Or, books to read if you love Harry Potter.

Whether you’re looking for an alternative to the Harry Potter books because you despise J.K. Rowling or you loved the Harry Potter series so much (like me), you want to try to experience those feelings again (but let’s face it, nothing will beat reading HP for the first time… or any time after), I have a few titles that you’d probably enjoy.

I haven’t read all of the series I’m mentioning here, but they seem to have that same quality of sucking readers into the worlds/stories that Harry Potter posses. Also, not all of these series mentioned are fantasy. Some are science-fiction or contemporary. They’re mostly fantasy though.

Of course, we’ll start with those that I’ve read.

Series I’ve Read

The Land of Stories – Chris Colfer (Fantasy)

I devoured this series within a week. One of those nights I went from book five straight into book six at one in the morning. I didn’t care that I had work the next day. The books were that good. It mixes the real world with fairy tales when the main characters, Alex and Connor, accidentally get sucked into their grandmother’s book of fairy tales.

The School for Good and Evil – Soman Chainani (Fantasy)

This series is, in my opinion, Harry Potter meets fairy tales. Two young girls, best friends Sophie and Agatha, are taken away from their village and sent to the School for Good and Evil, and right from the start, their journey in this school is nothing like they expect. Their friendship is tested throughout the series as one of them learns the ways of Good while the other learns Evil.

Left Behind – Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins (Dystopian/Christian Fiction)

I love the slogan for this series, which is, “Fiction, for now.” The idea is based off of Biblical prophecy of what’s to happen after the Rapture of the Church of Jesus Christ – or in other terms, what happens when millions of people disappear from the face of the earth? (No, Marvel didn’t think of it first, sorry). The series follows a former pilot whose wife and young son disappear with the raptured, leaving him and his eldest daughter among those left behind. As new believers, they spend the next seven years fighting for their lives and trying to bring more people to Christ in the midst of a world run by the Antichrist.

The Gallagher Girls – Ally Carter (Espionage/Mystery)

While this isn’t fantasy at all, it’s about a spy school for girls, which is kind of a fantasy for some of us, right? This series is highly addictive, and only six books long – I say ‘only’ because they’re relatively short novels compared to fantasy novels, and it’s easy to get through the series in a week.

Series I Haven’t Read (But Might Want To)

Pages & Co. – Anna James (Fantasy)

From my understanding, it’s similar to The Land of Stories in the sense that it mixes real life with fairy tales. I actually bought the first book when I was in Canada, but still have yet to read it. I think it’ll be a good series though, especially for middle-grade readers and fairy tale lovers. And I believe there are more books to come.

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel – Michael Scott (Fantasy)

A series about Nicholas Flamel, who was indeed a real person and is mentioned in Harry Potter. However, this series is about Nicholas himself, and his secrets of alchemy and the possibility of living an immortal life.

The Invisible Library – Genevieve Cogman (Fantasy/Sci-Fi)

I read the first book of this series, but I’m unsure if I’ll continue. Not because the first book wasn’t good, I’m just not sure if my heart is really into the series. However, it’s eight books about a time-traveling librarian spy… so I do still have some interest in it… maybe I just need to be in the right mindset for them. Anyway, I think if you like the show, The Librarians, you’ll like this series.

Ash Princess – Laura Sebastian (Fantasy)

I do actually plan to read this series. I have books one and two already. It takes place in a made-up land, following a dethroned princess who leads a rebellion to take over the kingdom that is rightfully hers.

Now, just because I wrote an “Alternatives to Harry Potter” post, doesn’t mean I’m no longer a fan of the series and the world J.K. Rowling created. I’m very much a Potterhead and will forever be one. However, I do understand that there are people out there who no longer want to support her, and that’s why I listed seven series y’all can read instead. I will say your best bets are The Land of Stories and The School for Good and Evil series (I met Soman Chainani, and he’s the sweetest and funny!).

Have you read any of these series? Do you have any other suggestions for books if you loved Harry Potter or just as an alternate to the series?