Urban Fantasy Literary Series Worth Reading

The series is "a first person narrative..from the point of view of the main character, private investigator and wizard Harry Dresden, as he recounts investigations into supernatural disturbances in modern-day Chicago." - Wikipedia. Such a well-developed and likable lead character. As the novels progress, the supporting characters become this wonderfully vivid group of people whom you can't help but feel connected to.

Atticus O’Sullivan has been running for two thousand years and he’s a bit tired of it. After he stole a magical sword from the Tuatha Dé Danann (those who became the Sidhe or the Fae) in a first century battle, some of them were furious and gave chase, and some were secretly amused that a Druid had the cheek to defy them. Now he’s living in Tempe, Arizona, the very last of the Druids, far from where the Fae can easily find him. It’s a place where many paranormals have decided to hide from the troubles of the Old World—from an Icelandic vampire holding a grudge against Thor to a coven of Polish witches who ran from the German Blitzkrieg.

A series of mystery novels that take place primarily in the city of Cincinnati featuring Rachel Morgan, a detective witch who works with local law enforcement agencies and faces threats both mundane and supernatural in origin.

For those of you who have never watched HBO's True Blood, this series of novels is set in the town of Bon Temps, Louisiana and features the adventures of a small-town waitress named Sookie...who happens to be a telepath. Harris does a great job of conveying particularly Southern idiosyncrasies without stereotyping. She also creates a wonderfully complex mythology and alternate history.

"Enter a London where magicians ride the Last Train, implore favours of The Beggar King and interpret the insane wisdom of The Bag Lady. Enter a London where beings of power soar with the pigeons and scrabble with the rats, and seek insight in the half-whispered madness of the blue electric angels." - kategriffin.net. While most other urban fantasy series treat magic as something old that is brought into the modern day world, Griffin's series of novels play upon the idea of "urban magic" - created from the rhythms and rituals of the city itself.

This series features a strong protagonist who starts out as an "animator" - someone who makes their living temporarily raising the dead in order to answer legal questions. Anita also happens to be a licensed vampire hunter who serves as a consultant for the St. Louis police. After nearly twenty years, this series has undergone innumerable shifts and changes - which I could not possibly capture here - but throughout the novels, the main character remains sharp of mind and tongue while growing increasingly complex.

Faerie has always been with us. The fairy tales, ballads, and folklore of the mortal world are only shadows of the true, sometimes terrible reality of the fae. They survive in secrecy, keeping their Courts in the places where the light doesn't fall, existing in parallel to the world we know.

In the alleys of the decrepit Boston neighborhood known as the Weird, fairy prostitutes are turning up dead. Boston police call in Connor Grey, a druid and former hotshot Guild investigator-whose magical abilities were crippled after a run-in with a radical environmentalist elf. As Connor battles red tape and his own shortcomings, he realizes that the murders are not random, but part of an ancient magical ritual—which might bring about a worldwide cataclysm.

Ray Lilly is living on borrowed time. He’s the driver for Annalise Powliss, a high-ranking member of the Twenty Palace Society, a group of sorcerers devoted to hunting down and executing rogue magicians. But because Ray betrayed her once, Annalise is looking for an excuse to kill him–or let someone else do the job.

Set in the Tri-Cities area of Washington state, the series follows Mercy, a VW mechanic by trade, as she learns her true nature and is caught up in the affairs of the local werewolves, vampires, fae, and other supernatural characters. Another fiesty lead character with a wry wit.