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Books: Myths, Legends, and Lore in Fantasy Fiction

A list of genuinely compelling books that present mythology, lore, and legends in new and exciting ways!

According to Greek Mythology humans were created with 4 arms, 4 legs, and a head with 2 faces. Fearing their power. Zeus split them into to separate parts. Forced to spend their lives in search of their other half” – Plato

That’s right, here we are again with another book list. All of them are great reads, many are fantasy/urban fantasy, but each offer unique and interesting combinations of myths, legends, and lore.
There are many, many available options for books that have flawlessly incorporated such richly diverse cultural traditions and history into their stories.. especially in recent years. The selection here doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface.

Now, I didn’t include any of the ‘newer’ or more ‘popular’ books in this list because..
One: Everyone’s doing those and
Two: I feel like these deserve a little love, too.

I hope you enjoy them!

  (Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. Any purchases made through my links may earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you.) 


Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

A dark and lush paranormal romance set in a richly reimagined New Orleans—now in paperback!

Greek Mythology

Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.

Her search for answers uncovers a message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.

She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very…different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.

Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.


Skinwalker by Faith Hunter

Meet shapeshifting skinwalker Jane Yellowrock in the first novel in the New York Times bestselling series that captures “the essence of urban fantasy” (SF Site).

Native American Mythology

Jane Yellowrock is the last of her kind—a skinwalker of Cherokee descent who can turn into any creature she desires and hunts vampires for a living. But now she’s been hired by Katherine Fontaneau, one of the oldest vampires in New Orleans and the madam of Katies’s Ladies, to hunt a powerful rogue vampire who’s killing other vamps.

Amidst a bordello full of real “ladies of the night,” and a hot Cajun biker with a panther tattoo who stirs her carnal desire, Jane must stay focused and complete her mission—or else the next skin she’ll need to save just may be her own…


Urban Shaman by C. E. Murphy

Celtic and Native American Mythology

Joanne Walker has three days to learn to use her shamanic powers and save the world from the unleashed Wild Hunt.

No worries. No pressure. Never mind the lack of sleep, the perplexing new talent for healing herself from fatal wounds, or the cryptic, talking coyote who appears in her dreams

And if all that’s not bad enough, in the three years Joanne’s been a cop, she’s never seen a dead body—but she’s just come across her second in three days.

It’s been a bitch of a week.

And it isn’t over yet.


The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong

“Comfortably mixing science, myth, and mystery, Armstrong creates a vivid world highlighted by appealing characters. Fans and newcomers alike will be eager for more after Armstrong’s story drives to its pulse-pounding climax. “–Publishers Weekly —

Native American Mythology

Strange things are happening in Maya’s tiny Vancouver Island town.

First, her friend Serena, the captain of the swim team, drowns mysteriously in the middle of a calm lake. Then, one year later, mountain lions are spotted rather frequently around Maya’s home—and her reactions to them are somewhat . . . unexpected. Her best friend, Daniel, has also been experiencing unexplainable premonitions about certain people and situations.

It doesn’t help that the new bad boy in town, Rafe, has a dangerous secret, and he’s interested in one special part of Maya’s anatomy—her paw-print birthmark.


Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Moon Called is the novel that introduced Patricia Briggs’s Mercy Thompson to the world and launched a #1 bestselling phenomenon… 

Native American Mythology

Mercy Thompson is a shapeshifter, and while she was raised by werewolves, she can never be one of them, especially after the pack ran her off for having a forbidden love affair. So she’s turned her talent for fixing cars into a business and now runs a one-woman mechanic shop in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State.

But Mercy’s two worlds are colliding. A half-starved teenage boy arrives at her shop looking for work, only to reveal that he’s a newly changed werewolf—on the run and desperately trying to control his animal instincts. Mercy asks her neighbor Adam Hauptman, the Alpha of the local werewolf pack, for assistance. 

But Mercy’s act of kindness has unexpected consequences that leave her no choice but to seek help from those she once considered family—the werewolves who abandoned her…


Stormwalker by Allyson James

Book One of the award-winning Stormwalker series.

