It’s that time again. You’ve finished your latest five star obsession and now you’re staring at your TBR like… greaaat, what’s next? Nothing hits. Everything sounds bland.
If you’re wondering what romantasy book you should read next, the answer depends on what you’re chasing. Feral fae politics, villain gets the girl chaos, gothic slow burn, or something criminally underrated that deserves more noise? The genre has it all. I’ve curated this properly. Not a 27 book data dump. Just the ones that genuinely deliver.
Takeaways
- If you want high heat fae politics with addictive tension, read The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent.
- If you loved morally grey fae courts and enemies to lovers, The Cruel Prince by Holly Black still hits.
- If you want villain romance and shadow daddy energy with plot, One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig is actually satisfying.
- If you want intense chemistry and magic school politics, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros is fast, dramatic, and high heat.
- If you want a quieter, underrated fantasy romance with emotional depth, Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent deserves your attention.
| If You Want… | Read This | Spice | Standalone? |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACOTAR vibes, brutal tournament, open door | The Serpent and the Wings of Night | 🌶️🌶️🌶️ | ✅ Yes (series) |
| Fae politics, power games, actual enemies | The Cruel Prince | 🌶️ | ❌ Trilogy |
| Dragons, war college, fast and dramatic | Fourth Wing | 🌶️🌶️🌶️ | ❌ Series |
| Gothic atmosphere, clever magic, slow burn | One Dark Window | 🌶️🌶️ | ❌ Duology |
| Emotional depth, trauma, fantasy first | Daughter of No Worlds | 🌶️🌶️ | ❌ Series |
What romantasy book should I read if I loved ACOTAR?
If you devoured A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas and now everything feels bland, you’re probably looking for:
- Fae courts
- Political tension
- High stakes romance
- Open door spice
- A powerful love interest who is not morally pristine
Try: The Serpent and the Wings of Night
This is human girl raised among vampires, forced into a brutal tournament. The romance is enemies to lovers with proper tension and payoff. The male lead is dangerous but not hollow with a one track mind. The plot has real consequences. The spice is open door and high heat. It ticks a lot of boxes.
If you loved ACOTAR for the romance first and the politics second, this will likely work for you.
Or: The Cruel Prince
Lower spice but sharper politics. Jude is ruthless in a way we do not talk about enough, in this climate we deserve this kind of character. Cardan is petulant and brilliant and awful in the best way.
This is enemies to lovers with actual enemies. If you like power games and manipulation over bedroom scenes, this is your move.
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What romantasy book should I read for high spice and drama?
You want tension. You want open door scenes. You want maybe a little danger and a relationship that feels like daggers to the throat.
Read: Fourth Wing
Dragons. War college. Deadly trials. A male lead who is not there to play nice. Ok maybe sometimes.
It is fast. It is dramatic. It is very readable. The romance is front and centre and the spice is open door. If you want a page turning romantasy with addictive chemistry, this does the job.
Reader caveat: if you prefer intricate political fantasy over romance driven plotting, this may feel lighter on world depth. That is not a flaw. It is reader fit. This is one of those worlds that will have you speculating, and theory crafting online, but can feel a bit shallow.
What romantasy book should I read if I want gothic, eerie energy?
You want atmosphere. You got it. You want cursed magic. Check. You want a romance that builds slowly and feels slightly dangerous? Count us in.
One Dark Window
A personal fave of mine.
This one surprised a lot of readers by being actually incredible, for real. The magic system is card based and genuinely clever in a way that will have you wondering how other authors haven’t done this yet. The romance is slower burn with open door payoff later in the duology but the love is clear from the start.
It feels claustrophobic and moody in a way that works. If you liked the darker tone of The Cruel Prince but wanted more romance, this is a strong pick. Plus there’s some magical creature talking in your head whose incredibly sarcastic and witty, who doesn’t love that?
What romantasy book should I read that is underrated but brilliant?
If you are tired of algorithm picks and want something with emotional weight and serious character growth, read Daughter of No Worlds. The romance is slower burn. The male lead is traumatised, sharp, and deeply layered, great job from the author. The story deals with oppression, trauma, and war in a way that feels mature rather than decorative. Spice level is moderate and open door. Emotional damage level is high. If you want fantasy first but still crave romance payoff, this is genuinely satisfying.
So… what should you read next?
- If you want chaos and heat, pick Fourth Wing.
- If you want cut throat fae politics, pick The Cruel Prince.
- If you want brutal romance and tension, pick The Serpent and the Wings of Night.
- If you want gothic slow burn, pick One Dark Window.
- If you want depth and emotional devastation, pick Daughter of No Worlds.
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Frequently Asked Questions
For sheer popularity and accessibility, Fourth Wing remains one of the most searched romantasy books. For darker romance with stronger political structure, The Serpent and the Wings of Night is a top recommendation.
Fourth Wing and The Serpent and the Wings of Night both feature open door, high heat spice. The Cruel Prince is significantly lower heat.
Daughter of No Worlds leans more heavily into epic fantasy structure while still delivering a meaningful romantic arc.
If you loved the fae courts and enemies to lovers tension, start with The Serpent and the Wings of Night or The Cruel Prince depending on your preferred spice level.
Fourth Wing is the most consistent slump-buster on this list — it’s fast, dramatic, and the romance is front and centre from early on. If you need something slightly slower but equally addictive, The Serpent and the Wings of Night pulls you in through atmosphere and character rather than pure pace. Both are high readability, low barrier to entry.
The Cruel Prince for sharp, petulant, manipulative energy that is somehow completely compelling. One Dark Window if you want your morally grey love interest wrapped in gothic atmosphere and genuine emotional complexity. The Serpent and the Wings of Night if you want dangerous and layered but ultimately redeemable. All three deliver on morally grey, they just do it differently.
Honestly, most of these are series with cliffhangers. The Cruel Prince ends on a significant turn. Fourth Wing will have you immediately grabbing book two. One Dark Window is a duology so the ending is purposefully open. If you need a complete story in one book, head to the standalone romantasy list instead, that’s built specifically for commitment-phobes.
Daughter of No Worlds is the strongest pick here for fantasy-forward readers — the worldbuilding and political structure carry as much weight as the romance. The Cruel Prince sits in a similar space, with the political power games often overshadowing the slow burn tension. Both will satisfy readers who find pure romance-first romantasy a little thin.
Both, depending on your reader fit. It is genuinely fast, addictive, and delivers on romantic chemistry and open door spice. The worldbuilding is functional rather than intricatem, if you want a fantasy world you can theorise about endlessly, it provides that, but it won’t satisfy readers who need deep political complexity. If you want a page-turning romantasy that earns its hype through sheer readability and romantic payoff, it absolutely delivers.
Low. The Cruel Prince is more about political tension, power games, and the deliciously slow unravelling of a genuinely adversarial relationship than explicit content. You can feel the pain they have from being attracted to each other. If you’re coming from ACOTAR hoping for similar spice, adjust your expectations, the payoff here is in the manipulation and the shift in power dynamics, not the bedroom. The series does get warmer as it progresses, but book one is firmly low spice.
One Dark Window — the magical creature living in the heroine’s head is genuinely witty in a way that stands out from most romantasy narration. Fourth Wing also has strong dry humour woven through the internal monologue. If voice and banter are your priority over everything else, both are strong picks.
If you tell me what you last loved and why in the comments, I will narrow this down further. Because the right romantasy at the right time? Bloody brilliant.
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