9 Best Paranormal Romance Books to Read in May 2025

I finally went to get a tattoo. It was supposed to be a beautiful white lily, but the big grumpy tattoo artist had something else in mind. Only, he didn’t freaking tell me before he got started. When it’s time for the big reveal, I don’t see a pretty flower. I see his name. Tattooed across the back of my shoulder. He says I’m his. That I’m his mate. My friends tell him to go to hell. That we’re suing. But this grouchy beast isn’t shaken. He doesn’t care one bit. He keeps saying that he’s marked me, so I belong to him now. The worst thing is, I think he may be right. This can’t be happening. Fate can’t be so cruel as to bind me to a jerk like him. I can’t be mated to this big grumpy bear shifter, can I? CAN I??? Welcome to Heat & Ink where hot possessive tattoo artists leave their mark in more ways than one. The Heat & Ink series mixes Contemporary, Sci Fi Romance, and Paranormal in three standalone stories by best-selling STEAMY authors, Hope Ford, Michele Mills, and Olivia T. Turner.

Nine years ago, my sister died at Firestone Academy. At least, that's what they claim. I don't believe their lies about a tragic accident. Now I've come to face the trials myself - tests that will determine which Quarter I'll serve for the rest of my days. But I have other plans. Behind these ancient walls, dark magic pulses through every stone, and three elite shadow weavers rule absolute - The Princes: Beaufort Lincoln commands shadows like breathing, his charm masking deadly intent. Dray Eros weaves darkness into deadly art, violence wrapped in seductive smiles. Thorne Cadieux's silent power makes even teachers tremble. They've marked me as theirs, offering protection through the brutal trials in exchange for complete submission. Students break here, crushed by the trials. Most return changed. Others never return at all. The Princes may control these halls, but they don't know one thing: I'm not here to find my Quarter, play their games, or surrender to their seduction. I'm here to expose the academy's secrets. I'm here for my sister. And I'll burn their empire to the ground to find the truth. *First in a dark academy romance series where vengeance meets seduction, and deadly trials determine your fate.* Storm of Shadows is the first book in the Firestone Academy series. This story will not complete in book one and contains some scenes that readers may find challenging.

Fate stripped everything from me and forced me to face my worst nightmare. As the adopted and weakest member of my pack, I’ve always been an outcast and mistreated, especially since I've never been able to shift into my animal form. Every time I try to find a way to escape my personal hell, my pack leader stops me so that I'll never be free from him. Then the worst happens. A group of my pack members attacks me. Alone, outnumbered, and stuck in my human form, I'll fight for my life even though there’s no hope for survival. Until a group of unfamiliar wolves comes to my aid. The sexiest and strongest of them, Bodey, is adamant to protect me. And something inside me tugs toward him almost unnaturally. But it turns out things aren't what they seem. There might be something more to my past than I knew . . . and Bodey might be the very person I need protecting from. Get this steamy and suspenseful forced proximity, touch her and unalive, broody male, fated mates, royal wolf shifter romance today!

I’m the pack reject. The prey. For years, I've kept myself safe from my small pack's males, hiding in sewers and sleeping in trees to keep their teeth out of my neck. They don’t really want me, just the power and prestige that comes with winning the Hunt. I only want to survive. In three days, at the Enforcer Games, I'll have one chance to escape. But when the Games begin, and the most powerful shifters in the world arrive at my packlands and scent me, a new Hunt begins. They’re the princes of our world. And they're willing to break the rules to get me. Pack Reject is the first book in a new paranormal wolf shifter series from Amazon Top 50 and Vella-bestselling author Merri Bright. Fated mates who are driven to reject each other, powerful enemies in unlikely places, and a fierce heroine who will change the world... if she can survive the Hunt. Please read the content advisories in the Author's Note. This is a slow burn series where the heroine will not have to choose one mate, if she chooses any at all.

Diego Campos has come home to die. The GhostWalker is tired of walking a dark path shaped by countless losses. There has never been a moment of good in his life that wasn’t followed by something bad. But as he makes his way to his family’s homestead in the Appalachian Mountains, his plans are interrupted by a violent ambush that sets his life on a new course. In between fighting off a small army of assailants, Diego is struck by a beautiful, brutal warrior woman unlike anyone he’s encountered before. Compelled to rescue her, Diego uses his psychic gifts to make Leila’s broken body whole again and save her from certain death. With each new breath she regains her strength, showcasing her humor, intelligence and courage as she reveals the truths of her past and inspires feelings Diego never thought his heart could experience. After a lifetime alone, in the middle of firefight, Diego has finally found a light to guide him through the darkness—and one brief touch is enough to set them both aflame.