Native American and European Mythology(?)

Half-Navajo Janet Begay possesses extraordinary power that is tied to the storms that waft across the desert.

The only person who can control her when she’s caught in the storm’s evocative power is Mick, a dark-haired, blue-eyed biker Janet can’t seem to touch with her powers. He can wield fire and not get burned, and Janet’s never sure where he goes when they’re not together.

Together she and Mick investigate mysterious disappearances, which Janet fears are tied to her mother’s people, the mythical gods from beneath the earth. They are helped along the way by Coyote and Crow, but these shapeshifting gods have their own agendas.


The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

A bargain with a mysterious stranger will change her destiny as Kate Winters agrees to take the Goddess Test. But every girl who has taken the test has died… Get swept up in the story about which Cassandra Clare says, “A fresh take on the Greek myths adds sparkle to this romantic fable.”

Greek Mythology

It’s always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate’s going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won’t live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he’ll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he’s crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems amazingly possible. If she succeeds, she’ll become Henry’s future bride, and a goddess. But what Kate doesn’t know is that no one has ever passed THE GODDESS TEST.


Godhunter by Amy Sumida

The Godhunter Series is a slow-build Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance series with Gods, Shapeshifters, Witches, and mythical beasts that will keep you hunting for more.

Multiple Mythologies:
Greek, Norse, Aztec, Egyptian, Chinese, and more!

Godhunter—what a dumb name.

Hunting implies an advantage. It speaks of tracking and skills and swift kills. That’s not what I do. I’m more of a “sneak up on them when they’re asleep” kinda gal. And don’t give me any crap about that; didn’t you catch the god part? I do what I have to do to survive. Yes, survive. I don’t do this for pleasure. I’m not a crazy person. I kill gods because I don’t want them to kill me. Okay, yeah, that still sounds a little crazy.

But then he showed up: eyes full of lightning, a jawline that could cut glass, and the body of a Norse god… which is exactly what he is. One of them. He’s the one who gave me that stupid name. He also says he’s on my side. I should probably kill him. And by that I mean that I should run away and sneak up on him later when he’s asleep. But I have the strangest feeling that I can trust him. As a witch, I always trust my gut but as a woman, I suspect that this time, those feelings are coming from somewhere a little lower.


Justice Calling by Annie Bellet

Justice Calling is the first book in the USA Today BestsellingThe Twenty-Sided Sorceress urban fantasy series. Readers who enjoyed The Dresden Files or The Iron Druid Chronicles will likely enjoy this series.

Native American Mythology

Gamer. Nerd. Sorceress.

Jade Crow lives a quiet life running her comic book and game store in Wylde, Idaho. After twenty-five years fleeing from a powerful sorcerer who wants to eat her heart and take her powers, quiet suits her just fine. Surrounded by friends who are even less human than she is, Jade figures she’s finally safe.

As long as she doesn’t use her magic.

When dark powers threaten her friends’ lives, a sexy shape-shifter enforcer shows up. He’s the shifter world’s judge, jury, and executioner rolled into one, and he thinks Jade is to blame. To clear her name, save her friends, and stop the villain, she’ll have to use her wits… and her sorceress powers.

Except Jade knows that as soon as she does, a far deadlier nemesis awaits.


Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet

Discover the white-hot fantasy romance that broke all the rules, where a fierce woman with powerful hidden magic goes toe-to-toe with the alpha warlord who abducted her…only to steal her heart.

Greek Mythology

KINGDOMS WILL RISE AND FALL FOR HER…

Cat Fisa isn’t who she pretends to be. She’s perfectly content living disguised as a soothsayer in a traveling circus, avoiding the destiny the Gods—and her dangerous family—have saddled her with. As far as she’s concerned, the magic humming within her blood can live and die with her. She won’t be a pawn in anyone’s game.

But then she locks eyes with an ambitious warlord from the magic-deprived south and her illusion of safety is shattered forever.

