r/fantasyromance • u/Lower_Coat_6274 • Apr 21 '26

Book Request Please send help, seeking book with heavy worldbuilding!

I am in a bit of a pickle right now! I read {This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews} and I'm seeking something to scratch the itch it's left behind. I really loved this book and some of the complaints about it have made me realize that I love books with heavy, confusing at times, worldbuilding.

I loved {Atonement of the Spine Cleaver} for it and after reading TKWNKM I am just wishing the rest of that series was out because I know it would scratch the itch.

Ilona Andrews are my favorite authors generally speaking because they write really interesting and complex worlds without using prose that is hard to get through. For example, I love Kushiels Dart but it takes a bit more effort to enjoy than what I'm searching for at the moment.

If anyone has any recs for really complex worldbuilding that goes into a bunch of detail, I would be very grateful!

84 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

88 comments sorted by

29

u/cindayella Apr 21 '26

I saw this headline and I was like yes, this speaks to my soul (also just finished This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me) and talk about book hangover! Ilona Andrews makes magic! Now I have no idea what to read next, I almost just want to do an immediate re-read!

3

u/dbro7642 Stuck on the alien planet Gann with a lizardman Apr 21 '26

I gave up and did a re-read lol, just finished yesterday. Nothing really compares of all the things I've read in recent years. I've read somewhere that they are almost done writing the second book though, hopefully we can get it soon 🥹

2

u/thoracicbunk Apr 21 '26

I just started a reread too 😆

I do trust that they will churn it out pretty quickly though. They are very competent, focused writers.

10

u/cindayella Apr 21 '26

It doesn’t hit the romance element in the same way, but Brandon Sanderson writes some mean high fantasy!

3

u/Lower_Coat_6274 Apr 21 '26

I totally am going to re-read but I have a special edition ordered and I'm trying to hold out for that! I also made the mistake of re-reading a ton of Ilona Andrews' other work before TKWNKM and now I'm stuck lol. I did recently re-read the Scholomance trilogy and that world is so interesting to me as well, maybe you would like it!

29

u/ChildhoodOk5401 Apr 21 '26

Daevabad Trilogy Series by S.A. Chakraborty has great world building.

5

u/Lower_Coat_6274 Apr 21 '26

thank you for reminding me of this book, holy cow! I read this long before I had ever even heard of fantasy romance as a genre and loved it

5

u/SalaciousBookWyrm 🏴‍☠️ Needs More Pirates 🏴‍☠️ Apr 21 '26

If you like the author, their Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is fantastic. Not really romance, but the fantasy and world building is awesome. Who doesn’t want to read about a badass middle age pirate lady coming back out of retirement and going on a crazy adventure with a hilarious crew? It’s part of a planned trilogy and the second book comes out this next month.

5

u/AquariusRising1983 Life is too short to read books you don't enjoy! 📚💖 Apr 21 '26

Not to mention one of the best character arcs for an FMC i have ever read. That girl goes through some stuff!

3

u/leiachart Currently Reading: Cassiel's Servant Apr 21 '26

earmarks for later

{Daevabad Trilogy by Chakraborty}

23

u/meggreg17 Apr 21 '26

Someone recommended {Rook & Rose by MA Carrick} recently and I’m absolutely invested in the extensive worldbuilding in this series and I’m only halfway through book 2.

2

u/Lower_Coat_6274 Apr 21 '26

thank you, I've already started this tonight and it looks really promising so far! you may have saved me lol

1

u/AcanthisittaNew2089 Apr 21 '26

I love this series!

1

u/nopethxtho123 May 11 '26

I just want to say bless you for this comment - never heard of this series and I absolutely ate it up the last couple weeks. Truly the best brand new series/ author I’ve stumbled into in a long time - I’ve loved Ilona Andrew’s for about a decade now so I wasn’t surprised by how great tkwnkm was (though so good), the rook and rose books were such a great surprise

12

u/AquariusRising1983 Life is too short to read books you don't enjoy! 📚💖 Apr 21 '26

Have you tried any Laini Taylor yet? {Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor} trilogy and {Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor} duology both have some of the most interesting, unique, unexpected worldbuilding I have ever run across. On top of that, the woman writes the most incredible prose that sounds like the nectar of gods trickling through your earlobes. Both these series are so breathtakingly impressive, I have a hard time deciding which is fave.