Alternate cover edition of ASIN B084VTC2P3 A woman starting over. A new house with an unexpected twist. A cape wearing butler acting as the world's worst life coach. "Happily Ever After" wasn't supposed to come with a do-over option. But when my husband of twenty years packs up and heads for greener pastures and my son leaves for college, that's exactly what my life becomes. Do-over. This time, though, I plan to do things differently. Age is just a number, after all, and at forty I'm ready to carve my own path. Eager for a fresh start, I make a somewhat unorthodox decision and move to a tiny town in the Sierra foothills. I'll be taking care of a centuries old house that called to me when I was a kid. It's just temporary, I tell myself. It'll just be for a while. That is, until I learn what the house really is, something I never could've imagined. Thankfully forty isn't too old to start an adventure, because that's exactly what I do. A very dangerous adventure that will change my life forever. I have a chance to start again, and this time, I make the rules.

They promised me everything. But when the tides turned and my true self surfaced, their promises washed away with the receding waves. I forced them to realize their mistake, made them see the truth, even if it meant drowning in my own heartache. Now, they’re sorry, begging for forgiveness. But I’m done with empty words and broken promises. I would have been happy to leave and never look back, but a rip current keeps pulling me toward them, to face the hurt. How can I trust them again after they rejected me so fiercely?

Wicked banter, kitchen witches, and hot men in kilts make this friends-to-lovers modern day Scottish fairytale a romping good time. I draw the line at serving people grasshoppers for dinner. As luck would have it, on the same day I quit my job as head chef at Suzette’s, a fine-dining restaurant in Boston, I was offered an opportunity to open a restaurant at a castle in Scotland. But now that I’m here in Loren Brae, I’m not so sure this city girl can hack it. The nights are too quiet–with no horns honking or insults being hurled–and everyone knows my business. And on the first day of my new life? I meet the hottest man I’d ever seen before. Munroe Curaigh. Owner of Common Gin, a dedicated nerd, innately shy, with the biggest golden retriever energy of any man I’d ever met. He immediately appoints himself my protector and I’d be annoyed if his kisses weren’t so wickedly hot. Still waters run deep, and all that. Speaking of still waters…it appears that Loch Mirren is haunted by murderous Kelpies and the people of Loren Brae need my help. That’s right. It turns out that I’m descended from a long line of Kitchen Witches and Loren Brae needs me, Lia, a chef from Boston, to help save them from an ancient curse. So what’s a girl to do? It’s time to sharpen my kitchen knife, pull out my recipe book of spells, and get to work–or this tiny village in Scotland that I’m quickly falling in love with will be in danger. That is, if I can come up for air from Munroe’s decadent kisses.

Fate doesn’t exist. But try telling that to the growling wolf shifter who thinks I’m his mate… This is not my week. Or month. Or year. My now-ex-boyfriend cheating on me with my best friend? I’d get over it eventually. Pretentious chefs who looked down on me because I never went to culinary school while I was raising my little sister? Screw ‘em. Finding out my sister has Lycan wolf DNA and I have hours to get her out of the city before she’s locked away in a government research facility? I definitely didn’t see that one coming. To save my sister’s life, we take off in the middle of the night following cryptic instructions from our late father to what was supposed to be the toxic wastelands. Imagine my surprise when we stumble into a fairy tale civilization of wolf shifters where magic is real and a frustrating, but ruggedly handsome pack enforcer has serious plans for me. The big, bad, and hungry wolf thinks I’m his fated mate and he’s not taking no for an answer. That’s just the icing on the metaphorical cake. But this isn’t some magical bedtime story. Real danger exists in the Cerberus pack. There’s a poison in the ranks. Shifters are leaving. My sister isn’t safe. And a blood-thirsty Alpha murders anyone that challenges him. Which I may--or may not--have accidentally done… Did I mention today is not my day? Each book in the Fated Destinies series is a full length novel told in dual POV where the main hero and heroine get their HEA. This steamy series offers spice without sacrificing the plot. Warning: These books do end on a slight cliffhanger once the individual plots are resolved. Scroll up now and start reading to find out how these fated destinies are interwoven into the overall series. Tropes: Humor Grumpy/Sunshine Growling Alpha Males Touch her and die Spicy M/F HEA Fated mates Slow burn