Griffin knows Cat is the Kingmaker—the woman who divines truth through lies—and he wants her to be a powerful weapon for his newly conquered realm. Kidnapping her off the street is simple enough, but keeping the fierce beauty by his side is infuriatingly tough. Cat fights him at every turn, showing a ferocity of spirit that burns hot…and leaves him desperate for more. But can he ever hope to prove to his once-captive that he wants her there by his side as his equal, his companion…and maybe someday, his Queen?


Abandon by Meg Cabot

New from #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot, a dark, fantastical story about this world . . . and the underworld.

Greek Mythology

Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can’t help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she’s never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.

But now she’s moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid.

Only she can’t. Because even here, he finds her. That’s how desperately he wants her back. She knows he’s no guardian angel, and his dark world isn’t exactly heaven, yet she can’t stay away . . . especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most.

But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.


Trick of the Light by Rob Thurman

View our feature on Rob Thurman’s Trick of the Light.

Christian and Native American Mythology(?)

When Trixa learns of a powerful artifact known as the Light of Life, she knows she’s hit the jackpot.

Both sides—angel and demon—would give anything for it. But first she has to find it. And as Heaven and Hell ready for an apocalyptic throwdown, Trixa must decide where her true loyalty lies, and what she’s ready to fight for. Because in her world, if you line up on the wrong side, you pay with more than your life…


Dark Descendant by Jenna Black

From the acclaimed author of the Morgan Kingsley, Exorcist books comes the gripping first novel in a new series about a private eye who discovers, to her surprise, that she’s an immortal huntress.

Greek Mythology

Nikki Glass can track down any man.
But when her latest client turns out to be a true descendant of Hades, Nikki now discovers she can’t die. . . .

Crazy as it sounds, Nikki’s manhunting skills are literally god-given. She’s a living, breathing descendant of Artemis who has stepped right into a trap set by the children of the gods.

Nikki’s new “friends” include a descendant of Eros, who uses sex as a weapon; a descendant of Loki, whose tricks are no laughing matter; and a half-mad descendant of Kali who thinks she’s a spy. But most powerful of all are the Olympians, a rival clan of immortals seeking to destroy all Descendants who refuse to bow down to them.

In the eternal battle of good god/bad god, Nikki would make a divine weapon. But if they think she’ll surrender without a fight, the gods must be crazy


Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep

The new girl at a school for mythical warriors is out to solve her classmate’s murder in the New York Times bestselling author’s YA fantasy series debut.

Greek and Norse Mythology

My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy—a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody’s head with a sword. Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest.

But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. That kinda puts us on the verge of death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Now I’m determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why – especially since I should have been the one who died.

“Certain things catch you eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart”
Ancient Indian Proverb

That’s it for now!

I am a little disappointed that I didn’t include more Celtic stories.. although, I’m already making plans for another, similar compilation of books in the future. I hope you were able to find something of interest and thank you so much for reading!

What ancient mythology do your favor?
Do you have a favorite character in mythology?

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This Post Has 9 Comments

  1. D. Wallace Peach

    This is my go to genre, Sheri. And I haven’t read any of these. Thanks for all the books to browse through. 🙂

    1. Sheri Dye

      That’s wonderful.. Myths have some of the best stories!
      Thanks so much for taking time to read and comment. I hope you enjoy some of them!

  2. Leah's Books

    Wow, these all sound so good! I love all kinds of mythology, so these are definitely going onto my TBR!

    1. Sheri Dye

      Yay! I’m so glad! I’m forever finding incredible reads on yours.. It’s about time I could return the favor! 🌹☺

  3. Pooja G

    I just never got into fantasy- I don’t know why because that genre sounds perfect for me but it just didn’t click. BUT I’m totally willing to give it a try and check out some of the books you mentioned!

    1. Sheri Dye

      Hey, that’s fine, I’m not a big fan of contemporary romance.. if it’s not something you’re into, that’s fine!
      I do hope you find one you will enjoy, though!
      Thanks so much for your support! 😊💕

      1. Pooja G

        I hope so too and happy to support your awesome blog!

        1. Sheri Dye

          I don’t know about awesome, I’m still working on it but.. that’s so nice of you, thank you!

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