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Book Recommendations: Urban Fantasy

  • Feb 4
  • 4 min read

Back in 2024 I asked the Champions on Facebook and Instagram to share what Urban Fantasy book they would recommend to a friend and they had so many great suggestions I decided we needed a blog post to share them!


Please note: I haven’t read all of these books, and they do vary a lot on foul language and level of romance spice/heat. Make sure you check out the reviews before you download so you don’t end up with something you’re not comfortable with! There are some YA books included, and I started the list with some low spice authors so they should be something for everyone somewhere in this long list!



Closed Door Books and Series:

None of these authors will have any explicit romance situations but they vary on use of violence, language, and innuendos.


Life After series by Julie Hall

Shadow Angel series by Julie Hall and Leia Stone

Rogue Spotter by Kimberly A. Rogers

The City Between by W. R. Gingell

Apex: Moonbound by Charlotte Vane

Vampire Knitting Club by Nancy Warren

That's (Para) Normal by Camilla Evergreen

Immortal Accords by Anna Hawke

Dragon of 23rd St series by Kenley Davidson

Obsidian Queen series by Shari Tapscott

Fae of Falls River by Stormie Black

The Shifter Alliance by Rachel E Scott

The McCullough Pack by Nola Li Barr

Fated Huntress by Tiffani Skye

Faeries of Door County by Toni Cabell

Sun & Blood by Crystal Frost

Steel City Genie by Janeen Ippolito

A Wizard in Vegas by Brittany Fichter

Camp Spellbound by Amy Horikami

House of Vampires and Allies by Scarlett Haven

Paranormal Literary Society by Nellie Peters

Heartthrobs and Hauntings by Christine M. Walter

White Wolf Saga by Valia Lind

Pack’s Defense by Heather Karn

Sentinel Rising by Crystal Frost

The King's Captive by K. M. Shea

Prince of Wolves by Quinn Loftis

Of Rebels & Magic by H. M. Bloom

Little Wolf by Jen B. Green

Bad Boy Alphas series by Ashlea Michelle

Heiress of the Dawn series by Ava Grace Bentley

The Other Realms by Heather G. Harris

Hidden Hotel by Nicole Eatough

Singsong City by Julianna Whicker

Keepers of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

Aeromancy Academy by Aly Clark

Magemother by Austin J. Bailey

The Mennyms by Sylvia Waugh

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Lockwood and Co. by Jonathan Stroud

Stoneheart by Charlie Fletcher


Here's the rest of the Urban Fantasy Reader Recommendations:

(Varying levels of spice, violence, gore, and language.)

Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs

The Others series by Anne Bishop

Fangs and Feathers by Isla Frost

Thief of Magic by Bree Moore

Nocturne Falls by Kristen Painter

Relentless by Karen Lynch (her spin off series are higher spice)

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

Fever series by Karen Marie Moning

Witchy World by Jamie McFarlane

Dragon's Gift by Linsey Hall (earliest series are fade to black)

The Guild Codex series by Annette Marie

Jacky Leon series by K.N. Banet

The Hollows by Kim Harrison

Chicagoland Vampires by Chloe O'Neill

Blood series by Tanya Huff

Starstruck by Brenda Hiatt

Shelving Magic by Nellie H Steele

McKenzie Green series by JS Kennedy

Royal States by Susan Copperfield

The Grey Gates by Vanessa Nelson

Death Before Dragons series by Lindsay Buroker

Urban Druid by Auburn Tempest

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron

Marnie Baranuik by A. J. Aalto

Dark is the Night by Mirriam Neal

World of the Lupi by Eileen Wilks

Dowser series by Meghan Ciana Doidge

Summon the Keeper by Tanya Huff

Bewitched and Bewildered by Alanea Alder

All Souls series by Deborah Harkness

Iron Druid by Kevin Hearne

Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh

Jane Yellowrock by Faith Hunter

Walker Papers series by C. E. Murphy

Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn

Nine Kingdoms by Lynn Kurland

Foils and Fury series by Lauretta Hignett

Stay a Spell by Juliette Cross

SERRAted Edge by Mercedes Lackey

Soul Reader by Annie Anderson

Leveling Up by K.F. Breene

 

Build Your 2026 TBR Pile!

  • Jan 7
  • 2 min read

Do you have a reading goal for 2026? Or maybe you picked out a book bingo card that requires you to read certain tropes?


To help you out I have pulled together this massive list of fantasy books and fairy tale retellings you are sure to love!



Whether you are looking for a book to fit a certain theme, a new-to-you-author, or a Cinderella retelling you haven't read yet, this list should have you covered!


My list of book list blog posts:


And if you are specifically looking for fairy tale retellings you MUST check out this master list of all the multi-author clean fairy tale series. It is maintained by author Kendra E. Ardnek and she even has each book organized by the fairy tale!




