Books Like Gild
If you finished Gild and want more captor and captive, fae, slow burn, start here. Each pick shares at least two tropes with it, and we've rated every one for spice and darkness so you know what you're getting into.
For reference, Gild is:
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The picks
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1. Fortuna Sworn
Shares: fae, captor and captive, morally gray
Fortuna is a Nightmare who can see the fears of anyone she touches, and when her brother goes missing she ends up a prisoner of the Unseelie Court. Getting out costs her something very fae. Bleak, messy, and the love interest debate is half the fun.
- Fae
- Captor and Captive
- Deals and Bargains
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Physical or emotional abuse, Torture, Kidnapping, Human trafficking, Graphic violence
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2. Lady of Darkness
Shares: fae, slow burn, morally gray
Scarlett Monrhoe and her sisters were raised to torture and kill on command, and she is very good at it. Book one is long and stingy with the romance. Readers who push on say the later books are where it catches fire, in every sense.
- Assassins
- Fae
- Slow Burn
- Found Family
Content warnings
Sexual assault, Murder, Torture, Physical or emotional abuse, Graphic violence
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3. Losing Wendy
Shares: fae, enemies to lovers, slow burn
Peter Pan retold as a mystery, with Wendy Darling, winged fae, mating marks and something killing in Neverland. Enemies to lovers on a very slow fuse. Darker than the premise sounds, and not everyone liked where it takes Wendy.
- Fairy Tale Retellings
- Fae
- Fated Mates
- Enemies to Lovers
Content warnings
Murder, Graphic violence
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4. Darkfever
Shares: fae, morally gray, slow burn
Mac goes to Dublin to find out who killed her sister and finds out she can see the fae. They're nothing like the stories. The romance with Barrons takes several books and gets very dark. This was dark fae before dark fae was a shelf.
- Fae
- Morally Gray
- Slow Burn
- Possessive Hero
Content warnings
Murder, Graphic violence, Death of a loved one
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5. House of Earth and Blood
Shares: fae, morally gray, slow burn
Urban fantasy Maas: phones, clubs, angels and a half-fae party girl hunting whoever killed her best friend. The first 200 pages are a slog and the last 200 are a sprint.
- Fae
- Demons
- Morally Gray
- Slow Burn
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Gore, Murder, Drug or alcohol abuse, Death of a loved one
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6. The Cruel Prince
Shares: fae, enemies to lovers, morally gray
A mortal girl raised in Faerie after the man who murdered her parents adopted her. Jude wants power, Cardan wants her gone, and nobody in this court is nice. No spice, all knives.
- Fae
- Enemies to Lovers
- Court Intrigue
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Physical or emotional abuse, Death of a loved one
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7. The Ever King
Shares: captor and captive, enemies to lovers, fae
Erik Bloodsinger, the sea fae pirate king, is mostly teeth and grudges, and he kidnaps the earth fae princess Livia Ferus right off her own shore. Salty, Viking-flavored and a blast once she starts biting back. You can skip the Broken Kingdoms books.
- Captor and Captive
- Enemies to Lovers
- Fae
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Kidnapping, Graphic violence, Torture, Murder
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8. The Wretched Divine
Shares: enemies to lovers, morally gray
Grace's adult debut: a knight bonded to an angel has to team up with a demon to find a cure. Way darker than Belladonna and a bit overstuffed, but the emotional core is the most complicated thing she's written.
- Demons
- Forbidden Love
- Enemies to Lovers
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Death of a loved one
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9. The Serpent and the Wings of Night
Shares: enemies to lovers, morally gray
A human girl raised by the vampire king enters a deadly tournament where the prize is a goddess's favor. Hunger Games energy, gorgeous writing and a rival who's very hard not to like.
- Vampires
- Deadly Trials
- Enemies to Lovers
- Gods and Mythology
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Gore, Physical or emotional abuse, Death of a loved one
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10. Quicksilver
Shares: fae, enemies to lovers, morally gray
Saeris is a thief who touches the wrong thing and gets hauled into the fae realm by a very rude fae warrior. Long, crude in a fun way and properly spicy once it gets there.
- Fae
- Enemies to Lovers
- Forced Proximity
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Gore, Murder
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11. A Dawn of Onyx
Shares: captor and captive, enemies to lovers, slow burn
A healer gets caught fleeing her village and ends up working in the enemy king's castle, and yes, the brooding commander is more than he looks. If you've read ACOTAR, you'll know exactly where this is going, and that's sort of the point.
- Captor and Captive
- Enemies to Lovers
- Forced Proximity
- Slow Burn
Content warnings
War, Graphic violence
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12. The Emperor's Enemy
Shares: enemies to lovers, morally gray
Zora Ravenal, a knight mage from the north, gets forced into a partnership with a terrifying Royal Mage in the middle of a war. Real enemies to lovers with great banter. The secret-keeping gets repetitive, and the warnings are heavier than you'd guess.
- Enemies to Lovers
- Forced Proximity
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, War, Murder
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13. A Broken Blade
Shares: fae, enemies to lovers, slow burn
Keera is the King's Blade, a half-fae spy who drinks to forget what she's done for a human king. Hunting a rebel called the Shadow drags her back toward the fae lands she abandoned. Indigenous-inspired and slower than the hype. Readers rate the first two books highest.
- Assassins
- Fae
- Court Intrigue
- Enemies to Lovers
Content warnings
Self-harm, Suicide or suicidal thoughts, Drug or alcohol abuse, Murder, Sexual assault
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14. Kingdom of the Wicked
Shares: enemies to lovers, slow burn
Sicilian witch summons a prince of hell to find out who killed her twin. Wrath is the best part, and the spice goes up a lot in book two.
- Witches
- Demons
- Enemies to Lovers
- Revenge
Content warnings
Murder, Gore, Death of a loved one
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15. Kushiel's Dart
Shares: morally gray, slow burn
Phèdre is a courtesan and spy who finds pleasure in pain, sold into a world of political betrayal. Dense and long, with real kink, and it was doing romantasy 20 years before the word existed.
- Court Intrigue
- Gods and Mythology
- Morally Gray
- Slow Burn
Content warnings
Dubious or non-consent, Torture, Sexual assault, War, Graphic violence
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