10 Proper Enemies To Lovers Romantasy Novels

TV & Film

Jun 8

One of the great frustrations of romantasy readers is picking up a book labelled enemies to lovers, only to find the conflict is a tiny misunderstanding that’s resolved in a few pages. Rivals to lovers and reluctant allies to lovers are not the same thing. Below is a list of genuine enemies to lovers romantasy titles for you to stuff your Kindle.

10. 'The Zodiac Academy' (Caroline Peckham And Susanne Valenti)

Darius & Tory

Set in a magical school based around the signs of the Zodiac. But there are also fae, werewolves, and vampires. A set of female twins in the ‘real world’ get the call that they are special, Harry Potter style. When they check in, the boys are really mean, and try to drown them in a swimming pool mean. The worst of this crew eventually (but this couple has everything possible thrown at them, to the point where the reader forgives Darius and just wants to hug him) ends up with one of the twins. Zodiac Academy has sold over two million copies and has a core of die-hard fans. It’s a genuine enemy to lovers.

Spice rating: 4/10

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9. 'The Wrath And The Dawn' (Renée Ahdieh)

Khalid & Shahrzad

A One Thousand and One Nights inspired romance. Khalid is a supposedly evil king who has been marrying his brides and killing them the next day. Shahzad volunteers to marry him to get revenge but cleverly manages to stay alive by telling him stories and refusing to give away the ending until the next day.

Spice rating: 2/10, fade to black.

8. 'The Ever Seas' Series (LJ Andrews)

Livia Ferris and Erik Bloodsinger

This takes place in the Broken Kingdoms universe but with a Pirates of the Caribbean-style twist. Erik has been stuck under the sea behind a magical barrier. Until Livia, the daughter of the man who killed Erik’s father, accidentally makes it so Erik and his ship can cross. How does Erik repay her? Kidnaps her for revenge, of course. Did we mention Erik’s blood is poisonous?

Spice rating: 6/10

7. 'Powerless' (Lauren Roberts)

Paedyn & Kai

Hunger Games with some enemies to lovers thrown in. No wonder TikTok loved it. In the world of Powerless, Elites have magic, Ordinaries don’t and are banished to the desert.

Paedyn is a con artist, pretending to have psychic abilities who accidentally gets thrown into a fight to the death competition. She ends up working with the rebellion who are defending the rights of ordinaries. Prince Kai is an Elite who wants to win the competition and keep the status quo and he has no idea that Paedyn is lying about what she can do.

Spice rating: 0/10 Young Adult

6. 'Plated Prisoner' Series (Raven Kennedy)

Auren & Slade

A King Midas Retelling. This series gets dark in places (particularly the first book) so check the trigger warnings. Auren is golden and has been kept in a cage by King Midas for years, as his favourite mistress. Until she’s stolen and stolen again. She eventually ends up in the hands of Slade, the ruler of another land. Auden has severe Stockholm syndrome and spends two books trying to get back to Midas. Slade just wants to take the evil King down. Somehow, they end up together and this spicy series still managed to make it super cute.

Spice rating: 8/10

5. 'Sands Of Arawiya' (Hafsah Faizal)

Nasir & Zafira

Nasir is the Sultan’s son hunting down the mystery man in the woods….who is a mysterious girl in the woods. But Zafira likes to dress as a boy to feed her starving village, in this Middle Eastern-inspired series. It all builds to a plot to bring magic back to land, which leads to the two realising they are actually head-over-heels for each other.

Spice rating: 0/10 Young Adult

4. 'A Court Of Ravens' Series (Liv Zander)

Galantia & Malyr

This book is dark fantasy, so read the trigger warnings. But Raven King, Malyr is the WORST in the first book and Galantia ends up falling in love with his best friend. Malyr’s whole life was destroyed by Galantia’s father, so the readers are pretty sure there’s no way back for this pair. Until book two. It’s the epitome of this trope if you can go that dark.

Spice rating:10/10

3. 'From Blood And Ash' (Jennifer L Armentrout)

Poppy & Casteel

Like every good enemy-to-lover heroine, Poppy got down and dirty with her counterpart shortly after stabbing him. On purpose, in the heart. But Casteel had just kidnapped her and lied through his teeth about his identity. This is one of the most popular fantasy series out there; if you haven’t read any Jennifer L. Armentrout, do you even like this genre?

Spice rating: 7/10

2. 'The Bridge Kingdom' (Danielle Jenson)

Lara & Aren and Zarrah & Keris

The Bridge Kingdom contains not one, but two sets of enemies to lovers as the series swaps points of view to a second couple after the first two books. The first try to kill each other and the second are on different sides of the ongoing war. The series is based around a bridge that connects several kingdoms, and the related power struggles. Jenson’s world-building is worth picking the book up, aside from the enemies to lovers. She’s also one of the few writers who has managed to write a pregnancy without it traumatising or completely altering the character.

Spice rating: 5/10

1. 'The Folk Of Air' Series (Holly Black)

Jude & Carden

Not sure this pair ever really makes it to lovers in the conventional sense. But they are excellent at being enemies. There’s not even a hint of romance from Carden until The Wicked King so if you want a slow burn, this is your go-to. Holly Black writes the best fae in the business. They very much have their own rules of behaviour, and it links directly with the original folklore. A fantastic read.

Spice rating: 3/10 (Mostly fade to blacks, but Queen of Nothing has a single spice scene)

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