The Twilight series blows away readers and viewers alike. Who could imagine that a teenage girl and a hundred-year-old vampire could fall madly in love with one another?
Romances with vampires are rarely simple, however – Edward must contend with an undeniable thirst for Bella’s blood, while Bella is completely unaware of what she’s dealing with at the start, she thinks stunning Edward is disgusted by her.
But when Bella finally works out for herself what Edward truly is, it doesn’t stop her from falling for him – and falling hard. While Edward’s obsession with Bella consumes him.
As the story progresses, the couple has other issues to contend with, Bella meeting the vampire family, Bella being hunted by another vampire clan and having to cover her tracks with her father as she flees to escape, a love triangle with a friendly werewolf, and more. And the characters have a lot of difficult decisions to make along the way.
With so much going on, no wonder you’re looking for similar books! And, you’ve certainly come to the right place! I’m about to share with you details of other great YA paranormal romances that are perfect for fans of the Twilight series.
If you love the Twilight Series, then you will also want to sink your teeth into books like The Vampire Diaries, Vampire Academy Fallen, and Hush, Hush. Like the Twilight series, they’re all series of at least 4 books long, and they all feature romances with either seductive vampires, fallen angels, or both.
Themes In The Twilight Series
Teenage Drama, Romance, Keeping Secrets, Defying Your Instincts, Danger
The Twilight series is set in a US high school and begins with a newcomer, Bella, to the school. Bella is warmly welcomed by everyone there, except Edward. And Edward’s reaction to her leaves her wondering what might be wrong with her.
So far, typical YA drama. Edward, however, it turns out, is actually a caring vampire who abstains from human blood, and is scared to get close to Bella in case he loses control. But Bella is drawn to him, just as he is to her.
And even when she discovers he’s a vampire, she cannot turn away. But their relationship has barely begun to form when Edward and his vampire family have to protect her from another vampire.
Love Triangles, Overcoming Of Differences For A Greater Good, The Lengths People Will Go To For Love
After what happened in the first book, Edward considers himself too much of a danger, and stays away from her, believing it to be for the best.
But Bella is heartbroken, and the only thing keeping her going is her friendship with Jacob, who turns out to be a werewolf. And this marks the start of a dramatic love triangle.
Edward’s vampire identity makes him a sworn enemy of Jacob’s werewolf clan, but they are prepared to put their differences aside when it comes to the best interests of Bella.
Making Important Life Decisions
And in the third book, comes the theme of making important life decisions as a young adult, when Bella has to decide between remaining human or being made a vampire.
One of the hottest cult TV series of the 2000s was The Vampire Diaries, starring Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, and Ian Somerhalder. And it was based on the YA series of books, by the same name, by L.J. Smith.
But the TV series is NOT identical to the books. Sure it starts in much the same way, and like in Twilight, the main protagonist is a teenage girl in high school.
And then there’s Stefan, a dark, broody love interest, who is also a vampire, determined not to get close to beautiful Elena.
And of course, it wouldn’t be Vampire Diaries with dangerous Damon, Stefan’s wicked older brother, who happens to set his sights on Elena. There are 13 books in the series (I won’t list them all), and there are also spin-off series as well.
Even if you’ve already watched the TV series all the way through, I would still recommend reading the books – they have more characters and way more adventures.
And then, if you decide you like this author, you can explore all her other paranormal YA romance reads as well.
Pros
The story is easy to visualize if you’ve seen the show
Strong romantic attraction and a tense love triangle
More adventures than the TV show
Suitable for younger teens
Cons
No raunchy scenes, just kissing
Themes: Teenage Drama, Vampires, Love Triangle, Danger, Defying Your Instincts
This YA vampire romance series was also made into a riveting TV show, albeit less well-known than its Vampire Diaries counterpart. And it’s since been made into a major motion picture as well.
It’s set in a hidden boarding school (kinda like in Harry Potter but with older teens only), but its purpose is to educate vampires in the ways of magic, and to train half-human teens to protect them.
The central character is Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess, who went on the run with her bodyguard, Rose. The two of them find themselves dragged back to the academy, where they both become embroiled in a forbidden romance.
Yet they couldn’t be in more danger, and they must fight to prevent Lissa from being made a vampire. There are 6 main books in the series, namely Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, and Last Sacrifice.
