The 10 Best Paranormal Romance Books

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This wiki has been updated 27 times since it was first published in March of 2018. Some fans of fantasy and horror love just about anything featuring otherworldly creatures and dark themes. For others, there needs to be a bit more human energy and connection. These paranormal romance books blend the best of both worlds, and present protagonists who are easy to relate to amidst magical, and sometimes downright scary, situations, all with an undercurrent of passion. When users buy our independently chosen editorial choices, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.

1. House of Earth and Blood

2. High Voltage

3. Dearest Ivie

Editor's Notes

May 05, 2020:

Paranormal romance is a rich and wide-spanning subgenre of your typical romance novels, including everything from supernatural erotic romps and dark fantasies to accessible YA books and those that center around fascinating folklore and myths. We wanted our list to run the gamut, so you'll find books centered around intimacy and featuring some heavy themes, such as Fighting Destiny, alongside titles appropriate for younger readers like Tiger's Curse and Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight". Fans of werewolves will appreciate Burn Bright while those who love magic should enjoy Natural Witch.

Today we said goodbye to The Blood Gospel, which despite being action-packed and exciting, suffers from stilted prose, an overabundance of religious themes, and a wishy-washy heroine. We also removed Year One: Chronicles of the One. This series by Nora Roberts is well-reviewed and enjoyed by readers, with a paranormal premise that's engaging. That being said, it is extremely light on romance, containing only one established couple who take a backseat to the action, and so we felt it didn't quite make sense on this list.

To fill these voids we added a recent release, House of Earth and Blood, the first novel to kick off a spellbinding series. This volume is for readers who want a story with extremely rich settings, a vast array of characters, and intricate, surprising plot lines. At over 800 pages, it contains a universe on par with Harry Potter or Game of Thrones, so it's far from a breezy beach read.

We also brought on Bella Forrest's "Darklight", another selection that kicks off a new series. It puts an interesting spin on your typical vampire book and weaves in new angles, with well-written characters that readers root for. The prose elicits a range of emotions, with funny dialogue one moment and descriptions of harrowing loss in the next.

Special Honors

Audible Audible.com is one of the most popular online portals for purchasing, downloading, and listening to audiobooks. They have a vast library and allow users to listen to novels on their website or the device of their choice. The company offers subscription plans devised to help customers save when they buy multiple books, with some free titles also included. audible.com

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House is the international home to nearly 250 editorially and creatively independent publishing imprints. Their expansive portfolio includes over 300 paranormal romance novels, with bestsellers and obscure works alike. They provide buying options for physical, audio, and e-book variations, author information, audio samples, a detailed synopsis, and critical praise for the titles you peruse. penguinrandomhouse.com

4. Bella Forrest's "Darklight"

5. Natural Witch

6. Gaslight: A Crossbreed Novel

7. Fighting Destiny

8. Burn Bright

9. Tiger's Curse

10. Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight"


Gia Vescovi-Chiordi
Last updated by Gia Vescovi-Chiordi

Born in Arizona, Gia is a writer and autodidact who fled the heat of the desert for California, where she enjoys drinking beer, overanalyzing the minutiae of life, and channeling Rick Steves. After arriving in Los Angeles a decade ago, she quickly nabbed a copywriting job at a major clothing company and derived years of editing and proofreading experience from her tenure there, all while sharpening her skills further with myriad freelance projects. In her spare time, she teaches herself French and Italian, has earned an ESL teaching certificate, traveled extensively throughout Europe and the United States, and unashamedly devours television shows and books. The result of these pursuits is expertise in fashion, travel, beauty, literature, textbooks, and pop culture, in addition to whatever obsession consumes her next.


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