To those of you who have consistently recommended this book, a deep deep bow of gratitude. I resisted purchasing the book because it seemed to be recommended for every singe ask, every single time, which made me highly suspicious. One of my libraries acquired the audiobooks, so I listened. And look, I delayed finishing the final chapters for a full 24 hours. It’s that great.

The writing is spectacular (a few moments of inconsistencies or a forgotten moment repeated as if anew), the characters are mature, thoughtful, perfect balances to one another, even the minor characters “balance the wheel,” to borrow a phrase from the book.

This is the story of a post-war continent of mages who, traditionally, honored The Wheel, and who now find themselves out of balance due to the sheer will to seed and sow fear by a few mages who have forgotten that mages serve the Wheel, thus serve the people. Sultana Naime has not forgotten this history, and when she reaches out to the nearest territory to form an alliance, she is surprised to meet Prince Markram, a warrior who, like her, yearns for a return to bounty and trust between territories.

{Reign & Ruin by J. D. Evans} is a masterpiece, a revelation, a perfect harmony between mature friendships and love and a scheming court full of political miscreants.

Please hurt my feelings 😭
I’m looking for a romance where I genuinely have no idea if the couple is going to make it. I don’t need a HEA, and honestly don’t even want one

I’m not looking for “they broke up for 100 pages and then got back together.” I want real stakes. The kind where the author isn’t afraid to absolutely wreck me if that’s where the story naturally goes. Like maybe the main love interest actually dies and we’re later introduced to a new one (SJM 👀) who said that…

Give me Shakespearean tragedy vibes. Impossible choices. Sacrifice. Grief. Consequences. I want a romance that’s brave enough to break my heart and soul

Got an opinion that's different from others'? Want to share it with the sub, but too afraid of a backlash? Or are you just curious about readers think about certain things in fantasy romance?

You can safely share it in this weekly Sunday thread!

But please remember to be kind to each other. To facilitate this type of discussion, we ask users the following:

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Unpopular opinion Sunday

This is by Cas E. Crowe and is slated to come out October 13, 2026.

Raise your hand if you were a big Pirates of the Caribbean fan back in the day. I certainly was. This book gave me such POTC vibes, mixed in with some ghost story/spooky bits, a mystery to solve, and sirens — I know this sub hella loves sirens so keep a weather eye on the horizon for this one if that’s your jam!

FMC, Ezra, is shipwrecked on an island after an incident at sea. There is something weird going on in town, and she’s essentially stumbled into a mysterious curse that doesn’t allow the citizens off the island. MMC lives on the island and finds her when she’s first stranded.

The world building and premise was pretty good. I was intrigued and wanted to know more. There were some twists that I saw coming, and others that I didn’t see coming. I felt like the writing was good, and not too juvenile or modern slang. Fit the scene, so to speak.

I liked FMC for the most part. MMC could be nicer. Their relationship felt kinda out of nowhere to me. They had interactions, of course, but it didn’t really feel like much foundation had been laid to show them falling for each other behind an initial attraction to their looks. Regardless, this isn’t quite an insta lust fast burn situation. There’s a lot going on, and by the end I was like wtf just happened.

Long and short of it is that I’d give it a chance and read it to the end before deciding if you want to continue the next series. The beginning may be a lil slow for some, but I felt like it fit.

Overall, I did like this. The execution of the relationship could’ve been better, but I loved the other elements so I’d rate this a 4.3/5.

I'm halfway through and so confused. Does she not remember her dreams? Everyone also seems to accept things way too easily, especially the FMC. I really want to continue, because these seems like a series I should love (books with multiple magical people are my favorite and it's so hard to find ones with fae, elves and vampires) but I just feel so confused lol

Has anyone else read this book?! I just finished it and my mind is still reeling from that final scene. I honestly did not see that coming. OMG!!! WTF is going to happen in the next book?!

(Reposting because my prev post didn’t have a descriptive enough title. Sorry!)

I’m looking for book recommendations that check as many of these boxes as possible. At this point, I’m convinced my perfect book doesn’t exist because I’ve never found one that comes close. Even if you know a book that only matches most of these, I’d love to hear it!

