Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m an avid fantasy reader and enjoy stories filled with magic, danger, and a mix of humor and romance thrown in. When Iā€™m not writing my own fantasy novels, you might catch me tucked away in a corner, reading a book, and fueling my imagination. Since my own book, The Wayward Wizard, features a secret organization trying to intercept the supernatural, I knew similar stories would make a perfect list to share with fellow fantasy readers.


I wrote

Book cover of The Wayward Wizard

What is my book about?

Jack Crowley is the last person a secret government agency wants to call for help.

He spends his days sellingā€¦

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

The books I picked & why

Book cover of Secret Agent Mom

Alesha Escobar Why did I love this book?

As a mom of six, I must say that Iā€™m in a constant state of balancing motherly duties with other obligationsā€”so Lucy Heron has my sympathy as a fellow native of Los Angeles, who juggles her kids, a bakery, and apparently her job as ā€œAgent 485,ā€ fighting supernatural crime.

Lucy works for a secret organization that wants to keep magic in the realm of myth and humanity none the wiser to its existence. Well, that will be tough as a tribe of ancient witches gets thrown into the mix, some unscrupulous magical beings, and the fact that this mom of three has to get this all done in time for dinner. This is definitely a fun read to check out!

By Martha Carr, Michael Anderle,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Secret Agent Mom as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Lucy Heron is a mom with three kids, and a baker with a happy marriage in sunny Echo Park. Sheā€™s also Silver Griffins Agent 485.

The suburbs will never be the same.

Fighting supernatural crime from a minivan while keeping the magical world a secret is a fulltime job. Then thereā€™s the PTA bake sale and the neighborhood barbecue.

Hard to balance even with a wand.

And now, a monstrous loan shark is spreading his shadowy empire from a hidden kemana. Mix in a tribe of ancient witches and tunnel-dwelling magical misfits.

Turns out, Los Angeles is hiding a lotā€¦


Book cover of Monster Hunter International

Alesha Escobar Why did I love this book?

Owen Pitt probably thought heā€™d be arrested for pushing his boss out of a fourteenth-story window; instead, he wakes up in the hospital five days later and learns that monsters are not mere legendā€”they are real. In comes a job offer from Monster International, which eradicates magical threats lurking in the shadows. 

As a kid, I always loved fantastical stories that weaved in the ā€œwhat if?ā€ questions with my imagination. This enjoyable series opens up that wondrous world in a unique way.

By Larry Correia,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Monster Hunter International as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Monster Hunter International".


Ad

Book cover of Need to Know: World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence

Need to Know by Nicholas Reynolds,

The authoritative but accessible history of the birth of modern American intelligence in World War II that treats not just one but all of the various disciplines: spies, codebreakers, saboteurs.

Told in a relatable style that focuses on actual people, it was a New Yorker "Best of 2022" selection andā€¦

Book cover of The Brimstone Deception

Alesha Escobar Why did I love this book?

I have to admit, if I had the ability to see vamps, that would be both fascinating and scary. And apparently, SPI (Supernatural Protection and Investigation) feels the same way.

Makenna Fraser is a supernatural detective for SPI who is tasked with discovering whoā€™s behind a magic-infused drug that allows humans to see vamps, monsters, and other creatures. The clock is ticking, and the city of New Yorkā€™sā€”and the entire worldā€™s fate rest in her hands.

By Lisa Shearin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Brimstone Deception as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Men in Black meets Janet Evanovichā€™s Stephanie Plum in the new urban fantasy novel starring seer Makenna Fraser and her fellow agents at Supernatural Protection & Investigation.

The agents of Supernatural Protection & Investigations (SPI) know that fighting evil is a full-time job, especially when a new designer drugā€”with mind-blowing side effectsā€”hits the streets...
 
Itā€™s called Brimstone. And after the first few hits, youā€™ll see every supernatural beast sharing the sidewalk, train, or office with you. After that, youā€™ll start seeing the really scary stuff.
 
