Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa book cover

Books Like Rhapsodic

If you finished Rhapsodic and want more deals and bargains, 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, Rhapsodic is:

Spice 2/5 Darkness 3/5

Last updated

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The picks

  1. 1. Darkfever

    Karen Marie Moning · Fever #1

    Spice 1/5 Darkness 3/5

    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

  2. 2. Gild

    Raven Kennedy · The Plated Prisoner #1 · complete series

    Spice 2/5 Darkness 4/5

    Shares: fae, slow burn, morally gray

    Auren is King Midas's gilded favorite, living in an actual birdcage and calling it love. Then raiders grab her on the road and a fae commander named Rip becomes her problem. Gild is slow and mostly setup. Glint is where the series takes off.

    • Captor and Captive
    • Fae
    • Slow Burn
    • Morally Gray
    Content warnings

    Sexual assault, Human trafficking, Physical or emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Murder

  3. 3. House of Earth and Blood

    Sarah J. Maas · Crescent City #1

    Spice 3/5 Darkness 3/5

    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

  4. 4. Quicksilver

    Callie Hart · Fae & Alchemy #1

    Spice 4/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: fae, morally gray, slow burn

    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

  5. 5. A Deal with the Elf King

    Elise Kova · standalone

    Spice 2/5 Darkness 1/5

    Shares: fae, deals and bargains, slow burn

    A village healer gets claimed as the elf king's bride. Softer than most on this site, but it's a full fae-bargain story in one book.

    • Fae
    • Arranged Marriage
    • Deals and Bargains
    • Curses
    Content warnings

    Death of a loved one

  6. 6. Fortuna Sworn

    K.J. Sutton · Fortuna Sworn #1 · complete series

    Spice 3/5 Darkness 4/5

    Shares: fae, deals and bargains, 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

  7. 7. Lady of Darkness

    Melissa K. Roehrich · Lady of Darkness #1

    Spice 3/5 Darkness 4/5

    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

  8. 8. The Sweetest Fiend

    Raven Kennedy · Played by the Piper #1

    Spice 4/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: fae, deals and bargains, morally gray

    Pied Piper retelling. The Piper clears a plague from her city and takes 130 people as payment, her included. The first half is plague and survival, the back half gets very explicit, and it ends mid-fall.

    • Fairy Tale Retellings
    • Fae
    • Captor and Captive
    • Deals and Bargains
    Content warnings

    Kidnapping, Graphic violence

  9. 9. A Broken Blade

    Melissa Blair · The Halfling Saga #1 · complete series

    Spice 2/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: fae, 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

  10. 10. Kiss of the Black Flame

    Helen Scheuerer · The Bookbinder's Bargain #1

    Spice 2/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: deals and bargains, slow burn

    A bookbinder gets traded to immortal warriors and told to restore a living book. The craft details are lovely and the bargain with Archer has real heat. It's long, though, and the middle loops one time too many.

    • Deals and Bargains
    • Captor and Captive
    • Slow Burn
    Content warnings

    Graphic violence

  11. 11. Losing Wendy

    T.A. Lawrence · The Lost Girl Series #1 · complete series

    Spice 2/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: fae, 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

  12. 12. The Hurricane Wars

    Thea Guanzon · The Hurricane Wars #1 · complete series

    Spice 2/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: slow burn, morally gray

    Talasyn is a soldier on the losing side of a war, and Alaric is the shadow-wielding prince of the empire that's winning. Their magic works best together, which neither of them likes. It started as Star Wars fanfic and still feels like it, for better or worse.

    • Enemies to Lovers
    • Forced Proximity
    • Slow Burn
    • Morally Gray
    Content warnings

    War, Graphic violence, Physical or emotional abuse, Death of a loved one

  13. 13. A Court of Thorns and Roses

    Sarah J. Maas · A Court of Thorns and Roses #1

    Spice 3/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: fae, deals and bargains

    Beauty and the Beast with fae and a lot more blood. The first half is slow and the second half under the mountain is why everyone kept going. Book two is where it gets good, honestly.

    • Fae
    • Enemies to Lovers
    • Fairy Tale Retellings
    • Curses
    Content warnings

    Graphic violence, Torture, Murder, Dubious or non-consent

  14. 14. A Cursed Kiss

    Jenny Hickman · Myths of Airren #1 · complete series

    Spice 2/5 Darkness 2/5

    Shares: fae, morally gray

    Keelynn's sister died from a Gancanagh's cursed kiss, so she teams up with a witch and the half-fae Tadhg to bring her back. Irish folklore all the way down. There's a lot of miscommunication, but Tadhg carries it.

    • Fae
    • Curses
    • Enemies to Lovers
    • Morally Gray
    Content warnings

    Death of a loved one, Murder, Graphic violence

  15. 15. A Fate Inked in Blood

    Danielle L. Jensen · Saga of the Unfated #1

    Spice 3/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: slow burn, morally gray

    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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