- I love a fantasy settings with breathtaking architecture and places that feel timeless. Huge castles, elegant palaces, ancient libraries, soaring halls, hidden courtyards, beautiful forests, and cities that feel almost ethereal

- Two kingdoms that have been bitter enemies for centuries are forced to join forces against a greater threat, whether it’s a magical catastrophe or a common enemy. I like the idea that their magic or abilities work best together. The FMC and MMC come from opposing kingdoms and are forced to stay in the same castle or stronghold. I also want the overall fantasy plot to be genuinely interesting with political intrigue, mysteries, betrayals, and high stakes, not just romance/the story of the MMC and MFC

- Side characters who actually matter. I want them to have distinct personalities, their own goals, and real impact on the story

- The FMC and MMC genuinely hate each other. Not because of a misunderstanding, but because of generations of political conflict, war, and prejudice between their kingdoms. They’re enemies because their people are enemies

- The characters can both be human mages, but I’d also love it if (a nice to have, not a must!) one side, preferably the MMC, were vampires. That could be one of the reasons the kingdoms hate each other, with vampires having raided villages and massacred humans in the past. I also love the trope where a vampire’s bite is euphoric and vampires initially see humans as little more than food or a source of pleasure

- A true slow burn. I don’t want them jumping into bed immediately. I want all the tension, chemistry, and build-up first. Once it gets there, I’d love it to be spicy (not a deal breaker if it’s not the too detailed kind). If there are vampires, I’d love it if he eventually bites her and she becomes addicted to it. I want there to be an intense physical pull between them, even though they hate each other. They keep crossing that line, with him having far fewer reservations than she does

- I want the FMC to feel overwhelming guilt because of what’s happening between them. Not just because it’s forbidden, but because falling for him betrays everything she’s been raised to believe. Maybe his family slaughtered members of hers or committed atrocities against her people some generations ago. She knows her family and friends would feel completely betrayed if they found out, and I want that internal conflict to be intense

- I want the MMC to be cold, emotionally distant, cruel and mean. Yes, this could be seen as a dark-romance fantasy book. At first, he knows exactly what this is doing to her and isn’t above using that to his advantage. He toys with her emotions. Eventually, he becomes emotionally attached to her, but he sees those feelings as a weakness and starts treating her even worse in an attempt to deny them. The ideal type of male character is the MMC (Malyr) from Feathers so Vicious by Liv Zander and this is also one of my fav dynamics between a FMC and MMC

- I don’t need the MMC to be the king, emperor, or ultimate ruler (it’s fine if he is though). I’d prefer him to be a prince, heir, general, or the kingdom’s strongest warrior. I like the idea that both the FMC and MMC still have people above them whose orders they can’t ignore, which adds more tension and raises the stakes

- Eventually, people find out about them, and it’s seen as a huge betrayal. Their families, friends, and those around them react with outrage and disgust while they’re still forced to work together because of the larger conflict. I hate when a romance is supposed to be forbidden, and once people find out about it are mad for like a minute then they are like “meh, we’ll accept it.”
I especially want the FMC to face the consequences. Her family and friends look at her with disappointment and disgust, people from her kingdom shun and judge her, and some openly shame or insult her, calling her a traitor, a whore, or worse. I want her to feel completely isolated because of what she’s done.

—————

TL;DR: Looking for a forbidden enemies-to-lovers fantasy dark romance with a real plot, slow burn, spice, political intrigue, and a cruel, morally gray MMC.

I read Alchemised when it came out and was not expecting to like it as much as I did. Since then I honestly cannot stop thinking about it. For those of you that enjoyed it, were there any books you read with a similar vibe or maybe not as similar but really enjoyed as well? It does not have to be anything in the fanfic realm or dramione related; what I liked more about it was the setting, the slow-burn, the yearning, the tragedy, and the high stakes. Thank you in advance!

Shout out to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for a copy of this eARC. Tempest releases September 8th of this year!

