If you have loved Rachel Morgan and her wonderfully tangled adventures through Cincinnati’s supernatural underworld, then you also know the ache of finishing this beloved series. One longs for more witty heroines, more vampire politics, more magic woven through modern streets. Fear not, dear reader, for there exist other worlds equally enchanting, waiting just beyond the next page.
The Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs
There are few urban fantasy heroines quite so refreshing as Mercedes Thompson, a coyote shapeshifter who earns her living mending Volkswagens in Washington State. Rather like Rachel, Mercy possesses that rare quality of being surrounded by creatures far more powerful than herself yet remaining utterly essential to every tale she enters.
Mercy navigates a world of werewolf packs, vampire seethes, and fae courts with mechanical grease beneath her fingernails and courage in her heart. The supernatural politics here are every bit as intricate as those Rachel encounters, though the setting swaps Cincinnati for the Pacific Northwest. Begin with Moon Called and prepare yourself for a most satisfying slow-burn romance alongside genuine peril.
The Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews
In a world where magic and technology wage endless war, rising and falling like unpredictable tides, Kate Daniels makes her living cleaning up supernatural messes in Atlanta. She carries a sword, keeps secrets darker than any shadow, and possesses a tongue as sharp as any blade.
Written by a husband-and-wife team under the pen name Ilona Andrews, this series delivers the same perfect blend of action, romance, and supernatural intrigue that makes The Hollows so delightful. Kate herself is rather like Rachel—fierce, occasionally reckless, and loyal to a fault. Start with Magic Bites and do press through the first chapters, for the rewards are magnificent.
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Perhaps no urban fantasy detective is more beloved than Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard, who advertises his services in the Yellow Pages. Harry combines hard-boiled noir sensibilities with genuine magical mayhem, investigating supernatural crimes while dodging vampires, faeries, and beings far more ancient.
Entertainment Weekly once described the series as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer starring Philip Marlowe,” which rather captures its essence beautifully. If you adore Rachel’s first-person narration and her tendency toward getting into terrible scrapes, Harry Dresden shall feel like meeting an old friend. Begin with Storm Front and settle in for a series spanning more than twenty books.
The October Daye Series by Seanan McGuire
October “Toby” Daye is a changeling—half human, half fae—working as a private investigator in San Francisco’s hidden faerie courts. When she investigates, murder and magic intertwine as elegantly as ivy upon ancient stone, and the fae politics here rival anything in The Hollows for complexity and consequence.
This series has been nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Series multiple times, and rightfully so. McGuire builds a world where faerie never vanished but merely hid, and Toby navigates its treacherous waters with determination and heart. Begin with Rosemary and Rue for a tale that blends mystery, fantasy, and the weight of choices made long ago.
The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne
Atticus O’Sullivan appears to be a charming young man running an occult bookshop in Tempe, Arizona. In truth, he is a two-thousand-year-old Druid—the last of his kind—hiding from gods who have rather lengthy grudges. His companion is a telepathic Irish wolfhound with strong opinions about poodles.
If you appreciate the humor in The Hollows, Atticus shall delight you thoroughly. The series draws from every mythology imaginable—Celtic, Norse, Greek—creating a world where pantheons collide with delightful chaos. Begin with Hounded for perhaps the strongest opening in urban fantasy, filled with wit and wonder.
The Jane Yellowrock Series by Faith Hunter
Jane Yellowrock is the last Cherokee skinwalker, sharing her body with the soul of a mountain lion she calls Beast. She hunts vampires for a living and rides a motorcycle through the streets of New Orleans with weapons strapped to her person like others might carry handbags.
Jane emerged from the woods at age twelve with no memory, no language, and no family. Her journey to rediscover herself while taking contracts from vampire masters offers the same rich supernatural worldbuilding Hollows fans adore. Begin with Skinwalker for a heroine as fierce and complicated as Rachel Morgan herself.
The Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris
In the small Louisiana town of Bon Temps, waitress Sookie Stackhouse possesses a gift she considers more curse than blessing—she can read minds. When vampires reveal themselves to the world and one particularly intriguing specimen walks into her diner, Sookie’s quiet life transforms entirely.
This series inspired the HBO sensation True Blood, but the books possess their own distinct Southern charm. Sookie navigates a world where supernatural creatures emerge from hiding into modern society, much as they do in The Hollows. Begin with Dead Until Dark, which won the Anthony Award for Best Paperback Mystery.
Women of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong
Elena Michaels is the world’s only female werewolf—bitten, not born—struggling to balance her supernatural nature with her desperate desire for normalcy. The Women of the Otherworld series follows various supernatural women through thirteen books of intrigue, romance, and danger.
