10 Romances About Magical Librarian Love
The City Inside, a near-future epic by the internationally celebrated Samit Basu, pulls no punches as it comes for your anxieties about society, government, the environment, and our world at large—yet never loses sight of the hopeful potential of the future.
A highly anticipated 2022 release for Polygon | The Nerd Daily | BookBub | The Portalist
“They'd known the end times were coming but hadn’t known they’d be multiple choice.”
“Magical Librarian Love” can mean a lot of things, but in this case we’re talking about romances that feature at least one librarian and one magical being. Sometimes, that magical being is courting the librarian. Sometimes, the magical being is the librarian. Either way, we get all the drama, fun, and bookish references.
A long time ago, I was a paranormal romance reader. I would find long series of books about vampires and werewolves and hunters of both of those things and just devour them one by one. Eventually, though, my interests shifted, and I went years without reading about the lion laying with the lamb, as it were. And when I decided to come back? There were monsters. Legit beings of myth and legend keeping their natural form and getting it on with human beings. There were communities of witches battling over power and hiding from humanity. There were still vampires and werewolves, but they were fun this time around instead of sobbing over their lost humanity. (Okay, there are still vampires and werewolves sobbing over their lost humanity. But I mostly just read Teen Wolf fanfiction instead.)
The creatures of the night that I was reading about in the early 2000s are still there, but now we also have cities full of minotaurs and brothels designed for unhuman desires. We have beasts whose curses aren’t broken and we have dragons and krakens in demonic bidding wars. We have blue aliens and green ones and red ones, all of which are different humanoid sizes.
And yet, we still have librarians.
Every paranormal, monster, and supernatural author worth their weight knows a librarian is going to pick up a book about a librarian, whether it’s to see if their profession is done justice, or just to excitedly see a librarian get what they deserve: rest, quiet, and someone to dote upon them. And if the librarian can save the world by doing some research? Bonus, amirite?
Here are some paranormal, supernatural, and monster romances featuring librarians of various sorts.
Bibliophile and the Beast by Ellis Leigh
The local librarian is a house cat. And that’s not a metaphor; she’s literally a house cat shifter. And when a man comes around smelling like her fated mate, she won’t abide it. Because he definitely gives off big predator vibes, much more than she’d like.
Librarian Bear by Zoe Chant
Sarah is a librarian in the small town of Virtue. While the town is small, she’s always busy and doesn’t have any time for romance. But when archivist (and bear shifter) Matthew arrives in town, just passing through, she can’t help but fall for him.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
Although Mika is supposed to be keeping her head down, sometimes she just wants to show off her minor witchy talents. She doesn’t expect anyone to take it seriously, but she’s contacted by someone inviting her to a remote home to teach a few young witches how to control their magic. But the grumpy librarian Jamie doesn’t see her as anything more than a threat.
Deceived by the Gargoyles by Lillian Lark
What do you do when your dating life is mostly filled with people who only want you for your family name? Hire a matchmaker, of course. And when they set you up with the perfect man, you just go with the flow when you find out he has other mates that will also be courting you, right?
A Knight to Remember by Bridget Essex
Holly isn’t very satisfied with her romantic life, even though she’s been in a relationship with a (kind of crappy?) girlfriend for years. But she gets a little bit of excitement when a woman wielding a sword appears out of nowhere seeking a large beast. Holly can definitely use her librarian skills to help, right?
Binding Shadows by Jasmine Silvera
While Barbara isn’t a librarian, she does do important work in the university library. She’s a research assistant working to also protect important supernatural books from necromancers! Her new boss has a similar goal, but he also has a beastly disposition — literally — and if there’s one thing man and beast agree on it’s how appealing Barbara is.
Written by Kathryn Moon
A coven of witch professors has been waiting for their fourth, and they seem to have found it in new librarian-in-training, Joanna. But while she’s excited (and overwhelmed) by the prospect of being on campus and being exposed to a great deal of magical information, she’s sure she can’t complete the coven, because she hardly has any magic.
Black Witch Magic by Mila Nicks
What happens when you combine a local librarian who’s cursed (?) and a paranormal investigator out to learn about her grandmother who was also cursed (?) and evil? Lots of clashing, that’s what. The two are intrigued by each other as people but definitely at odds when it comes to keeping and discovering secrets.
Bigfoot and the Librarian by Linda Winstead Jones
Marnie is new in town. She’s got a new job at the local library, a lovely little home, and some eye candy in the form of a hot local author. She’s also pretty sure she saw Bigfoot. But that’s ridiculous, right?
Icescrape by Milly Taiden
Grace is on a mission: find her missing friend. When that leads to her plane crashing on her first ever trip away from home, she is distraught. Luckily, fox shifter and mayor of Winterland finds her — and she’s his mate! Unfortunately, neither expects to be partners with the other’s type, but they might find that they each bring out the best in each other. And the skills they bring to the table aren’t anything to bark at either.
There are probably tons of other romances with librarians for you to read, and maybe even some that have monster-type protagonists! If you don’t mind your monsters sleeping with any type of body, check out this list of monster romances. And if you’re looking for some librarian love minus the magic, here’s a place to start!
