Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
So, I have covered a lot of horror things this month throughout Blogtober. I was considering focusing this week’s TTT on Ghosts, but then I looked and, well, I did that last year. Instead, I’m shifting away from horror ever so slightly, and doing a top 6 (due to time) paranormal books, instead. I love paranormal books, whether it’s horror, fantasy, romance – and I love how they can fit in with almost any other genre! Paranormal is so broad too – vampires, ghosts, witches, demons and more can all feature.
Top Six Paranormal Books
Princess Broken
Mara Leigh
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Published: February 9th, 2023
Paranormal Creatures: Vampires
Review
Four ruthless assassins vow to protect vampire princess, Anastasia Romanov, with their lives.
But the vampire syndicate boss who tried to kill her could be the least of the dangers she faces.
Ana’s life is threatened by mysterious dark forces from her past, while her newly awakened sexual desires put her heart on the line with not one, but four sexy vampire bodyguards who would kill for her.
Hexed
Julia Tuffs
Genre: Contemporary Paranormal
Age: Young Adult
Format: ebook
Published: August 7th, 2021
Paranormal Creatures: Witches
Review
Sabrina the Teenage Witch meets Sex Education – Jessie Jones has just discovered she’s a witch. Too bad there isn’t a hex to make slimy Callum Henderson and his friends disappear … yet. A feisty, funny YA series about discovering your place and your power.
New girl, new school, new life on stupid island – thanks Mum. All Jessie Jones wants is to keep her head down, avoid school douchebag Callum Henderson, and coast – middle-of-the-road-like. But when strange powers start to manifest during crippling period pains, flying under the radar seems highly unlikely.
Can Jessie embrace her new-found witchiness, control her erratic powers and work out a way to bring down Callum and his cult of toxic masculinity?
Jacked Up
Latrexa Nova
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Published: November 24th, 2023
Paranormal Creatures: Possessed Jack in the box
Review
Some people kill for fame and fortune. I’m killing for the chance to bang my Jack-in-the-box.
Yes, I mean that literally—but hear me
My life blows worse than my ex. The only family member I like just died, my Mom’s married to a POS perv, and if you look up ‘slum lord’ in the dictionary, there’s a picture of my property managers.
Three steps away from needing a short vacation in a grippy-sock house, I find the antique Jack-in-the-box that used to terrify me as a kid. Sure, it scared me back then, but now… It’s always there for me. I start talking to it like it’s actually alive—
—And then he invades my dreams.
There, he’s real—a surprisingly sexy, lanky, sad little clown man called Claus with a spring where his legs should be. But that doesn’t stop him from using that painted smile of his to bring me more pleasure than I’ve ever known.
Then he tells me he can join me in the real world—just one he needs a human sacrifice.
…I’m seriously considering it, if it means I can bounce on more than just his coil.
This is a sentient object dark romance featuring a possessed Jack in the box, an incredibly unlucky FMC, bucket of violence, extremely jacked up sex scenes, manipulation, and a content warning list long enough you oughta check it out just in case.
My Throat an Open Grave
Tori Bovalino
Genre: Horror – Fantasy
Age: Young Adult
Format: ebook
Published: February 20th, 2024
Paranormal Creatures: Lord of the Wood
Review
Labyrinth meets folk horror in this dark and romantic tale of a lost girl and the shadows that lurk in the forest.
Fall under the spell of the Lord of the Wood and uncover the dark past of a village that will go to any lengths to ensure its maidens stay good.
In the small town of Winston, Pennsylvania, they fear the Lord of the Wood almost as much as they fear God. According to legend, ghosts of the nearby forest steal unattended babies, leaving enigmatic tokens of wood and bone in their place. Leah Jones didn’t believe the legend, thinking it just a way to scare the local kids—until her baby brother disappears.
Filled with shame and the weight of the town’s judgment, Leah crosses the river into the Lord of the Wood’s domain to bring her brother back. But the devilish figure who has haunted Winston for generations isn’t what she expects. He tells her she can have her brother back… for a price.
It’s a bargain that will uncover secrets her hometown has tried to keep buried for decades. And what she unearths will have her questioning everything she’s been taught to fear.
Camp Damascus
Chuck Tingle
Genre: Horror
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Published: July 18th, 2023
Paranormal Creatures: Demons
Review
Love is real. Demons are real. Kill the demons.
Camp Damascus is the world’s most effective gay conversion camp. Nestled in the Montana wilderness, parents send their children from around the world to experience the program’s 100% success rate.
But, this story isn’t about that. This story is about Rose Darling, a God-fearing young lady who can’t stop puking up flies. It’s about her parents who ignore her visions of an eerie woman with sagging, pale skin who watches from the woods. It’s about the desires deep inside Rose that don’t seem to make any sense, and her waking nightmares that are beginning to feel more like memories. And maybe, just maybe, it’s a little bit about Camp Damascus after all.
A chilling and heartfelt supernatural horror about a young woman searching for love and the secrets of a demonic gay conversion camp, perfect for readers of Stephen Graham Jones, Hailey Piper and Lucy A. Snyder.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
Sangu Mandanna
Genre: Fantasy – Contemporary
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Published: August 23rd, 2022
Paranormal Creatures: Witches
Review
She found magic in the most unlikely of places.
Mika Moon follows three rules: hide your magic, keep your head down, and stay away from other witches. Mika is good at being alone, and she doesn’t mind it . . . mostly.
But when an unexpected invitation arrives to teach three young witches at the mysterious Nowhere House, Mika jumps at the chance for a different life. As she comes to care for its quirky inhabitants – and Jamie, the handsome but prickly librarian – finally belonging somewhere feels like a real possibility.
But magic isn’t the only danger in the world – is it worth risking everything to protect the found family Mika didn’t know she was looking for?
A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a new family – and a new love – changes the course of her life.
There are more that I just didn’t have time to include here, but hopefully you’ve enjoyed this shorter top six books. As always, if you do have recommendations, please do let me know!
Unwrapping Words 