It starts with a class in an old movie theatre. Folklore 517: Local Legends and Urban Myths, taught by a woman called the Professor.
Most students believe the Professor's stories are just fiction, but Holland St. James has always been convinced that magic is real.
Her search for the truth leads her to a dazzling new world, a deadly ultimatum hidden at the heart of Los Angeles, and into the path of a magnetic stranger who claims he's been sent to save her life.
But everyone in this intoxicating new world is lying to her, even this stranger. And if she can't figure out whom to trust, her magical reality could change from a Hollywood dream to a nightmare.
A thrilling novella by #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews, set in the spellbinding Hidden Legacy World.
Augustine Montgomery is an Illusion Prime, the highest rank of magic user. The people who have seen his real face can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The people who've witnessed the full extent of his power are dead. Illusion isn’t just his brand of magic. It’s become his lifestyle.
One day Diana Harrison walks into the office of Augustine’s premier PI corporation. Diana is also a Prime, a mage who bonds with animals through her magic and prefers their company to humans. Something precious has been stolen from House Harrison. Something Diana must recover at all costs before it perishes.
Augustine is cold, rational, and calculating. He doesn’t get emotionally involved, but something about Diana disturbs the careful balance of Augustine’s inner world. She asks for his help, and he can’t refuse.
Neither Augustine nor Diana are who they appear to be. Both would die to keep their secrets. But the enemy they face is unimaginably powerful, and saving the life at risk will demand the ultimate price, one neither ever expected to pay – complete honesty.
One moment, I'm living my downtrodden life: disowned, outcast, and barely scraping by.
The next, I'm wrenched into an alternate universe where I'm rich, privileged—and dead.
No one knows that last part yet except the killer and the woman who summoned me. And she won't send me home until I pose as my spoiled other self, infiltrate the upper echelons of magical society, and flush out my own murderer.
If only I didn't walk into Luminary Academy and find myself face to face with my worst regrets: my fated mates.
These formidable men have no idea I'm their destined match—or that I ruined their lives in my own reality. At best, they see me as a rival. At worst, a heartless enemy.
But our fractured connection keeps pulling us closer despite my efforts to resist.
I need to expose the murderer and leave this world before our bonds can spark. Because no matter how much my would-be mates torment and crave me, they have no idea how much blood I have on *my* hands.
One wrong move, and I'll be the death of them... again.
Supernatural Bounty Hunter isn’t the sort of thing you see on LinkedIn. But with a rare type of magic like mine, I don’t have many options. So dangerous or not, the job is mine. And it was going fine, until an old as sin vampire stole my mark, and with it, my pay day.
Knowing I’m poor and desperate, he has offered me a job. I’ll have to work by his side to help solve a top secret case. Everyone knows not to trust vampires. Especially a hot elder vampire. But without any other jobs coming up, I’m stuck.
As I uncover a web of lies and treachery, revealing an enemy I didn’t know existed, the truth of my identity is threatened. I might make it out alive, only to end up in a gilded cage.
Nevada Baylor runs a small detective agency in Houston, Texas, taking on everyday cases like exposing cheaters, catching scammers, and handling minor criminals, all while relying on her unique magical ability to detect lies. Though highly skilled, she finds herself in over her head when she is forced to track down a dangerous pyrotechnic who can control fire at will. To stand any chance of success, she must team up with someone far more powerful and far more dangerous.
Connor “Mad” Rogan, a former combat mage with devastating telekinetic abilities and a reputation forged in war, comes from one of the most influential magical families in the world. With his nephew kidnapped by the very man Nevada is hunting, he sees her as the key to finding him, but unlike Nevada, Connor has little regard for laws or restraint and is willing to destroy anyone who stands in his way. As they are drawn together by necessity, their clashing morals and methods spark constant tension, even as an undeniable attraction grows between them. Meanwhile, the fugitive they pursue is entangled in a far-reaching conspiracy that threatens not only Houston, but also the fragile balance of power maintained by the world’s elite magical families.
