83 Books Like The Rook

This is a wonderful blend of magic, history, and romance that completely swept me away. I loved how Harkness created a world where science and magic coexist, and the way she weaves historical references into a modern love story stole my heart.

The relationship between Diana and Matthew feels real, complicated, and deeply emotional, and I found myself fully invested in their journey. What really hooked me was the rich world-building, with its intricate details of witches, vampires, and daemons, making it feel like a universe I could dive into again and again. This is an annual reread for me. Book 1 in a wonderful series.

This book is unhinged in the best way. I love Gideon’s unique voice. Around her is a deadly-serious necromancer murder mystery with interplanetary stakes, and she cares more about cracking dirty jokes and finally eating some warm food. Her relationship with her arch-nemesis/only friend Harrow leaps off the page.

I love the scene where they get into a pool so Harrow can finally confess to Gideon her darkest secret—so hot and so disturbing all at the same time. While this book isn’t technically a romance and the genre feels more like a horror fantasy set in space, I couldn’t resist putting it on the list. As Gideon says to Harrow, “One flesh, one end, bitch.”

This is a perfect wintry read for me: a book set in the dark, snow-laden forests filled with dangerous creatures who stepped right out of the Russian folk tales.

I love the main protagonist, Vasya, a brave, stubborn girl who fights to protect her family. I found the story immersive and unputdownable, filled with darkness and enchanting beauty, and I wholeheartedly recommend it, as well as its two sequels in the Winternight Trilogy.

I love how this book has it all: action, adventure, romance, and humor in spades. From the opening words, the snarky humor hooked me. I picked up the book, wanting to dislike it, and the author won me over from the first page.

I love that the bad guys are bad, the good guys are (mostly) good, and people have to make hard decisions not just to survive but to save the world.

As a mom of six, I must say that I’m in a constant state of balancing motherly duties with other obligations—so Lucy Heron has my sympathy as a fellow native of Los Angeles, who juggles her kids, a bakery, and apparently her job as “Agent 485,” fighting supernatural crime.

Lucy works for a secret organization that wants to keep magic in the realm of myth and humanity none the wiser to its existence. Well, that will be tough as a tribe of ancient witches gets thrown into the mix, some unscrupulous magical beings, and the fact that this mom of three has to get this all done in time for dinner. This is definitely a fun read to check out!

I have to admit, if I had the ability to see vamps, that would be both fascinating and scary. And apparently, SPI (Supernatural Protection and Investigation) feels the same way.

Makenna Fraser is a supernatural detective for SPI who is tasked with discovering who’s behind a magic-infused drug that allows humans to see vamps, monsters, and other creatures. The clock is ticking, and the city of New York’s—and the entire world’s fate rest in her hands.

Who’s ever been blamed at work for something they didn’t do?  Well, the Office of Preternatural Affairs takes it to a whole new level when they suspect one of their agents, Cèsar Hawke, of murdering a woman. I mean, she was found dead in his home…but he claims he’s innocent. And he’s going to hunt down a shaman who can speak to the dead to prove it.

This wickedly fun story takes the urban fantasy detective trope and infuses it with humor, danger, and twists & turns.

The title made me stop mid-step. Sometimes, a book title is misleading. I’ve been burned before. I finally borrowed it from the library and found myself smitten by the “Dramatis Thingummy” at the very beginning and headlong in love by the end.

I re-read this series often: I weird out my neighbors by laughing so hard I can’t breathe; I seek the community of St. Mary’s. Mostly, I love Max. For all her flaws, her sarcasm, her deep-seated need to go down in flames, I love her to bits. She gives me hope that no matter how screwed up a person may be, they can find love and a place in the world. This is the first book in a many-book series. With short stories. And Christmas specials. All of which I now own.

Vampires kept me up at night when I was a kid.

When they got twinkly and dreamy in popular fiction, I was unimpressed. Then I read The Passage. These are your grandfather’s vampires, boys and girls, and they want to kill you. I loved the blend of horror, science fiction, and the dystopian near-future United States where the story begins.

From the scientist who wants to cure death to the quest a hundred years after the Virals appeared, this book is filled with a raw humanity and the struggle to survive that captivated me. It’s a long book, but when I finished, I dove right into the next one. I had to know what happened, and I needed another dose of vampires that scared the sh!t out of me.

If I were ever to face a zombie apocalypse, I would want Mercy Thompson by my side. Mercy is a scrappy coyote shifter, and despite often being physically outmatched by the myriad supernatural creatures surrounding her, it is her intelligence, independence, and resourcefulness that truly sets her apart for me. I also just love that she is a mechanic, as Patty has taken that gender expectation and turned it on its head. 

I adore that when Mercy believes in something, she stands her ground, no matter the consequences. Her unwavering moral compass and fierce loyalty make her an awesome heroine. In a world filled with chaos, Mercy Thompson is the kind of fierce female companion every reader would be fortunate to have. And as I said, I totally call dibs on her for the apocalypse.