Books Similar to ACOTAR: 13 Fae Romantasy Reads for Fans of Sarah J. Maas

ACOTAR is Sarah J. Maas's five-book series following Feyre Archeron, a mortal huntress dragged into the fae realm of Prythian, where she gets pulled into court politics, a war between courts, and a romance that starts as a bargain and ends up the engine of the entire story. The books on this list share the traits that made ACOTAR the genre's defining title: a court-politics backdrop, a love interest who reads as dangerous before he reads as devoted, and a slow burn the author isn't afraid to let take an entire book to pay off. ## Are there books like ACOTAR without spice? Yes. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black keeps its romance simmering in the background behind fae court intrigue rather than on the page, and Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin fades to black instead of going explicit. Both deliver fae politics and an enemies-to-lovers arc without ACOTAR's heat level, which makes them the two picks on this list to start with if spice isn't what you're after. ## The Cruel Prince by Holly Black (2018) Jude is a mortal girl raised in the treacherous High Court of Faerie after her parents' murder, forced to scheme her way to power in a world that sees her as prey. Cardan, the youngest prince and Jude's tormentor, follows almost exactly the same arc Rhysand does: cruel and untrustworthy on the surface, hiding motives that make sense once the full picture lands. Start here if the fae court scheming, not just the romance, is what hooked you on ACOTAR. [Find The Cruel Prince on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+Cruel+Prince+Holly+Black&tag=31813-20) ## From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout (2020) Poppy has been isolated her whole life as a Chosen One bound for a ceremonial fate she never agreed to, guarded by a masked warrior whose loyalty she can't quite trust. Armentrout writes the same forbidden slow burn Maas does: real chemistry, real obstacles, and a love interest whose true identity changes everything once it's revealed. [Find From Blood and Ash on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=From+Blood+and+Ash+Jennifer+Armentrout&tag=31813-20) ## Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (2023) Violet trains at a brutal war college where washing out means dying, paired with a dragon and a rival cadet who could kill her before graduation. Fourth Wing swaps ACOTAR's fae court for a military academy, but the enemies-to-lovers structure and the escalating stakes across the series hit the same notes, which is why it's the book most often named alongside ACOTAR as the genre's other defining title. [Find Fourth Wing on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Fourth+Wing+Rebecca+Yarros&tag=31813-20) ## Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin (2019) Lou is a witch on the run and Reid is a witch hunter sworn to kill her kind, forced into a marriage of convenience that neither wants and both start needing. The banter-heavy enemies-to-lovers setup and a world built on a religious war between hunters and witches give it the same push-pull tension ACOTAR runs on, with a lower heat level. [Find Serpent & Dove on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Serpent+and+Dove+Shelby+Mahurin&tag=31813-20) ## Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco (2020) Emilia's twin sister is murdered, and her search for answers pulls her into a bargain with Wrath, one of the seven princes of Hell, who is far more than the monster his title suggests. The demon-prince love interest is an even more morally gray riff on Rhysand than most books attempt, and the Sicilian witch-coven setting gives the political backdrop a different flavor than Prythian's courts. [Find Kingdom of the Wicked on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Kingdom+of+the+Wicked+Kerri+Maniscalco&tag=31813-20) ## Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas (2020) Bryce Quinlan is a half-fae party girl dragged into a murder investigation alongside a fallen angel assassin bound to obey her, in a modern-meets-fantasy city full of demons and politics. It's from the same author and set in a universe that shares confirmed crossover characters with ACOTAR, so it's the most direct next read once you finish the main series. [Find House of Earth and Blood on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=House+of+Earth+and+Blood+Sarah+J+Maas&tag=31813-20) ## The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen (2020) Lara is trained from childhood as a weapon and sent to marry an enemy king as a spy, only to find the marriage and the man both more complicated than her mission accounted for. It shares ACOTAR's core setup: a heroine who's dangerous in her own right, thrown into close quarters with someone she's supposed to see as the enemy, in a court she doesn't yet understand. [Find The Bridge Kingdom on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+Bridge+Kingdom+Danielle+Jensen&tag=31813-20) ## A Court of Silver Flames readalikes: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (2012) Celaena Sotheby is the kingdom's deadliest assassin, pulled from a slave camp to compete