Burn for Me
Ilona Andrews · 2014
urban fantasyurban fantasyenemies to loversmysteryepic
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder, much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. And she’s more than a little startled when the body disappears into thin air.
Soon Clary is introduced to the world of the Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of warriors dedicated to driving demons out of our world and back to their own. And Clary is introduced with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque monster. How could a mere human survive such an attack and kill a demon? The Shadowhunters would like to know…
Welcome to the city of Angelthene, where survival is never guaranteed. Loren Calla has always considered herself ordinary, a human trying to live a quiet, predictable life in a world dominated by vampires, werewolves, witches, and other supernatural beings. But everything changes when she narrowly escapes being abducted by Darkslayers, ruthless bounty hunters of the supernatural, while one of her friends is taken in her place. Determined to save her, Loren is willing to risk everything, even if it means stepping into a dangerous world she barely understands.
Her only hope lies with Darien Cassel, the enigmatic and feared leader of one of the city’s most brutal Darkslaying circles. Though he is as dangerous as the enemies they face, he becomes her best chance at finding her friend alive, if she can resist the growing attraction between them. As their search pulls them deeper into the corrupt and shadowy underbelly of Angelthene, they uncover a dark secret powerful enough to shake the foundations of their world. When tragedy strikes and the stakes become even higher, Loren must discover whether love can push an ordinary person to do extraordinary, and possibly dangerous, things.
City of Gods and Monsters
Kayla Edwards · 2025
urban fantasyurban fantasygrumpy x sunshineslow burnepic
As the world’s only purebred vampire and the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who killed his parents centuries ago. But when his most trusted fighter is killed—orphaning a half-breed daughter unaware of her heritage or her fate—Wrath must put down his dagger and usher the beautiful woman into another world.
Racked by a restlessness in her body that wasn’t there before, Beth Randall is helpless against the dangerously sexy man who comes to her at night with shadows in his eyes. His tales of the Brotherhood and blood frighten her. Yet his touch ignites a dawning new hunger—one that threatens to consume them both....
Ask her, boy. Ask her what she begged the stars for and what lives now. Ask her what she ripped from the very heavens. And then ask her if she cares. The old blood runs through her veins.
Nismera and her legions rule the realms as Samkiel’s power fills the sky. With him gone, she strives to solidify her spot on the throne, no matter the cost.
Dianna struggles beneath the weight of half-truths, lies, and deceptions. After overcoming what she thought was her hardest battle, she soon learns she is at risk of losing everything.
Samkiel strives to heal, but he has more on his plate than ever before. The Hand is dismantled, the realms are in turmoil, and the one person he can trust keeps him at arm’s length. Can the two work out their differences, or will they both fall to the blade of the Goddess of War?
The one true king returns, but is it the king or queen who shall rule them all?
Welcome to Harker Academy for Deviant Defense, where survival depends on keeping both your weapons and your instincts razor sharp. Viv Abbot may seem like an ordinary twenty-one-year-old, juggling life in an expensive city, working a draining job, and maintaining a relationship she doesn’t even want just to please her difficult mother, but beneath it all, she is a demon hunter. Since her father’s murder, she has been forced to hunt alone, leaving her isolated and misunderstood by everyone around her, including her own family.
Everything changes when she encounters Reid Graveheart, a dangerously alluring demon who claims to have reformed and introduces her to Harker Academy, a place where hunters like her can train, belong, and fight together. Hoping for answers and a sense of connection, Viv enrolls, but she carries a secret that could put everything at risk if it’s discovered. As strange and unsettling events begin to unfold within the academy, she must navigate new friendships, intense training, and growing feelings for someone she should never trust, all while searching for the truth about her father’s death. Balancing danger, deception, and her own emotions, Viv quickly learns that surviving her first year at Harker may be her greatest challenge yet.
