Books like 'The Door by the Staircase'
Readers who enjoyed The Door by the Staircase by Katherine Marsh also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary fantasy mystery action / adventure horror supernatural magic paranormal witches-wizards retellings
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War Hammer by Shayne Silvers
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAn alternative cover edition for this ASIN can be found here.Two old dudes want to kill me. Oh, and one of them is my ancestor…And after centuries of practice, they’re pretty good at the whole murder thing. But at least they want to kill each other just as badly.Now, I’ve taken down a Greek Goddess, worn a Horseman’s Mask, and I ride a homicidal unicorn who hates rainbows with a passion...Categorized as:
magic mythical-creatures myths paranormal retellings witches-wizards action-adventure adult -
Magic Unleashed by T.J. Green
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsUnknown entities and the Daughters of Llyr. Trouble’s coming to White Haven.Avery and the White Haven witches have finally found their grimoires and defeated the Favershams, but their troubles are only just beginning. Something escaped from the spirit world when they battled beneath All Souls Church, and now it wants to stay, unleashing violence across Cornwall... -
Blood is Thicker by Orlando A. Sanchez
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA Broken Pact. An Ancient Enemy. A Bitter Betrayal. What does a vampire fear more than sunlight? The Cazadoras Sangrientas-Blood Hunters. Michiko Nakatomi has led the Dark Council for over a century, maintaining the uneasy truce between humanity and the supernatural. But when an ancient enemy returns the delicate balance is shattered and vampires start dying... -
A Killing Frost by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsWhen October is informed that Simon Torquill—legally her father, due to Faerie's archaic marriage traditions—must be invited to her wedding or risk the ceremony throwing the Kingdom in the Mists into political turmoil, she finds herself setting out on a quest she was not yet prepared to undertake for the sake of her future.... and the man who represents her family's past... -
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With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsWhat does it mean when your school is voted the most dangerous in America? It's time to kick some hellion butt...After not really surviving her junior year (does "undead" count as survival?), Kaylee Cavanaugh has vowed to take back her school from the hellions causing all the trouble...Categorized as:
family friendship magic mythical-creatures myths paranormal action-adventure alpha-mc -
Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsI died on a Thursday— killed by a monster intent on stealing my soul.The good news? He didn't get it.The bad news? Turns out not even death will get you out of high school…Covering up her own murder was one thing, but faking life is much harder than Kaylee Cavanaugh expected...Categorized as:
family friendship magic mythical-creatures myths paranormal action-adventure alpha-mc -
Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom World Fantasy Award-winning author Charles de Lint, a tale of love, courage, and the transforming power of imagination Isabelle Copley's visionary art frees ancient spirits. As the young student of the cruel, brilliant artist Vincent Rushkin, she discovered she could paint images so vividly real they brought her wildest fantasies to life... -
The Second Siege by Henry H. Neff
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsThe Tapestry series continues to weave threads of fantasy, mythology, science fiction, and mystery into a wholly original adventure that appeals to fans of everything from Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings to The X-Men. Genre-blending and fully illustrated, The Tapestry novels have caught the attention of middle-grade and young adult readers alike—and the series is only getting bigger...Categorized as:
children magic myths paranormal retellings witches-wizards action-adventure audiobook -
The Widow's Broom by Chris Van Allsburg
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA widow finds herself in possession of an extraordinary broom left by a witch who fell into the widow's garden... -
Grave Intentions by Nazri Noor
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSomething has stolen the darkling mage’s face. Reports of arcane theft and violence are pouring in from all over Valero. They all have one thing in common: a perpetrator who looks exactly like Dustin Graves. But Dust has been hanging in the hideout, barely out of sight of his bloodthirsty companions... -
The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsI am a dark spirit, the ghost announced grandly. I am your inheritance, your grandmother’s legacy. I am yours to command.Suraya is delighted when her witch grandmother gifts her a pelesit. She names her ghostly companion Pink, and the two quickly become inseparable... -
In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsThis fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise...Categorized as:
fairy-tale family friendship historical-fiction magic paranormal retellings action-adventure -
Tricks for Free by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsPenance, noun:1. Punishment for past actions.2. An attempt to pay for what can’t be bought.3. See also “exile.”Antimony Price is on the run. With the Covenant on her tail and her family still in danger, she needs to get far, far away from anyone who might recognize her—including her own mice. For the first time in a long time, a Price is flying without a safety net...Categorized as:
