Read-alikes
Books Like Twilight
Forbidden love, a supernatural secret and a girl caught between two worlds.
Updated September 2026 · By Sawyer V.
The short version
Twilight readers loved the forbidden romance, the supernatural world or the small-town secret. Vampire Academy and Interview with the Vampire keep the vampires, Shiver and Beautiful Creatures the small-town supernatural love story, and A Discovery of Witches is the grown-up version. Heat levels are noted where they rise.
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How we picked
Each pick names which element it matches: the romance, the vampires or the secret world. Twilight is young adult; we mark the adult picks, which are longer and in some cases steamier. We have not read all eight.
What we do on every list: read the publisher’s own description rather than a summary of it, check print length and first publication year against library catalog data (last refreshed September 11, 2026), confirm the book is still sold in the format we suggest, and write the match line before the blurb. What we do not do is claim to have read every book here cover to cover. The full method is published, and it is written so anyone can check it.
The short answer
Who each book is for, at a glance. Select a row for the full write-up.
| # | Book | Give this if | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Vampire AcademyRichelle Mead · 352 pagesMatches the vampires | they want vampires at a boarding school | |
| 2 |  ShiverMaggie Stiefvater · 432 pagesMatches the longing | they were on Team Jacob | |
| 3 |  Beautiful CreaturesKami Garcia · 527 pagesMatches the small-town secret | they loved the new kid with a secret | |
| 4 |  Shadow and BoneLeigh Bardugo · 352 pagesMatches the chosen girl | they loved an ordinary girl discovering she is extraordinary | |
| 5 |  The Cruel PrinceHolly Black · 370 pagesMatches the dangerous attraction | they loved that Edward was dangerous | |
| 6 |  A Discovery of WitchesDeborah Harkness · 664 pagesThe grown-up version | they want Twilight for adults, with a library | |
| 7 |  Interview with the VampireAnne Rice · 349 pagesThe vampire classic | they want the book modern vampire fiction grew from | |
| 8 |  From Blood and AshJennifer L. Armentrout · 493 pagesThe adult romantasy | they want the forbidden romance turned up |
#ad — buying through these links earns us a commission at no cost to you. No price is printed because we do not run a live price feed, and a remembered number would be a guess.
Eight, by which element they match
1. Matches the vampires
Vampire Academy
Richelle Mead
Give this ifthey want vampires at a boarding school
A half-vampire guardian in training protects her best friend, a vampire princess, at a hidden academy in Montana. Faster and funnier than Twilight, with a forbidden romance at its center.
- Print length
- 352 pages
- First published
- 2007
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
2. Matches the longing
Shiver
Maggie Stiefvater
Give this ifthey were on Team Jacob
A girl in a small Minnesota town falls for a boy who becomes a wolf every winter, and they are running out of time. Quiet, lyrical and melancholy.
- Print length
- 432 pages
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
3. Matches the small-town secret
Beautiful Creatures
Kami Garcia
Give this ifthey loved the new kid with a secret
In a small South Carolina town, a boy falls for the mysterious new girl, whose family of supernatural Casters is hiding a curse. Southern gothic, told from the boy's side.
- Print length
- 527 pages
- First published
- 2009
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
4. Matches the chosen girl
Shadow and Bone
Leigh Bardugo
Give this ifthey loved an ordinary girl discovering she is extraordinary
An orphaned mapmaker discovers a rare power that could save her war-torn country, and is drawn to the dark and charismatic leader of its magical army.
- Print length
- 352 pages
- First published
- 2012
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
5. Matches the dangerous attraction
The Cruel Prince
Holly Black
Give this ifthey loved that Edward was dangerous
A mortal girl raised in the High Court of Faerie schemes for power, and clashes with its cruelest prince. Sharp, dark and full of court intrigue.
- Print length
- 370 pages
- First published
- 2018
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
6. The grown-up version
A Discovery of Witches
Deborah Harkness
Give this ifthey want Twilight for adults, with a library
A historian and reluctant witch finds a bewitched manuscript in Oxford's Bodleian Library and draws the attention of an ancient vampire. Longer, more scholarly and more romantic.