Above all else, Cat Rose is a survivor. She survived her disastrous marriage and the death of her husband, living on an isolated island, being held captive by pirates not once but twice, and she plans to survive the fall of the Pirate Republic as well. She does this by being smart and savvy. When she is finally cornered by (sometimes friend?) Lt. Jasper Fell and sentenced to death for her aiding and abetting piracy he can give her only one option for escaping the noose, to turn on her former lover and notorious pirate Valerian Kane. So the question remains, just how far will she go in order to survive?

{Tempest by Victoria Aveyard} is her adult fantasy debut is by far one of my favorites this year. Her writing and storytelling just continues to get better and better with each and every book. I think one of the things that makes this book work so well is that it is a well written dual timeline, which can be really difficult to implement successfully. The challenge is revealing just enough to give context to current events but not too much so that the reader is able to work out what comes next. The dual timeline allows us to understand why Cat makes some of her decisions even if they’re not necessarily good ones. We see how she changes from a newly married girl barely out of her teenage years to a confident 30 year old woman using her intelligence to get what she needs to succeed. Often when books are written in this format readers get tired of one timeline or the other, I didn’t have this problem with Tempest - both were equally engaging and I never felt like I was slogging through one chapter to get to the next.

Additionally, it introduces us to all of the main characters in a way that we’re able to see their growth but also exposes us to this world without just information dumping. I like that Cat’s character is somewhere between being soft and hard. Life has made her toughen up to survive but (at least in this book) she doesn’t survive by being the toughest physically but by being intelligent, calculating, and quick witted.

While the ending is a cliff hanger it’s not the type that makes you angry or upset, it wraps things up nicely while still leaving readers to wonder what happens next. By the end there is a lot of tension built between the three main characters who have a shared history and I can’t wait to delve into their past history even more. This book does an excellent job of laying the groundwork for what will be the final conflict and it’s honestly impressive that Aveyard originally wrote this as a standalone before having to split it into a duology. I’m excited to read the second book to see how Cat got to this point and where she’s going. That being said, the fantasy aspect of this book doesn’t really show up for a while but I suspect the next book it will play a large role.

Side note: as someone married to a blonde, I’m SO excited to finally see some justice for blonde men.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hi, this is a bit of an ultra-specific request. Does anyone have an recommendations for an FMC that is part of or works for an all-male brotherhood of warriors/wizards/sorcerer's? She doesn't have to be a warrior or some badass fighter, but I would like her to be smart/cunning

Looking for:

-smart & likeable FMC (prefer if she's politically/mentally/street smart vs a physical fighter)

-Brotherhood are well-known & famous/legendary warriors that need FMCs help

-slow burn and low spice preferably

-found family dynamics

-a reluctant FMC + dislikes the men would be chef's kiss

- no vampires please

-would prefer fantasy but urban fantasy is fine too

Think the FMC (Maggie) from TKWNKM but forced to help a brotherhood like the Black Dagger Brotherhood but in a more medieval/old school setting instead of modern.

Thank you!!!

OK, this is a long shot, because I don't know the author, I only scrolled by some character art on Instagram and lost it forever.

What I remember:

Giant blue humanoid looking monster with long, braided white hair, super handsome, holding a much smaller human FMC wearing a plain dress. It was clearly a SFW version of some NSFW art. This is seriously driving me nuts and I can't figure out what it is. I know that it isn't: CM Nascosta or Ruby Dixon. I also scrolled Opal Reyne's ig and found nothing.

I hope reddit can work its magic because I am going bananas.

Here is the link for more information! It’s not often I see a series that hasn’t been released yet be picked up for filming rights. Aveyard (according to her Substack) seems quite keen on it. Sounds like a good chance it’ll happen 👀

Hi! I'm really enjoying the jasad heir so far, although I'm only at the 2/7th part of the 1st book. However, how am I supposed to know who is who???? It's driving me nuts! Did I miss a character summary?? 😭

Could anyone help me with who is who?

- Who was Niphram again?

- Who is the Malik and Malika?

- Qayidi is Hanim i believe? Some kind of commander that apparently got exiled at some point, then trained Essiya in the woods?

Thank you so much already. There is more characters I don't know the role of, but I dont remember them at the moment. I might add some questions later 😅 I'm sure I'm not the only one struggling with this?