family friendship magic mythical-creatures myths paranormal witches-wizards action-adventure -
The Girl in the Green Silk Gown by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThe second book in the Ghost Roads series returns to the highways of America, where hitchhiking ghost Rose Marshall continues her battle with her killer--the immortal Bobby Cross.Once and twice and thrice around, Put your heart into the ground. Four and five and six tears shed, Give your love unto the dead...Categorized as:
friendship historical-fiction magic myths paranormal witches-wizards action-adventure afterlife -
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Cirque Du Freak Boxed Set #2 (Cirque Du Freak, #5-8) by Darren Shan
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsOffers four more volumes in the frightening saga of a young boy whose visit to a mysterious freak show leads him on a journey into a dark world of vampires...Categorized as:
children mythical-creatures paranormal action-adventure book contemporary fiction horror -
The Missing Piece of Charlie O'Reilly by Rebecca Ansari
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCharlie O’Reilly is an only child. Which is why it makes everyone uncomfortable when he talks about his brother. Liam, his eight-year-old kid brother, who, up until a year ago, slept in the bunk above Charlie, took pride in being as annoying as possible, and was the only person who could make Charlie laugh until it hurt.Then came the morning when the bunk, and Liam, disappeared forever...Categorized as:
children family friendship historical-fiction magic action-adventure book children-books -
Fairytales for Wilde Girls by Allyse Near
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA deliciously dark bubblegum-gothic fairytale from a stunning new Australian talent.‘He's gone the same way as those little birds that bothered me with their awful songs! And you will too, you and your horrible heart-music, because you won't stay out of my woods!'There's a dead girl in a birdcage in the woods. That's not unusual. Isola Wilde sees a lot of things other people don't...Categorized as:
fairy-tale magic mythical-creatures myths paranormal retellings action-adventure book -
The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSophie loves the hidden shop below her parents' bookstore, where dreams are secretly bought and sold. When the dream shop is robbed and her parents go missing, Sophie must unravel the truth to save them. Together with her best friend—a wisecracking and fanatically loyal monster named Monster—she must decide whom to trust with her family’s carefully guarded secrets... -
Nightmares! The Sleepwalker Tonic by Jason Segel
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNightmares! The Sleepwalker Tonic is the sequel to the hilariously scary New York Times bestselling novel Nightmares! by multitalented actor Jason Segel and bestselling author Kirsten Miller. You thought the nightmares were over? You better keep the lights on! Charlie Laird has a dream life. 1) He has a weirdo stepmom who runs an herbarium... -
The Suffering by Rin Chupeco
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Tark knows what it is to be powerless. But Okiku changed that. A restless spirit who ended life as a victim and started death as an avenger, she’s groomed Tark to destroy the wicked...Categorized as:
friendship historical-fiction magic myths paranormal retellings 21st-century action-adventure -
Ghosts of Greenglass House by Kate Milford, Jaime Zollars
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWelcome back to the irresistible world of Greenglass House where thirteen-year-old Milo is, once again, spending the winter holidays stuck in a house full of strange guests who are not what they seem. There are fresh clues to uncover as friends old and new join in his search for a mysterious map and a famous smuggler’s lost haul... -
Reflections by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 26 ratings“For her to love me, she had to be willing to kill me. Anything else would show that her heart was untrue.”The struggle against not-so-charming storybook narratives isn’t the only complicating factor in Henrietta “Henry” Marchen’s life... -
The Hidden by Jessica Verday
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA love that knows no bounds. Abbey knows that Caspian is her destiny. Theirs is a bond that transcends even death. But as Abbey finally learns the full truth about the dark fate that links her to Caspian and ties them both to the town of Sleepy Hollow, she suddenly has some very hard choices to make...Categorized as:
friendship magic myths paranormal retellings witches-wizards action-adventure adaptations -
Nightrise by Anthony Horowitz
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThe third heart-pounding book in #1 NYT bestselling author Anthony Horowitz's spellbinding The Gatekeepers series A gate has been opened. The Old Ones have been released. And now the third and fourth of The Five -- twins with a mysterious psychic bond -- are joining the fight... -
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My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsTrying to work things out with Nash—her maybe boyfriend—is hard enough for Kaylee Cavanaugh. She can't just pretend nothing happened. But "complicated" doesn't even begin to describe their relationship when his ex-girlfriend transfers to their school, determined to take Nash back.See, Sabine isn't just an ordinary girl. She's a mara, the living personification of a nightmare...Categorized as:
