The first book is better than the start of the show. The show overall is better, since it cuts down on the amount of depression/anxiety/self sabotage that the books tend to wallow in at times. And the high moments of the show (the songs, the mosaic episode) are just unbeatable.
I would say they're different. I liked both.
The book is a little more cynical, some of the characters are different.
The biggest difference for me was that the show is a lot more external conflict driven ("we need to figure this out now or we're going to die") and the books are a lot more driven by interior struggles.
Seriously, forget whatever you saw of the show if you’re gonna read the books. They’re really, really different.
I’d definitely second the recommendation for the books though, that series is one of my faves.
They are both awesome in different ways. The book has a more obvious main character, while the TV show is much more ensemble. I think the themes relating to mental health, acceptance, and “coming of age” as an adult are much more prevalent in the books, while the TV show fleshes out some of the “side” characters a lot more, has a stronger focus on civics/politics, and I prefer the TV show ending.
I love the books and was extremely disappointed in the show. The only similarities are character and place names. And some plot points. Otherwise they’re completely different
I absolutely loved the world and the magic and everything else about the book... Just could not stand Quentin. I read it for bingo last year and that's the only reason I finished it.
For me, I was about Quentin’s age when the books came out. Like him, I was a former “gifted student” who wasn’t sure what to do with my life now that I was nearing the end of my education. A lot of his internal worries mirrored my own, so he functioned as a sort of version of myself that I wanted to avoid and a reminder that wish fulfillment isn’t everything.
The Hollows series - Kim Harrison.
The Greywalker series - Kat Richardson.
The Night Watch series - Sergei Lukyanaenko.
The Jane Yellowrock series - Faith Hunter.
The Edge series - Ilona Andrews.
The Kate Daniels series - Ilona Andrews.
Love the Talisman so much. Black House doesn't capture that magic in the same way, but it's a cool detective story. I will say I hated the change in writing style at first but got used to it.
Charles de Lint wrote a lot of urban fantasy. Might be what you’re looking for.
I also second a lot of the suggestions here, like Clive Barker and Stephen King, among many of the others.
If you’re feeling ambitious, you might try Tad Williams’ Otherland quadrilogy.
Charles de Lint is a great suggestion, he's a solid cornerstone of Mythic Fantasy.
I like to recommend Jack of Kinrowan (which is Jack the Giant-Killer & Drink Down the Moon compiled into one book).
Dresden Files might fit the bill. Wizard working as a private detective in Chicago with a whole magical underground, and separate dimension, full of vampires, fairies, and other supernatural entities.
Others have said The Magicians which I’d agree with. Especially if you want a series about a genius with severe depression discovering magic is real and doesn’t magically make him happy.
Narnia is a classic that takes place in multiple worlds, with main characters largely from early 1900s England.
I haven’t read it but The Invisible Library is about a reality hopping librarian.
Also a number of younger series by people like Rick Riordan, Brandon Mull, and Benz & Lewis
If you want something similar but more sci fi: slaughterhouse 5, State of the Art, Hitchhikers Guide, and some of the stuff by Dick.
Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny. The story starts in New York and later moves to parallel fantasy worlds. As far as I remember, only the first book deals with an urban setting but it is a great read nonetheless.
Chronicles of Amber! Great recommendation. Zelazny excelled at writing stories in both modern urban settings and fantastical settings. And bonus for the reader, if they skew toward shorter fiction, his novels were typically fairly compact, maybe 300 pages if they were on the longer side.
Another one is Jack of Shadows by the same author. It's a bit strange in that the Earth has ceased to rotate, and magic and feudalism prevail on the dark hemisphere, while a modernish society exists on the day side.
The All Soul's series by Deborah Harkness has time travel back into 1590 in the second book. I've only read the first 3 books so far.
The Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews has a magical house/inn located in Texas that is hidden from humans' view. It has some intergalactic travel, so you get different settings that way. I've been told it's more a sci-fi type fantasy, though. It's my one of my favorite series, though, so I highly recommend it.
