I think of reading as my escape. When I don’t want to deal with the cards reality has dealt me, I go to a completely different world through the pages of the books I read. I know that not everyone likes reading, but I can’t live without it. Most of the books on my list are for people thirteen and older, fair warning. For those people who are like me and are always in need of something to read, here are some of my favorite books and book series that I highly recommend to you.

1. "Graceling" by Kristen Cashore

This story follows Katsa, a girl who is one of the best assassins in her country because she’s not like everyone else, she’s Graced. Normally, the King’s niece would get the royal treatment, but because Katsa is Graced, she has been forced to do the King’s dirty work for most of her life. She eventually is given a job she won’t complete and goes against the King’s wishes. This is one of those books that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It’s full of action, plot twists, and a touch of romance. If you read this one and decide you love it as much as I do, there are two others in the series, “Fire” and “Bitterblue.”

2. "The Summoning" by Kelley Armstrong

Chloe Saunders is a normal teenager. She deals with homework, high school drama, meeting new boys, and there’s one more thing. She can see dead people. When puberty hits, Chloe starts to see the spirits of those who have passed on. When she tries to tell someone about it, she’s labelled a schizophrenic and is sent to a house for troubled teens. But she’ll soon learn that she wasn’t sent there on accident. With the help of her new friends from the home, she’ll learn all about what she can do and how to control her powers. The series continues in “The Awakening” and “The Reckoning.” To this day, I still consider this to be one of my absolute favorite book series. I hope you love it as much as I do.

3. "The Naturals" by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Cassie is a seventeen-year-old girl who is a natural at profiling people. Just by looking at you, she can tell a lot of different things about you that nobody has ever guessed. She never thought this ability was important, but one day the FBI is suddenly at her doorstep, offering her a position in a secret program that involves other teenagers like her and unsolved cases that she is now expected to solve. With plot twists at every turn, this really is a great book. Following this book, there’s “Killer Instinct,” “All In,” and “ Bad Blood.”

4. The FBI Series by Catherine Coulter

There are so many books in this series that I didn’t want to just talk about the first one. This series follows Agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock through their many adventures in the Criminal Apprehension Unit of the FBI. Chasing psycho after psycho, they get themselves into all kinds of trouble. These books are hard to put down once you start reading and the fact that there’s twenty books in the series doesn’t help. And she’s still writing them! The first two books are in one volume called “The Beginning.”

5. The Sweep Series by Cate Tiernan

This series follows Morgan Rowlands through her journey of finding out she’s a witch. It helps that she’s got Cal, a hot boy who just moved to her town, guiding her way through. It all started when Cal invited a bunch of people to a homecoming party and at that party, he invites the other students to join him in a Wiccan circle to celebrate Mabon, which is a Wiccan Sabbaths. From there, Morgan becomes determined to learn everything she can about Wicca and how it connects to her. There are fifteen books in this series, which you can probably find in five volumes with three books in each. Three books for the price of one! The books in the first volume include “Book of Shadows,” “The Coven,” and “Blood Witch.”

6. The Hollows Series

When I think of this series, I immediately start to laugh. This series follows Rachel Morgan, a witch living in Cincinnati, through her adventures with her vampire roommate, Ivy, and her partner in crime, Jenx the pixy. After quitting her job, she starts a private detective agency to help people with their problems, supernatural or otherwise. Dealing with demons, werewolves, vampires, and everything in between, Rachel expands her knowledge of witchcraft and fights for the little guy, while she fights off a millionaire, who won’t take no for an answer. The first book in this series is called “Dead Witch Walking.” This is one of the funniest series I've ever read.

7. "Born at Midnight" by C.C. Hunter

Kylie is dealing with a lot of stuff. Her boyfriend broke up with her, her parents are getting a divorce, and her grandma passed away. Fearing she might be going crazy, her parents send her away to a camp they think is for troubled kids. They thought wrong. As soon as Kylie gets to Shadow Falls Camp, she is surrounded by fairies, vampires, shapeshifters, werewolves, and witches. The best part is, they’re all telling her that she’s one of them, but they don’t know what. There are five books in this series, each better than the last.

8. "Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit" by Nahoko Uehashi

This book isn’t quite like any book I’ve ever read before. It follows female bodyguard, Balsa, as she takes on her most important charge, the Second Prince, Chagum. She saves the boy once, and is then invited into the Palace, so the Royal family can convey their gratitude. In the middle of the night, Balsa is called to the Queen’s chamber, so she can give Balsa her task. When Balsa questions why the Prince needs a bodyguard, the Queen informs her that someone is hunting Prince Chagum. That someone just so happens to be the King himself and he’s sending his best assassins after him. But, the reason for it all? It will blow your mind. There is another book connected to this one called, “Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness.”

9. "Haunted on Bourbon Street" by Deanna Chase

Jade is an empath who just moved into her new apartment in New Orleans and she absolutely loves it. Her life there never has a dull moment from the strip club next door to Kane, the sexy owner of the strip club. But things get even more exciting for her when she realizes she’s living with a ghost. The ghost starts haunting Jade and tormenting her new friend, Pyper. And finding a solution isn’t easy. There are seven more books in this series and all of them will keep you on the edge of your seat.

10. The Soul Guardians Series by Kim Richardson

Kara is on her way to the most important interview of her life when she is hit by a bus and dies. All of the sudden she’s no longer a normal teenager, she’s a Guardian Angel and she now has all of these new responsibilities. One of the many strange rules of being a Guardian Angel is that you are not allowed to fall in love. But that gets really hard for Kara when she meets David, the Guardian Angel who is supposed to train her. But something she hasn’t realized yet is she has a power inside her that nobody has ever heard of. She plans on using this power when she takes on a mission to save the human race. There are eight books in this series, starting with “Marked.”

11. House of Night Series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Zoey was at school one day, minding her own business, when a Tracker found her and marked her as a vampire. Zoey’s life suddenly changed completely. She moved into the private school that’s made specifically for vampires. Soon, she finds out that she’s not like all of the other students and she has special gifts that have never been seen before. There are twelve books in the House of Night series, starting with, coincidentally, “Marked.”

All of these books have served as my escape at one time or another. They’re all so good and I really hope you love them as much as I do.