Merging Magic and the Mundane – Why We Love Urban Fantasy

Urban fantasy merges mundane, modern life with mesmerising magical elements, creating an immersive experience that feels both relatable and wondrous. Books of this genre offer the best of both worlds, taking familiar, contemporary settings we know and love and turning them into places that are no longer ordinary, but instead, captivating and curious. Bringing the known and the unknown together, these books make it feel possible that there could be magic around any corner! 🌃 🧚‍♀️

It was only in the 1980s that urban fantasy became truly established as a distinct genre thanks to authors including Emma Bull and Charles de Lint, with their respective works War for the Oaks and Moonheart. However its roots date all the way back to the 19th century, when gothic literature and romanticism were becoming increasingly popular, blending horror and supernatural elements with metropolitan life. Think Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde — these books all add a paranormal or otherwise unnatural element to a recognisable setting, which is what we expect from our urban fantasy novels today.

📖 Readable and Digestible

With their subtle twist on our own world, urban fantasy books are perfect for when you want to be whisked away into a magical story but are perhaps not in the right mindset to jump into a completely new and complicated epic fantasy realm. They are also great for readers who are interested in exploring fantasy. As they strike the perfect balance between the ordinary and the extraordinary, they’re a great introduction to the wider genre!

💫 Tropes and Traditions

Urban fantasy stories often play on the idea that magic exists just out of sight, sometimes presented as a hidden world behind a certain street, on top of a particular building, or through a portal of some kind. This sense of discovery and wonder can ignite excitement and belief in the reader. Because of this, the ‘chosen one’ trope is pretty prevalent in these type of stories, with main characters often being one of the very few people who get to see the magic behind the mundane. And because they become privy to a whole new world which changes their life forever, this tends to lead to a heartwarming found-family dynamic with the friends they meet along the way, and enemies to lovers romances also often bloom. So there’s much to look forward to when you immerse yourself in an urban fantasy book!

💜 Contemporary Relevance

Because they’re set in familiar worlds, urban fantasy novels often tackle current and complex societal issues. From highlighting the struggles of marginalised groups and challenging stereotypes to using themes of power and corruption and commenting on environmental degradation, many urban fantasy stories create parallels to emphasise the need for change on a grander scale in our own world.

☠️ City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Clary is only fifteen when she first meets the Shadowhunters — warriors covered with strange tattoos who are dedicated to ridding the world of demons. Within twenty-four hours, Clary is pulled into this new world with a vengeance when her mother disappears and she herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know…

🪄 Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers seems like the perfect escape, but then she witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus. A mysterious teenage mage attempts and fails to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw, and this failure unlocks her own unique magic.

✨ Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken

Born without a trace of magic, Tamsin is no match for the sorceresses and Hollowers who populate the magical underground of Boston. But when the only parent she’s ever known disappears without so much as a goodbye, she has no choice but to join in their cutthroat pursuit of enchanted relics to keep herself and her brother alive.

You can purchase the FairyLoot Exclusive Edition of the sequel, The Mirror of Beasts, here.

🧙‍♀️A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Deep in Oxford’s Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript during her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery, so she banishes the book to the stacks. But still her discovery stirs the underworld, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library.

🕐 Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber

Folklore 517: Local Legends and Urban Myths is a class taught by a woman called the Professor. Most students believe the Professor’s stories are just fiction, but Holland St. James has always been convinced that magic is real. When she tracks down a local legend named the Watch Man, who can supposedly tell you when you’ll die, the world finally makes sense. Except that the Watch Man tells her she will die at midnight tomorrow unless she finds an ancient object called the Alchemical Heart.

🪦The Diviners by Libba Bray

Evie has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult. Evie worries her uncle will discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol, Evie realises her gift could help catch a serial killer.

🗡️Only a Monster by Vanessa Len

Sent to stay with her late mother’s eccentric family in London, sixteen-year-old Joan is determined to enjoy herself this summer. Except she soon learns her family aren’t just eccentric: they’re monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers. And Nick, her super cute co-worker, isn’t just a boy after all. He’s a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to bring them down.

You can purchase the FairyLoot Exclusive Edition of the sequel, Never a Hero, here:

Let us know in the comments which urban fantasy books are on your TBR! 💜