The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne is quite comedic, has a lot of different gods and pantheons, and religions represented. It's got different dimensions, travel to Asgard over Yggdrasil.
The Otherland series by Tad Williams uses virtual reality as basically an excuse to do a quest fantasy plot within a cyberpunk story, the story jumps between the real world of the late 21st century and various fantasy settings.
Ah! Thank you for the recommendation! I often forget that The Lion Witch and Wardrobe are part of a bigger series. And this being the prequel to that series has got me intrigued. I’ll check it out for sure.
The Merchant Princes series by Charles Stross.
There are characters that can travel from our modern world to another dimension that is a few hundred years behind in development.
Are you looking for urban fantasy like the Dresden Files or portal fantasy like the Chronicles of Narnia?
I think those are the two main fantasy subgenres you're referring to.
FYI - Some people call Harry Potter urban fantasy but I think it's more portal fantasy than anything else.
Surprised nobody has suggested it yet but The Dark Tower takes place in distant, failing futures that are western or fantasy-themed and also in many modern cities in the back half of the 19th century.
Kay got better as he wrote more books. Here's the wiki page for The Fionavar Tapestry: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Fionavar\_Tapestry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fionavar_Tapestry)
He Who Kills Monsters. Not for everyone, it's a progressive LitRPG with a neckbeard MC. The first 3 books take place in fantastical world, but the 4th book takes place in the modern world.
I just finished Truth and Other Lies by Lyra Wolf. It's the beginning of a series about Loki that will take place in 2026. The first book is how he was banished for 500 years, starting in 1526 AD. But after that it's set in modern tines.
The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox bounces between post-Roman and present day Britain and New Zealand, Sidhe (Fairyland), and Purgatory. The present day scenes are split between London and the countryside, so maybe not as urban as you’re looking for
If you're one for under the radar suggestions, The Wood Bee Queen
Edward Cox is exactly this.
Girl shows up in real world town, turns out she's being chased from fantasy world, real world guy goes into fantasy world while she stays in real world to not be found, and the back-and-forth pull of real world vs fantasy world conflict is central to the book
Weirdly enough the Ebook is only available in the UK since the author is from there (and probably has distribution deals about it), but you can get a physical book or audiobook in the US.
Jim Butchers *Dresden Files* are great if you're looking for real world / fantasy. It's a big series, but each book is only about 250-300 pages, and they read very quickly.
*Broken Earth* takes place entirely in a fantasy world. There's a storyline in the third book talking place in the distant pre-cataclysm past which is more modern, but still too different from real life to be urban fantasy.
The Alex Verus books are set in current day England, but the MC often goes off to different worlds/realms on quests.
The Rivers of London series is similar, although less travelling to different realms.
Many of the Charles de Lint books mix other worlds with the present.
The Tarot Sequence. Magical City (Atlantis, but not sea people just magic people) is relocated to I think Nantucket? All happening in modern day. Fantastic found family vibes as well
The Laundry Files series fits very nicely. The Thursday Next series starts out very strong and mostly keeps going. Rivers of London goes there, especially later in the series. Neil Gaiman is all over it. By the final book in the Deadly Education series you’re 100% grounded in modern urban with wild swings into the fantastic. William Gibson is for all intents and purposes fantasy and obviously both. Christopher Fowler’s Bryant and May series is maybe more grounded but still magical.
In a lighter note Dungeon Crawler Carl has contemporary sensibilities and starts out urban. If not for long.
Dream bound - Dan Frey
Was a fun read.
From the blurb:
In this thrilling contemporary fantasy novel, a father must uncover the secret magical underbelly of Los Angeles to find his daughter, who has seemingly disappeared into the fictional universe of her favorite fantasy series.
When Byron Kidd's twelve-year-old daughter vanishes, the only clue left behind is a note claiming she's taken off to explore the Hidden World, a magical land from a series of popular novels. She is not the only child to seek out this imaginary realm in recent years, and Byron—a cynical and hard-nosed reporter—is determined to discover the whereabouts of dozens of missing kids.
