BookTok is filled with romantasy book recommendations, and it seems more readers are exploring this genre than ever before. Of course, some of the most common recs are those with enemies-to-lovers storylines. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy the tension behind this trope?
If you’re looking for your next romantic fantasy read with shared love between former rivals, here are three romantasy books for fans of enemies-to-lovers.
1. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
If you’re an avid bookworm or follow BookTok in any way, you’ve likely heard of Fourth Wing, the first of The Empyrean series. Rebecca Yarros’s romantasy series is credited as one of the best enemies-to-lovers stories on the market.
The book follows 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail, a frail, fragile woman who is forced to join a violent, aggressive war college for dragon riders. An unlikely candidate, Violet must work against all odds to survive each deadly challenge, one of them being ruthless wingleader, Xaden Riorson, the most powerful in the Riders Quadrant.
As the war rages on outside, becoming deadlier by the day, Violet begins to uncover some troubling secrets. The life-or-death tension, mixed with the slow-burning love connection, makes for the ideal romantasy series.
As its synopsis says, “Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.”
2. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
With a title like The Cruel Prince, it’s clear that this romantasy novel involves an iconic enemies-to-lovers storyline. As they say, love and hate are often two sides of the same coin.
The novel, which is the first of The Folk of the Air series, follows Jude, who was captured and taken to the High Court of Faerie with her sisters after her parents. She was only seven at the time, but now, a decade later, all she wants is to belong among the fey proves. This proves challenging for a mortal, especially when it comes to Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King—whom she loves and hates in equal measure.
Unfortunately, winning a place at the Court means defying Cardan, which comes with dangerous consequences.
“As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed,” the synopsis reads. “But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.”
3. The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent has everything you could possibly want in a romantasy book: vampires, rivals, and tension so thick you can cut it with a knife. Part of the Crowns of Nyaxia Series, this high-stakes vampire romance is like The Hunger Games meets Twilight.
The book follows Oraya, the adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king. To avoid becoming prey in this dangerous world, she is forced to join the Kejari, a tournament held by the goddess of death. Of course, winning does not come easy for a mere mortal, so Oraya must ally with a mysterious rival, Raihn.
“Everything about Raihn is dangerous. He is a ruthless vampire, an efficient killer, an enemy to her father’s crown… and her greatest competition,” the synopsis reads. “Yet, what terrifies Oraya most of all is that she finds herself oddly drawn to him.”
As the two begin working together, their dynamic shifts from enemies to something much deeper—yet perhaps just as deadly.
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