Half City
Kate Golden · 2026
urban fantasyurban fantasyacademy settingstudent x professorepic
Bryce Quinlan is lost, stranded in a world that feels as alien as it is dangerous. To find her way back to Lunathion and the people she’s desperate to protect, she’ll have to rely on every ounce of her street smarts and grit. But in a land where she’s the ultimate outsider, figuring out who is an ally and who is a predator is a gamble she can’t afford to lose.
Back in Crescent City, the nightmare has returned for Hunt Athalar. Thrown back into the Asteri’s suffocating dungeons, he has been stripped of the freedom and the fragile happiness he spent a lifetime fighting for. He’s left in the dark, haunted by the unknown fate of his mate and the agonizing silence of their bond. Hunt would tear the world apart to reach Bryce, but as long as the Asteri’s chains hold him fast, he is a spectator to his own tragedy.
As the gods of their world tighten their grip, Bryce and Hunt must find a way to bridge the gap between realms, or risk losing each other, and their world, to the shadows forever.
Bryce Quinlan and Hunt Athalar have struck a deal. After the world-shaking chaos of the spring, they’ve agreed to keep things strictly platonic until the Winter Solstice. It’s a survival tactic, a chance to breathe, but the electric tension between them is a live wire capable of incinerating the entirety of Crescent City. Staying "just friends" is proving to be the most difficult mission they’ve ever faced.
But the city isn't finished with them yet. Despite their best efforts to stay under the radar, Bryce and Hunt are pulled into the orbit of a brewing rebellion they never asked to join. They are now playing a lethal game of hide-and-seek with the Asteri, the god-like rulers whose scrutiny is a guaranteed death sentence.
As the true depth of the rebels' struggle comes to light, the duo is faced with a crossroads: keep their heads down while the world suffers, or stand up and scream. They’ve never been particularly good at staying quiet, and in a city built on secrets and blood, their noise might just start a revolution.
Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life. Her nights were an endless cycle of high-end parties, and she planned to enjoy every illicit pleasure Lunathion, better known as Crescent City, could provide. But when a savage murder ripped through the heart of her social circle, the music stopped, and Bryce’s world shattered.
Two years later, Bryce is still a fixture in the city's most infamous nightclubs, but she’s no longer looking for a good time, she’s seeking oblivion. When the killer strikes again, the authorities refuse to take chances, assigning Hunt Athalar, a notorious Fallen angel with a lethal reputation, to shadow her every move. Forced out of her numbness, Bryce realizes she can no longer outrun the ghosts of her past.
As she and Hunt dig into the mystery, their investigation pulls them through the city’s grimy underbelly, across battle-scarred continents, and straight toward the abyss of Hel. Something ancient and hungry has been dreaming in the deep for millennia, and their search for the truth is exactly what it needs to wake up.
Blending the grit of a noir detective story with high-stakes urban fantasy, this is a tale of a divided world where a woman with nothing left to lose must hunt a monster to find her revenge.
House of Earth and Blood
Sarah J Maas · 2020
romantasyurban fantasyenemies to loversmurder mysteryepic
When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake.
Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta’s magic circles.
The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for a series of bizarre killings, and the death of Kate’s guardian may be part of the same mystery. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realizes she’s way out of her league, but she wouldn’t have it any other way...
Magic Bites
Ilona Andrews · 2007
urban fantasybadass fmcslow burnalpha male mmcepic
As the daughter of a witch and a hunter Natalie grew up knowing in her very being that vampires are evil, merciless killers. When she agreed to spend her summer in Switzerland interning with her godfather as a vampire hunter, she didn't quite picture herself stalking two vampires falling in love though.
But as Andrew and Sebastian navigate their lives as vampires in a world slowly losing its magic, Natalie starts questioning everything she ever learned. The image of a ruthless monster just doesn't match up with these two lovesick idiots. They haven’t even figured out that they’re both vampires yet!
Perhaps it's not all as black and white as she was taught to believe...
Modern Vampires
Jane Ravenscroft · 2026
urban fantasyopposites attractmm romancerich x poorsteamy
Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug-dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. In fact, by age twenty, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most prestigious universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?
