Vampires Are Back: 17 Books To Read To Re-Enter Your ‘Twilight’ Era

Sloane Parker is dreading her birthday. She doesn’t need a reminder she’s getting older or that she’s feeling indifferent about her own life. Her husband surprises her with a birthday weekend getaway with her and her best friend, Naomi. Sloane anticipates a weekend of wine tastings and strategic avoidance of issues she’d rather not confront, like her husband’s repeated infidelity. Instead, Naomi orchestrates a wild night out with a group of mysterious strangers, only for it to take a horrifying turn that changes Sloane’s and Naomi’s lives forever. The friends are forced to come to terms with the bloody events from their wild night.

What better way to re-enter your vampire era than by reading Stephenie Meyer’s highly anticipated Twilight retelling from Edward Cullen’s point of view? Published 15 years after the first installment of the iconic saga, Midnight Sun transports readers back to the very beginning of the 100-year-old vampire’s tormented yet irresistible attraction to human Bella Swan. Told from Edward’s eyes, the long-awaited companion novel sheds new light on his life after becoming a vampire and why his harrowing journey makes his relationship with Bella the most significant struggle he’s ever faced.

Célie Tremblay has always been a good girl—the kind of daughter any parent would be proud of. It came as a huge surprise to the kingdom when she defied tradition to become the first huntswoman. Her new captain and fiancé, Jean Luc, rules the huntsmen with an iron fist, and he fears for her safety. Though her friends try to protect her from the horrors of her past, a new evil is rising in Belterra—leaving blood-drained bodies in its wake.
Determined to prove herself in her new role, Célie tracks the killer to the lair of Les Éternels. Now she has new horrors to face, but something in her welcomes the darkness.

Slaying the Vampire Conquerer follows Sylina, an orphan-turned-assassin for the Arachessen, a cult of the Goddess of Fate. While her focus has long been on ridding her kingdom of its tyrannical ruler, Sylina is tasked with a new mission when vampire conqueror Atrius arrives on Glaea’s shores. The menacing warrior is determined to carve a path through the kingdom with the aid of his army, and Sylina’s task is to infiltrate his forces, earn his trust, and end him. But when she becomes Atrius’ seer and glimpses visions of his troubling past that remind her all too much of her own, Sylina’s dedication to her duty begins to waver.

Shan LeClaire has spent her entire life perfecting her blood magic, building her network of spies, and gathering every scrap of power she could. Now, to protect her brother, she assassinates their father and takes her place at the head of the family. Samuel Hutchinson is a bastard with a terrible gift. When he stumbles upon the first victim of a magical serial killer, he’s drawn into the world of magic that he’s worked so hard to avoid. Tasked by the Vampire King to discover the identity of the killer cutting a bloody swath through the city, Samuel, Shan, and mysterious Royal Bloodworker Isaac find themselves working together. But Shan’s plans are a manipulative web of desire, treason, and vengeance.

In a world full of vicious creatures, including vampyres, Craven, wolven, and more, Poppy is saddled with the responsibility of being her kingdom’s Maiden, a role she was chosen to fulfill at birth. Destined to never be touched, spoken to, or engaged with, Poppy must act as the demure and timid savior. When she meets Hawke, a guard charged with ensuring her ascension, Poppy’s commitment to her lonely prophecy is strained more than ever. With violence and vengeance threatening her kingdom as she wars with duty and desire, the threads holding Poppy’s world together begin to unravel in the most life-shattering ways.

Deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts stands Saint Perpetua’s College, isolated and ancient. There, secrets are currency, ambition is lifeblood, and strange ceremonies welcome students into the fold. On Laura Sheridan’s first day, she is thrown into an academic rivalry with the infamous Carmilla. As their rivalry blossoms into something far more delicious, Laura must confront her own strange hungers. In their pursuit of knowledge, the two girls must endure sinister games of politics, bloodthirsty professors, and dark magic. Who will come out a winner?

Half-human and half-vampire, Mina has always lived between two worlds without fully experiencing either one. Forced to live under the thumb of her father, she loathed to find herself as a pawn in his latest political game when he gifts her to vampire ruler Malachi Zion. With a monstrous reputation for ruling ruthlessly, Mina initially fears her captor—but the more time she spends around Malachi, the more she discovers his character may not be as sinful as it seems. As the two become entangled, Mina is introduced to a whole new world that includes not just the love of Malachi but also that of his two closest friends. With three powerful vampire men lifting her to new heights, Mina may be ready to show her father that using her was the biggest mistake he ever made.

Bless Your Heart is a mystery-horror perfect for those looking for a lighter read with a lot of southern charm. The Ducey women have run the local funeral parlor in town for decades, and they’ve done so with little to no drama. But when town gossip Mina Jean Murphy’s body is brought in for a regular burial and she rises from the dead instead, it’s clear that the Strigoi―the original vampire―are back. As more folks in town turn up dead and Deputy Roger Taylor begins asking way too many questions, Ducey, Lenore, Grace, and now Luna (Grace’s daughter) must take up their blades and figure out who is behind the Strigoi’s return. As secrets and revelations spill from the past into the present, the Evans family must face the fact that some things you just want to keep buried.

