After fantasy, Zara’s next biggest reading marathon took place in faer’s early teen years thanks to paranormal romances. The titles on this list are in the order that Zara read them.
Please note, the covers and publishers listed with each title are for the editions Zara read, and may not be the cover of the book’s original publication. The years are the original publication of each title.
You’ll notice that a pretty famous series is not included on here. While Zara certainly read those books, they did not make the cut for this list.
Embrace the Forbidden
What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?
This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.
Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but it isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.
Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?
Zara fell in love (pun intended) with the characters and world Higgins created, and fae was over the moon when Wendy agreed to read and blurb Inimitable Books’ first paranormal romance title: The Devil’s Waltz by Jessi Elliott.
A DEADLY LOVE TRIANGLE
Elena: the golden girl, the leader, the one who can have any boy she wants.
Stefan: brooding and mysterious, he seems to be the only one who can resist Elena, even as he struggles to protect her from the horrors that haunt his past.
Damon: sexy, dangerous, and driven by an urge for revenge against Stefan, the brother who betrayed him. Determined to have Elena, he’d kill to possess her.
Collected here in one volume for the first time, volumes one and two of The Vampire Diaries, the tale of two vampire brothers and the beautiful girl torn between them.
Zara saw an ad for the show before it started airing and then read the books quickly before the pilot aired. Zara also loved the show (well, at least the first 3 seasons of it, maybe first 5 if you’re pushing it), but the book is very different, so if you’re reading the book expecting for it to be the same, it’s not.
Before that fateful summer night, Willow had balanced the insight of emotion, and the vivid images. That night, the figure in her nightmare marked her wrist with a star, giving her father no choice but to tell Willow a family secret that would abruptly change life, as she knew it, forever. Before Willow had time to absorb the shock of her father’s secret, her soul mate that had shared every stunning dream with her, found her, and darkness captured her closest friends. In order to save them, she must weave through broken myths and the undeniable power of the Zodiac. In the end, Willow discovers that at the moment of our birth we are all given a divine gift.
Equal parts steamy and funny, with a few genuinely creepy moments, this paranormal romance has everything — compelling characters, plenty of witty banter, and a romance that just might be to die for.
After losing both her parents before age 17, aspiring designer Caitlin Holte feels like her whole world has been turned upside down, and that was before she accidentally attracted the attention of a demon. Then, she learns that her hot, bad-boy neighbor, Adrian — who might have just saved her life — is actually a half-demon vampire.
Suddenly, Caitlin is stuck with a vampire bodyguard who feels that the best way to protect her is to become her pretend boyfriend. Trouble is, Caitlin is starting to fall in love for real, while Adrian can never love a human. Caitlin trusts Adrian to keep her safe from his demon father, but will he be able to protect her heart?
Temple West’s debut novel Velvet is a sexy, delightful romance chosen by readers like you for Macmillan’s young adult imprint Swoon Reads.
Praise for Velvet:
“This romantic Twilight read-alike shines with credible dialogue and fully developed characters. Paranormal fans who haven’t reached their vampire saturation point will cheer and eagerly await the cliff-hanger’s resolution in the sequel.” —School Library Journal
“Dude. So this is what Twilight should have been. Velvet is fun and very entertaining with snappy dialogue, awesome characters and some solid teen angst.” —The Windy Pages
“It’s humorous yet dark, cute yet sexy, lighthearted yet heart-stopping. This one is definitely worth the read, if only to get your swoon on!” —The Eater of Books!
“This is just straight up good and steamy! The author has a great voice—fresh, fun and clearly talented. An excellent mix of hip and quirky with the right dash of romance!” –T. S. Reeds, reader on SwoonReads.com
Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she’s returned—to her old life, her family, her friends—before being banished back to the underworld… this time forever.
She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.
Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.
As Nikki’s time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she’s forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s…
This book was especially formative in Zara’s reading experience because it was the first time fae read a Greek mythology retelling that seemed more unique than others in the past. Fae had actually gotten a copy of this book and an ARC of its sequel Everbound, as well as Awaken (Abandon, 3) by Meg Cabot—another YA paranormal romance retelling of greek mythology—at Book Expo America 2013 (before it was split between publishers and readers, and then eventually discontinued altogether).
Persephone is the Goddess of Spring in title only. Since she was a little girl, flowers have only shriveled at her touch. After moving to New Athens, she hoped to lead an unassuming life disguised as a mortal journalist. All of that changes when she sits down in a forbidden nightclub to play a hand of cards with a hypnotic and mysterious stranger.
Hades, God of the Dead, has built a gambling empire in the mortal world and his favorite bets are rumored to be impossible. But nothing has ever intrigued him as much as the goddess offering him a bargain he can’t resist.
After her encounter with Hades, Persephone finds herself in a contract with the God of the Dead, and his terms are impossible: Persephone must create life in the Underworld or lose her freedom forever. The bet does more than expose Persephone’s failure as a goddess, however. As she struggles to sow the seeds of her freedom, love for the God of the Dead grows—a love that is both captivating and forbidden.
Please note that this book is aimed at adults and is incredibly spicy. Additionally, there is sexual assault in this story (and the sequels), so please be aware of that to make an informed decision about whether reading this book is a good choice for your mental health.
The Devil’s Waltz
It's been five years since her sister was killed by a demon and Camille Morgan swore off the family business of demon hunting. Now a college sophomore, Cami is determined to get her degree and move far away from Seattle—and all things paranormal.
But when Cami becomes the target of a demon attack she’s convinced is a ploy by her parents to drag her back into training, the wildly charming and attractive Xander Kane comes to her rescue. Except her savior isn't a hunter. Or even human.
Xander is a demon, the alluring prince of hell, whose magnetic presence leaves Cami both captivated and conflicted, especially when she finds out he plans on using her to destroy the demon hunters once and for all.
Caught between her growing affection for Xander and her loyalty to her family, Cami struggles to make a decision that could shatter her and endanger the lives of those she loves.
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Is your favorite paranormal romance novel on this list? Share what you love about your pick. If not, let us know what it is in the comments.