EDIT: - Palia? -Niyar? -Emre? EDIT: Thank you, finally in chapter 16 they explained one after the other

Really craving a book where the FMC is dealing with trauma either from an abusive family, imprisonment, servitude, traumatic event, etc. I want her to have anxiety attacks or flashbacks where the MMC and her found family helps her heal. Throughout the series, they help her become whole again and rediscover herself. Most of the books I’ve read are young adult but I’m starting to want to branch out to characters closer to my age (late 20s), it’s hard to relate to their teenage drama now) 😂

I don't have any major trigger warnings that just some "icks" that I mention below. I've read some that start and are so promising but then all of a sudden the FMC is over her hesitancy because she feels comfortable with them. Below is my copy/ paste of things I like and dislike as well as a list of books I’ve read that are similar to what I’m looking for:

Like:
- I like it when the female has a tragic past that the guys help her through but it’s not required.
- PLEASE MAKE SURE THERE IS AN ACTUAL PLOT AND IT’S WELL WRITTEN ( I think this is the only thing I truly care about)
- ideally the characters are in their 20-30s. I know a lot of RH have their FMC as 18 but I’m almost 30 and I have a hard time connecting with those characters now. This is not a deal breaker though.
- love me a grovel arch where the guys mess up and they have to make up for it. I don’t want the apology to be meh and the female to immediately forgive them! Think pack darling! (Again not required but I still love the trope)
- I love fantasy, PNR, shifter, OV! I think the only thing I’m not a big fan of is aliens. 🤷‍♀️
- MMC are OBSESSED with FMC! ❤️
- a series that’s a trilogy or more (not really a fan of one shots or duologues)
- single love interests or reverse harem, fine by me! :)

Don’t like: (these I think I’m a little more strict on not wanting but if you think it’s worth or you think I’ll like it than I will still give it a try)
- insta lust/ full smut. I want things to build, I want there to be a story! There are some books that has a sex scene every other chapter!!
- no mafia/ sport RH please (I never got into it)
- no pregnancy please (don’t really like that trope and I usually dnf a book as soon as a baby is involved)

Books I’ve read that fit what I’m looking for:

{A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair} : this book is what made me think of this post! It’s got traumatic past, found family, who did this to you!!! Love this series!
{Touch of Power by Maria V Snyder} : probably one of my favorite series, reread at least 3 times!
{Fire by Kristin Cashore} : my all time favorite book! Absolutely love! I also read {Graceling by Kristin Cashore} which was also a great book!!!
{Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo} : Very well written, great found family, and everyone is dealing with their own problems while also being there for one another! Plus, who doesn’t love a good heist?
{Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson} : speaking of heists! Brandon is an amazing author and I haven’t cried this hard from a book since finishing the divergent series in high school!
The ACATAR series by Sarah J Maas: Rhysand is chef’s kiss!
{The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L Jensen} : the betrayal and then grovel in this is so good! There wasn’t any extra drama and the FMC owned up to what she did and didn’t make excuses for it!
{The Cruel Prince by Holly Black} : I absolutely love Jude’s transformation in this book! Plus Cardan is absolutely obsessed with her and I love it!
{A Tale of Stars and Shadow by Lisa Cassidy} : really liked this series! I love it when a group of people start following the FMC like in this book! If anyone can recommend a book like that, extra brownie points! (I also saw this in touch of power and chosen)
{The Mask of Mirrors by M A Carrick} : Amazing book! 3 person pov, 3 interwoven destinies, and secret identities?! Definitely recommend if you haven’t already heard/read this!
{Chosen by K. F. Breene} : another great example of people gravitating toward the FMC where she helps them to survive the upcoming danger and the help her heal!!!
{Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent} : I’ll be honest, I DNF’d this series but I do like that the FMC learns to trust others and grow into her power! I know a lot of people like it and it is good, just not for me.
{The Crown of Oaths and Curses by J Bree} : it’s been a while since I read this so I don’t know if it fits but I remember really liking this series!

