…that aren’t by Sarah J. Maas or Jennifer L. Armentrout.
If you happen to scroll through my Goodreads, you’ll see that I gave these books 4-stars. That was at the beginning of my new fantasy romance reading obsession when I thought I had a decent idea what my star-rating meant. Perhaps this is an unpopular opinion but I hate star-ratings. In my opinion, star ratings are so arbitrary. I don’t have a clear set of expectations when I go into a new read. I read for enjoyment and if I enjoy it, I’m sure someone else will, too. Even if I didn’t enjoy it, I’m sure someone else will absolutely love it.
So take my star-ratings on Goodreads with a grain of salt. I will occasionally say that a book is ‘5-stars’ in my written recommendations and that just means that I obsessed over it and bought multiple copies of that book in different formats (i.e. I read almost exclusively in Kindle but if I love a book, I’ll buy a physical copy for the bookshelf to lend out to my friends).
The Four Horsemen by Laura Thalassa
In my opinion, the character arcs are masterpieces. The FMC and the MMC (or each respective horseman) question their conflicting core believes as they try to navigate a doomed Earth. They wrestle with themselves as they shed their idealistic notions of the world and come together to try to save humanity before the final horseman arrived – Death.
Each book follows a different horseman but they are interconnected so best to read them in order.
- Book 1 – Pestilence – 383 pages
- Book 2 – War – 502 Pages
- Book 3 – Famine – 472 Pages
- Book 4 – Death – 519 pages
Although they aren’t short books by any means, I read the first three books in three days and it took me two days to read Death (mind you, that was at the beginning of my romance fantasy romance obsession and before baby #2 came along). It hurt my soul to put these books down to eat or sleep or do other adult human things.
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Tropes:
- Enemies to Lovers
- One Bed
- One Horse
- Kidnapping
- a wee bit of Stockholm Syndrome-y romance BUT fated mates-ish
- self-sacrifice to save the world
Bridge Kingdom by Danielle Jensen
I was skeptical at first because there was zero magic, zero 500-year age gap romances with fae kings, and zero dragons in the Bridge Kingdom series. But, I was so swept away with the fantastical world building, the political conflict, the scheming and deception, the drama and the enemies-to-lovers romance, that I did not miss the lack of magical fantasy in this fantasy romance one bit. And book two, The Traitor Queen, holy moly! If I wore socks, they would have been blown off but, as it happened, it ripped the skin off my feet instead. It was everything a sequel should be; the FMC fighting for a second chance, going against everyone to prove her loyalty, coming into her own personhood and completely shedding imposed beliefs to fight for what she knows is right.
The series order:
Book 1 – The Bridge Kingdom
Book 2 – The Traitor Queen
Book 3 – The Inadequate Heir
Book 3.5 – The Calm Before the Storm
If I’m being honest, I’m scared to read The Inadequate Heir and The Calm Before the Storm even thought I know it’s an irrational fear and I will love them. It’s almost like, if I don’t read anymore, nothing can be ruined and everything can remain just as perfect as it always was. The Calm Before the Storm is a novella that ties up Aren and Lara’s story from the end of The Traitor Queen. The Inadequate Heir is centred on Lara’s brother, Keris, and Zarrah, who is the general (yes, another badass FMC!) of a rival empire. Jensen says that the timeline of The Inadequate Heir overlaps with The Traitor Queen.
The whole series (that I’ve read) is filled to the brim with:
- Enemies to lovers
- Political intrigue
- Hidden/secret ability
- Dark Secrets
- Arranged Marriage
- Second Chance
- Found Family
Okay, okay – I’ll read the rest of the series… immediately ignores writing and opens kindle
Kingmaker Chronicles by Amanda Bouchet
I’m not one to make absolute statements but The Kingmaker Chronicles is my favourite series of all time.
Again, I’ve only read the first three books (book 4 came out this year). But I would pick this series over ACOTAR, Crescent City, FBAA, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings (I can’t help it y’all, don’t come for me).
It’s the only series I’ve ever re-read immediately after finishing. AND, I may have used a character for inspiration when naming my second son.
I’m a sucker for myth-inspired fiction and The Kingmaker Chronicles are infused with elements from Greek mythology (fun fact – I majored in Classical Mythology and Political Science at university and now I’m a stay-at-home mom with a part time admin job).
Anyways, about the series.
Cat has a unique power, one coveted by many and known as The Kingmaker. A human family managed to rise to power in the southern kingdom of Sinta but, in a world divided by those who wield magic and those who don’t, Cat is their one chance to strengthen their tenuous hold. Griffin, Beta and brother to the Alpha (think Queen), kidnaps Cat and drags her (literally) to his kingdom. Okay so yes, there’s a wee bit of kidnapping but ehh, everyone gets over it and the banter – Grade A kidnapping banter!!
Action and adventure, rich culture and world building, mythology and gods, tension and romance – it’s everything I could ever want in a series.
The tropes:
- enemies to lovers
- Magic
- Hidden/secret ability
- Hidden/secret identity
- Gods/goddesses
- mythology
- Political/court intrigue
- Found Family
- Prophecy
- One Horse
- Dark Secrets
If you’re looking for a new read, check out these series and let me know what you think!
