All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness - This series was definitely the first one that jumped into my mind when I thought of this theme, involving as it does both witches and vampires. The first book, "A Discovery of Witches," is about a woman descended from a line of witches - but with no interest in being involved in sorcery herself - who stumbles upon a powerful ancient book in the library of Oxford that leads to all kinds of supernatural beings descending on the library and chasing her. And she eventually falls in love with a vampire! There are definitely some cheesy parts (like "Twilight" for grownups) but with a veneer of intellectualism over the whole thing, and it was a lot of fun to read. The first book in the trilogy is definitely the best but I enjoyed the other two as well, even if they were a little too long. Deborah Harkness also just published a prequel of sorts about two of the characters, "Time's Convert," which is on my to-read list.
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling - While the first word that springs to mind when you think of Harry Potter might be wizards, generally speaking in this kind of fantasy book, females with magical powers are called "witches" while males are called either "wizards" or "warlocks," though "wizard" can also be used to refer to people with magical abilities of either gender. Indeed, the full name of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter books is the "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." So, since the Harry Potter books are one of my most favorite series generally, I had to include these on the list. There are definitely plenty of ghosts in Harry Potter too, and while there aren't any vampires that impact the story that I can recall, I'm pretty sure that vampires do exist in the Harry Potter universe.
The Magicians Trilogy by Lev Grossman - I can't remember if I've discussed the Magicians books on this blog before, but it's another series that I love. Some people refer to them as "Harry Potter for grownups," as the books are set in part at a place called Brakebills, which is sort of a magical college, though there is definitely a dash of Narnia in the books as well, along with lots of original plot elements too. The books are kind of dark and twisted so definitely not for kids, but really captivating and enjoyable to read. With lots of people practicing magic both in and out of the school setting, this book definitely falls within the "witches" category.
The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton - Just a few weeks ago I wrote up a 5 star review of this book, so if you want a full description of it, definitely go back and read my review! I'm including it on this list because one of the main characters in the book is a ghost who both observes the action and occasionally interacts with the living, so that definitely covers the paranormal angle. There's lots of other stuff going on in the book too, including mystery, romance, and a gothic-style mansion. Kate Morton is one of my absolute favorite authors of all time.
The Broken Girls by Simone St. James - I mentioned this one on my post earlier this year on mysteries, and it's another great gothic novel. This book goes back and forth between two stories in two separate times. In the 1950s, it alternates between the perspectives of 4 roommates at a creepy and possible haunted girls' boarding in Vermont called Idlewild. In 2014, the story is told from the perspective of a journalist named Fiona, whose older sister's dead body was found on the by then abandoned Idlewild grounds many years before, and who is investigating what happened both to her sister and in the 1950s.
The Passage Trilogy by Justin Cronin - If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know I LOVE to talk about how much I love "The Passage" by Justin Cronin and its two sequels, which are seriously 3 of my favorite books of all time. Literary dystopian amazing-ness about an experiment gone wrong that leads to the end of the world as we know it. The scary creatures in this book aren't exactly vampires in the traditional sense, but they sort of are, and these books definitely come the closest of anything I read to being classified as horror books, so the series definitely earns a spot on this list.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - I loved this book, which was on my top 10 list back in 2012. It's about a magical circus and a mysterious magical competition between two people who end up falling in love. It was pretty magical to read as well, totally transporting me to the places described in the book.
Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer - This was such a cute book, kind of like a young adult Jane Austen but with magic. It's set in 19th century Britain and told in the form of letters between two cousins in a world where witches and wizards are real and commonplace. There are also two sequels that have been on my to-read list forever but which I haven't quite gotten to yet. Maybe I'll finally read them now that I've reminded myself that they exist!
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs - If you're not familiar with this novel, it was inspired by some real life spooky looking vintage photos found by the author, and thus is definitely worth reading in hard copy rather than an electronic version so you can see the pictures, some of which are really quite eerie. It is kind of hard to describe the book but definitely has elements of fantasy, paranormal, and even horror. For some reason I never finished this series either; I read the second one but haven't gotten to the third or fourth ones yet.
Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer - Yeah the Twilight books are kind of trashy, but how can you talk about vampire books and not mention them? Plus I must admit that I quite enjoyed reading them.
Enchanted Inc. by Shanna Swendson, Girl's Guide to Witchcraft by Mindy Klasky, and Carpe Demon by Julie Kenner - There was a time in the mid-2000s when I was into reading what I can only describe as supernatural chick lit. These were 3 of the most fun books in that genre, and each the start of series which I went on to read at least in part. "Enchanted Inc." involves a woman immune to magic who ends up working at a company run by wizards and witches. "Girl's Guide to Witchcraft" involves a woman who find a bunch of magic books and becomes a witch. And "Carpe Demon" is about a woman who used to be a demon hunter but is now a soccer mom, who is forced to come out of retirement to defend her town (kind of like if Buffy the Vampire Slayer were now a middle-aged mom). None of these were intellectual in the slightest, but they were fun quick reads.
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