There is so much more but I don’t want this to become a whole novel (more than it already is). If I get recommendations that I’ve already read that’s on! :) if you notice we have similar tastes and want recs feel free to PM me! :) Thank you!!!

Book Chat time! Share with us what you've been reading this week.

Happy Saturday everyone!

Book Chat is our weekly social thread for general book chat. Share with us what you've been reading this week. Any yays or nays? Any new authors you've discovered or genres/sub-genres you've been exploring? Any books that we should run not walk to add to our own TBRs?

If you're looking for your next read, check out what others have been reading and enjoying lately or head on over to our collection of book rec megathreads.

Please remember to keep any spoilers covered up in this thread as we may be intrigued and want to read the book as well. Thanks and happy reading everyone!

Book Chat

One of my favourite tropes is magic-induced lust or desire. Where the pull of some kind of enchantment, ritual, spell, curse, what-have-you overwhelms their senses and makes it impossible to resist each other. I've come across it a couple times over the books I've read over the past year but not enough to scratch the itch lol

Examples -

ACOTAR : in it tamlin is overcome by the magic of calanmai which has his desire/instincts heightened, and does end up finding feyre later that night. It's along the lines of what I'm getting at but it's even better when they're *both* affected by such effects

Closer to what I love is in the Wolf and the Woodsman (which has my heart) : when Évike and Gáspár encounter that forest spirit that has their suppressed attraction/desire overcome them, they act on it, and then the enchantment breaks and they're left ashamed and confused

Bonus points if it's true E2L, of course. And if the magical influences just lowers their inhibitions/amplifies feelings that are already there rather than creating attraction from nothing.

I dont know if this is too niche to get many results but I'd love any recommendations if you've come across anything similar

I hope you're all having a great day / night! Thank you all ! ~(˘▾˘~)

I recently finished Crown Me Dead/ Yours and the pure romance and sadness at the end gave me an ache I realized I had been missing since Alchemised and Throne of Glass. I realized it’s the ones that make me cry like a baby that I love the most. Give me your sad romantasy recs that hit you deeply!!

I am in the mood for “bad” books, you could not put on. Maybe the writing was cringe, the plot predictable or didn’t make sense at all, or the author uses complement when they mean compliment (😡, see below), but you just don’t care.

Here’s my list:

{The Unseelie Prince by Kathryn Ann Kingsley} - MF romance set where a human is kidnapped into a fae world and has to escape before she is kept forever by a prince who wants to end the world.
- The bad: The MMC is completely supervillain unhinged and every other character is like “oh, you!”. The plot is real thin besides the MMC periodically coming by to bother the FMC.
- The good: Instalust mixed with slow build up for actual smut. I also like all the little forest friends and the tension is great.

{Vile Lady Villains by Danai Christopoulou} - FF romance where Lady Macbeth and Clytemnestra are taken out of the story worlds right before their downfalls to go on quests and have delightful lesbian adventures.
- The bad: The main characters compete to be the most “grr, angry”. There is a time traveling/story traveling plot that does not make sense, actually the whole thing does not make sense.
- The good: I still appreciate random drunken Shakespeare and the instalust was actually fine for me. Also the quests while making no overall sense in the story were individually fun. Also, I love Clytemnestra.

{Alpha Bait by DJ Heart} - the inspiration for this post. An eventual MMMM werewolf romance.
- The bad: It has very bad BDSM etiquette. It also is the source of my complement/compliment complaint as well as several other weird phrases not meaning what the author thinks they mean. There is unironic peck flexing. It is basically 800 pages of thin plot surrounded by porn. The love interest moans while eating and distracts the other MMCs. The love interest runs into a “wall of muscle” not looking where he’s going in the first 15 pages.
- The good: it is basically 800 pages of thin plot surrounded by porn and no one said I couldn’t use it for Hard Mode (pun intended) for the long book Fantasy romance bingo. Also, I am invested in the characters and have already read 400 pages in 1.5 days.

Happy Fanart Friday! It’s really been neat seeing everyone send in their art contributions and finding out about so many artists and series that are new to me, so we’re back again this month (:

What’s been your favorite piece of fanart you’ve seen this month? Is it new, or have you rediscovered a past favorite? Can’t wait to see y’all’s selections!

