77 Books Like Alpha

This chart-topping writing duo can do no wrong in my eyes. Their Innkeeper Chronicles series ranks amongst my all-time favorites, but when it comes to fierce female protagonists, their Kate Daniels series truly takes the cake.

I find Kate fascinating. She has a complex backstory (no spoilers here!), and she is a masterful fighter, excelling in both physical combat and magical prowess. She consistently stands up for others, often putting herself in peril to protect those around her. 

I love how her wit and humor shine through, striking the perfect balance between light and shade. 

I will always remember the way she greeted a particular deadly lion shifter with a cheeky “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.” For me, Kate Daniels embodies everything a fierce female protagonist should be.

I don’t know where to start. I read all three books back to back.

It was too hard to back away from Tisaanah and Max’s story spanning all three books. I had to know what happened next to them and what choices they were going to make.

The world-building is amazing and all I could hope was that Tisaanah would make it to the next obstacle in her way to free her people along with the best friend she left behind when she fled slavery. Now she needs to learn magic and hopefully lead a rebellion before it is too late.

I love the characters in this series.

Lizzie and Belle are best friends. The kind that you want in your life and you want to live next door to. Well, if you don’t mind witches, magic, and living in werewolf territory. The bond between the two of them is so tight they touch each other's minds.

Follow along as they fight to stay hidden and safe while hunting a vampire that stalks their home. Each book brings us closer to the mystery of the two of them and I can’t wait to see where it ends.

The Firstborn are required to leave their families and set through a gate.

To what they have no freaking idea. I was so thankful that the whole series was out when I started to read Nova’s story. It was a quick enjoyable read for a weekend that I needed to escape without leaving the house.

After stepping through the portal Nova creates a bond with two other friends that make you want to visit this world. Except for the world ending and fighting an endless war. You can’t help but root for them and hope they can figure out a way to save everyone.

Once I started to read it, I couldn’t put it down.

I originally picked up this book because it was about wolves and a girl who is captivated by them. I greatly enjoyed the depth of Ms. Stiefvater’s characters.

This story is a young adult paranormal romance with a twist of humor and a dash of adventure. It captivated me until the very end, and I immediately downloaded Book 2. For anyone in search of a sweet, beautiful romance, this book is for you.

I love when fantasy meets reality and that’s just what happens in Linger. A virus turns people into werewolves and the transformations are controlled by the temperature. A worldwide virus and an unpredictable climate? Talk about a dose of reality. Grace Brisbane is an anomaly – she was bitten by werewolves when she was young, but somehow has never shifted and as a result she’s dying. The book follows Grace as she and her friends try to save her life. It’s a fantastical story, but grounded in real human emotions. The perfect blend of truth and fiction.

As a young girl, most afternoons you could find me up a tree, book in hand. My favorite stories all had a common theme: animals. I felt a stronger connection to the animal world than to my own species. When I first read Julie of the Wolves at the age of 8, I was far too young to understand all the social implications of being a barely pubescent orphaned girl forced into a child marriage, but I resonated with the overwhelming desire to escape the confusion and pressures of human relationships. How I longed to be Julie, living among the wolves! 

Wolfwalker launches straight into the action with healer Dion and her bonded wolf Hishn struggling to survive the aftermath of a beastly worlag attack. Hishn proves a stalwart companion with plenty of snark peppered in as they get caught up in a dramatic rescue taking them across the land and sea. Dion’s skills are put to the test as she tries to work out an ancient healing art that has killed everyone who’s attempted it in recent years, and her bond with Hishn proves to be key in solving the puzzle. The sweeping adventure in this novel carried me away. I felt the bond between Dion and Hishn brought a depth to the story that I greatly enjoyed.

Moving away from middle-grade-specific books, my next recommendation is aimed at young adult and adult audiences.

When people hear animal companions in fantasy, wolves tend to come to mind pretty quickly. Toothbreaker focuses on a special group of people, Eritam, who have a unique gift of taming and working with wolves. So, there are wolves within this narrative!

A spin-off novella of Elrich’s Daughters of Tamnarae series, Toothbreaker is a fast-paced yet beautiful story of second chances, granting others and yourself grace, and finding purpose. My favorite part of this book, after the wolves, includes the ease in which readers can connect with Sage and the other characters.

Plus, there are references to other groups within the fantasy world—did someone say dragon tamers?? 

When I was a kid I was very excited about wolves. Not in the sense that I knew a lot about wolves—I didn’t study them and learn about them—so much as I felt certain, in my heart of hearts, that if I met a wolf, we would understand each other in a way no two creatures ever have. Feed Them Silence is a book that returned me to that sense of certainty, but with a more fundamentally realistic understanding of the nature of animals as existing outside of human understanding. I couldn’t put it down, and the hours slipped right past me.