The shelf
Every book I recommend, in one place. Pick a category, then narrow it down by trope, heat, or setting.
26 books
Cursed Wolves of LanierBy Owen Rivers
Lunar Claimed, Book 1
Heat: ModerateA wildlife biologist tracks impossible animal killings around Lake Lanier and finds a hidden pack, a family curse, and a man who knows more than he says.
Disclosure: this is my own book. I’m Owen Rivers, the person behind this site, so weigh my pick with that in mind.
A Court of Thorns and RosesBy Sarah J. Maas · 2015
A Court of Thorns and Roses, Book 1
Heat: HighA huntress kills a wolf in the woods and pays for it with her freedom, taken across the wall to a cursed faerie court.
Midnight CrossroadBy Charlaine Harris · 2014
Midnight, Texas, Book 1
Heat: LowA psychic moves to a one-stoplight Texas town where every neighbor is hiding something. More mystery than romance; the strangeness is the point.
A Discovery of WitchesBy Deborah Harkness · 2011
All Souls, Book 1
Heat: ModerateA historian witch calls up a bewitched manuscript in Oxford’s Bodleian Library, and a centuries-old vampire scientist takes notice.
First Grave on the RightBy Darynda Jones · 2011
Charley Davidson, Book 1
Heat: ModerateA private investigator who is also the grim reaper helps the dead cross over, while a mysterious being visits her dreams.
Pride MatesBy Jennifer Ashley · 2010
Shifters Unbound, Book 1
Heat: HighA Texas lawyer takes on a collared lion shifter as a client in a world that keeps shifters segregated. Spicy, with strong pack dynamics.
Nice Girls Don’t Have FangsBy Molly Harper · 2009
Half-Moon Hollow, Book 1
Heat: ModerateA laid-off librarian wakes up a vampire in Half-Moon Hollow, Kentucky. Funny, warm, and very Southern in its family dynamics.
Beautiful CreaturesBy Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl · 2009
Caster Chronicles, Book 1
Heat: LowGatlin, South Carolina, a cursed family, and a slow first love. Written for teens, read by plenty of adults who love Southern Gothic.
ShiverBy Maggie Stiefvater · 2009
Wolves of Mercy Falls, Book 1
Heat: LowA girl and the yellow-eyed wolf who watches her from the woods every winter. Very slow, very wintry, very romantic.
The Sugar QueenBy Sarah Addison Allen · 2008
Standalone
Heat: LowA lonely woman in a North Carolina mountain town finds a stranger hiding in her closet, and her careful life cracks open.
Cry WolfBy Patricia Briggs · 2008
Alpha and Omega, Book 1
Heat: ModerateA werewolf abused by her old pack is claimed by the Marrok’s son and enforcer. A slow, careful bond built on trust in the Montana mountains.
Garden SpellsBy Sarah Addison Allen · 2007
Waverley Family, Book 1
Heat: LowThe Waverley sisters of Bascom, North Carolina, and an apple tree with opinions. Light on heat, heavy on atmosphere.
Blood BrothersBy Nora Roberts · 2007
Sign of Seven, Book 1
Heat: ModerateEvery seven years, something evil wakes in Hawkins Hollow, Maryland. Three friends bound by a childhood ritual are the town’s only defense.
Magic BitesBy Ilona Andrews · 2007
Kate Daniels, Book 1
Heat: LowA sword-wielding mercenary in a magic-ravaged Atlanta crosses the Beast Lord of the shapeshifter Pack. Romance builds across the series.
Wicked LovelyBy Melissa Marr · 2007
Wicked Lovely, Book 1
Heat: LowA girl who can see faeries is pursued by the Summer King, and her only rule is never to let them know she sees them.
Halfway to the GraveBy Jeaniene Frost · 2007
Night Huntress, Book 1
Heat: HighA half-vampire who hunts the undead in rural Ohio is caught by a vampire bounty hunter, and they strike an uneasy partnership.
Slave to SensationBy Nalini Singh · 2006
Psy-Changeling, Book 1
Heat: HighAn emotionless Psy woman and a leopard changeling alpha. Superb world-building, and spicier than most of the shelf.
DarkfeverBy Karen Marie Moning · 2006
Fever, Book 1
Heat: ModerateA Georgia girl flies to Dublin to find her sister’s killer and lands in the middle of a war with the Fae. Dark, with a very slow-building romance.
Moon CalledBy Patricia Briggs · 2005
Mercy Thompson, Book 1
Heat: LowA VW mechanic who can turn into a coyote lives next door to the local werewolf Alpha. The romance builds across the series.
Kitty and the Midnight HourBy Carrie Vaughn · 2005
Kitty Norville, Book 1
Heat: ModerateA werewolf late-night radio host takes calls from the supernatural community. Less romance, more breaking free of a controlling pack.
Dark LoverBy J.R. Ward · 2005
Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 1
Heat: HighA secret brotherhood of vampire warriors, and the half-human woman their leader is sworn to protect. Big, brooding, and very spicy.
Dead Witch WalkingBy Kim Harrison · 2004
The Hollows, Book 1
Heat: ModerateA witch bounty hunter quits the agency and goes freelance with a living vampire and a pixy. Long series, slow relationship development.
Dead Until DarkBy Charlaine Harris · 2001
Sookie Stackhouse, Book 1
Heat: ModerateA telepathic waitress in tiny Bon Temps, Louisiana, meets a vampire named Bill. As much about small-town Southern life as it is about fangs.
Dance Upon the AirBy Nora Roberts · 2001
Three Sisters Island, Book 1
Heat: ModerateA woman running from her past lands on a New England island with a witchy legacy and a three-hundred-year-old curse.
BittenBy Kelley Armstrong · 2001
Women of the Otherworld, Book 1
Heat: HighThe world’s only female werewolf tries to leave her pack and keeps getting pulled back. Complicated, sometimes uncomfortable, never boring.
Practical MagicBy Alice Hoffman · 1995
Practical Magic series
Heat: LowThe Owens women, a curse on the men they love, and the town that whispers about them. Lyrical and bittersweet.
Nothing on the shelf matches all of that. Try removing a filter.
Heat key: Low closed door or fade to black · Moderate some on-page · High explicit. Heat ratings are editorial and need a final read-check before launch.