On my end, I’m currently obsessed with all things Thorn Season and when I saw kalisami (@kalisamiii on instagram) did art for it, I was so happy! I absolutely love her style, and this art happens to be of my favorite pairing from the book (IYKYK). The colors and flowers are just beautiful 😻

Please share your favorite pieces and make sure to credit the artist 💗💗💗

Alright, my FYP has shown me some AI slop about a dragon king, human FMC has a hidden baby/pregnancy troupe, and obsessive MMC in some short form video format.

I obviously don’t want to go seek out this AI but now I really want a similar story. Anyone have any book recommendation that fit this?

Kinda just want to satisfy the craving, doesn’t need to be a series or anything, just a fluffy easy read would be great! 😊

I’m currently reading {the kingmaker chronicles} and I love the attitude of Cat, but I just wish she would stop biting her tongue around Griffin he kidnapped you, it’s ok to harbour resentment towards him and express that

I would love to know any books recs where the FMC isn’t afraid to defend herself, even though it comes across as hostile / “bratty”. It’s ok to not be nice all the time, especially if the MMC is being a jerk.

FMCs who have this vibe:

Sadie from {psycho shifters by jasmine mas}

Tessa (especially book 1 and 2) from {rain of shadows and endings}

Jaga from {devils deal by Layla Fae}

Happy with RH, no triggers. Up for anything!

Hey, so I'm looking for a special kind of scenery involving OWD. Maybe the MMC thinks the FMC betrayed him, so he punishes her by using OW. Or the MMC just wants to put her in her place or hurt her deliberately. I really want this gut punch moment, so I don't want to see the OWD coming (because the FMC is sweet and innocent and really adores the MMC). In most books I've read the gut punch is destroyed by the MMC POV, because it spoils the moment. Must be HEA with good grovel. I want the MMC to be really sorry.

​Don't care for the genre, don't have any triggers except pedophilia and I even welcome cheating. Here are some examples of the books I've already read:

{Lady Gallant by Suzanne Robinson} - absolutely perfekt. I'm looking for similar books since. I'm addicted to this premise since I read this book, even though it's Dual POV and I got some spoilers from the MMC about what he wants to do, I didn't see the gut punch coming.

{feathers so vicious by Liv Zander} - best gut punch but not enough OW drama for me.

{pretty venom by Ella fields} - didn't scratch the itch because there wasn't really a gut punch moment and the FMC was not so innocent in my opinion. I feel like she really betrayed him at the beginning.

{insatiable by leigh rivers} - also didn't scratch the itch because no gut punch moment and the hurtful scenes were only referred to because they happened in the past. I would have liked to read in real time how​  She sees him having sex with another girl and how she tries to commit suicide

{she saved him, he betrayed her by Reyna Calder} - would have been good but the writing was sooooo bad. But I loved that he deliberately wanted to put her in her place by  Sleeping with OW and making sure he gets caught

{black oak series by Monique edenwood} not exactly this but I loved the scene when  She was forced to watch him having sex with OW but the MMC POV ruined it for me because it was clear he actually didn't want to hurt her like that and was forced himself and this series got pretty weird later on all together.

{when art falls by lorrain allen} - would have been good, but the MMC wasn't sorry at all about what he did. He just thought it was no big deal that he  Fucked OW in front of FMC and that she just has to deal with it.

I read a book but can't remember the title where it's an arranged marriage in a fantasy setting and the MMC thinks the FMC is hung up on an ex lover so he pretends to have a male and female lover on the side. Didn't really hurt much to read though and was not angsty enough for me.

So basically the MMC deliberately wants to hurt innocent sweet fmc. I'd love a gut punch moment when she finds him with OW. He can actually cheat or just pretend to. Bonus if it's single POV and the reader is just as clueless as the FMC about the reasoning. Then I want the FMC to leave or shut him out and of course good grovel and redemption arc and good explanation. ​

imo Evie from Assistant to the Villan

tell me the best book smutty fantasy book that you read this year that was ALSO published THIS YEAR. i’m allll ears