Top 6 Fantasy/Paranormal Series

Books that circle around a fantasy or unrealistic world, full of the supernatural and paranormal can give you a break from reality. These include urban fantasy, paranormal, and everything similar.

Of course the first series on this list is the Harry Potter series. Harry Potter is admitted into Hogwarts, a school of witches and wizards, and Harry discovers the wizarding world, a place where he can belong. The seven books cover the seven years of schooling and Harry's adventures as he and his friends have to defeat Lord Voldemort. J. K. Rowling creates such a detailed and magical world that I love, along with all the characters and Harry's adventures. It's one of those series that you can reread over and over again without getting sick of them, because there's so much depth to them.

The Percy Jackson series along with the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan are about a group of demigods who go on adventures in order to save their world. Rick Riordan cleverly creates a world that merges a lot of mythology into it. After reading these series, it peaked my interest in learning more about mythological creatures and the stories behind them. Although it's aimed for younger readers, I still enjoyed them because they were full of humor and adventure. I especially liked the distinction between Roman and Greek gods in the Heroes of Olympus series.

Cassandra Clare's works which include the Mortal Instruments series and the Infernal Devices series along with several others still in the works all take place in the Shadowhunter world. The author is able to merge reality with demons and angels in order to create a great urban fantasy world. She puts in a lot of details into how the world works and each series focuses on a different group of characters in different time periods, and they have to face different challenges in the world while still focusing on family and relationship problems that makes it feel so real.

The Night World series by L. J. Smith is a series of stories in chronological order all taking place in the Night World; a place of vampires, witches, shapeshifters, and, and werewolves. There is one important rule; falling in love with a human is forbidden. I loved this series and the world that L. J. Smith created. Each shorter story is from a different perspective, but put together it has an overarching plot about a threat to the Night World which I found so interesting. Unfortunately this series is not finished as the author has gone on hiatus and it is not clear whether or not it will ever get an end.

L. J. Smith has a gift for creating really unique and interesting paranormal worlds. Another one of her works in the Forbidden Game series, which is about Jenny who receives a game from a mysterious handsome guy named Julian. As she and her friends begin to play it they suddenly fall into a world of nightmares where Julian controls everything. Playing the game is a matter of life or death. This is one of the most unique stories I've ever read and I loved how Jenny and her friends and how they did in the game. It has such a great ending because everything is resolved.

Yet another series by L. J. Smith, the Dark Visions series. It's about a girl, Kaitlyn Fairchild, who is used to being isolate from others because she's psychic. She accepts an invitation to an institute to study with other teenage psychics, and they discover that the institute isn't what it seems. I loved the characters in this story, especially the love triangle with Rob and Gabriel. I also loved the psychic link that forms between the group which made it so interesting to see them have to work together. Out of all the books about teenagers with superpowers, this series definitely is one of the best.