Isolde de Lara is getting married, but she might as well be selling her soul to the underworld—and in a way, she is. Betrothed to merciless vampire king Adrian Aleksandr Vasiliev, Isolde must marry the undead ruler to put an end to a years-long war. Exchanging vows isn’t her only task, though—Isolde’s true mission is to kill the king. When her assassination attempt goes awry, Adrian makes a blood-chilling promise to raise her as the undead if she tries to end him again. Though every fiber of Isolde’s being wants to hate Adrian, she can’t deny their chemistry. But more perplexing than their unexpected connection is why the savage king chose her as his consort—and the answer will burn her world to the ground.

Saved from the talons of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula pulls two innocents into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things. As secrets unravel, the lives of everyone she loves are on the line. Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband.

For Twilight fans who have been Team Jacob since Taylor Lautner bared his impressive abs in the film adaptation of New Moon, Ali Hazelwood’s Bride is right up your alley. Misery Lark is the sole daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, though she’d prefer a life of anonymity among the humans. Those dreams are dashed when she’s forced to act as collateral—a role she’s all too familiar with—in the historic peacekeeping treaty between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres. Misery is offered as the Vampyre bride in a marriage of convenience with the Alpha of the Weres, Lowe Moreland. Though it’s been deemed her duty to uphold the political partnership, Misery has a plan of her own to take back her life—even if it means forsaking her people in favor of the Were.

You could say it was love at first bite, but fake dating a vampire so your family will get off your back about being single isn’t exactly ideal. In a chance meeting, Reginald Cleeves, the four centuries old vampire posing as a quirky human, meets the beautiful and successful Amelia Collins. Amelia finds him kind of weird, but as they practice their fauxmance, it becomes clear that Reggie is as loyal to her as the day is long. Amelia’s first impressions could not have been more wrong. Suddenly, being in a real relationship with Reggie sounds pretty fang-tastic.

If you’re a girlie who craves the classics, this spicy Dracula retelling will get your blood pumping. Dahlia Abernathy’s parents were killed by a vampire when she was a child, and she’s spent the years since training with the Witches Guild to become a vampire assassin. With a glamour spell in place to disguise her identity for her latest mission in Venice, Italy, Dahlia must pose as a music student to ultimately kill her professor, Valdu Aminoff—the vampire who inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula. But Dahlia doesn’t remember that Valdu is the love of her life, nor is he aware that the woman he’s grown obsessed with is a reincarnation of the woman he loved and lost not once but twice before. With the odds stacked against their favor, the fated lovers just might lose one another again—or overcome all odds to find each other in every lifetime.

Julian Rousseaux is a wealthy, eligible bachelor who just so happens to be a vampire, and unluckily for him, it’s matchmaking season in high society. Though he’d volunteer to be staked through the heart before courting women to be his future wife, he’s expected to find a spouse by the end of the season regardless of his feelings on the matter. And when he meets Thea, a human cellist, at a gala, she’s far from the ideal candidate—but after her eyes are opened to his world, she’s no longer safe from his fellow fanged-toothed friends. Thus, an idea comes to Julian: provide Thea with protection and a way to get out from beneath her mother’s medical debt in exchange for posing as his lover. But as Thea and Julian spend time together, the more difficult it is to deny a forbidden attraction—and the mounting danger and secrets that could sever their connection at any moment.

Patricia Campbell’s sanity is being tested—her husband is married to his work, her teenagers are busy doing their own thing, her senile mother-in-law needs constant care, and as soon as she checks one box on her to-do list, three more tasks get piled on. Her true crime book club with a group of Charleston women is her one source of solace. But when she’s violently attacked by an elderly neighbor after a book club meeting, Patricia’s life takes on the qualities of the true crime stories the group loves so much. Introduced to the neighbor’s handsome and charming nephew, James, Patricia begins to feel things she hasn’t felt in years. The connection is stilted when children begin to go missing in town, local police write off the deaths, and Patricia has a blood-chilling inkling that James is at the center of it all. But this is no ordinary true crime tale because James is more than your average human killer.

Emma, an orphaned witch who’s desperate to prove her worth to her coven, needs to find a place to host their annual ball if she wants to become an official member. Blackthorn Estate would be an unforgettable venue—the only problem is, it’s owned by a reclusive vampire duke. Alaric has problems of his own, namely his beloved grandmother’s desire to see him in a relationship. So the pair settles on a deal: Alaric will allow Emma to host the ball at the estate if she pretends to be his girlfriend. No flirting, no sex, just a mutually beneficial façade. But when the pair start to develop genuine feelings for one another, Alaric must decide if he can overcome a past heartbreak, and Emma must reckon with the fact that dating the duke would cost her the anonymity that keeps herself and her coven safe.