for a spot as the king's champion against other killers who'd rather see her dead. Maas wrote this series first, and it shows the same evolution ACOTAR pulls off: a competition-arc opener that grows into a sprawling political fantasy with a romance that shifts allegiances more than once. [Find Throne of Glass on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Throne+of+Glass+Sarah+J+Maas&tag=31813-20) ## A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer L. Armentrout (2022) Sera has been raised her entire life to fulfill a prophecy, promised to a mysterious, dangerous figure whose true identity she doesn't learn until it's too late to walk away safely. Armentrout leans further into mythology and prophecy than Maas does, but the forced-proximity romance with a love interest who's more than he appears keeps the same addictive pull. [Find A Shadow in the Ember on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=A+Shadow+in+the+Ember+Jennifer+Armentrout&tag=31813-20) ## A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova (2022) A grumpy elf king and a human woman with a knack for numbers strike a marriage bargain to save both their kingdoms, and the arranged-marriage-to-real-feelings arc plays out with the same slow burn ACOTAR readers come for. It's a lighter, cozier read than Maas's series, useful if you want the romantasy formula without ACOTAR's higher body count. [Find A Deal with the Elf King on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=A+Deal+with+the+Elf+King+Elise+Kova&tag=31813-20) ## Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross (2023) Iris and Roman are rival journalists competing for the same promotion at a newspaper in a world where gods wage war through mortal proxies, exchanging secret letters neither realizes are reaching the other. It trades ACOTAR's fae courts for gods and typewriters, but the enemies-forced-into-alliance dynamic and a war looming in the background hit the same emotional notes. [Find Divine Rivals on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Divine+Rivals+Rebecca+Ross&tag=31813-20) ## Powerless by Lauren Roberts (2023) In a kingdom where the powerless are executed on sight, Paedyn hides her lack of abilities by posing as an Ordinary while falling for a prince competing in a lethal trial by combat. The premise leans into the same "hide who you are while falling for someone who could expose you" tension that drives Feyre's early chapters under the Mountain. [Find Powerless on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Powerless+Lauren+Roberts&tag=31813-20) ## Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong (2023) Two rivals who can body-swap into anyone they touch enter a lethal royal tournament with hidden agendas, playing an enemies-to-lovers game where trusting the wrong person gets you killed. The body-swap mechanic gives it a sharper edge than most romantasy, but the tournament stakes and the snarky, morally gray dynamic between leads land close to ACOTAR's tone. [Find Immortal Longings on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Immortal+Longings+Chloe+Gong&tag=31813-20) --- ## How the Genre-Defining Traits Line Up | Book | Fae or court setting | Enemies-to-lovers arc | Romance heat | Series status | |---|---|---|---|---| | ACOTAR | Yes | Yes | High | Main arc complete, more coming | | The Cruel Prince | Yes | Yes | Low | Complete, 3 books | | From Blood and Ash | No | Yes | High | Ongoing | | Fourth Wing | No | Yes | High | Ongoing | | Serpent & Dove | No | Yes | Moderate | Complete trilogy | | Kingdom of the Wicked | No | Yes | High | Complete trilogy | | Crescent City | Yes | No | High | Ongoing | | Throne of Glass | No | Yes | Moderate | Complete, 8 books | ## How to Pick Your Next Book If you loved **the fae court scheming specifically**: start with The Cruel Prince or Crescent City. If you want **the closest romance formula** (enemies to lovers, high heat, a morally gray love interest): From Blood and Ash or Kingdom of the Wicked. If you want **more from Sarah J. Maas herself**: Throne of Glass or Crescent City, both set in the same shared universe as ACOTAR. If you want **the same slow burn with dragons instead of fae**: Fourth Wing. If you want **fae politics with lower heat**: The Cruel Prince or Serpent & Dove. For more reading lists in this vein, see our guides to [books similar to Fourth Wing](/blog/books-similar-to-fourth-wing), [books similar to Game of Thrones](/blog/books-similar-to-game-of-thrones-2026), and [books similar to Harry Potter](/blog/books-similar-to-harry-potter-2026). --- ## FAQ **What book is closest to ACOTAR?** The Cruel Prince for fae court politics and a dangerous love interest, From Blood and Ash for the same high-heat, slow-burn romance arc. **Is ACOTAR similar to Fourth Wing?** They share the enemies-to-lovers, high-heat romantasy formula, but ACOTAR is fae court politics while Fourth Wing is a dragon-rider war college. Fans of one nearly always end up reading the other. **What should I read after finishing the ACOTAR series?** Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood, also by Sarah J. Maas, shares a universe with ACOTAR through confirmed crossover characters and is the most direct next read.