Top 5 Urban Fantasy Series

#1. Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

Harry Dresden is a wizard who advertises himself as such in the yellow pages of the phone book. He has a private detective agency that specializes in some mundane and some supernatural cases. Sometimes the cops even call him in to consult, even if they don’t really know if he is legit or not. He always seems to find himself in trouble while on the job, and constantly scrounging for rent money. He doesn’t do love potions, endless purses, or parties, but he will save you if you’re in trouble.

I love this series for many reasons, but one of the main ones is Harry Dresden himself. He is an amazing main character. Harry has the best snark and sarcasm. It is even made better by the fact that some of the comments come at times that makes me think ‘Harry you’re going to get yourself killed here’. I also love many of the other characters. It takes all of them to make it my top urban fantasy series. Another thing that I really love is how complex and in depth the magic system is. Butcher is very detailed about how magic works and the fantasy elements work with the human world which is very interesting and just cool. Plus, there are mystery elements in the books as well with Harry’s work with the police and his personal private detective business. All of these things really make this series shine for me.

#2. Mercy Thompson/ Alpha & Omega by Patricia Briggs

I lumped both these series into the same place since they deal with the same world and have some overlapping characters. Both revolve around a pack of werewolves. Mercy Thompson is a shape shifting woman who turns into a coyote. She was raised by werewolves and lives next to a pack of werewolves. She is also a mechanic who seems to have the knack of getting into trouble even when she’s trying her best to stay out of it. Alpha & Omega revolves around Anna who is an omega wolf and her mate Charles. Charles is the Marrok’s enforcer which takes pair of them on many different adventures. Lucky for Charles, his mate is one tough cookie. She would never let him leave her behind.

I love this series for similar reasons that I love the Dresden Files. The main thing that keeps me hooked and invested is the characters. There are so many wonderful and amazing characters that naturally make me love them. Mercy is a similar main character to Harry as she is just a genuinely great person who has a lot of snark and sass and sarcasm and it often comes out at times that makes you wonder if she’ll get herself killed. These two series also have very interesting world building and takes on many of the different mythological creatures. I also love how easy and smooth Briggs’s writing style is. These books read very smoothly and are easy to just flow from each book to the next book and to keep going without much break in between.

#3. Hidden Legacy by Ilona Andrews

Nevada Baylor lives in a world that has magic and this world is made up by and run by houses. These houses are formed by having a long line of strong magic users. Nevada is on a case for her private investigation agency when she attracts the attention of one of the strongest magic users (mages) that there is. From there her life is thrown into chaos as she must team up with said mage who is not exactly a stable person as well as protect her family from the dangers that come her way.

Once again, I love this series for the complex amazing world that Andrews creates. This series mostly revolves around magic and the effect this has on society. It is really interesting to see how this version of our world is manipulated and changed with the addition of magic. It becomes the politics and motivations for many people. I love how it focuses much more on how magic and fantasy elements really change and shape society instead of it being more of a fantasy adventure. This series is also great with its character building and making me as the reader love characters even when I’m not sure why. Rogan who is the main character opposite Nevada is not a great guy. In many ways he is not honorable and has no qualms with killing people. Yet, somehow, I really like him and care about him anyway. I was hooked on this series from the first book, and it easily became a top favorite.

#4. World of the Lupi by Eileen Wilks

Lily Wu is an agent in the FBI. She never had a specific tie to the werewolves until she became bonded with a mate bond to a werewolf. Not just any werewolf either. She is forever bound to Rule who is the prince of the local San Diego pack. As they both get used to this bond, they must both learn how to manage Lily’s FBI career as well as the duties that are necessary to the pack and the dangers the pack faces. On both sides they are constantly running into danger and figuring out how to make it out the other side.

I love this series for the uniqueness this story brings (at least compared to what I have read). It is a werewolf-based story, but I find many of the elements, world building, and lore is very different than Mercy and other werewolf-based stories I’ve read. She incorporates many different creatures like demons and dragons into the other creatures that other urban fantasy stories have. I love how complex and interesting the world, the overall plotline is, and how the characters progress through the story. There are many great characters in the story especially Lily and Rule who are both at the fore front (plus a good romance for those who like that as an added element). This is definitely a series that gets better and more loved the more books read. I thought the first book was good but not one of my favorites, but by book three or four it builds up to an amazing series that is now one of my top favorites.

#5. Elemental Mysteries by Elizabeth Hunter

Giovani didn’t expect to find Beatrice while doing research in the library and hunting down his stolen books. However, he did find her and the hunt for his books has become much more complicated. She seems to be getting mixed up in his life and it is only a matter of time before she finds out about the fact that not only do vampires exist, but he’s one of them. The question will be, what happens once she knows?

I really love this series because I love a more complex fantasy with many cool world building elements while I also love romance. This series could be classified as a paranormal romance, but I feel that there is so much more complexity to it than just the romance. The way the vampire lore works, the system of society they have, and the goals of the characters are so much more than just a simple romance. Instead, it feels like it’s a cool urban fantasy storyline that happens with the romance being embedded into the plot and other more big picture items. I also really love the characters in this series. All of them are unique and interesting

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What are your favorite urban fantasy series? I’d love to know! Please comment below!