This Monster of Mine by Shalini Abeysekara book cover

Books Like This Monster of Mine

If you finished This Monster of Mine and want more enemies to lovers, revenge, morally gray, 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, This Monster of Mine is:

Spice 3/5 Darkness 4/5

Last updated

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The picks

  1. 1. The Cruel Prince

    Holly Black · The Folk of the Air #1 · complete series

    Spice 0/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: enemies to lovers, court intrigue, 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

  2. 2. A Fate Inked in Blood

    Danielle L. Jensen · Saga of the Unfated #1

    Spice 3/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: slow burn, court intrigue, 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

  3. 3. Gild

    Raven Kennedy · The Plated Prisoner #1 · complete series

    Spice 2/5 Darkness 4/5

    Shares: slow burn, morally gray, enemies to lovers

    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

  4. 4. Kushiel's Dart

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

    Spice 4/5 Darkness 4/5

    Shares: court intrigue, 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

  5. 5. Ravenous

    Kresley Cole · Immortals Untold #1

    Spice 4/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: enemies to lovers, morally gray

    Cole kicks off a new arc set in her Immortals After Dark world, with rival supernatural factions in the Skein and enemies who absolutely should not be sleeping together. It's a fresh starting point, so you don't need twenty backlist books first.

    • Forbidden Love
    • Enemies to Lovers
    • Morally Gray
    Content warnings

    Graphic violence, Murder

  6. 6. Voidwalker

    S.A. MacLean · Beasts of the Void #1

    Spice 4/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: enemies to lovers, morally gray

    Fi is a smuggler who can walk the Void between worlds, and a job gone wrong drops her in front of Antal, an antlered daeyari lord whose species eats humans. He'll spare her if she helps him find whoever attacked his city. Predator and prey, with claws and tails and a lot of heat.

    • Deals and Bargains
    • Enemies to Lovers
    • Forbidden Love
    • Morally Gray
    Content warnings

    Graphic violence, Gore, Murder

  7. 7. Quicksilver

    Callie Hart · Fae & Alchemy #1

    Spice 4/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: enemies to lovers, 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

  8. 8. A Broken Blade

    Melissa Blair · The Halfling Saga #1 · complete series

    Spice 2/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: court intrigue, 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

  9. 9. Deviant King

    Rina Kent · Royal Elite #1 · complete series

    Spice 4/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: enemies to lovers, revenge, morally gray

    Aiden King decides Elsa is his target at their elite British prep school, and he is relentless about it. A bully romance with a buried childhood mystery underneath. Early Rina Kent, so tamer than her college books but still dub-con heavy.

    • Enemies to Lovers
    • Possessive Hero
    • Revenge
    • Morally Gray
    Content warnings

    Dubious or non-consent, Harm to children, Physical or emotional abuse

  10. 10. The Bridge Kingdom

    Danielle L. Jensen · The Bridge Kingdom #1

    Spice 3/5 Darkness 2/5

    Shares: enemies to lovers, court intrigue, 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

  11. 11. The Hurricane Wars

    Thea Guanzon · The Hurricane Wars #1 · complete series

    Spice 2/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: enemies to lovers, 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

  12. 12. The Lies We Steal

    Monty Jay · The Hollow Boys #1 · complete series

    Spice 5/5 Darkness 4/5

    Shares: revenge, enemies to lovers, morally gray

    Ponderosa Springs is rotten, and the Hollow Boys are the four guys nobody in town wants to cross. Rook and Sage start as enemies after her sister dies, and the secrets get uglier from there. Moody small-town gothic with real grief in it.

    • Dark Academia
    • Revenge
    • Enemies to Lovers
    • Morally Gray
    Content warnings

    Murder, Death of a loved one, Sexual assault, Drug or alcohol abuse

  13. 13. Vicious

    L.J. Shen · Sinners of Saint #1 · complete series

    Spice 4/5 Darkness 3/5

    Shares: enemies to lovers, revenge, morally gray

    Baron Spencer earned the nickname Vicious, and Emilia LeBlanc was the one girl at their Todos Santos high school who saw through him. Ten years later in New York, he's still not done with her. Classic bully-to-lovers angst.

    • Enemies to Lovers
    • Revenge
    • Possessive Hero
    • Morally Gray
    Content warnings

    Physical or emotional abuse, Sexual assault

  14. 14. The Serpent and the Wings of Night

    Carissa Broadbent · Crowns of Nyaxia #1

    Spice 3/5 Darkness 4/5

    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

  15. 15. Fortuna Sworn

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

    Spice 3/5 Darkness 4/5

    Shares: morally gray, enemies to lovers

    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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