There’s action, adventure, and badassery throughout. There’s a great plot, great characters, and great character progression. And then there are spin-offs and related novellas to sink your teeth into!
Two prequel stories have also been published, along with a short story that falls after the series’ end.
The central character of this series is a teenage girl, and just like in Twilight, it begins with her (Luce) starting at a new school, albeit this time in an edgy reform school. But with this series, the love triangle theme is sparked on her first day.
There’s the somehow familiar Daniel, who smiles, then flips her the bird, and the charming, charismatic Cam, who can’t wait to spend time with her. It turns out that Daniel and Cam are actually fallen angels, who have both known Luce in her past lives.
They prepare to battle for her heart, and Luce flees for safety, only to find herself in further danger. There are several books in the series, namely Fallen, Torment, Passion, Rapture, Unforgiven & Fallen in Love.
Each book has a different feel to it. And in the third book of the series, it’s interesting to learn how these characters interacted with one another in Luce’s past lives.
Here we have yet another riveting YA paranormal romance , and this too is also billed to become a major motion picture. The main parallels with Twilight are how the story begins.
The story follows Nora Grey at high school, as she navigates the social scene with her best friend Vee, who tries to set her up with a boyfriend. But Nora just isn’t interested. That is until Patch comes along.
She can’t help but be inexplicably drawn to him, even though he’s most certainly a dangerous bad boy, and not what she’d be looking for even if she was in the market.
Wherever she goes, whatever she does, Patch always seems to be in the vicinity and seems to know more about her than even her closest friends do.
Sure enough, Nora starts to feel suspicious, she doesn’t know what she should do about him, and the reader starts to wonder what exactly is going on here.
Later in the first book in the series, Nora comes to realize that she’s smack bacon in the middle of an ancient war between the immortals and the fallen angels, and the time comes when Nora has to choose a side, a decision that could cost her life.
The remaining books in the series chronicle Nora’s destiny and her tempestuous, fractured relationship with Patch as events threaten to tear what they have together apart.
There are 4 books in the series, namely Hush, Hush, Crescendo, Silence, and Finale. The story is fast-paced, which is perfect for YA readers who haven’t got the patience for lack of intrigue, but the romance is a slow burn and free of unwanted raunchy scenes.
The mysterious plot and piece-by-piece detail ensure that it’s a page-turner from start to finish.
Pros
Seductive, bad-boy male character
Suitable for teens of any age
Will they / won’t they get/stay together trope
Forbidden love
Funny sidekick
Ancient battle
Cons
It takes quite a while before it’s revealed who Patch actually is
There sure are some great YA paranormal romance stories that are perfect for fans of Twilight…
All the ones mentioned here are aimed at young adults, so they’re perfectly pitched for the older teenage experience, complete with teenage angst and first dates galore, think high school and college.
But they also have a paranormal element to them, making the characters more dangerous than in a typical romance normal. And this takes the intensity of the relationship between the characters to a whole new level.
If you love the vampire trope, then I can 100% recommend The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith, and Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.
But if you like the sound of the YA paranormal romance genre in general, then you’d be sure to love Fallen by Lauren Kate, and Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick as well.
To be honest, any one of these series will satisfy your YA paranormal romance cravings!
Frequently Asked Questions
Should My 12-Year-Old Read Twilight?
This depends on the maturity of your child because although there are no rude scenes, there is violence and scenes relating to depression and attempts on characters’ lives.
Will There Be Another Twilight Book?
After the Twilight series, Stephenie Meyer wrote a related novella, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, and rewrote the first book, but from Edward’s perspective, The Midnight Sun.
Since then, it has been announced that two more books will be published, however, this won’t be from Edward’s point of view, and I think fans would love to read on from Alice’s point of view.
Is Midnight Sun Just Twilight?
While The Midnight Sun tells of the same line of events as the first book of the Twilight saga, it’s actually very different.
It’s 662 pages written from Edward’s perspective, and it lets the reader in on everything happening behind the scenes when Bella gets together with Edward.
Noah Burton works as a Librarian full time, and is a blogger in his spare time. His goal is to write compelling recommendations for all of the most popular books he can find, from science fiction to romance.
With a passion for books, a drive to find new reads to get stuck into, and a love for sharing book recommendations with others, Noah can help you find the next novel for your bucket list.
