Five Urban Fantasy Books that Inspired Me
- Sara Lilienfeld
- Aug 13
- 3 min read
Magic & Murder in the Holler, the first book in my urban fantasy series The Arcane Codex, is a little less than six weeks away from release. As with any writer, there were plenty of books, shows and other media that inspired my novel and some of my works-in-progress. Today, I want to highlight some of the urban fantasy books that influenced me as an author or my work.
1) Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter
Vassa in the Night was the book that caused me to fall in love with urban fantasy again. I read a great deal of urban fantasy when I was younger, but as I grew older, I started focusing more on epic fantasy. I read Vassa in the Night in early 2020, before the idea of writing a book ever crossed my mind, and again last year. It's a modern retelling of "Vasilisa the Beautiful" and I was drawn to the way the author melded the Russian fairytale elements with the modern world, while telling a compelling story. It opened my eyes to the fact that this kind of story could exist and the potential for unique, compelling stories in the genre.
2) Wake the Bones by Elizabeth Kilcoyne
Wake the Bones falls a little closer to fantasy horror than outright urban fantasy, but I'd be lying if I said reading this book didn't give me ideas and inspiration when it comes to the setting of Magic & Murder in the Holler. Set on a sleepy farm, the plot follows Laurel, a tobacco hand and taxidermist, confronting a sinister presence on her family's land and coming to terms with her mother's complicated legacy. The rural setting of Wake the Bones and how it enhanced the horror elements partially inspired my decision to set my novel in rural Kentucky. It also shaped some of the themes around identity and legacy in my book.
3) Book of Night by Holly Black
Book of Night has incredibly beautiful prose and a unique writing style that has stuck with me for years. Black describes fantastical or deadly aspects of the world with the same vividness and detail as more mundane things to draw you into the story. It was easy for me to get lost in her words, which is something I aspire to be able to do as a writer.
4) Magic & Medicine by Olenna Nitkin
Magic & Medicine is an urban fantasy story where there's a hidden supernatural world that's separate from humans. The plot follows a doctor with untapped magic being drawn into the supernatural world after a random encounter with an injured vampire. It dabbles in the area of paranormal romance, as well. I've always loved stories with supernatural worlds/hidden societies and reading this book influenced some of the ways I handled how the supernatural world stays hidden in my own work. It also introduced me to some lesser-known folklore creatures that fit into urban fantasy very well.
5) The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg
I might be stretching the definition of "urban fantasy" with this one, since The Paper Magician is more "gas-lamp fantasy set in a city" than traditional urban fantasy, but I couldn't make this list without including this book. Holmberg's magic system in this series appears simple on the surface, with magicians able to wield and control different materials from paper to glass to plastic, but has so much depth. Reading this series helped me realize that a magic systems can be easy to understand while not being boring or limited. It also made me think about how to develop a magic system without overcomplicating things.
While there are countless books that shaped me, as an author and as a person, these five had the largest impact on my urban fantasy works.
What were some of your inspirations?
Magic & Murder in the Holler is available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and most other retailers.
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