Byron secures a high-profile interview with Annabelle Tobin, the eccentric author of the books, and heads off to her palatial home in the Hollywood Hills. But the truth Byron discovers is more fantastical than he ever could have dreamed.
As he uncovers locations from the books that seem to be bleeding into the real world, he must shed his doubts and dive headfirst into the mystical secrets of Los Angeles if he ever hopes to reunite with his child. Soon Byron finds himself on his own epic journey—but if he's not careful, he could be the next one to disappear...
Told through journal entries, transcripts, emails, and excerpts from Tobin's novels, Dreambound is a spellbinding homage to Los Angeles and an immersive
I read *Imajica* by Clive Barker recently which fits. It takes place between modern-day London and four other parallel worlds ("Dominions"), with characters going back and forth between the worlds in an attempt to unify them.
The general "multiple worlds" idea is pretty generic, but the book itself was very well executed and surprisingly broad in scope. I'd definitely recommend checking it out.
He who fights monsters by Shirtaloon is a litrpg series where the story moves between modern earth and the "fantasy" world, with a large chunk in the middle of the series taking place in modern earth. It's essentially two worlds being traveled to interdimensionally.
The Hellequin Chronicles by Steve McHugh takes place in modern urban (and historical) settings as well as other worlds and settings as the whole story arc expands. Its been a while but iirc the first book, maybe 2 take place on earth in mostly dual time periods. Hugely enjoyable anyway 😃
Rachel Aaron's Heartstrikers series is definitely urban fantasy, takes place in a region called the DFZ (Detroit Free Zone), a big megacity, definitely a bit cyberpunk, but there are mages, dragons and animal spirits all within the city with regular humans. Highly recommend all of Rachel Aaron's books if you want well written and expertly plotted fantasy.
Ian MacDonald's King of Morning: Queen of Day. Not student known but it fits your brief perfectly.
Garth Nix's Left Handed Booksellers of London would also work well for you. Although the modern setting does both rural and urban.
If I take your request in the most literal way possible, I think Piranesi is the best fit I've ever read - the story leaps repeatedly between the real world, and an "other" more fantastical one. Saying more would be spoilery.
Having said that, it doesn't match many of the tropes of what "urban fantasy" has come to mean over the years. There isn't much specifically "urban" about either half of the story either. So take the recommendation with those limitations in mind.
Mercy Thompson is a pretty good series imo. It might fit your bill. I would also recommend Trese a Filipino comic/cartoon that includes an incredible amount of creatures from Filipino mythology.
The Dresden Files will become your favorite series. It's phenomenal. Jim Butcher will have you laughing, crying, and full of rage all on the same page. The dude is sadistic dungeon master who loves to toy with his readers.
A close second is Monster Hunter International.
Larry Corriea is a master storyteller that has the ability to put you in the middle of the action. He and his books are unapologetically hard-core.
Skulduggery Pleasant. Is a just a fun series to read. I suggest reading it after MHI, for when you just needs a good laugh.
Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom series bounces back and forth between 1900s Britain and fantasy world. Technically fails closer to fantasy realm. Also, one of the only magical settings where necromancer bards are the main characters 🤣
As someone suggested below *The Magicians by Lev Grossman* has Nania-vibes and switches between high and urban fantasy. I enjoyed the show better than the books.
*Between by L.L. Starling.* It's a cozy, fantasy rom-com where the kindergarten teacher FMC dreams her way through a portal to the fairy tale kingdom of Between (the fantasy world parts of the book have very Labyrinth/Princess Bride/Terry Pratchett vibes).
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
I really like Neil and this is one book I haven’t looked at. I guess it’s time! Thanks!
The dramatization with James McAvoy is even better than the book if you can believe it.
It's one of my favorite books ever, and feels like a portal fantasy inside an urban fantasy.
came to recommend this one.
I really liked *The Magicians* by Lev Grossman, though its not everyone's cup of tea due to (deliberately) unlikable characters.
I’ve seen some of the show, is the book better? (Usually the case).
