A definite ranking of all the books in the All Souls series just in time for fall

If one of your favorite ways to spend some time during autumn is bundling up with a book that simply feels like October was locked into its pages—which is, admittedly, how my usual evening looks like—then the All Souls Series by American author Deborah Harkness might be the perfect choice for you.

This currently five-book series really has everything urban fantasy readers long for. Centuries-old vampires, powerful witches, lost books, and whirlwind romances that defy all rules of society.

So here’s a ranking of all the books in the All Souls Series, to help you understand what you might be getting into—and with as little spoilers as possible, promise!

5. The Black Bird Oracle

The Black Bird Oracle is the latest novel in the series, published as recently as July 2024, and it returns to Matthew and Diana, the main characters of the first trilogy, after a book-long intermission. It’s not a terrible book by any means—the whole series is very enjoyable, after all—but something had to be in the last place of this ranking and I simply didn’t have enough time to grow fond of The Black Bird Oracle as I did with the other installments in this series. But it does its job of re-introducing us to all the characters we have come to know and love and setting up what might come next in their extraordinary lives.

4. Time’s Convert

Time’s Convert, the fourth book overall, came out in 2018 and shifts its focus from Matthew and Diana after the conclusion of their story and brings us back to the American Revolution. That’s when Matthew meets a young doctor who is eventually going to become his vampire son, Marcus. And in the present day, Marcus and his beloved Phoebe are getting ready for her transformation into a vampire. And sure, this book does not revolve around Matthew and Diana but I am Marcus’s number one fangirl and I loved reading about his backstory as well as seeing his romance with Phoebe unfold.

3. Shadow of Night

Shadow of Night is the second installment of the original All Souls Trilogy, which came out in 2012. Now, let it be known that the third and second places on this list are incredibly close—because sure, the second installment of any trilogy is usually the more lackluster one since it acts as a bridge between the beginning and the grand finale, but this one takes place in a version of Elizabethan London filled with witches’ covens and vampire in the service of the crown, so it’s truly a fascinating read. And even though you shouldn’t judge a book by it, it has to be said that this book has the best cover of them all, at least in the edition I own.

2. The Book of Life

Published in 2014, The Book of Life is the final installment of the series’ first trilogy. It brings the story of Matthew and Diana and all their loved ones to a grand, sweeping finale where both their character arcs come to full completion—battling the demons of their pasts, truly stepping into their power, and eventually sticking it to the old order that had ruled the lives of creatures for centuries. All while welcoming some unexpected but much-beloved additions to their family. We love to see a final book in a trilogy that brings all its storylines to a satisfying ending, solving mysteries and riddles that had been left hanging since the very beginning and delivering their characters to a much-deserved happy ending.

1. A Discovery of Witches

It might be cliché, but my favorite one of them all remains the very first book of the series, which started it all back in 2011. With a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere that goes from old libraries at Oxford to French chateaus, the story of the beginning of the romance between Matthew and Diana will always remain close to my heart. Besides, there are few things I love more when it comes to fantasy than slowly uncovering how the world works and what rules govern it, and this book has more than its fair share of it.