Books Like Shield of Sparrows
If you finished Shield of Sparrows and want more arranged marriage, enemies to lovers, 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, Shield of Sparrows is:
Last updated
We may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. It doesn't change what we recommend. How we make money.
The picks
-
1. Quicksilver
Shares: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, 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
-
2. A Dawn of Onyx
Shares: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, 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
-
3. The Bridge Kingdom
Shares: arranged marriage, enemies to lovers, slow burn
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
-
4. The Hurricane Wars
Shares: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, slow burn
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
-
5. Fourth Wing
Shares: enemies to lovers, forced proximity
Violet is fragile and was supposed to be a scribe. Instead she's at a war college where cadets push each other off parapets and the dragons pick who lives. Fast, bingeable and meaner than the cover suggests.
- Dragons
- Academies and War Colleges
- Enemies to Lovers
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, War, Death of a loved one
-
6. A Broken Blade
Shares: 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
-
7. A Court This Cruel and Lovely
Shares: enemies to lovers, forced proximity
Prisca has hidden her magic her whole life. Then a fae prince turns up who needs exactly that, with a curse sitting in the middle of it. Clear ACOTAR comp and a fine one to read next.
- Fae
- Enemies to Lovers
- Deals and Bargains
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Physical or emotional abuse
-
8. A Promise of Fire
Shares: enemies to lovers, 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
-
9. A Shadow in the Ember
Shares: arranged marriage, enemies to lovers
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
-
10. Court of Ruins
Shares: arranged marriage, enemies to lovers
Reyna Darragh would rather swing a sword than smile at court, but a political marriage could end the war faster than her blade ever will. A short, steamy KU fae romance that doesn't waste your time.
- Fae
- Arranged Marriage
- Enemies to Lovers
- Court Intrigue
Content warnings
Graphic violence, War
-
11. Losing Wendy
Shares: 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
-
12. Sorcery of Thorns
Shares: enemies to lovers, slow burn, forced proximity
Elisabeth grew up in a library where grimoires growl and turn into monsters if you damage them. When one gets loose, she's stuck with Nathaniel, a snarky sorcerer, and Silas, his demon servant, who steals every scene. Cozy and creepy at once.
- Demons
- Enemies to Lovers
- Slow Burn
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Murder, Graphic violence, Death of a loved one
-
13. The Emperor's Enemy
Shares: enemies to lovers, forced proximity
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
-
14. The Wren in the Holly Library
Shares: enemies to lovers, forced proximity
Kierse is a thief in a New York still scarred by a war with monsters, and she gets caught breaking into the house of Graves, a centuries-old something who offers her a job instead of killing her. Beauty and the Beast bones and plenty of heat. The first act is slow.
- Enemies to Lovers
- Fairy Tale Retellings
- Morally Gray
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Death of a loved one
-
15. This Monster of Mine
Shares: enemies to lovers, slow burn
A legal thriller in a Rome-inspired city. Four years after someone threw Sarai from a tower, she's back as a Petitor who can hear lies, assigned to Tetrarch Kadra, the feared judge whose voice sounds exactly like her attacker's. She works with him by day and plots against him by night.
- Enemies to Lovers
- Revenge
- Morally Gray
- Court Intrigue
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Torture, Murder, Physical or emotional abuse
Read more than just Shield of Sparrows? Tap everything you've loved and we'll build a reading list around all of it, not just this one book.