Iā€™m Makenna Fraser, seer for the SPI. And the collateral damage caused by Brimstone isā€¦


Book cover of Witch Hunt

Alesha Escobar Why did I love this book?

Whoā€™s ever been blamed at work for something they didnā€™t do?  Well, the Office of Preternatural Affairs takes it to a whole new level when they suspect one of their agents, CĆØsar Hawke, of murdering a woman. I mean, she was found dead in his homeā€¦but he claims heā€™s innocent. And heā€™s going to hunt down a shaman who can speak to the dead to prove it.

This wickedly fun story takes the urban fantasy detective trope and infuses it with humor, danger, and twists & turns.

By SM Reine,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Witch Hunt as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There are scratches on CĆØsar Hawkeā€™s arms, a discharged Glock on his coffee table, and a dead woman in his bathtub. Yeah, maybe he brought the waitress home for some funā€”he was too drunk to remember itā€”but he knows for a fact that he didnā€™t kill her. Heā€™s an agent with the Office of Preternatural Affairs. He doesnā€™t hurt people. He saves them. The cops disagree. Now CĆØsar is running. Isobel Stonecrow speaks with the dead. She brings closure to the bereaved and heals broken hearts. But when she talks to the wrong spirit, the OPA puts a bounty onā€¦


Ad

Book cover of The Devil To Pay

The Devil To Pay by Gary Blackwood,

Some knowledge is dangerous... especially in the wrong hands...

As the conflict in Vietnam heats up, Simon Hannay is pursuing his Masters in Comparative Literature at a Midwest university, teaching karate on the side and doing his best to avoid the draft. He's not overly excited about his thesis... untilā€¦

Book cover of The Rook

Alesha Escobar Why did I love this book?

My husband, a sci-fi/fantasy geek and storyboard artist for The Simpsons TV show shoved this book toward me and told me I had to read it. Seriously, it was a fantastic read and Iā€™m glad he suggested it.

The Checquy is a secret British organization dedicated to dealing with the paranormalā€”unfortunately, Myfanwy Thomas has been betrayed by someone with in the organization and wakes up randomly in a park with a simple note: "The body you are wearing used to be mine." That alone is intriguing, and as you delve into this world of espionage, magic, and the seemingly impossible, youā€™ll find The Rook hard to put down.

By Daniel O'Malley,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Rook as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The body you are wearing used to be mine.' So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her. She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of a secret organization called the Chequy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain. She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadlyā€¦


Explore my book šŸ˜€

Book cover of The Wayward Wizard

What is my book about?

Jack Crowley is the last person a secret government agency wants to call for help.

He spends his days selling New Age trinkets to humans and his nights drinking with a street-hustling alchemist. Not exactly the law and order type. But when monsters from our childhood nightmares become flesh and blood, snatching people from the streets, heā€™s one of the few wizards alive who can uncover whoā€™s behind it.

Book cover of Secret Agent Mom
Book cover of Monster Hunter International
Book cover of The Brimstone Deception

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,888

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

šŸ“š You might also likeā€¦

Book cover of Blood From a Rose

Blood From a Rose by Sharon Skinner,

Blood From a Rose is a collection of light horror and dark fantasy with a dollop of humor that takes the reader into the dark spaces between dusk and dawn, serving up dark fantasy, paranormal and supernatural short fiction. An exploration of our shadow sides, things that go slurp inā€¦

Book cover of The Hunt for the Peggy C: A World War II Maritime Thriller

The Hunt for the Peggy C by John Winn Miller,

The Hunt for the Peggy C is best described as Casablanca meets Das Boot. It is about an American smuggler who struggles to rescue a Jewish family on his rusty cargo ship, outraging his mutinous crew of misfits and provoking a hair-raising chase by a brutal Nazi U-boat captainā€¦

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in witchcraft, good and evil, and legendary creatures?

Witchcraft 345 books
Good And Evil 143 books