Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole book cover

Books Like Spark of the Everflame

If you finished Spark of the Everflame and want more gods and mythology, forbidden love, court intrigue, 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, Spark of the Everflame is:

Spice 3/5 Darkness 3/5

Last updated

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The picks

  1. 1. A Fate Inked in Blood

    Danielle L. Jensen · Saga of the Unfated #1

    Spice 3/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: gods and mythology, forbidden love, 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

  2. 2. Daughter of the Moon Goddess

    Sue Lynn Tan · The Celestial Kingdom #1 · complete series

    Spice 0/5 Darkness 2/5

    Shares: gods and mythology, love triangle, 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

  3. 3. Faebound

    Saara El-Arifi · Faebound #1 · complete series

    Spice 2/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: forbidden love, court intrigue

    Two elven sisters, a disgraced soldier and a fortune teller, get exiled and stumble into the fae everyone said were extinct. The main romance is sapphic.

    • Fae
    • Forbidden Love
    • Enemies to Lovers
    • Court Intrigue
    Content warnings

    War, Graphic violence, Death of a loved one

  4. 4. Fall of Ruin and Wrath

    Jennifer L. Armentrout · Awakening #1

    Spice 4/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: forbidden love, court intrigue

    Lis is an orphan with a knack for seeing things she shouldn't, and she uses it doing jobs for dangerous people, until she crosses paths with Thorne, a very powerful immortal. Classic Armentrout: banter, heat and a lot of internal monologue. The sequel is a long time coming.

    • Forbidden Love
    • Possessive Hero
    • Morally Gray
    • Court Intrigue
    Content warnings

    Graphic violence, Murder, Physical or emotional abuse

  5. 5. Red Queen

    Victoria Aveyard · Red Queen #1 · complete series

    Spice 0/5 Darkness 2/5

    Shares: court intrigue, love triangle, forbidden love

    Silver blood rules and red blood serves, and Mare is a Red with a power she shouldn't have. The king hides her in plain sight by betrothing her to his younger son. Peak 2015 YA: two princes, an arena and a twist people still argue about.

    • Court Intrigue
    • Love Triangle
    • Forbidden Love
    • Arranged Marriage
    Content warnings

    Graphic violence, Murder, War

  6. 6. The Iron King

    Julie Kagawa · The Iron Fey #1 · complete series

    Spice 0/5 Darkness 2/5

    Shares: love triangle, forbidden love, court intrigue

    On her sixteenth birthday Meghan Chase learns she's the daughter of the Summer King, right as her little brother gets stolen into the Nevernever. Puck, Ash of the Winter Court and fae made of iron. Very 2010 YA, and Ash is why people still recommend it.

    • Fae
    • Love Triangle
    • Forbidden Love
    • Court Intrigue
    Content warnings

    Kidnapping, Graphic violence

  7. 7. Zodiac Academy: The Awakening

    Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti · Zodiac Academy #1 · complete series

    Spice 2/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: forbidden love, court intrigue

    Twins Tory and Darcy Vega find out they're the lost heirs to the Fae throne and get dropped into Zodiac Academy, where four Celestial Heirs want them gone. Book one is mostly bullying and pranks, which is a dealbreaker for some. Stay and it becomes a nine-book obsession.

    • Academies and War Colleges
    • Enemies to Lovers
    • Fae
    • Forbidden Love
    Content warnings

    Physical or emotional abuse, Graphic violence, Drug or alcohol abuse

  8. 8. A Feather So Black

    Lyra Selene · Fair Folk #1 · complete series

    Spice 2/5 Darkness 2/5

    Shares: forbidden love, court intrigue

    Fern is a changeling who never fit at the human court that raised her, and the Otherworld is calling her back. Built on Irish myth with a love story that should not happen. Gorgeous prose, and a pace you have to be in the mood for.

    • Fae
    • Forbidden Love
    • Slow Burn
    • Court Intrigue
    Content warnings

    Graphic violence, Death of a loved one

  9. 9. A Touch of Darkness

    Scarlett St. Clair · Hades x Persephone Saga #1

    Spice 4/5 Darkness 2/5

    Shares: gods and mythology, forbidden love

    Persephone bets with the god of the dead and loses. Hades and Persephone in modern day, with all the jealousy that comes with it. A comfort read for a lot of fans.

    • Gods and Mythology
    • Deals and Bargains
    • Possessive Hero
    • Forbidden Love
    Content warnings

    Graphic violence, Murder

  10. 10. Grave Mercy

    Robin LaFevers · His Fair Assassin #1 · complete series

    Spice 1/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: court intrigue, gods and mythology

    Ismae escapes a brutal marriage into a convent whose nuns serve the god of death, mostly with poison and knives. Then she's sent to the Breton court posing as Duval's mistress. More politics than stabbing, and the slow trust between them really works.

    • Assassins
    • Court Intrigue
    • Forced Proximity
    • Gods and Mythology
    Content warnings

    Physical or emotional abuse, Murder, Graphic violence

  11. 11. Kushiel's Dart

    Jacqueline Carey · Kushiel's Legacy #1 · complete series

    Spice 4/5 Darkness 4/5

    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

  12. 12. The Veiled Kingdom

    Holly Renee · The Veiled Kingdom #1 · complete series

    Spice 4/5 Darkness 2/5

    Shares: forbidden love, court intrigue

    Nyra has spent her whole life hiding that she's really Verena, the lost fae princess of Marmoris, and Dacre, the man she can't stop wanting, has no idea. Fast and very spicy, light on worldbuilding. That's either the appeal or the problem.

    • Fae
    • Enemies to Lovers
    • Forbidden Love
    • Forced Proximity
    Content warnings

    Graphic violence, Murder, Death of a loved one

  13. 13. These Hollow Vows

    Lexi Ryan · These Hollow Vows #1 · complete series

    Spice 2/5 Darkness 2/5

    Shares: love triangle, court intrigue

    Brie hates the fae, then her little sister gets handed over to the Unseelie to pay a debt. Her way in is posing as a bride for the Seelie prince Ronan while the shadowy Finn works his own angle. Pick a team early, because readers are still arguing.

    • Fae
    • Love Triangle
    • Court Intrigue
    • Deals and Bargains
    Content warnings

    Kidnapping, Graphic violence, Death of a loved one

  14. 14. Throne of Glass

    Sarah J. Maas · Throne of Glass #1 · complete series

    Spice 1/5 Darkness 2/5

    Shares: love triangle, 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

  15. 15. Belladonna

    Adalyn Grace · Belladonna #1 · complete series

    Spice 1/5 Darkness 2/5

    Shares: forbidden love, gods and mythology

    Signa can't die, which is how she ends up orphaned at a gloomy Victorian estate where a ghost wants her to solve her own poisoning. Her love interest is Death himself, mostly in shadow form. Cozy-spooky and very October.

    • Forbidden Love
    • Slow Burn
    • Gods and Mythology
    Content warnings

    Murder, Death of a loved one

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