giftpplyaromance It’s hard to think of vampires these days without thinking Twilight, which has inspired shelf-loads of copycats. But while many titles out there pale in comparison to the love between Edward and Bella, there are also some brilliant paranormal romances which deserve to be read again and again, and should appeal to any Twilight fan.

Vampire_Academy Vampire Academy
Richelle Mead

Rose is somewhat - ahem - feistier than Bella, which makes for such a fun read. This series about a half-vampire bodyguard learning to protect vampire royalty while trying to deal with her feelings for her sexy instructor is pure joy, and if you’re already a diehard fan, make sure you check out Bloodlines, the first book in a new series set in the same world as VA.

1196887827241 City of Bones
Cassandra Clare

I wasn’t surprised to learn that Cassandra Clare wrote fan-fiction before penning the bestselling Mortal Instruments series, because she knows how to write characters that fans will die for. When Clary’s mother goes missing, she discovers that there’s a whole other world out there of shadowhunters, vampires, fey creatures, and of course, the stunning Jace Weyland.

shiver1 Shiver
Maggie Stiefvater

When Twilight first burst onto the scene, vampires got all the attention, but it was books like Shiver that helped bring other supernatural creatures into the spotlight. Sam has a unique problem: when the temperature drops he turns a little wolfish, and must return to the woods to protect his pack. But where does that leave Grace, the girl with whom he shares a deep kinship?

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9780061214653 Wicked Lovely
Melissa Marr

When I first heard that Wicked Lovely was about faeries, I was a little unconvinced. How can tiny winged things be sexy? Wrong kind of faeries. While these ones come in all shapes and sizes, most of them are irresistible, including the golden-eyed Summer King, who has come to claim Ash as his queen.

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huntress_arc_cover_web-200x304 Huntress
Malinda Lo

In 2009 a book called Ash by Malinda Lo was one of the few queer YA paranormal romances that managed to achieve mainstream popularity. This brilliant retelling of the Cinderella story has now spawned a prequel, which follows Kaede and Taisin as they journey to the city of the Fairy Queen.

9781444722635 Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Laini Taylor

Laini Taylor made me believe in short stories with her collection Lips Touch Three Times, and now that she’s written a full-length novel, I’m ecstatic. Taylor’s paranormal worlds are always lush and exotic, and Daughter of Smoke and Bone is no exception – blue-haired Karou lives a strange existence not entirely in the human world, searching for the truth about herself and seeking answers in the mysterious, fire-eyed Akiva. This is the book that everyone can’t stop talking about!

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holly-pic Holly Harper is a children’s bookseller at Readings Carlton. She also writes books for younger readers under the name H.J. Harper. Find out more about her books here and follow her on twitter - @hj_harper.