14 books like The Vampire Diaries

The main character in House of Eclipses is the third daughter of the “king," appointed by their God, Sol. Her father abuses her but when he sees a way to increase his power, sends her to enemy lands to secure that power for him. She looks at this task as an opportunity to get the upper hand on her father, but things quickly get out of hand. She discovers she may not be able to follow her father’s orders. Does she follow her heart or do her father’s bidding and potentially escape his wrath? I love that this book has the element of a character choosing her own path in life. The second book in this series takes a while to dig into but House of Eclipses will not disappoint.

Marie Lu knows how to craft an adventure and the premise of The Young Elites is fascinating: what if the hero of the story might be a villain?

The struggles of this novel’s characters draw the reader in and never flag in their authenticity. The world is brutal and beautiful with Lu keeping readers on their toes every step of the way. 

This book was like a fisherman with bait on the hook. I was the fish; the fantasy setting and the author’s magnificent ability with words were the bait.

Mary Stewart was, of course, the sportswoman out to snag something in my soul. I was prepared to be entertained, but the story carried a surprising amount of weight, asking questions like What do we live for? Can humanity ever be enough? Merlin came into an understanding of his place in the world — not through romance or fantasy adventures as we so typically read —  but through internal revelation.

With his journey, I was invited into soulful reflection and some uncomfortable truths of my own. In the end, I decided Mary Stewart knew very well what she was doing. The stinker.

This was one of the first books I picked up after my reading slump in 2012, and I absolutely couldn’t put it down. The story concept was fascinating; I love it when story worlds have supernatural elements and societies hidden within the “regular world.” The characters are written very well, and you feel as though you are watching a movie while reading with the authors great attention to detail in the scenes she sets.

The world building is great and offers a unique take on the classic fantasy creatures, werewolves, vampires, and fey. You really feel that “found family” book trope in this series, and the ups and downs of book one will have you hooked. 

If you like Rockstars, you’ll love Cannon Blackwell.

Liz is traveling with her uncle, her brother, and her two best friends on a tour bus. I mean: tour bus! That alone already creates the perfect ambiance for a super cute love story, right?? So when the band suddenly finds themselves without a bass guitarist, Cannon rounds the corner and...bamm!

The story of Liz and Cannon is so emotional and lovely, you just can’t miss out on that one. I literally squeaked, when they finally kissed.

I read this book so many years ago and still remember what an awkwardly sweet guy Wesley was.

There were so many laugh-out-loud moments in this novel, all thanks to him. He and Kayla concoct a plan to break up their best friends, the couple Talon and Reagan. Although this doesn’t sound like a nice thing at the beginning, you’ll see that Kayla and Wes have the best intentions. And when they finally fall for each other, there’s this smitten sigh you can’t hold back any longer, promise! :)

It’s the second book of the Night World series, and Ash Redfern was my first-ever real book-crush. Heck, it lasted until today, 25 years later!!

The story is about three vampire sisters seeking refuge in a small town. Ash, their arrogant brother, arrives to bring them home but then he meets the adamant human girl, Mary-Lynnette. Until that day, he never believed in love, but it’s outstandingly beautiful to watch him fall for Mary-Lynnette and try to convince her to let him change her into a vampire, too, so they can be together forever.

I read the pages of their first kiss under the star-studded sky like 10 times before I could even continue reading the book!

I practically inhaled this book when I first opened it!! The writing style of Kelly Oram is outstanding and what she does with her heroes is unique.

The book is about Avery Shaw who got dumped by her best friend since birth, Adrian Kennedy. To overcome her grief, she starts her own seven-stages of grief experiment, journaling every step of the way. But honestly, she would have never made it past step four without the wonderful help of Grayson Kennedy, Adrian’s older brother.

By spending time with Avery, he turns from a teenage heartbreaker to a determined lover. And while Avery stubbornly forges on with her experiment, Grayson gets on his own mission to win her heart.

I love an underdog. I love a fish out of water. I love a character who discovers a secret power they didn’t know they possessed (be it other-worldly or grounded in reality). I love being on the inside of a secret society (especially a teenage one). The Secret Circle series is all these things and demanded many a re-read! 

I devoured everything in the Sweet Valley world as a teen, though I was more into Sweet Valley Twins than Sweet Valley High for some reason. Maybe it’s because I liked the twins’ innocence, and the high school drama was too much (or too relatable!) to me. I like to escape to a happy ending! And in complete seriousness, I debated naming my daughter Lila because I didn’t want her to be associated with mean girl Lila Flower. In the end, I named her Delilah (Lilah—with an h!—for short) and that eased my worries.

At any rate, I’ll read a family saga any day. And we’ve established that I love historical romance and costumes, so give me all the Wakefield history.