Bella Forrest built a huge following by delivering exactly what many fantasy and paranormal readers crave: fast-moving plots, bingeable series, dangerous supernatural worlds, high emotional stakes, and romances that keep the tension simmering chapter after chapter. Whether you came to her through A Shade of Vampire, her academy fiction, or her more dystopian fantasy work, the appeal is easy to understand. Her books are dramatic, addictive, and designed to pull readers straight into a world of secrets, power struggles, forbidden attraction, and cliffhangers.
If what you love most about Bella Forrest is the mix of supernatural intrigue, page-turning momentum, intense relationships, and immersive series storytelling, the authors below are excellent next picks. Some lean more heavily into paranormal romance, some into urban fantasy or YA fantasy, but all offer elements that Forrest fans often look for next.
Richelle Mead is one of the most natural recommendations for Bella Forrest readers because she combines supernatural danger, emotional intensity, and addictive series plotting with real confidence. Her books often feature heroines caught between loyalty, desire, and survival, and she has a gift for making magical politics feel personal rather than abstract.
Start with Vampire Academy. It offers vampire society, training-school tension, sharp dialogue, friendship drama, and a central relationship full of longing and complications. If you liked Forrest for her blend of romance and supernatural stakes, Mead is an especially strong match.
Cassandra Clare writes expansive fantasy worlds filled with secret histories, paranormal factions, family revelations, and slow-burning romantic turmoil. Like Bella Forrest, she understands how to keep readers hooked through twists, strong ensemble casts, and the promise that every answer will uncover an even bigger mystery.
Begin with City of Bones. This opener to The Mortal Instruments introduces demon hunters, hidden realms, dangerous alliances, and plenty of emotional drama. It is a great choice if you want a series with a rich mythology and a heavy dose of teen supernatural tension.
Jennifer L. Armentrout is an excellent pick for readers who enjoy accessible, high-energy fantasy with strong chemistry between the leads. Her novels often move quickly, balance danger with banter, and feature heroines discovering that the world around them is much stranger and more perilous than they imagined.
Try Obsidian, the first book in the Lux series. While it uses aliens rather than vampires, it delivers many of the same pleasures Bella Forrest fans tend to enjoy: a compelling supernatural love interest, escalating danger, series-long intrigue, and a romance threaded with conflict and attraction.
Sarah J. Maas is a strong recommendation for readers who want fantasy that feels bigger in scale while still keeping romance and emotional investment at the center. Her books are known for dramatic character arcs, dangerous magical systems, court intrigue, and relationships that evolve over multiple books.
Throne of Glass is a good place to start if you want action, secrets, and a heroine with unusual power and a complicated destiny. Forrest fans who enjoy long series, rising stakes, and romantic tension woven into epic fantasy plots will likely find a lot to love here.
Stephenie Meyer helped define modern supernatural romance for a generation of readers, and the connection to Bella Forrest is easy to see. Both writers understand the appeal of dangerous immortal love interests, emotionally heightened relationships, and stories where desire and risk are closely linked.
Her breakthrough novel Twilight remains the obvious entry point. If your favorite parts of Forrest's fiction are the romantic obsession, supernatural secrecy, and addictive "just one more chapter" feeling, Meyer's work is still worth revisiting or trying for the first time.
Becca Fitzpatrick writes paranormal romance with a dark YA edge, emphasizing forbidden attraction, suspense, and the thrill of not knowing whether the mysterious love interest can truly be trusted. Her stories have the same kind of emotional immediacy that draws readers into Bella Forrest's more romance-driven books.
Start with Hush, Hush, which follows Nora Grey after she becomes entangled with Patch, a magnetic and unsettling fallen angel. It is a solid choice for readers who want danger, chemistry, secrets, and a supernatural romance that leans into tension from the very beginning.
L. J. Smith is a foundational name in YA paranormal fiction, and her work remains a smart recommendation for Bella Forrest fans who want more vampires, love triangles, occult energy, and moody supernatural drama. Her storytelling is direct and easy to fall into, which makes her books particularly binge-friendly.
Begin with The Awakening, the opening volume of The Vampire Diaries. It introduces a small-town setting disrupted by dark supernatural forces, along with romance and rivalry at the heart of the story. If you enjoy classic paranormal setups with plenty of emotional stakes, Smith delivers.