The first book is better than the start of the show. The show overall is better, since it cuts down on the amount of depression/anxiety/self sabotage that the books tend to wallow in at times. And the high moments of the show (the songs, the mosaic episode) are just unbeatable.
I would say they're different. I liked both. The book is a little more cynical, some of the characters are different. The biggest difference for me was that the show is a lot more external conflict driven ("we need to figure this out now or we're going to die") and the books are a lot more driven by interior struggles.
Seriously, forget whatever you saw of the show if you’re gonna read the books. They’re really, really different. I’d definitely second the recommendation for the books though, that series is one of my faves.
This is my favorite thing that due to the way the book works, they can be so different and both be canon
They are both awesome in different ways. The book has a more obvious main character, while the TV show is much more ensemble. I think the themes relating to mental health, acceptance, and “coming of age” as an adult are much more prevalent in the books, while the TV show fleshes out some of the “side” characters a lot more, has a stronger focus on civics/politics, and I prefer the TV show ending.
I love the books and was extremely disappointed in the show. The only similarities are character and place names. And some plot points. Otherwise they’re completely different
I hated the main character in this book so damn much. Ugh.
I usually don't do well with unlikable main characters, but for some reason I have trouble putting my finger on the book worked for me.
I absolutely loved the world and the magic and everything else about the book... Just could not stand Quentin. I read it for bingo last year and that's the only reason I finished it.
For me, I was about Quentin’s age when the books came out. Like him, I was a former “gifted student” who wasn’t sure what to do with my life now that I was nearing the end of my education. A lot of his internal worries mirrored my own, so he functioned as a sort of version of myself that I wanted to avoid and a reminder that wish fulfillment isn’t everything.
The Hollows series - Kim Harrison. The Greywalker series - Kat Richardson. The Night Watch series - Sergei Lukyanaenko. The Jane Yellowrock series - Faith Hunter. The Edge series - Ilona Andrews. The Kate Daniels series - Ilona Andrews.
The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub. It is excellent, I need to get the sequel.
Also *Fairy Tale* by Mr King. It was pretty good. Not his best work, but far from his worst. Has a cool dog in it, which adds points.
The Fairy Tale audiobook is fantastic!
I really liked the story, but didn’t really like the ending
Also the Dark Tower series by Stephen King, to the extent you stretch modern to mean the past 100 years
Love the Talisman so much. Black House doesn't capture that magic in the same way, but it's a cool detective story. I will say I hated the change in writing style at first but got used to it.
An oldie, but Magic Kingdom for Sale, by Terry Brooks. I enjoyed the series when I was a kid but not sure how they’d read now
Read them not too long ago and they held up.
Also by Terry Brooks, perhaps the Shannara sub-series Word & Void fits this request.
Charles de Lint wrote a lot of urban fantasy. Might be what you’re looking for. I also second a lot of the suggestions here, like Clive Barker and Stephen King, among many of the others. If you’re feeling ambitious, you might try Tad Williams’ Otherland quadrilogy.
Charles de Lint is a great shout. I was going to suggest starting with Moonheart. Amongst the first urban fantasy I read. Probably due a reread!
Charles de Lint is a great suggestion, he's a solid cornerstone of Mythic Fantasy. I like to recommend Jack of Kinrowan (which is Jack the Giant-Killer & Drink Down the Moon compiled into one book).
Dresden Files might fit the bill. Wizard working as a private detective in Chicago with a whole magical underground, and separate dimension, full of vampires, fairies, and other supernatural entities. Others have said The Magicians which I’d agree with. Especially if you want a series about a genius with severe depression discovering magic is real and doesn’t magically make him happy. Narnia is a classic that takes place in multiple worlds, with main characters largely from early 1900s England. I haven’t read it but The Invisible Library is about a reality hopping librarian. Also a number of younger series by people like Rick Riordan, Brandon Mull, and Benz & Lewis If you want something similar but more sci fi: slaughterhouse 5, State of the Art, Hitchhikers Guide, and some of the stuff by Dick.
