Valefar Vol. 2

Valefar Vol 2 is the second volume in H.M. Ward's Valefar paranormal romance series, working in the wider catalogue she has built across many books in the contemporary and paranormal independent romance market. Ward is one of the more prolific writers in the contemporary independent romance space, with a catalogue spanning multiple connected series and standalones across various subgenres including paranormal, contemporary, and new adult romance.

The Valefar series fits into the demonic or fallen angel paranormal romance subgenre that contemporary independent romance has been developing across the past decade. Valefar is the name of one of the demons in the traditional Lesser Key of Solomon and other older demonological texts, and contemporary paranormal romance writers have drawn on this tradition for the names and characteristics of the supernatural beings that populate their fictional worlds. The Valefar series uses this mythological foundation to develop a particular set of paranormal characters and relationships across multiple connected volumes.

Volume 2 of the series picks up the story established in Volume 1 and continues to develop the wider plot and the central romantic relationships that the series is building toward. Ward writes paranormal romance with the kind of brisk pacing and the high heat content that the contemporary independent paranormal romance market expects, with each volume in her connected series typically advancing the wider plot while delivering the immediate satisfactions that the individual volume requires.

Ward's writing is brisk and her plots move at the pace her audience expects. Her chapters end with hooks, her dialogue carries real chemistry, and her sex scenes are explicit and frequent in the way her readers expect. What distinguishes her from a lot of her peers in the contemporary independent paranormal romance corner is the consistency of her output and the willingness to develop connected series across many volumes that her readers can follow through the long arcs.

Readers who enjoy authors who write paranormal romance with demonic or supernatural male leads, including writers like Gena Showalter, Larissa Ione, or other writers in the wider contemporary paranormal market, will find H.M. Ward operating in adjacent territory. Her catalogue is large enough that picking a starting point can feel daunting, but the Valefar series should be read in order starting with Volume 1 to follow the connected plot. For new readers, the price point and volume of her work make her a low risk experiment for readers curious about contemporary independent paranormal romance.

The series structure that Ward uses across many of her connected projects gives her room to develop her wider world and her central characters across multiple volumes, with the cumulative effect of the connected reading providing the kind of immersive experience that her audience returns for.