Still searching for answers, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. Their eight windowless “tombs” are the well-known haunts of the rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street’s biggest players. But their occult activities are more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And, sometimes, they prey on the living.
The world of Faerie never disappeared; it merely went into hiding, continuing to exist parallel to our own. Secrecy is the key to Faerie's survival: but no secret can be kept forever, and when the fae and mortal worlds collide, changelings are born.
Outsiders from birth, these children spend their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal relations. Or in the case of October 'Toby' Daye, rejecting the fae completely. Toby has retreated into a 'normal' life - spending her nights stocking shelves at a San Francisco grocery store and her days asleep in her downtown apartment.
But when Countess Evening Winterroseis murdered, Toby finds herself drawn abruptly back into the world she thought she'd left behind. It's going to take everything she's got just to stay alive, and the stakes are higher than anyone has guessed
After witnessing the slaughter of her kith and kin, Ever Tenebrae trusts no one. She can barely trust herself, what with her power drained and her dragon-shifter nature all but a faded memory.
Since the massacre, Ever’s been in hiding―that is, until she’s captured by him. Aeson Noctis, the second scion of the Dragon Horde. He’s her mortal enemy so why does her heart race at the sight of him?
Forced back to the city she wishes she could forget, Ever must find a way to escape Aeson and avenge her family. But what if the only way out is to give in?
What starts as a fight for Ever’s life soon turns into a battle for her heart and her future. It’s a war she must win at all costs, because Ever can’t be Aeson’s mate . . . not when she intends to be his reckoning.
Spark the Flames
Ivy Asher · 2024
romantasyenemies to loversdragonsshapeshiftersepic
Where there are gods, there are also monsters, and Dianna knows this better than anyone. A thousand years ago, in the deserts of Eoria, she sacrificed her life as she knew it to save her dying sister, calling out for help and unknowingly binding herself to a far more terrifying force than she could have imagined. Now bound to Kaden, she is forced to carry out his will, even when it means stealing an ancient relic from the very beings who hunt her.
Once known as Samkiel and now living under the name Liam, the legendary World Ender is both feared and revered, a myth to his enemies and a king to those still loyal to him. After the devastating Gods War, he withdrew from the world, abandoning his crown and the responsibilities that came with it, leaving others to face the consequences of their shattered realm. But when those he cares about are threatened, he is drawn back into a world he had long avoided, only to face an enemy he believed had been imprisoned ages ago. As ancient forces rise and long-standing conflicts resurface, these two powerful figures, bound by history and fate, must set aside their differences to confront a threat that endangers not just their world, but every realm in existence.
The Book of Azrael
Amber V. Nicole · 2023
dark fantasyromantasyurban fantasyurban fantasyenemies to loversslow burndark
THE FINAL WAR BEGINS, AND THE CONSEQUENCES CAN MEAN COMPLETE DESOLATION.
As Nismera grapples with the promise of victory after her greatest enemy is seemingly defeated, a new, darker threat arises. As the power of the universe shifts and accords are struck, no longer is it gods against gods, but a fight against monsters.
An unlikely alliance forms when Dianna, Kaden, and Isaiah are thrust into a reality not their own. Forced to work with those from their pasts will either make or break the three of them. In searching for a way back, they discover that an old relic may be the key to survival across the realms.
A RACE AGAINST TIME ITSELF IS SET IN MOTION FOR THEM TO RETURN TO THEIR WORLD BEFORE THERE IS NO WORLD LEFT.
Descended into darkness . . .
Wronged beyond comprehension, and grieving, Dianna is hellbent on revenge against those who betrayed her. As a legendary Ig'Morruthien, she thirsts for blood and can take any form. But her true form is the most terrifying of all. As the last shred of her humanity is ripped from her, she decides to embrace her monstrous side and set the worlds alight.
Only love can bring her back . . .
Samkiel, an immortal God, was once the sworn enemy of Dianna and her kind. Yet now he alone refuses to believe that the woman he loves has become the monster whom everyone else sees—and he'll do anything in his power to save her from herself, even if it means losing her forever.
