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Cover of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Books Like A Court of Thorns and Roses: Romantasy to Devour

If you loved A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas.

ACOTAR set the romantasy template: a fierce heroine, a perilous magical court, and a slow burn that turns into a blaze. If you want lush worldbuilding wrapped around a romance with real teeth, these are the reviewed romantasy reads we’d pull off the shelf for you next.

Why these match

  • fae
  • magic
  • slow burn
  • enemies to lovers
  • court intrigue
Cover of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Pick 01 · Top match

Fourth Wing

by Rebecca Yarros

4.6 - Outstanding
Available on Kindle Unlimited
FictionFantasyRomantasy

If the slow burn and high-stakes danger of your last favorite left you wanting more, this is the natural next step: a war college where bonding with a dragon and surviving one are equally lethal odds. Violet's physical fragility forces her to outthink everyone around her, turning every tactical choice into a matter of life or death. The romantic tension runs hot and complicated by distrust, and the worldbuilding has real procedural teeth rather than serving as pretty backdrop. For readers who want the lore to feel urgent, this earns its devoted following.

Read the review →
Cover of The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Pick 02

The Name of the Wind

by Patrick Rothfuss

4.9 - Incredible
FictionFantasy

Trade breakneck plotting for deep immersion and you'll find a coming-of-age fantasy obsessed with music, language, and the gap between a man and his legend. Kvothe narrates his own myth over three days, and the magic-school passages reward anyone who loves rules with real costs and prose worth lingering over.

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Cover of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Pick 03

The Night Circus

by Erin Morgenstern

4.5 - Outstanding
FictionMagical RealismRomance

For the dreamier end of slow burn, here is a love story that aches across years inside a circus that only opens after dark. Celia and Marco were raised to compete in a contest they barely understand, and their romance unfolds through gesture and creation rather than declaration, all wrapped in some of the lushest sensory prose around.

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Cover of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Pick 04

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

by Shannon Chakraborty

4.3 - Excellent
FictionFantasyAdventure

Steeped in folklore, forbidden magic, and the medieval Indian Ocean, this swashbuckling adventure hands the wheel to a retired pirate captain who is also a middle-aged mother. It's pulpy, funny, and tender about what age and faith do to ambition, perfect if you want a heroine who refuses to be sidelined.

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Cover of Storm Front by Jim Butcher

Pick 05

Storm Front

by Jim Butcher

4.3 - Excellent
FictionMysteryUrban Fantasy

A wizard-for-hire works magical homicides in a Chicago where spells have real costs but the rent still comes due. Harry Dresden's wry first-person voice powers a hardboiled noir crossed with rule-bound magic, and it's a series starter that stands alone while promising plenty more.

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Cover of The Hobbit: Tolkien's Classic Epic Fantasy Adventure by J.R.R. Tolkien

Pick 06

The Hobbit: Tolkien's Classic Epic Fantasy Adventure

by J.R.R. Tolkien

4.7 - Outstanding
Available on Kindle Unlimited
FictionFantasyAdventure

Sometimes you want the comfort of a clear quest and a strong sense of place, and Bilbo's reluctant march toward a dragon's hoard delivers exactly that. Cozy then perilous, funny then frightening, it's a warm entry point to Middle-earth that's surprisingly tender about what courage costs an ordinary person.

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Cover of A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Pick 07

A Game of Thrones

by George R. R. Martin

4.5 - Outstanding
FictionFantasyWar

If the court intrigue was your favorite part of ACOTAR, here is politics with teeth on an epic scale, where honor gets people killed and the real threat gathers while everyone fights over a chair. Across a large cast and rotating viewpoints, the tension builds slowly and the consequences are brutal and real.

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Cover of Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Pick 08

Me Before You

by Jojo Moyes

4.5 - Outstanding
FictionRomanceContemporary

A contemporary romance that refuses the easy save-the-day ending, pairing a chatty small-town woman with a sharp, bitter man left paralyzed after an accident. The friction warms into something neither of them planned, and the slow-burn, banter-driven emotional arc lands as hard as the premise promises.

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Cover of Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan

Pick 09

Dolly All the Time

by Annabel Monaghan

4.5 - Outstanding
FictionRomanceContemporary

This fake-dating romance quietly reroutes the Pretty Woman blueprint into something warmer, following a single mom who has always been the responsible one and the awkward scion who finally makes her want to lean on someone. The pleasure is watching attraction accumulate in small gestures rather than fireworks.

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Cover of The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

Pick 10

The Sentence

by Louise Erdrich

4.4 - Excellent
FictionLiterary FictionParanormal

A ghost story that doubles as a chronicle of one impossible year in Minneapolis, narrated by Tookie, a formerly incarcerated Ojibwe bookseller haunted by a dead customer who won't leave the shop. Voice-driven and witty, it's for anyone devoted to independent bookstores and stories steeped in Ojibwe life.

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