# Urban fantasy books that AREN'T Harlequin romances with magic? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [July 22, 2010, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy-books-that-arent-harlequin-romances-with-magic/547603 "2010-07-22T14:50:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy-books-that-arent-harlequin-romances-with-magic/547603/101 "2014-01-08T12:09:07Z")
Can I add [The Shambling Guide to New York City](http://www.amazon.com/Shambling-Guide-York-City-Guides/dp/0316221171/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389182896&sr=1-1&keywords=shambling+guide+to+new+york+city) to this list? It won the Campbell Award last year and I found it a really engaging and easy read. Yes, there is a bit of romance in it, but it’s only a small part of the book. The world (well, New York city) is really well realised, and it’s a smart and funny read. Disclaimer: The author is a friend of my husband, but I had not met her before reading this book. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy-books-that-arent-harlequin-romances-with-magic/547603/102 "2014-01-08T18:39:05Z")
Two series I’ve picked up recently: The series that starts with **Rivers of London** , by Ben Aaranovitch - protagonist is a police officer in the met who stumbles through the masquerade and gets recruited by the the arm of the force who keep an eye on that sort of thing. And the **Courts of the Feyre** series by Mike Shevdon. The first one, **Sixty-One Nails** , is excellent, but the quality sadly tails off for the rest of the series. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy-books-that-arent-harlequin-romances-with-magic/547603/103 "2014-01-08T20:05:29Z")
For modern urban fantasy, I recommend the **Rivers of London** series by Ben Aaronovich. The protagonist, Peter Grant, is a junior constable who gets inducted into the spooky side of the Metropolitan Police. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy-books-that-arent-harlequin-romances-with-magic/547603/104 "2014-01-08T21:40:38Z")
There’s the _Magic ex Libris_ series by Jim C. Hines. The first two books are _Libriomancer_ (2012) and _Codex Born_ (2013). It’s not technically “urban” fantasy because it’s set mostly in rural Michigan but it’s fantasy in a modern world setting. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy-books-that-arent-harlequin-romances-with-magic/547603/105 "2014-01-08T22:55:24Z")
> [@Teuton](#): > > The series that starts with **Rivers of London** , by Ben Aaranovitch - protagonist is a police officer in the met who stumbles through the masquerade and gets recruited by the the arm of the force who keep an eye on that sort of thing. Heh. I’m sure your post wasn’t there when I made the same recommendation. ---
**Author:** ![maymay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@maymay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maymay)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2022, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy-books-that-arent-harlequin-romances-with-magic/547603/106 "2022-11-29T00:02:38Z")
Has anyone mentioned Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, or Middlegame? ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy-books-that-arent-harlequin-romances-with-magic/547603/107 "2022-12-01T22:17:42Z")
Have you read the Chronicles of St. Mary? Those and the associated Time Police books I really enjoy. I am a bit hazy on the definition of Urban Fantasy so these might be more light Science fiction. I also liked Trailer park Fairy queen series by Kimba Swain but there is a lot of romance but I liked the fairy tale tie inns. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy-books-that-arent-harlequin-romances-with-magic/547603/108 "2022-12-01T22:56:01Z")
I’m going to pick up a lot of titles here. Right now I’m reading mostly stuff on Amazon Unlimited. I have to sift through the chaff to find the good stuff. I don’t know if it was mentioned (my down button is broken so I have to scroll with my touch pad, just kills my carpet funnel 😉 ) “Jane Yellowrock.” I love this series, yes it has some romance, but it’s more realistic, and not gratuitous. It has some very different takes on quite a few things “paranormal”. The main character is awesome. I also like “The Others” series. Dark and creepy. There have been other series I like, but frankly, I’ve read probably hundreds? several hundred? Thousand(s)? of books in this genera in the last 8 years. Hard to keep track after a while. I do NOT like reverse harem. I’ve read a few if the story is good and the characters well written, but I’m not a fan of the type. I find a lot of books identified as “PR” paranormal romance. I started one once and made it two pages. Ugh! ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2022, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy-books-that-arent-harlequin-romances-with-magic/547603/109 "2022-12-02T01:28:00Z")
Michele Sagara’s Elantra series. It’s not Earth-based, but it is a city and there’s plenty of magic. And dragons. Wen Spencer’s Elfhome series is set in Pittsburgh and Elfhome. Plenty of magic, some romance, no described sex. T. Kingfisher, bunch of books set in world that’s fairly godridden. Lots of urban life, lots of wildwoods, what they call “slow-burn” romance that is NOT a major plot point, maybe one or two very **unexplicit** sex scenes per book. Has her beta readers frequently screaming, “WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?!”. You might also know her as Ursula Vernon, who wrote the Hugo-winning Digger online comic. Pretty much anything by Charles de Lint, especially the Newford series. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@epbrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2022, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy-books-that-arent-harlequin-romances-with-magic/547603/110 "2022-12-19T17:15:03Z")
Love this series, and it’s been added to since the above post. Connolly did a kickstarter/Patreon campaign and released **Iron Gate** and **Flood Circle** in the past couple of months. He plans to wrap the series with one more book. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-fantasy-books-that-arent-harlequin-romances-with-magic/547603.md?page=5)