With every realm now at risk from Kaden's army, and a myriad of new threats on the horizon, Samkiel can't afford to let his guard down. Only he can pull Dianna back from the brink of damnation. And as Dianna's thirst for blood only increases, he is running out of time to save them both.
The Throne of Broken Gods
Amber V. Nicole · 2023
romantasyurban fantasyurban fantasygodsenemies to loversdark
A BEAUTIFUL ENEMY ONCE SAVED HIM.
With the return of Samkiel, the rightful heir to the throne, tensions grow in the remaining realms. Battle lines begin to form between those pledging their loyalties to either Samkiel or Nismera. War looms on the horizon, and Samkiel must deal with his growing power. Without the Ring of Oblivion, the dark ancient force living under his skin begins to lash out.
Meanwhile, an ancient power calls to Dianna, plaguing her dreams with messages of retribution. Samkiel, seeking to protect the woman he loves, sets out on a desperate search for answers, but the solution will mean a dangerous voyage to the one place he dares not go—the Otherworld.
BUT WHO IS THE REAL MONSTER?
It is a race against time as Nismera hunts for Vincent and Camilla, seeking what they stole. Her thirst for power and her armada only grow stronger as she rampages across the realms. Forces, primal and eternal, have taken notice, forcing Ig’Morruthens and gods to work together on a quest to reclaim an object capable of unraveling reality. An unlikely bond is formed in blood and fire, leaving all affected with no choice but one—save the realms or themselves.
Nobody is just a cat lady.
Kit McCafferty's life is quiet, unremarkable and filled with cat hair. In the magical city of Coldstream, located on the border between Scotland and England, Kit is viewed as little more than mildly eccentric and mostly harmless. She passes her days caring for her family of five cats, feeding the local feral moggies, and maintaining relatively good relations with her neighbours.
All that changes, however, when a teenage werewolf shows up at her door in the desperate hope of renting out a nearby vacant flat. Kit knows that the smart move is to tell him to leave. The last thing she needs is to become embroiled in complicated shapeshifter politics. But something about the secretive young werewolf tugs at her heartstrings.
It's not long before Kit ends up caught in a maelstrom of mysterious crime and magical wrong-doing. Fortunately, there's far more to Kit McCafferty than meets the eye and she has a few dark secrets of her own.
Of course, anyone with an ounce of intelligence knows that you underestimate a cat lady at your own peril.
As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut, a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard, a business district operated by the Others.
Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.
Urban Fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that brings magical and supernatural elements into modern, real-world settings, typically set in cities where everyday life exists alongside hidden magical worlds. These stories often follow characters who must balance normal routines with secret abilities, paranormal threats, or encounters with creatures like vampires, witches, werewolves, or fae living among humans. Common elements include magical crime-solving, secret societies, enchanted technology, and a blend of action, mystery, and romance woven into contemporary environments.
Popular Urban Fantasy Authors
Patricia Briggs
Author of Moon Called
Jim Butcher
Author of Storm Front
Neil Gaiman
Author of Neverwhere
Cassandra Clare
Author of City Of Bones
Sarah J Maas
Author of Crescent City
Richard Kadrey
Author of Sandman Slim
Urban Fantasy FAQ’s
Traditional fantasy often takes place in fully invented worlds, while urban fantasy is grounded in contemporary reality. The contrast between the ordinary and the magical is a defining feature of the genre.
Urban fantasy appeals to readers because it combines the relatability of modern life with the excitement of hidden magic. The idea that supernatural forces could exist just beneath the surface of everyday reality makes the genre immersive and accessible.
Most urban fantasy stories take place in cities, but the key element is a modern setting rather than a completely secondary world. Suburbs, small towns, and other contemporary environments can also qualify.
Yes. Many urban fantasy stories include romantic subplots, and some strongly overlap with paranormal romance.
Common beings include vampires, werewolves, witches, fae, demons, and other mythological or original creatures. These characters often interact with the modern world in creative ways.
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