The best urban fantasy books that keep you spellbound

Unlike many authors I know, my reading picked up when I was a teenager. I grew up in Ukraine, in a town where the library wasn’t close to us. My mother couldn’t afford to buy books for my sister and me as gifts because the country struggled greatly after the fall of the Soviet Union. Most of our school books were free. They were hand-me-downs from previous students. I still remember having to mend a lot of the pages and spines to be able to use most of my books. When I moved to Ireland to join my parents after three years of separation, I had to learn English. This drastic change in my environment and lifestyle eventually led me to reading to escape the difficulties I faced at the time. 

Guilty Pleasures is the book that got me into the genre of Urban Fantasy. It has many charms; among them are a fun mystery, fantastic characters that pull you in, and a storyline that had my nose stuck to the book from page one to the very end. I’m sure I finished reading that novel within a day and kept on reading the books that were available at the time.

If you haven’t guessed yet, I’m a fanatic for a bit of mystery in fiction. I often get bored when there is nothing for the characters to learn or discover. If it’s a story about detectives, murder, and magic, I’m 100% there! Grave Witch is a wonderful mix of witchcraft, romance, and mystery. The chemistry between the characters is sizzling and too enticing to say no. 

Just like the other novels on the list, Halfway to the Grave is a bit old but hard to ignore. I have loved vampires and stories about the undead since Buffy The Vampire Slayer was popular in the 90s. I’m sure that it was one of the few TV shows on television that I did my best not to miss as a kid. This book features a kick-ass heroine and a vampire bounty hunter, Bones, who is her perfect match in every way. I think the chemistry between these characters was the main reason why the story was so enjoyable. I’m forever a Kat X Bones fan.

City of Bones is among my “recent” favourites. There is hardly a still moment for the female MC (Clary) in a story that seems to be going 200-miles an hour at times. It’s a fitting read as a coming-of-age book where the world around you suddenly changes and not all of it is pretty. Clary has to adapt fast to an environment where she is a blank sheet of paper and knows almost nothing about demons and shadow hunters. I think the MC is a good portrayal of a strong teenage girl in YA Urban Fantasy. 

Undead and Unwed is one of my favourites in UF. Its humorous tone and main character, Betsy, had me laughing a bunch of times, which is rare in books these days. I can’t help but keep seeing typos everywhere since becoming an author. I think it’s an occupational hazard. 

Unlike previous books in this list that take everything seriously, this undead comedy can easily bring a smile to your lips while still keeping you spellbound to the vampire world. I’m sure Betsy will grow on you as a character.