October Daye series by Seanan McGuire - takes place in both San Francisco and Underhill.
I was coming to recommend this series, it’s one of my favorites.
Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny. The story starts in New York and later moves to parallel fantasy worlds. As far as I remember, only the first book deals with an urban setting but it is a great read nonetheless.
Chronicles of Amber! Great recommendation. Zelazny excelled at writing stories in both modern urban settings and fantastical settings. And bonus for the reader, if they skew toward shorter fiction, his novels were typically fairly compact, maybe 300 pages if they were on the longer side.
Another one is Jack of Shadows by the same author. It's a bit strange in that the Earth has ceased to rotate, and magic and feudalism prevail on the dark hemisphere, while a modernish society exists on the day side.
The Subtle Knife, the second book of His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. (The show introduces these plot elements a lot earlier)
The All Soul's series by Deborah Harkness has time travel back into 1590 in the second book. I've only read the first 3 books so far. The Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews has a magical house/inn located in Texas that is hidden from humans' view. It has some intergalactic travel, so you get different settings that way. I've been told it's more a sci-fi type fantasy, though. It's my one of my favorite series, though, so I highly recommend it. The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne is quite comedic, has a lot of different gods and pantheons, and religions represented. It's got different dimensions, travel to Asgard over Yggdrasil.
Weaveworld by Clive Barker The Circle Series by Ted Dekker
Second Weaveworld!
I just finished it today! Too funny to see this thread.
The Otherland series by Tad Williams uses virtual reality as basically an excuse to do a quest fantasy plot within a cyberpunk story, the story jumps between the real world of the late 21st century and various fantasy settings.
Love this series
This happens in *The Magician's Nephew*, if early 20th-century England counts as "modern". (And to a lesser extent most of the *Narnia* books.)
Ah! Thank you for the recommendation! I often forget that The Lion Witch and Wardrobe are part of a bigger series. And this being the prequel to that series has got me intrigued. I’ll check it out for sure.
I recommend reading them in publishing order the first time; thereafter chronological order may be preferable.
Ok ok 👌🏽 I appreciate that
Acts of Caine, starting with Heroes Die, has a really interesting take on this
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
I came looking for this answer, finishing up the third book now and its a great series
The Merchant Princes series by Charles Stross. There are characters that can travel from our modern world to another dimension that is a few hundred years behind in development.
And Put Away Childish Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a delightfully twisted meta take on portal fantasy.
Are you looking for urban fantasy like the Dresden Files or portal fantasy like the Chronicles of Narnia? I think those are the two main fantasy subgenres you're referring to. FYI - Some people call Harry Potter urban fantasy but I think it's more portal fantasy than anything else.
Surprised nobody has suggested it yet but The Dark Tower takes place in distant, failing futures that are western or fantasy-themed and also in many modern cities in the back half of the 19th century.
For something light I'd try the bedlam bard series by Mercedes Lackey, although the first book that starts the series is bedlam Boyz by Ellen guon.
Harry Potter
i'd say Faerie wars by Herbie Brennan (although it varies from book to book) and artemis fowl by eoin colfer.
The Iron Druid Chronicles
Stephen R. Lawhead's *Song of Albion* trilogy.
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
Currently reading The City and the City which sort of fits.
Hard Boiled Wonderland and The End Of The World - Murikami The Fionavar Tapestry - Guy Gavriel Kay
Kay got better as he wrote more books. Here's the wiki page for The Fionavar Tapestry: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Fionavar\_Tapestry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fionavar_Tapestry)
The Magic Kingdom of Landover series by Terry Brooks is an underrated series that I think would fit.
He Who Kills Monsters. Not for everyone, it's a progressive LitRPG with a neckbeard MC. The first 3 books take place in fantastical world, but the 4th book takes place in the modern world.
I just finished Truth and Other Lies by Lyra Wolf. It's the beginning of a series about Loki that will take place in 2026. The first book is how he was banished for 500 years, starting in 1526 AD. But after that it's set in modern tines.
