Books Like Grave Mercy
If you finished Grave Mercy and want more assassins, court intrigue, forced proximity, 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, Grave Mercy is:
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The picks
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1. Throne of Glass
Shares: assassins, court intrigue
An assassin dragged out of a salt mine to compete for the king's favor. Book one reads young. Stick with it, because by book four it's a full-blown fae war epic.
- Assassins
- Deadly Trials
- Love Triangle
- Court Intrigue
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Death of a loved one
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2. Poison Study
Shares: assassins, court intrigue
Yelena is a day from the noose when she's offered a job as the Commander's food taster. Valek, the chief of security, poisons her so she can't run. An old-school slow burn from 2005 and still one of the better captor romances out there.
- Captor and Captive
- Slow Burn
- Assassins
- Court Intrigue
Content warnings
Sexual assault, Physical or emotional abuse, Torture, Murder
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3. A Broken Blade
Shares: assassins, court intrigue
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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4. Lore
Shares: gods and mythology, forced proximity
Every seven years the Greek gods are made mortal and hunted through New York, and whoever kills one takes its power. Lore walked away from the hunt after her family was murdered. Then a wounded Athena turns up on her doorstep. Punchy YA, a little long.
- Gods and Mythology
- Deadly Trials
- Revenge
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Murder, Graphic violence, Sexual assault, Death of a loved one
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5. A Fate Inked in Blood
Shares: gods and mythology, court intrigue
Viking romantasy. Freya is a shield maiden with a prophecy on her head and a jarl's son who is very much not her husband. Feels like Vikings meets a political chess game.
- Gods and Mythology
- Slow Burn
- Forbidden Love
- Court Intrigue
Content warnings
War, Graphic violence, Physical or emotional abuse
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6. Daughter of the Moon Goddess
Shares: gods and mythology, court intrigue
Xingyin, the moon goddess Chang'e's secret daughter, flees the moon and ends up training as an archer beside the Celestial crown prince. Lush and episodic, pulled from Chinese myth. The middle drags a bit and the love triangle stays mild.
- Gods and Mythology
- Love Triangle
- Slow Burn
- Court Intrigue
Content warnings
War, Graphic violence
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7. Gods of Jade and Shadow
Shares: gods and mythology, forced proximity
Casiopea scrubs floors for her awful grandfather in 1920s Mexico until she opens an old chest and frees Hun-Kamé, the Maya god of death. They road-trip to get his throne back. More fable than romance, with a bittersweet ending.
- Gods and Mythology
- Forbidden Love
- Slow Burn
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Physical or emotional abuse, Graphic violence
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8. Immortal Rose
Shares: court intrigue, forced proximity
Viola is the illegitimate Rosebourne heir and a perfumer, roped into making the one scent that could save Albion's king while a royal spymaster watches her every move. Regency gloss with some grit underneath. Ends on a cliffhanger, fair warning.
- Court Intrigue
- Forced Proximity
- Morally Gray
- Slow Burn
Content warnings
Murder, Graphic violence
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9. Silver Under Nightfall
Shares: court intrigue, forced proximity
Remy Pendergast is a disgraced vampire hunter and a duke's bastard who ends up allied with a vampire heiress and her betrothed, a vampire prince. All three fall for each other. Dense worldbuilding, gory fights and a queer polyamorous romance right up front.
- Vampires
- Why Choose
- Court Intrigue
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Gore, Physical or emotional abuse
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10. Spark of the Everflame
Shares: gods and mythology, court intrigue
Diem is a mortal healer in a kingdom run by the Descended, godlike rulers who treat humans as disposable. Her mother disappears, a rebellion wants her, and a Descended prince named Luther keeps showing up. A self-published hit that got a big reissue, and the series is finally finished.
- Gods and Mythology
- Forbidden Love
- Court Intrigue
- Love Triangle
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Death of a loved one
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11. A Promise of Fire
Shares: gods and mythology, forced proximity
Cat is a soothsayer hiding in a traveling circus until Griffin, a warlord, figures out what she can do and carries her off. The Greek gods meddle constantly. Banter-heavy and steamy, and Griffin is an alpha who actually listens.
- Gods and Mythology
- Captor and Captive
- Enemies to Lovers
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Kidnapping, Graphic violence, Physical or emotional abuse
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12. A Shadow in the Ember
Shares: gods and mythology, assassins
Sera was raised to seduce and kill the Primal of Death, who was promised her as a bride and then never came to collect. When Nyktos finally shows up, the plan gets messy fast. Long and repetitive in the middle, and a prequel world for Blood and Ash readers.
- Gods and Mythology
- Arranged Marriage
- Assassins
- Enemies to Lovers
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Physical or emotional abuse, Murder
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13. The Bridge Kingdom
Shares: assassins, court intrigue
Raised to be a spy, married off to the enemy king she's supposed to destroy. Tight and fast. Great if you like your heroine competent and in over her head.
- Arranged Marriage
- Enemies to Lovers
- Assassins
- Court Intrigue
Content warnings
Graphic violence, War, Physical or emotional abuse
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14. Kushiel's Dart
Shares: court intrigue, gods and mythology
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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15. The Book of Azrael
Shares: gods and mythology, forced proximity
Dianna is a shape-shifting monster who does terrible things for her maker. Liam is a god-king forced to work with her. The main characters really aren't nice people, and it's dark and very horny.
- Enemies to Lovers
- Morally Gray
- Gods and Mythology
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Gore, Torture, Murder
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