family friendship magic mythical-creatures myths paranormal action-adventure alpha-mc -
The Other Alice by Michelle Harrison
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhat happens when a tale with real magic, that was supposed to be finished, never was? This is a story about one of those stories . . . Midge loves riddles, his cat, Twitch, and – most of all – stories. Especially because he's grown up being read to by his sister Alice, a brilliant writer... -
The Raconteur's Commonplace Book by Kate Milford, Jaime Zollars
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsNothing is what it seems and there's always more than one side to the story as a group of strangers trapped in an inn slowly reveal their secrets...The rain hasn't stopped for a week, and the twelve guests of the Blue Vein Tavern are trapped by flooded roads and the rising Skidwrack River. Among them are a ship’s captain, tattooed twins, a musician, and a young girl traveling on her own...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction magic myths paranormal retellings action-adventure audiobook -
The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA Cuban American boy must use his secret ability to communicate with animals to save the inhabitants of his town.All Nestor Lopez wants is to live in one place for more than a few months and have dinner with his dad.When he and his mother move to a new town to live with his grandmother after his dad’s latest deployment, Nestor plans to lay low... -
Legend of the Ghost Dog by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA thrilling mystery set against a stark landscape and the inspiration of Nome's real-life dog hero, Balto.Twelve-year-old Tee didn't think she believed in ghosts . . . until a walk in the woods around her new rural Alaskan home changes her mind. She and her beagle, Henry, are stalked by a wolfish, decidedly spooky shadow. There's something out there - and it's not of this world...Categorized as:
animals children family friendship historical-fiction paranormal action-adventure book -
Les aventures de Johnny Dixon: Le crâne du sorcier by John Bellairs
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen Johnny Dixon and his friend Professor Childermass discover an old heirloom clock, the terror begins. The professor suddenly vanishes, and Johnny is left to solve the mystery--alone.Inside the clock Johnny discovers a miniature room, a room exactly like the one in which a murder took place long ago. And from the inside the little room Johnny pockets a tiny skull with magical powers...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction magic paranormal witches-wizards 20th-century action-adventure book -
The Year of Shadows by Claire Legrand
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsOlivia wants a new life—and her wish might be granted by the unlikeliest allies. A heartfelt, gently Gothic novel from Claire Legrand that School Library Journal calls a “not-too-scary ghost story.”Olivia Stellatella is having a rough year... -
Coraline and Other Stories by Neil Gaiman
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen Coraline explores her new home, she steps through a door and into another house just like her own - except that things aren't quite as they seem. There's another mother and another father in this house and they want Coraline to stay with them and be their little girl. Coraline must use all of her wits and every ounce of courage in order to save herself and return home .. -
The Unholy Cause by Joe Schreiber
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA "Supernatural" novel that reveals a previously unseen adventure for the Winchester brothers, from the hit CW series Way back in April 1862, Confederate Captain Jubal Beauchamp leads a charge across a Georgia battleground... Fast forward to 2009 and a civil war re-enactment becomes all too real. When Sam and Dean head down south to investigate they find that history has got somewhat out of hand. -
Ghost Dog Secrets by Peg Kehret
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEach day, sixth-grader Rusty feeds a dog that's left chained in the frigid weather with no shelter, food, or water. When he realizes the dog has been injured, he tries to have Animal Control help - but when that fails, Rusty and his friend Andrew unchain the dog and take it... -
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Malamander by Thomas Taylor
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNobody visits Eerie-on-Sea in the winter... -
My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsKaylee has one addiction: her very hot, very popular boyfriend, Nash. A banshee like Kaylee, Nash understands her like no one else. Nothing can come between them.Until something does.Demon breath. No, not the toothpaste-challenged kind. The Netherworld kind. The kind that really can kill you. Somehow the super-addictive substance has made its way to the human world...Categorized as:
family friendship magic mythical-creatures myths paranormal action-adventure alpha-mc -
The Glass God by Kate Griffin
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsSharon Li: apprentice shaman and community support officer for the magically inclined. It wasn't the career Sharon had in mind, but she's getting used to running Magicals Anonymous and learning how to Be One With The City.When the Midnight Mayor goes missing, leaving only a suspiciously innocent-looking umbrella behind him, Sharon finds herself promoted. Her first task: find the Midnight Mayor... -