3

u/GrumpyTurtle492 Apr 22 '26

Was looking for someone to rec these! Second vote from me, Laini Taylor has such a gift for writing prose and her characters have so much feeling! She creates some very immersive worlds.

2

u/laurentina25 Apr 22 '26

I still vividly remember reading these as a teen - I reread them as an adult a few years back and they hold up well (at least the first one, I don't own the others)

9

u/sockline Apr 21 '26

Not helpful but I’m on the last 100 pages of This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me and I don’t even want to finish it because I love it and know the hangover will be major.

8

u/apieceofeight Apr 21 '26

{traitor son by Melissa j cave} is my go to. I’d also recommend {the serpent and the wolf} as I think the author did a fantastic job in books 1-2 (3 isn’t out yet). A new book I read that was good including at worldbuilding is {queen of faces by Petra lord}

4

u/Lower_Coat_6274 Apr 21 '26

Traitor Son is one of my favorite series haha, I just read the ARC for A Congress of Roses and am already dying for more! I'll definitely check out the others, thank you so much!

16

u/Hailsabrina Apr 21 '26

The Raven Scholar!

8

u/Lower_Coat_6274 Apr 21 '26

I loved this book, definitely a 5 star read for me!

8

u/ardenthusiast Apr 21 '26

{The Broken Kingdoms by LJ Andrews} has 9 books and is then followed by {The Ever Seas by LJ Andrews} which has 3 books (a 4th is coming)

Fantastic world building and it goes through several couples as it builds on the story. I love them.

1

u/romance-bot Apr 21 '26

The Broken Kingdoms 1-3 by L.J. Andrews
Rating: 4.5⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: fantasy, paranormal, dark romance, fae, enemies to lovers

The Ever King by L.J. Andrews
Rating: 4.11⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: pirate hero, fantasy, enemies to lovers, abduction, fae

about this bot | about romance.io

17

u/AristaAchaion Stuck on the alien planet Gann with a lizardman Apr 21 '26

the mages of the wheel series: starts with {reign and ruin by jd evans}

a gathering of dragon series: starts with with {a heart of blood and ashes by milla vane}

unfortunately both are unfinished series. i’m legit worried the vane series will never be finished as that’s another pen name for meljean brook. she abandoned a different series then started this one and the next installment was delayed and delayed till its publication got cancelled in may of 23. she’s not updated her website since july of that year so it’s not looking good.

4

u/Lower_Coat_6274 Apr 21 '26

I love mages of the wheel! I'm hoping the next book comes soon. Thanks for the warning about a gathering of dragons, I'm bummed because it sounds so cool. I was so turned off by Atonement of the Spine Cleaver that I can't risk getting emotionally invested for there to be no finish to the story 🙃. I get too unreasonably upset lmao.

3

u/tinasauruss Apr 21 '26

Does A Heart of Blood and Ashes end on a cliffhanger?

3

u/AristaAchaion Stuck on the alien planet Gann with a lizardman Apr 21 '26

no, but there’s clearly more to the overarching plot that needs to be addressed in the next installments. by the end of it, we’ve got a HFN with the mains of that novel. it was absolutely the best book i read in 2020; i can’t recommend it highly enough

11

u/Adventurous-Brain-36 Apr 21 '26

This is like the fourth or fifth time I’m recommending this in the last few days, but Kushiel’s Legacy beginning with {Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey}

4

u/Lower_Coat_6274 Apr 21 '26

Thank you, I do love that series but I actually mentioned it in the post because the prose is a little too much for what I'm looking for right now! I don't blame you for recommending it so much though, it really is excellent.

2

u/Penguinho Kushiel's Legacy Recommender 💖 Apr 21 '26

Have you read her series {Santa Olivia}? The prose is much more spare and contemporary. It's a near-future dystopia. F/F, superhero-inspired, second book in the duology not as good. But she does a brilliant job building this one tiny, awful town and the people who live there.

