Top 25 Paranormal Fantasy Books

Halfway To The Grave: Night Huntress #1

by Frost, Jeaniene

Before you start Night Huntress, be aware that there's nothing groundbreaking about the series. You're going to be disappointed if you go into it expecting something fresh. While it may not be a literary work of genius,...

Mercy Thompson Series (A Mercy Thompson)

by Briggs, Patricia

Urban Fantasy excels at creating strong female leads, and this is one of the best. Mercy is a part Native American auto mechanic who also happens to be a walker; one who can turn into a coyote at will. Like the Grimm...

Dark Lover: Black Dagger Brotherhood (Black Dagger Brotherhood) Start here

by Ward, J.r.

A secret brotherhood of vampire warriors fights the Lessening Society, the novel that began a paranormal romance giant.

Black Dagger Brotherhood is one of the most well known series in the paranormal romance genre. While it hasn't aged well (many new readers will point out that its clichéd and derivative), but the things that look for in...

Darkfever: Fever #1

by Moning, Karen Marie

CONTENT AVERSION ALERT: If you're not a fan of anything fairy-like, this series isn't for you. If you're ok with a world that includes all kinds of flappy, sappy supernatural beings, you'll find this series an addictive...

Kate Daniels Series (Kate Daniels)

by Andrews, Ilona

Kate Daniels. Tough, smart, and wonderfully mouthy. She's a perennially down-on-her-luck mercenary who cleans up paranormal messes. She's a complete badass, wielding a sword called "Slayer," but remains compassionate...

Angels' Blood: Guild Hunter #1

by Singh, Nalini

Nalini Singh is one of the most well known paranormal romance authors. And with good reason: She's written two of the most popular series in the genre. Guild Hunter, along with Psy-Changeling, is often talked about as be...

Cry Wolf: Alpha And Omega

by Briggs, Patricia

Cry Wolf is a spin-off of Briggs's popular Mercy Thompson series. For Briggs fans, this series is full of the things that make her such a successful author. She excels at writing compelling characters and dialogue and th...

Dead Witch Walking: The Hollows #1

by Harrison, Kim

The greatest strength of this series is that its main character â Rachel â is both entertaining and interesting. This isn't just because she's a well-rounded character, full of sass and determination, but also because he...

Some Girls Bite: Chicagoland Vampires

by Neill, Chloe

If there's one criticism that can be leveled at the entire paranormal romance genre (other than the cover art featuring bare-chested hos and beaus), it's that the writing is subpar. And even if its halfway decent, it's a...

Slave To Sensation: Psy-changeling (Psy-Changeling) Start here

by Singh, Nalini

A woman is sent to a forbidden changeling on a cold, controlled world in the first book of the Psy-Changeling series.

Nalini Singh is one of the more talented authors in the genre, with an exceptional ability for painting images with words. Psy-Changeling is full of the things that make her books so enjoyable: Detailed, rounded and inte...

A Hunger Like No Other: Immortals After Dark (Immortals After Dark) Start here

by Cole, Kresley

A Valkyrie is captured by a vampire warlord and a vampire's mate, the fun first book of Immortals After Dark.

Don't expect this to be a work of classic literature, but of all the paranormal romance series out there, Immortals After Dark is one of the most fun. There's romance and steam, but the thing readers of the series talk a...

Once Burned: Night Prince #1

by Frost, Jeaniene

Night Prince is a spin off series based on Frost's Night Huntress series. While it's not necessary to have read Night Prince, you will benefit from discovering Vlad – the series hero – before Once Burned.Thanks to Steph...

Fantasy Lover: Dark Hunter #1

by Kenyon, Sherrilyn

The key to a good paranormal romance is to make sure it doesn't take itself too seriously. Because … vampires. Some of the creatures that appear in these types of series are ridiculous and when an author doesn't keep thi...

Pleasure Unbound: Demonica #1 (Demonica) Start here

by Ione, Larissa

A half-demon hunts demons in a hidden war, the corny but gripping start of the Demonica series.

Cue the heavy eye roll at the laughable title of the first book in the Demonica series. Got that out of your system? Good. It may be corny, but the title should give you some clue as to the nature of this series. If you...

The Darkest Night: Lords Of The Underworld #1 (Lords Of The Underworld) Start here

by Showalter, Gena

A demon hunter and a woman with her own hidden powers, an adult, fast-moving paranormal romance.

This series is adult with a capital A. Don't give this to a fourteen year old as a gift. Don't give it to your mother either. Keep it in the guilty pleasures and midnight binges box that's underneath your bed.Showalter's...

Dragon Bound: Elder Races #1

by Harrison, Thea

DRAGONS! PLOT! MONSTERS! HUMOR! What more could you want? An interesting heroine with exceptional abilities of some kind? Check. Creatures of myth? Check.Elder Races is one of those series that manages to tick off multip...

Kiss Of Midnight: Midnight Breed #1

by Adrian, Lara

Yes, this is a virtual clone of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. No, it's not worth skipping as a result. That's because it's not a patent leather rip-off, but a well-made genuine leather copy. That is, it's well written, f...

The Black Jewels

by Bishop, Anne

Three words to describe the Black Jewels Trilogy: Over the top. Terrible things happen in this book, but they're written with so much drama that you can't take them too seriously or you'd go batshit.This trilogy is origi...

Conversion Trilogy

by Stephens, S.c.

It's next to impossible to write an original vampire story. Blame RPatz or Spike, but the best and worst has all been done. Enter S.C. Stephens. The Conversion trilogy is about as original as anything else you'll find in...

Dark Prince

by Feehan, Christine

You get a sex scene! You get a sex scene! Everybody gets a sex scene! We've talked about fluffy escapist books, funny heroes and interesting mythologies. Now let's talk passion. More specifically, the kind that is as l...

Dead Until Dark: Sookie Stackhouse #1

by Harris, Charlaine

HBO created must-see television with True Blood. The same can't be said for the series it's based on. Harris is one of the worst writers on this list. Her abilities with words are about as good as a mediocre high school...