If you'd like more reader recommendations from my Champions you can take a look at one of these Goodreads lists. Although be warned that I don't police these so I can't guarantee that the content of the books matches the name of the list.


And finally, you can also check out my two different boards on Pinterest that have thousands of books between them. (I do my best to limit these to low spice titles but I haven't read all of these books so make sure you check the reviews!)




 

Little Mermaid Retellings

  • Nov 19, 2025
  • 3 min read

Ahh, the classic tale where girl falls in love with boy, girl gives up her entire life for the boy, boy falls in love with someone else, and the girl... turns into a daughter of the air?!?


The original story by Hans Christian Andersen had some weird stuff going on (click here to read my sarcastic summary of it if you aren't familiar with his version). But it is a classic story that has captured our hears for generations and there are plenty of beautiful adaptations of it for you to read!



I will first point out that I have written a retelling of this story, but because of my grievances with the original tale I changed the main heroine of my version from a mermaid to a selkie:


The Little Selkie - by K. M. Shea - In my version the heroine is a selkie and is forced to give up her voice for reasons not related to the hero, but most of the same elements of the story remain. This is also one of the most popular heroines I've ever written because even though she can't speak for most of the book she manages to take down the bullies in some inspiring ways. :)


Now for the full list of 70+ books all of which were suggested by my reader community (I asked for no spice and low language but check reviews if you have questions about the book's content). Since these are coming directly from readers you can think of them as a book rec from a friend.


List of The Little Mermaid Retellings:

The Little Selkie by K. M. Shea

The Silent Songbird by Melanie Dickerson

Silent Mermaid by Brittany Fichter

The Silent Prince by C. J. Brightley

A Princess of Wind and Wave by Melanie Cellier

A Cascading Hope by Yakira Goldsberry

Sea’s Secret by Kayla Eshbaugh

Filia and the Fall Festival by Leialoha Humpherys

Princess of Mermaids by A. G. Marshall

A Sea of Golden Chains by Callie Thomas

The Net That Holds Me by Scarlett Luna Strange

Maiden of the Sea by Sarah Beran

Song of the Sea by Deborah Grace White

Vazula Chronicles by Deborah Grace White

Beacon by Camille Peters

A Little Mermaid by Aya Ling

To Break A Silence by Lydia Mae

Part of Your World by Liz Braswell

Poor Unfortunate Soul by Serena Valentino

Prince of Song & Sea by Linsey Miller

The Mermaid’s Tale by L.E. Richmond

Selkie’s Song by Kimberly A. Rogers

Siren's Treasure by Suzanna Fowers

Lake Locked by S. R. Nulton

The Siren by Kiera Cass

Elodie of the Sea by Shari Tapscott

Finding Mera by Elizabeth D. Marie

The Little Mermaid by Jenni James

Mermaid Exile by Rebecca Fittery

The Wicked Prince by Rachel Rowlands

Song of Seas by Laura Greenwood

Hunting Sirens by Mary Mecham

Brine and Bone by Kate Stradling

Mermaid on Heels by Karen Daliath

Balanced Scales by Laura Greenwood

Of Tridents and Strife by Nicole Zoltack

Her Forgotten Sea by Eliza Prokopovits

Once Upon a Cake by Gabrielle Landi

The Stone Mermaid by Aisha Urooj

A Spark of Seas by Susannah Welch

Voice of a Siren by Kassidy Kameron

Pearl of Magic by Emily Deady

Song of the Sea by Meredith Leigh Burton

Song of the Selkies by Sarah Pennington

Of Sea and Song by Chanda Hahn

Forever by Chanda Hahn

Head Over Tails by Brianna Tibbetts

Mazarine by CeCe Louise

Golden Lotus by Meagan Myhren-Bennett

The Storm Dancer by Valia Lind

Sirens and Blades by Amanda Kaye

The Little Mermaid's Voice by Shonna Slayton

Shattered Resistance by Madisyn Carlin

A Mermaid's Secret by Amy Horikami

Sea of Sirens by Amberlyn Holland

Parting Worlds by Kaitlyn Davis

Mermaid's Loss by Dee J. Stone

The Tomb of the Sea Witch by Kyle Robert Shultz

The Little Cyborg by J.M. Page

A Little Persuaded by Kendra E. Ardnek

When on Land by Kendra E. Ardnek

Of Song and Darkness by Jessica Spruill

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen

The Mermaid's Madness by Jim C. Hines

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo


Did you know I have a whole series of these blog posts featuring book recommendations, popular retellings, and lists of books vetted by readers? Click here to start reading or use the Book Lists category to filter them.

 

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