is tracking way more with urban fantasy reader expectations, aside from the fact it's centered in small-town New Hampshire. 🤔
I actually DO have a paranormal story draft (without the romance element, though) that DOES utilize cornfields! I found out about the German folklore of feldgeister (animal-formed monsters that appear only when there is a crop on a field) and immediately had to turn it into a small-town paranormal mystery novel!
What about Urban Romantasy? Is that a thing?
I don't know for sure, but I think that the urban fantasy genre has automatically transitioned more into urban romantasy over the past few years.
That doesn't surprise me. It's been a while since I read urban fantasy regularly. Years ago, I was a regular reader of Dresden Files - which seems solid Urban Fantasy to me (I would assume that it falls under your Unlucky Guy category). I would presume its your Spunky Girl category that would more likely trend Urban Romantasy as it already had paranormal romance vibes sometimes. But that was all me guessing. In the end, genre names are just categories - and things can always get kind of blurry at the edges. It is often more of a spectrum than true binary.
I have described some of my own tales as urban fantasy even though they don't fit into the category as you describe them. Although I think your description is an accurate one, it saddens me that genres are much more rigid and boilerplate than they used to be. I think genre should be descriptive, but now it is proscriptive.
I love both these genres. Thanks for sharing the breakdown because I am always blurring the lines with these two. Would you say that having a small town setting automatically takes you out of urban fantasy and throws you into paranormal romance? So far, my WIP is tracking way more with urban fantasy reader expectations, aside from the fact it's centered in small-town New Hampshire. 🤔
I actually DO have a paranormal story draft (without the romance element, though) that DOES utilize cornfields! I found out about the German folklore of feldgeister (animal-formed monsters that appear only when there is a crop on a field) and immediately had to turn it into a small-town paranormal mystery novel!
I would argue a lot of genres are getting contaminated with "pot boiler romance".
But yes, I very much agree with this assessment.
Neither type appeals to me, but it's good information for those who like those genres.