Books like A Court of Thorns and Roses
by Sarah J. Maas · 2013
Updated June 2026
Book data: Open Library · Taste signals: BookTaste model
A Court of Thorns and Roses is a lush romantasy by Sarah J. Maas that drops a mortal huntress into a treacherous faerie world ruled by immortal courts — and one infuriating, magnetic fae lord. 🌹 Fans are hooked by the slow-burn enemies-to-lovers tension, the deadly court intrigue that keeps every chapter unpredictable, and the way Maas makes you feel the danger and desire in equal measure. It's Beauty and the Beast reimagined with fangs, magic, and a romance that earns every heartbeat. ✨ If you finished it wanting more deadly fae, morally complex love interests, and worlds that feel dangerously alive, these picks are for you.
Picked by taste overlap — not popularity alone.
What to read next
Start here
A Court of Mist and Fury
Sarah J. Maas · 2016
🌹 Romantasy⚔️ Enemies to Lovers🔥 Slow Burn🌙 The direct sequel to ACOTAR, A Court of Mist and Fury is widely considered the peak of the series — it deepens the world, the romance, and the stakes in every possible way, and most fans call it the best book Maas has written.
- Matches
- same fae world and characters · enemies-to-lovers intensified · slow burn payoff
- Differs
- much darker emotional territory · new court replaces Spring Court · longer and more complex
- Skip if
- Skip if you want a standalone — this demands you read ACOTAR first and commits you to the full series.
Personalize with my booksNo signup · add a few books to build your radar
●●● strong · ●●○ medium · ●○○ light · ○○○ none
Solid = this book · dashed = A Court of Thorns and Roses
From Blood and Ash
Jennifer L. Armentrout · 2020
🌹 Romantasy⚔️ Enemies to Lovers🔥 Slow Burn🩸 From Blood and Ash scratches the exact same itch — a sheltered heroine, a brooding forbidden guardian, secrets woven into every chapter, and a slow-burn romance with unbearable tension in a high-fantasy world full of gods and monsters.
- Matches
- forbidden enemies-to-lovers romance · lush high-fantasy world · slow burn with big payoff
- Differs
- heavier on action and violence · less court politics · more religious/mythological lore
- Skip if
- Skip if you need refined prose — Armentrout's style is pulpier and more repetitive than Maas.
Solid = this book · dashed = A Court of Thorns and Roses
Daughter of the Moon Goddess
Sue Lynn Tan · 2022
🌹 Romantasy👑 Court Intrigue🔥 Slow Burn🌕 Daughter of the Moon Goddess brings the same mortal-woman-in-an-immortal-world premise with gorgeous prose and a slow, aching romance — set in a stunning Chinese mythology-inspired celestial court where every alliance is suspect.
- Matches
- mortal heroine in immortal court · court intrigue and hidden motives · slow emotional romance
- Differs
- no explicit content · Chinese mythology instead of Western fae · quieter, more lyrical tone
- Skip if
- Skip if you want spicy romance — the love story here is restrained and takes a back seat to the quest.
Solid = this book · dashed = A Court of Thorns and Roses
Not similar books. Similar taste.
It reads the grain of every book you've loved — why it stayed with you — and follows that thread to your next read. Not the bestseller list, not the crowd: just your taste. Free, no signup.
Add books you've read; BookTaste builds your taste radar and recommends from it.
Taste radar — read from the themes shared across A Court of Thorns and Roses and the picks below
Strongest taste signals: 🌹 Romantasy · ⚔️ Enemies to Lovers · 🧚 Fae World
How taste signals are generated
BookTaste's model reads the themes, moods, settings, and reader hooks of the base book, then scores every pick across those same axes — what overlaps, what diverges. Ordered by taste fit, not by popularity.
The Cruel Prince
Holly Black · 2018
🧚 Fae World⚔️ Enemies to Lovers👑 Court Intrigue🫐 The Cruel Prince is the fae-court book that ACOTAR readers devour next — a mortal girl clawing for power in a faerie world that despises her, with a prince who is genuinely cruel and a dynamic that makes enemies-to-lovers feel earned and dangerous.
- Matches
- deadly fae court politics · mortal vs. fae power dynamic · enemies-to-lovers tension
- Differs
- YA, less steam · protagonist is more calculating and ruthless · shorter, faster paced
- Skip if
- Skip if you need explicit romance — The Cruel Prince is YA and keeps the physical tension firmly off-page.
Solid = this book · dashed = A Court of Thorns and Roses
Kingdom of the Wicked
Kerri Maniscalco · 2020
🌹 Romantasy⚔️ Enemies to Lovers🗡️ Dark Stakes🔱 Kingdom of the Wicked delivers the same charged dynamic between a fierce mortal woman and a dangerously attractive immortal — here a demon prince — wrapped in atmospheric Sicilian mythology and a murder mystery that keeps the plot twisting.
- Matches
- mortal woman, powerful immortal love interest · slow-burn forbidden attraction · atmospheric dark fantasy world
- Differs
- murder mystery drives the plot · Sicilian/demon mythology, not fae · more gothic, less epic fantasy scope
- Skip if
- Skip if you dislike mystery plots — the romance is secondary to solving the crime, and that won't change.
Solid = this book · dashed = A Court of Thorns and Roses
An Ember in the Ashes
Sabaa Tahir · 2015
⚔️ Enemies to Lovers🔥 Slow Burn🗡️ Dark Stakes🔥 An Ember in the Ashes matches ACOTAR's intensity with a brutal Roman-inspired empire, two protagonists on opposite sides of a war, and the kind of slow-burn longing that makes you read entire chapters through your fingers — plus genuinely high political stakes.
- Matches
- enemies forced together by circumstance · slow burn across power divide · high political and mortal stakes
- Differs
- no magic-romance fantasy, more brutal military · dual POV narration · no fae — human-world with djinn elements
- Skip if
- Skip if you need a fantasy romance front and center — Ember is more war story than love story, and the romance resolves slowly across four books.
Solid = this book · dashed = A Court of Thorns and Roses
Frequently asked
- What makes a book similar to A Court of Thorns and Roses?
- The core ingredients are a mortal heroine dropped into an immortal world, an irresistible but dangerous love interest, and a romance with real slow-burn tension. 🌹 Court politics, a fairy-tale retelling backbone, and a world that feels alive and deadly all add to the feeling — not every pick needs all of them, but the emotional arc matters most.
- Are there books like ACOTAR that are spicier or more adult?
- Yes — From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout is the most-recommended upgrade for readers who want more explicit romance with the same forbidden-tension formula. 🔥 The later ACOTAR books (especially A Court of Mist and Fury) also dial up the heat considerably compared to the first book.
- Is The Cruel Prince as good as ACOTAR for fae world fans?
- Holly Black's fae feel older and colder than Maas's — The Cruel Prince has sharper court politics and a more morally ruthless heroine, but it's YA so the romance stays restrained. 👑 If you loved the deadly court scheming more than the spice, you may actually prefer it.
- What should I read immediately after finishing ACOTAR?
- Go straight to A Court of Mist and Fury — it's the book most fans say eclipses the original and delivers on every promise ACOTAR made. ✨ Once you're done with the series, From Blood and Ash is the most natural bridge to a new world with the same emotional DNA.
Book data and covers from Open Library. Picks and taste signals are generated by BookTaste's taste model.