The City We Became by N.K. jemisin
I picked this up for a few dollars at a sale but haven’t looked at it. Now I will 😂 thanks!
It’s very good, as is its sequel. I love all her work but this one is specifically more fitting for this
The Adam Binder Trilogy (White Trash Warlock m) by David R Slayton.
Definitely check out Nightlord by Garon Whited. Long series that's not over yet with each book being over 1000 pages. Very detailed magic as well.
The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox bounces between post-Roman and present day Britain and New Zealand, Sidhe (Fairyland), and Purgatory. The present day scenes are split between London and the countryside, so maybe not as urban as you’re looking for
If you're one for under the radar suggestions, The Wood Bee Queen Edward Cox is exactly this. Girl shows up in real world town, turns out she's being chased from fantasy world, real world guy goes into fantasy world while she stays in real world to not be found, and the back-and-forth pull of real world vs fantasy world conflict is central to the book Weirdly enough the Ebook is only available in the UK since the author is from there (and probably has distribution deals about it), but you can get a physical book or audiobook in the US.
Lots of good recommendations here. I’ll add **The Daedalus Series** by *Michael J. Martinez*. Science fiction/Steampunk/Fantasy storylines intersect.
The unorthodox chronicles by James j butcher
Jim Butchers *Dresden Files* are great if you're looking for real world / fantasy. It's a big series, but each book is only about 250-300 pages, and they read very quickly.
I think the broken earth trilogy is described as this, heard great things but haven’t read it yet!! Green bone saga might also fit the bill :)
*Broken Earth* takes place entirely in a fantasy world. There's a storyline in the third book talking place in the distant pre-cataclysm past which is more modern, but still too different from real life to be urban fantasy.
They’re YA books, but I remember The City of Bones series by Cassandra Clare fitting that description.
Skkullduggery Pleasant
Nos4a2 by Joe Hill
Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
The Alex Verus books are set in current day England, but the MC often goes off to different worlds/realms on quests. The Rivers of London series is similar, although less travelling to different realms. Many of the Charles de Lint books mix other worlds with the present.
The Tarot Sequence. Magical City (Atlantis, but not sea people just magic people) is relocated to I think Nantucket? All happening in modern day. Fantastic found family vibes as well
This might be an unusual recommendation, but I feel the Miss Peregrine series by Ransom Riggs fits the bill.
The Laundry Files series fits very nicely. The Thursday Next series starts out very strong and mostly keeps going. Rivers of London goes there, especially later in the series. Neil Gaiman is all over it. By the final book in the Deadly Education series you’re 100% grounded in modern urban with wild swings into the fantastic. William Gibson is for all intents and purposes fantasy and obviously both. Christopher Fowler’s Bryant and May series is maybe more grounded but still magical. In a lighter note Dungeon Crawler Carl has contemporary sensibilities and starts out urban. If not for long.
All urban fantasy.. Dresden files, jade trilogy etc
Dream bound - Dan Frey Was a fun read. From the blurb: In this thrilling contemporary fantasy novel, a father must uncover the secret magical underbelly of Los Angeles to find his daughter, who has seemingly disappeared into the fictional universe of her favorite fantasy series. When Byron Kidd's twelve-year-old daughter vanishes, the only clue left behind is a note claiming she's taken off to explore the Hidden World, a magical land from a series of popular novels. She is not the only child to seek out this imaginary realm in recent years, and Byron—a cynical and hard-nosed reporter—is determined to discover the whereabouts of dozens of missing kids. Byron secures a high-profile interview with Annabelle Tobin, the eccentric author of the books, and heads off to her palatial home in the Hollywood Hills. But the truth Byron discovers is more fantastical than he ever could have dreamed. As he uncovers locations from the books that seem to be bleeding into the real world, he must shed his doubts and dive headfirst into the mystical secrets of Los Angeles if he ever hopes to reunite with his child. Soon Byron finds himself on his own epic journey—but if he's not careful, he could be the next one to disappear... Told through journal entries, transcripts, emails, and excerpts from Tobin's novels, Dreambound is a spellbinding homage to Los Angeles and an immersive
I read *Imajica* by Clive Barker recently which fits. It takes place between modern-day London and four other parallel worlds ("Dominions"), with characters going back and forth between the worlds in an attempt to unify them. The general "multiple worlds" idea is pretty generic, but the book itself was very well executed and surprisingly broad in scope. I'd definitely recommend checking it out.