What makes this series particularly enchanting is its rotating cast of narrators—werewolves, witches, necromancers, and more—each offering a different window into Armstrong’s supernatural world. Like The Hollows, romance weaves through action, and consequences carry weight across books. Begin with Bitten for Elena’s story, which also inspired its own television adaptation.
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Diana Bishop is a historian at Yale who has spent her life denying her magical heritage. When she accidentally summons a long-lost alchemical manuscript, she draws the attention of every supernatural creature in existence—including a vampire geneticist named Matthew Clairmont.
This series offers something unique: an author who is herself a historian, weaving genuine scholarship into fantasy. The forbidden romance between witch and vampire unfolds across centuries and continents. Begin with A Discovery of Witches for a tale that combines Twilight’s romance with Anne Rice’s atmosphere and academic depth all its own.
The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning
MacKayla Lane travels from Georgia to Dublin seeking her sister’s murderer and discovers she can see the Fae—ancient, beautiful, and terrifying creatures hidden within our world. A mysterious man named Jericho Barrons pulls her into a war for humanity’s survival.
This series builds slowly and magnificently, with a relationship between Mac and Barrons that develops across many volumes with exquisite tension. The Dublin setting drips with atmosphere, and the Fae here are genuinely frightening rather than merely ornamental. Begin with Darkfever for Celtic mythology rendered in shadow and fire.
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
Peter Grant is a young London constable who discovers he can see ghosts—a talent that earns him an apprenticeship with the last official English wizard. Together they investigate supernatural crimes while navigating the politics of river goddesses and the ghosts of London’s magical history.
Published as Midnight Riot in America, this series blends British wit with genuine police procedural elements. Diana Gabaldon called it “what would happen if Harry Potter grew up and joined the Fuzz.” Begin here for magic that feels earned, humor that lands, and London rendered in all its strange glory.
The InCryptid Series by Seanan McGuire
The Price family has spent generations protecting cryptids—the monsters and magical creatures hidden among humanity—from discovery. Verity Price would rather pursue professional ballroom dancing than family duty, but when cryptids start disappearing in Manhattan, she cannot look away.
This series features talking mice who worship the family as divine beings, which alone should tell you something of its charm. McGuire creates an entirely different urban fantasy world from her October Daye series, lighter in tone but no less engaging. Begin with Discount Armageddon for wit, action, and deeply lovable characters.
The Nightside Series by Simon R. Green
John Taylor is a private detective who finds lost things in the Nightside—a hidden realm within London where it is always three in the morning and nothing is quite what it seems. His mother was something other than human, granting him powers that have made him enemies since childhood.
Jim Butcher himself praised this series as “a fast, fun little roller coaster of a story.” The Nightside offers darkness with a noir sensibility, supernatural dangers at every corner, and a detective who solves mysteries in realms most people cannot imagine. Begin with Something from the Nightside for hard-boiled fantasy at its finest.
The Chicagoland Vampires Series by Chloe Neill
Merit was a graduate student until a rogue vampire attacked her. Another vampire, Ethan Sullivan, saved her life by turning her undead—and now she owes him servitude in Cadogan House. In a Chicago where vampires have recently revealed themselves to humans, Merit discovers she has powers beyond any ordinary initiate.
The vampire politics here echo The Hollows beautifully, with houses and masters and governing councils creating endless intrigue. Merit becomes the House’s Sentinel—its guardian—and navigates both supernatural threats and a complicated relationship with her maker. Begin with Some Girls Bite for vampires, romance, and a heroine finding strength she never knew she possessed.
The Demon Accords by John Conroe
Chris Gordon is a rookie with the NYPD who harbors an extraordinary secret: he is an exorcist of unmatched power, carrying a gift that defies explanation. When he saves a beautiful vampire from a demon, his life intertwines with beings he never imagined existed.
This series offers supernatural action with military precision, a hero with genuine power rather than constant underdog status, and stakes that escalate magnificently across books. For readers who enjoy The Hollows’ blend of action and supernatural politics but desire a slightly different perspective, Chris Gordon’s adventures deliver handsomely.
Finding Your Next Obsession
Each of these series captures something of what makes The Hollows so beloved—fierce heroines, found families, worlds where magic hides in plain sight, and romances that develop alongside genuine danger.
Whether you crave the wit of the Iron Druid, the noir sensibilities of Dresden, the academic depth of A Discovery of Witches, or the mysticism of Jane Yellowrock, adventures await.
