P is for Paranormal

I've decided to do the A to Z Blogger Challenge this year and I'm recommending five books all from the same alphabetical genre each day. So today, P is for Paranormal. This is a hugely popular genre right now, so limiting my selection to five was difficult but I think I've managed. Here are five of my favorite paranormal reads.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater - I'm totally sick of the human girl falls in love with a vampire story, but I haven't completely given up on the human girl falls in love with a werewolf story yet. And Shiver is definitely my favorite werewolf story. Most werewolf stories deal with humans transforming into their more animalistic instincts. Shiver deals a lot more with pack mentality and modern teenagers tendency to loose themselves in larger group. While I am recommending Shiver, I have to admit that Cole is my favorite character in the Mercy Falls world and he doesn't even appear until Linger, so I really need to recommend the entire trilogy.

A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young - Angels are another common paranormal creature to appear in YA these days. In an enjoyable break from the norm, in this a human girl does not fall in love with an angel. Instead, a young angel desperately fights all of her guardian instincts in a vain attempt to be a normal human girl. It's a beautiful story that is refreshingly different from most of the other paranormal books currently flooding the market.

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins - Harry Potter went to a boarding school for wizards so Sophie's adventures at a boarding school for paranormals does feel a little bit over done. But Sophie is a very different character from Harry and the mix of shape shifters, vampires, witches, and demons all coexisting at Hex Hall makes for a great adventure.

Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer - Vladamir Todd is officially my favorite vampire. He just wants to be a normal teenager and is perfectly happy drinking "snack packs" of expired blood his aunt steels from the blood bank where she works. Except there's this crazy prophecy about him and a bunch of other evil vampires who want to kill all the humans he hangs out with and force him into all sorts of great adventures.

Soulless by Gail Carriger - This is a fun steam punk story about a Victorian era woman without a soul. Excess of soul is the required trait needed for a human to survive the transformation from human to vampire or werewolf. Alexia doesn't have any soul at all, which means her touch has a voiding effect of the paranormal members of London society. Naturally Queen Elizabeth hires Alexia to serve on her shadow council so she can help keep all those bothersome paranormal lords in check.

What about you? What is your favorite Paranormal read?