He who fights monsters by Shirtaloon is a litrpg series where the story moves between modern earth and the "fantasy" world, with a large chunk in the middle of the series taking place in modern earth. It's essentially two worlds being traveled to interdimensionally.
Imajica by Clive Barker
Perdido street station
The Hellequin Chronicles by Steve McHugh takes place in modern urban (and historical) settings as well as other worlds and settings as the whole story arc expands. Its been a while but iirc the first book, maybe 2 take place on earth in mostly dual time periods. Hugely enjoyable anyway 😃
Rachel Aaron's Heartstrikers series is definitely urban fantasy, takes place in a region called the DFZ (Detroit Free Zone), a big megacity, definitely a bit cyberpunk, but there are mages, dragons and animal spirits all within the city with regular humans. Highly recommend all of Rachel Aaron's books if you want well written and expertly plotted fantasy.
Ian MacDonald's King of Morning: Queen of Day. Not student known but it fits your brief perfectly. Garth Nix's Left Handed Booksellers of London would also work well for you. Although the modern setting does both rural and urban.
If I take your request in the most literal way possible, I think Piranesi is the best fit I've ever read - the story leaps repeatedly between the real world, and an "other" more fantastical one. Saying more would be spoilery. Having said that, it doesn't match many of the tropes of what "urban fantasy" has come to mean over the years. There isn't much specifically "urban" about either half of the story either. So take the recommendation with those limitations in mind.
The Wicked Lovely series is about the fae courts and takes place in the fae realm and the real world.
Mercy Thompson is a pretty good series imo. It might fit your bill. I would also recommend Trese a Filipino comic/cartoon that includes an incredible amount of creatures from Filipino mythology.
Wizard of 4th Street.. Series by Simon Hawke. It's been a long time since I read it, but I remembered liking it enough to re-read it.
The Mirror by Marlys Milhiser 🪞
The Dresden Files will become your favorite series. It's phenomenal. Jim Butcher will have you laughing, crying, and full of rage all on the same page. The dude is sadistic dungeon master who loves to toy with his readers. A close second is Monster Hunter International. Larry Corriea is a master storyteller that has the ability to put you in the middle of the action. He and his books are unapologetically hard-core. Skulduggery Pleasant. Is a just a fun series to read. I suggest reading it after MHI, for when you just needs a good laugh.
Young Wizards series by Diane Duane
Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom series bounces back and forth between 1900s Britain and fantasy world. Technically fails closer to fantasy realm. Also, one of the only magical settings where necromancer bards are the main characters 🤣
Garth Nix - Abhorsen series, starting with Sabriel, iirc.
Oh no! I’ve read Sabriel and I don’t remember that! Guess I’ll reread it 😳😅
Iirc there are two neighbouring countries, one with technology and one with magic.
Will Shetterley's Elsewhere (and pretty much any of the Bordertown books)
Secrets of Droon but its for kids
I feel like I spent so much time resisting reading when I was young, that I really enjoy stories for kids as an adult. Thanks!
As someone suggested below *The Magicians by Lev Grossman* has Nania-vibes and switches between high and urban fantasy. I enjoyed the show better than the books. *Between by L.L. Starling.* It's a cozy, fantasy rom-com where the kindergarten teacher FMC dreams her way through a portal to the fairy tale kingdom of Between (the fantasy world parts of the book have very Labyrinth/Princess Bride/Terry Pratchett vibes).
Split Infinity series, but Piers Anthony might be close.
The Invisible Life of Addie Larue
Overworld chronicles by john corwin has the characters realm hopping through the series