Pocket Apocalypse by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsEndangered, adjective: Threatened with extinction or immediate harm.Australia, noun: A good place to become endangered.Alexander Price has survived gorgons, basilisks, and his own family—no small feat, considering that his family includes two telepaths, a reanimated corpse, and a colony of talking, pantheistic mice... -
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 85 ratingsSussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother... -
Took: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 20 ratings“Folks say Old Auntie takes a girl and keeps her fifty years—then lets her go and takes another one.” Thirteen-year-old Daniel Anderson doesn’t believe Brody Mason’s crazy stories about the ghost witch who lives up on Brewster’s Hill with Bloody Bones, her man-eating razorback hog. He figures Brody’s probably just trying to scare him since he’s the new kid . . -
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsImagine an America very similar to our own. It's got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream. There are some differences. This America has been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not... -
Tales From the Hinterland by Melissa Albert
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA gorgeously illustrated collection of twelve fairy tales by the author of The Hazel Wood and The Night Country!Journey into the Hinterland, a brutal and beautiful world where a young woman spends a night with Death, brides are wed to a mysterious house in the trees, and an enchantress is killed twice―and still lives...Categorized as:
fairy-tale historical-fiction magic myths paranormal retellings witches-wizards action-adventure -
Carniepunk: The Demon Barker of Wheat Street by Kevin Hearne
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratings(This story takes place six years after Tricked, the fourth book of the Iron Druid Chronicles, and two weeks after the events of the novella Two Ravens and One Crow.)The ancient Druid Atticus O’Sullivan gets more than greasy corn dogs and flat soda when he visits a carnival in Kansas to which his apprentice, Granuaile, drags him...Categorized as:
magic myths paranormal retellings witches-wizards action-adventure adult anthologies -
All the Bad Apples by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe day after the funeral all our mourning clothes hung out on the line like sleeping bats. 'This will be really embarrassing,' I kept saying to my family, 'when she shows up at the door in a week or two.'When Deena's wild and mysterious sister Mandy disappears - presumed dead - her family are heartbroken. But Mandy has always been troubled. It's just another bad thing to happen to Deena's family...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction magic myths paranormal witches-wizards action-adventure audiobook -
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The Last Life of Prince Alastor by Alexandra Bracken
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThree hundred years ago, fate bound Prosper Redding and Prince Alastor of the Third Realm together. Now the human boy and fiend heir to the demon kingdom must put aside a centuries-old blood feud to save everything they love... -
Spirit's Key by Edith Cohn
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSpirit's Key is a mystery with a bit of magic for fans of Savvy and Because of Winn Dixie.By now, twelve-year-old Spirit Holden should have inherited the family gift: the ability to see the future. But when she holds a house key in her hand like her dad does to read its owner's destiny, she can’t see anything... -
Paola Santiago and the River of Tears by Tehlor Kay Mejia
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsSpace-obsessed 12-year-old Paola Santiago and her two best friends, Emma and Dante, know the rule: Stay away from the river. It's all they've heard since a schoolmate of theirs drowned a year ago... -
The Otherwoods by Justine Pucella Winans
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsThe Otherwoods is calling. And it won't be ignored.Some would call River Rydell a 'chosen one': born with the ability to see monsters and travel to a terrifying spirit world called The Otherwoods, they have all the makings of a hero. But River just calls themself unlucky... -
The Mapmaker and the Ghost by Sarvenaz Tash
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsGoldenrod Moram loves nothing better than a good quest, so she decides to start her own exploring team fashioned after her idols, the explorers Lewis and Clark. Setting out to map the forest right behind her home, her task is derailed when the team encounters a mysterious old lady, who has them search for a legendary blue rose...Categorized as:
children friendship historical-fiction magic paranormal action-adventure book children-books -
Mothman’s Curse by Christine Hayes
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen Josie and her brothers uncover a haunted camera, the Mothman legend becomes a terrifying reality that threatens their entire town in this spooky and action-filled novel. Josie may live in the most haunted town in America, but the only strange thing she ever sees is the parade of oddball customers that comes through her family's auction house each week...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction myths paranormal retellings action-adventure book children-books
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