White's first book was an intensely emotional, poetic, and heartbreaking piece of art. Said it was 'a bloody horror and fantasy book that mixed hard-boiled noir thriller style with blood-sucking fantasy and horror.' and Falling, Fly, by Skyler White (2010) Huston's first book with vampire Joe Pitt was the start of a series that pushed the boundaries of paranormal fantasy.

She is one of the most memorable paranormal fantasy heroines ever written. Mercy is a sexy, tattooed, shape-shifting auto mechanic who can change into any animal. This series has had some ups and downs in the last few books, but for me, Moon Called has to be on this list. In this deeply thought-out series, there are times when there is a lot of starkness and angst, and there are times when there are breathtaking images of magic and beauty. This series is a dark fantasy, mythology, and hard-boiled mystery that is utterly readable. October Daye is the first book in the October Daye saga by author Stephen McGuire.

Rosemary and Rue, by Seanan McGuire (2009) A ninja assassin, conjoined triples, battery-licking sorcerers, grimoires hidden in Peruvian temples, and more tentacled monsters than you can shake a sword at make this book a must-read. Arthur Wallace, a police detective in Oxford, is obsessed with Kurt Russell in the book. This book is one of the most daring I've ever read. This is still one of the most wildly sexual books I've ever read. Pride Mates, by Jennifer Ashley (2010)įor Ashley, this was the first book in her Shifters Unbound series. Those are some great first lines: 'I don't like what Operation Iraqi Freedom has done to me.' As a soldier, I went to the war. The Nymphos of Rocky Flats, by Mario Acevedo (2006)Īcevedo's Felix Gomez saga is the first in a series that changed the way people thought about the genre when it came out in 2006. The list below includes 20 books that are not only great, but have also had a big impact on the history of the genre. When I was writing this post, I realized how much paranormal fantasy has changed in just a few years. Hamilton, Jim Butcher, Kim Harrison, Patricia Briggs, Richard Kadrey, Kat Richardson, Stacia Kane, Nicole Peeler, and Jaye Wells. I've been asked to make a list of the best paranormal fantasy novels of the last decade (2003–2013), which is a near-impossible task because so many well-known series and authors have come to prominence during that time. They are stories with almost limitless possibilities that can use elements of fantasy, romance, mystery, horror, and science fiction. Today, genre-blending novels are the most popular. The days when there were strict categories (romance, fantasy, horror, etc.) are over. The last ten years in the genre have been nothing short of landscape-changing. We are in the middle of a golden age of paranormal fantasy.

A Rush of Wings by Adrian Phoenix