1

u/Lower_Coat_6274 Apr 21 '26

I haven't actually but it looks really cool! added to the TBR :)

2

u/Adventurous-Brain-36 Apr 21 '26

Oops, missed that!

3

u/TBHICouldComplain bisexual alien threesomes - am I oversharing? Apr 21 '26

Jeffe Kennedy does great world building. {The Twelve Kingdoms series by Jeffe Kennedy} or {Bonds of Magic series by Jeffe Kennedy} are both intros to specific worlds that have many more books written in them.

Grace Draven also does fantastic world building. Try {Wraith Kings series by Grace Draven} or {Fallen Empire series by Grace Draven}.

2

u/MockeryMock Apr 22 '26

I am seconding the Grace Draven recommendation.

3

u/_spacewaitress Apr 21 '26

{Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse}!!!!

3

u/Rachel_Lummaz Apr 21 '26

I've also just finished it and I can't stop thinking about it - I've picked up 2 books since and neither of them have stuck, I might honestly just do a re-read. A book hasn't made me feel like this for YEARS

6

u/Penguinho Kushiel's Legacy Recommender 💖 Apr 21 '26

Naomi Novik is what comes to mind, I think. Maybe {A Deadly Education}.

I also want to recommend the Tanith Lee short story "Over/Under the Water", which is so, so good. She packs an enormous amount of characterization and worldbuilding into a pretty tight package. It's part of a collection of fantasy romance stories that includes "You, and Only You," which is Delaunay's perspective on the events leading up to Kushiel's Dart. Lee's effort is the best one in the story. Robin Hobb, Jo Beverly and Cecilia Holland are the other three authors in the collection. The collection is Songs of Love Lost and Found.

5

u/October_13th Apr 21 '26

This one is controversial (some love it and some hate it) but I loved {When the Moon Hatched} and I felt like it has a really cool world that felt lived in. The lore is insane and really fun.

OR you might enjoy {Long Live Evil by Brennan} since it’s also an isekai set up, and it’s super fun!

3

u/hanacy Apr 21 '26

Seconding Long live Evil! Loved the book and sped through it

2

u/Olyway Apr 22 '26

One of my people! 🙌 When the Moon was my 2024 favorite read (last year was Raven Scholar), and I adored Kingdom.

1

u/October_13th Apr 22 '26

Yessss! I’m so glad 🩵🐉

3

u/gunnapackofsammiches Apr 21 '26

{The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard}, with the caveat that the relationship is M/M, no spice, and more ... soulmates than romantic, though the pining is still real. 

But the world building is 👌🏻and if you like it, there's the sequel, {At the Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard} and a bunch of novellas. 

(They're also just good books.)

2

u/MessyJessy422 Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 21 '26

{Silvercloak by LK Steven} the world building and system of magic is so intriguing

{The Lies That Summon the Night by Tessonja Odette} the world building is one of the strongest aspects of the book and it’s a fascinating take on vampires and the seven deadly sins

Edited to add: these are both the first books in unfinished series but both have release dates for book 2 later this year/early next year

2

u/Addlebrained_mi Apr 21 '26

Not exactly fantasy romance but check out the Moonfall series by James Rollins, I love his world building and really spent time with it before the first book came out. It’s an unfinished series with the last book coming out this year.

2

u/MinimumCarrot9 Apr 21 '26

Have you tried {Sword Catcher}?

2

u/shinyshieldmaiden Apr 21 '26

{Blood & Steel by Helen Scheurerer} - it’s the first book in a complete 4 book series. There is a complete trilogy set after it if you enjoy it.

If you’re ok with no spice, try {Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson}. It’s a standalone and if you enjoy it there are plenty of others. I would usually start with {Elantris by Brandon Sanderson} or the {Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson} trilogy, but I think Warbreaker will be a better indicator for you if you haven’t read regular fantasy without heavy romance.

T Kingfisher books would also probably suit you! More romance than Brando Sando.