One caveat: Adult; long.
- Print length
- 664 pages
- First published
- 2011
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
7. The vampire classic
Interview with the Vampire
Anne Rice
Give this ifthey want the book modern vampire fiction grew from
A vampire tells a young reporter the story of his two centuries of existence, from plantation-era Louisiana to Paris. Darker and more literary, and a model for much of what followed.
One caveat: Adult; violent.
- Print length
- 349 pages
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
8. The adult romantasy
From Blood and Ash
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Give this ifthey want the forbidden romance turned up
A young woman chosen by the gods and kept veiled and untouched falls for the guard assigned to protect her. A bestselling adult romantasy series opener.
One caveat: Adult; open door.
- Print length
- 493 pages
- First published
- 2020
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
Romance, vampires or the secret world
Twilight is a love story first and a vampire novel second, and most of its readers came for the romance: the danger, the longing, the choice.
- The romance: Shiver or The Cruel Prince.
- The vampires: Vampire Academy or Interview with the Vampire.
- The grown-up version: A Discovery of Witches or From Blood and Ash.
Where this fits
Romantasy is where this shelf lives for adult readers, books like ACOTAR is the next step for a reader who wants more heat, gothic horror suits one who wants the atmosphere with more fear, and books for teens sorts gifts by age. Paranormal romance readers often read fast, which is exactly who the subscription panel on this page is for.
Two ways to read this list for less
If several books here appeal, a subscription usually beats buying them one at a time — but only for the right kind of reader. Here is who each one actually suits.
Audible Premium Plus
For anyone whose hands are busy
Driving, walking, cooking, cleaning. It converts hours that were never available for reading, which is a bigger effect than any discount. Books bought with a credit stay yours after you cancel — titles from the included catalog do not, and confusing the two is the most common complaint about the service.
See Audible plans and current pricingHow Audible actually works — credits, gifting and what happens when you cancel.
Kindle Unlimited
For fast readers who browse
It pays off from about three ebooks a month, in the genres the catalog covers well — romance, romantasy, cozy mystery, thriller, progression fantasy. It does not pay off if you are waiting on a specific new hardcover, because those are usually not included. Everything is borrowed, not owned.
See Kindle Unlimited terms and pricingIs Kindle Unlimited worth it? — the arithmetic, done on your own reading.
#ad — how we are funded. We print no subscription prices anywhere on this site, because they change and a stale figure sends you to a checkout expecting something that is not there. And if you read in silence in a chair, neither of these is for you — buy the book, or borrow it from your library.
What we would skip
Midnight Sun for someone who has only seen the films
Midnight Sun retells Twilight from Edward's point of view and assumes the reader knows the whole story. It is a lovely gift for a devoted fan of the books and a confusing one for someone who has only seen the films. Check which they have read.
Questions people ask
What should I read after Twilight?
Shiver for another small-town supernatural love story, or Vampire Academy if the vampires were the draw.
What are good vampire books for adults?
Interview with the Vampire is the classic, and A Discovery of Witches the long, romantic modern version.
Is there a Twilight book from Edward's point of view?
Yes. Midnight Sun retells the first book from Edward's side.
What should a teenage Twilight fan read next?
Vampire Academy, Shiver or Beautiful Creatures, all young-adult paranormal romances.
Sources
- Open Library Search API — First publication year, median print length and cover art for every book on this page. Queried 8 September 2026.
- Kindle Unlimited signup page — The only authoritative source for current Kindle Unlimited pricing and catalog terms.
- Audible Premium Plus membership page — The only authoritative source for current Audible plans, prices and terms.
Read next
- What to Read Next
Read-alike lists that name the element they match, plus the how-to-choose framework.
- Best Romantasy Books
Eight romantasy books with the heat level and series commitment flagged on each.
- Books Like ACOTAR
Eight read-alikes sorted by whether the reader loved the world, the romance, the darkness or the scale.
- Best Books for Teens
Eight books a teenager might pick up voluntarily, with the syllabus deliberately excluded.
- Best Gothic Novels
Eight gothic novels, from the Victorian originals to their modern heirs.