U is for Urban Fantasy

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, U is for Urban Fantasy. In case you aren't in the fantasy know, regular fantasy (or high fantasy) takes place in some other world like Middle Earth in the case of Lord of the Rings. Urban Fantasy, on the other hand, takes place here on Earth in a traditional Urban environment. Urban Fantasy is an extremely popular genre these days, especially within the YA world. So narrowing my list down to five choices would be really hard. Fortunately, I've already recommended several great Urban Fantasy books this month under the names of P is for Paranormal, A is for Adventure, and others. So I won't claim these are my five favorites, I'll just say here are five more great Urban Fantasies.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor - This book actually hugs the line between urban and high fantasy. It is about the adopted human daughter of Beelzebub, who was raise at the gates to the underworld. The second half of the book focuses primarily on the other world aspects of the story, but the story begins in Prague and most of my favorite scenes are very urban, so for the sake of today's list I'm going to call this great Fantasy and Urban Fantasy.

Infinite Days by Rebecca Marizel - I know, everybody is sick of vampire books, but this is a really good one. Instead of being about a human girl who falls in love with a vampire, it's about a vampire girl who becomes human. For 400 years, Lenah was one of the worlds most powerful and dangerous Vampire Queens, but she always longed to return to her human life that was cut short far to early. So in the early 20th century she undergoes a secret ritual that will allow her to wake up fully human 100 years in the future. Now fully human and hiding at a boarding school in New England, Lenah is trying to come to grips with a new life in a new century. Except that her dangerous old coven is hunting her in hopes of returning her to her vampire state and her old throne.

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes - This is a fun werewolf story about a human girl who was rescued from predators that killed her parents as a toddler and raised by a pack of werewolves. As Bryn grows older she finds herself holding an unusual position within pack politics, eventually gaining Alpha status as the packs leader despite remaining human.

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore - This is a very funny book about the grim reaper, also known as a soul broker. He actively reaps souls in modern San Fransisco and then sells them to humans needing souls at a pawn shop. It's very tongue in cheek and truly hilarious.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - This is a dark Middle Grade story about a little boy who is raised by an cemetery full of ghosts. Even though Bod is human, he lives in the graveyard and is cared for by it's ancient residents. When dark forces come searching for Bod, he learns there are some things spirits can't do and he has to learn to take care of himself.

What about you? What is your favorite Urban Fantasy?