Kresley Cole is a great step for readers who want the paranormal intensity of Bella Forrest but with a stronger adult romance focus. Her books are packed with immortal creatures, fated-mate tension, sharp humor, and high-stakes passion, all set within a world that feels large and interconnected.
Try A Hunger Like No Other, the first full-length novel in the Immortals After Dark series. It features supernatural conflict, possessive attraction, and a vivid paranormal universe. Readers who enjoy Bella Forrest's dramatic relationships and dangerous otherworldly atmosphere may find Cole especially addictive.
Gena Showalter writes emotionally charged paranormal romance with tortured heroes, mythic curses, and strong romantic stakes. Her fiction often has the same "heightened reality" feel that makes Bella Forrest's books so compelling: everything is bigger, darker, sexier, and more urgent.
A strong starting point is The Darkest Night, the first in the Lords of the Underworld series. It blends ancient mythology, supernatural warfare, and intense romance in a way that will appeal to readers who want more brooding immortals and dramatic emotional payoff.
Ilona Andrews brings a somewhat different flavor than Bella Forrest, but the appeal overlaps in important ways: immersive worldbuilding, compelling supernatural conflict, strong character dynamics, and books that are extremely easy to race through. Their stories are often wittier and more action-forward, with especially strong urban fantasy mechanics.
Start with Magic Bites, the first Kate Daniels novel. Set in an Atlanta where waves of magic disrupt modern life, it offers shapeshifters, necromancy, mystery, and a fierce heroine at the center of the chaos. If you enjoy supernatural worlds with momentum and bite, this is a rewarding pivot.
Amanda Hocking is a particularly good fit for readers who like Bella Forrest's fast, accessible style and talent for making fantasy feel immediately readable. Her books often focus on young women discovering hidden identities, secret supernatural societies, and the fact that their lives are far more complicated than they appeared.
Her novel Switched, the first in the Trylle Trilogy, is a fun starting point. It combines changelings, royalty, romance, and a strong sense of escalation, making it ideal for readers who want a quick, entertaining fantasy series with a paranormal twist.
Jaymin Eve is one of the best modern recommendations for Bella Forrest readers who love supernatural academies, ensemble casts, romance, and bingeable pacing. Her books are often packed with magical factions, strong heroines, and a steady stream of reveals designed to keep the pages turning.
Try Supernatural Academy: Year One. It throws readers into a hidden school populated by vampires, shifters, witches, and other dangerous beings, all while building a central mystery and romantic tension. If your favorite Forrest books were the ones with training, discovery, and nonstop supernatural drama, this is a strong pick.
Karen Marie Moning is ideal for readers who want darker atmosphere, richer mythic undertones, and a more adult urban fantasy edge. Her novels are moody, seductive, and layered with secrets, which gives them some of the same immersive pull that Bella Forrest fans often seek in long-running series.
Begin with Darkfever. The novel follows MacKayla Lane as she investigates her sister's murder and discovers a hidden fae underworld in Ireland. It is a great choice if you want mystery, danger, supernatural politics, and a darkly compelling slow-burn dynamic.
Kerri Maniscalco is a smart recommendation for Bella Forrest readers who enjoy gothic atmosphere, romantic tension, and stories driven by danger and discovery. While her books sometimes lean more into historical fantasy and mystery than straight paranormal romance, they still deliver the same kind of addictive emotional momentum.
Start with Stalking Jack the Ripper, where Audrey Rose Wadsworth secretly studies forensic science while hunting a notorious killer through Victorian London. If you like a capable heroine, dark mood, and a story that balances thrills with relationship tension, Maniscalco is well worth exploring.
Laurell K. Hamilton is a classic choice for readers ready to move from YA-leaning supernatural fiction into darker, more adult urban fantasy. Her books are packed with vampires, werewolves, necromancy, and dangerous political dynamics, creating the kind of intense paranormal environment that Bella Forrest fans often appreciate.
Start with Guilty Pleasures, the first Anita Blake novel. It introduces a heroine who is both vampire hunter and animator of the dead, navigating a world full of monsters, violence, and uneasy alliances. If you want supernatural fiction with a harder edge and plenty of series potential, Hamilton is a strong option.
