book recommendations · paranormal romance · Windhaven Witches · witch books for adults · witch romance books · witchy romance books ·Oct 20, 2026

Witch Romance Books: 7 Paranormal Picks Worth Reading

If you love a good witch story with a love story woven through it, you already know how hard they can be to find. Some lean all the way into romance, some are mostly about the magic, and some land somewhere delightful in between. Spooky season makes the hunt more fun, but these picks are good any time of year.

I write witches myself, so I'm a little biased, and one of my series is on this list (clearly labeled). I checked every premise against a published description, so you know what you're getting before you click.

What makes a good witch romance

Magic that matters to the plot, not just decoration.
A love story that has to push against something: a curse, a rivalry, an old heartbreak, a rule.
A strong sense of place, whether that's a gothic academy, a small town, or an old family home.
Characters you'd happily spend more than one book with.
Enough humor or warmth to balance the darker moments.

7 witch romance books worth reading

1. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Diana Bishop is a Yale historian who comes from a line of witches and has long rejected her own magic. When she pulls a lost alchemical manuscript off a shelf at Oxford's Bodleian Library, her powers wake up and every kind of magical creature takes notice. One of them is Matthew Clairmont, a vampire who has hunted for that book for more than a century and a half. He takes on her protection, and a forbidden romance grows between them. It's the first book in the All Souls trilogy.

2. The Windhaven Witches by Carissa Andrews (mine)

Autumn Blackwood has never been the type to ask for trouble. Then she's accepted to Windhaven Academy under mysterious circumstances, and trouble starts answering anyway. The school is gothic and gargoyled, the Blackwood family manor is full of ghosts, and a curse has haunted her family for generations. Add a silver-eyed stranger she meets in a cemetery, a love story that hits fast and runs deep, friends who become family, and humor to cut the dread.

This is a four-book YA+ paranormal fantasy romance, with stronger language and some mature situations. Start with Secret Legacy (Book 1), or pick up the complete series in the Windhaven Witches Omnibus. There's also a free bonus short story, Sin Eater, if you'd like a peek behind the veil.

3. Dark Witch by Nora Roberts

Iona Sheehan suspects she has magical abilities, so she moves to Ireland to meet distant relatives and learn how to use them. While she settles in, she prepares to face Cabhan, an ancient dark sorcerer who has survived for centuries, and she begins a romance with Boyle McGrath, who owns a stable. The story opens in the thirteenth century with Sorcha, the Dark Witch, defending her family. It's the first of three books in the Cousins O'Dwyer trilogy.

4. The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

Nine years ago, Vivi Jones hexed her heartbreaker of an ex-boyfriend with an orchard-scented candle. Now Rhys Penhallow is back in the small Georgia town of Graves Glen, and the curse has gone badly wrong, spreading across the whole town. The two have to work together to break it, even though their old chemistry keeps getting in the way. It's the first book in the Ex Hex series, with a small-town setting and plenty of humor.

5. Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz

Freya, Ingrid, and their mother, Joanna Beauchamp, have lived on Long Island's East End for centuries as witches whose powers were restricted in exchange for immortality. When those restrictions begin to weaken, they start using magic freely. It helps the townspeople, but it also brings strange creatures and disappearances. Meanwhile, Freya's love life gets complicated: she's engaged to a Hamptons society man while in love with his brother.

6. Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper

Emmy Harlow returns to her hometown of Thistle Grove almost ten years after leaving with a broken heart, just as her family prepares to judge a magical tournament among four families. She joins her best friend Linden Thorn and the alluring Talia Avramov in a plot for revenge on Gareth Blackmoore, the man who betrayed them, even though Emmy has to stay impartial while he competes. The angrier she gets, the faster her attraction to Talia grows.

7. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Mika Moon is an orphaned witch who hides her real magic and has always felt out of place. When a retired actor recognizes her from her online videos, she's recruited to tutor three unruly young witches at Nowhere House, a household of found family. There she meets Jamie Kelly, the protective house librarian, and their attraction runs straight into his determination to keep his guard up.

How to choose your next witchy romance

Want a scholar, a vampire, and centuries of history? Start with A Discovery of Witches.
Want a haunted academy, a family curse, and a love story that moves fast? Try The Windhaven Witches (mine).
Want an Irish setting and a trilogy built around family? Pick up Dark Witch.
Want humor, former flames, and a small Southern town? Go with The Ex Hex.
Want immortal witches and a Long Island setting? Read Witches of East End.
Want a revenge plot and a magical tournament? Choose Payback's a Witch.
Want found family at the center? Look at The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.