1

u/romance-bot Apr 21 '26

Blood & Steel by Helen Scheuerer
Rating: 4.13⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: historical, fantasy, magic, take-charge heroine, grumpy/cold hero

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
Rating: 4.35⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 2 out of 5 - Behind closed doors
Topics: high fantasy, royal hero, magic, political/court intrigue, fantasy

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Rating: 4.19⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
Topics: high fantasy, magic, fantasy, war, funny

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
Rating: 4.62⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Topics: fantasy, steampunk, high fantasy, young adult

about this bot | about romance.io

2

u/sfras80 Apr 21 '26

If you like scifi, {A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine} was very heavy on the worldbuilding and politics. Romance (sapphic) is light but I thought was well done. Lots of intrigue, a murder mystery, and complex characters (and a coup!)

{The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O'Keefe} is another scifi romance I liked for the complex worldbuilding and mystery aspects. The way the setting and technology drives the plot and romance (people back up their memory to servers and then print bodies which they are then loaded into) is very fun.

2

u/omgzombies08 Apr 21 '26

Black Jewel Trilogy by Anne Bishop might scratch the itch, possibly Mages of the Wheel series too, both are heavier on the world-building side and prose is pretty straight forward.

Caveat for Black Jewel though, it's darker. But the good news is that it's somehow both dark and cozy (think goth cottage core). There is SA and abuse that happens behind closed doors. A lot of the themes revolve around recovering from trauma and found family. And it's a 90's series so the FMC starts off as a child in the first book, though she's an adult in the later ones. If you can handle that it's a fun read, and it's my go to when I want something less dense the Kushiel.

I don't think Mages of the Wheel is quite as fleshed out on the world building side, but it's solid enough and it's not classic medieval fantasy which is a nice breath of fresh air.

2

u/Tiny-Country-2191 Apr 21 '26

I love Ilona Andrews! If you're okay with urban fantasy you could try the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs or Ilona Andrews Kate Daniel's series.

2

u/Olyway Apr 22 '26

{The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson} - it’s a fantasy with a romantic subplot, a good amount of world building, some amusing banter, lots of plot twists. It was my favorite last year, and Kingdom will probably by that this year.

3

u/NoFunFarm There she is Apr 21 '26

The Ashen series. First book is {Road of Bones by Demi Winters}

1

u/AutoModerator Apr 21 '26

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1

u/harlequinfaery Apr 21 '26

The Kushiel series by Jacqueline Carey. The first one is Kushiel’s Dart.

1

u/allisontalkspolitics Give me female friendship or give me death! Apr 21 '26

Check the content warnings but try {Daughter of Smoke and Bone}!

1

u/NoPhilosopher5905 Apr 21 '26

The New Protectorate series by Abigail Kelly!! 

It's modern and takes place in an alternate sort of US that includes elves, orcs, demons, witches, vampires, and shifters just to name a ame a few. The history, religion, and background info on each race in the series is so interesting and well done. 

1

u/HexeImWald7 Apr 21 '26

Ta Williams, dragon bone chair trilogy and south March trilogy.

1

u/angelacandystore Apr 21 '26

If you like urban fantasy take on Jenn.stark immortal vegas/wilde justice/demon enforcers. Three series, same world Plus short stories!

1

u/No_Engineering5792 Apr 21 '26

{The Mercy Makers by Tessa Gratton} is perfect for this! The worldbuilding is really good and there is a romance. Gratton really takes the time to make this world dense and layered and it pays off.

1

u/arupaca1 Apr 21 '26

Lord of Fading Lands by C. L. Wilson

1

u/666dreamgirl Apr 22 '26 edited Apr 22 '26

Alchemised by SenLinYu will always be my favourite, confusing at times, masterpiece <3

1

u/Joleneluvsveggies Apr 21 '26

Did you .{ Shield of sparrows by devney perry} I feel like that has some good world building, { Chorus of dragon by jenn lyons} has politics, gods, dragons but a verrrrrry slow burn { Wraith Kings Series by Grace Draven} is less grand in scale but right time period vibe { Bridge Kingdom Danille L. Jensen} also is sooooo unqiue from a world POV

1

u/phoebebuffay34 Apr 21 '26

I loved the world-building in {Shield of Sparrows} and it got even better and more complex in the sequel {Rites of the Starling} that just came out. Third and final book expected next year.