Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a a desire to bring bookish friends together. You can find a schedule of upcoming TTT topics here.
Today, is a freebie day, so I’ve decided to share with you my top 10 Enemies to Lovers books that I think aren’t as well known. It would be way too easy to make a list of ACOTAR, TCP, Serpent & Dove, etc. I tried to stick with books that have less than 15,000 ratings on Goodreads. Even so, this happens to be my favorite trope, so it was quite difficult to narrow it down to only 10 books. These are all books that I have read and loved. Many of them are indie or self-published. Obviously, there are many more that fall under this category. If I missed one of your favorites, please let me know. I’ll add it to my #neverendingtbr!
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Enemies to Lovers Books:
10. Ruined (Ruined Trilogy) by Amy Tintera
Emelina Flores has nothing. Her home in Ruina has been ravaged by war; her parents were killed and her sister was kidnapped. Even though Em is only a useless Ruined—completely lacking any magic—she is determined to get revenge.
Her plan is simple: She will infiltrate the enemy’s kingdom, posing as the crown prince’s betrothed. She will lead an ambush. She will kill the king and everything he holds dear, including his son.
The closer Em gets to the prince, though, the more she questions her mission. Her rage-filled heart begins to soften. But with her life—and her family—on the line, love could be Em’s deadliest mistake.
This is a great trilogy featuring a badass, vengeance-fueled assassin posing as a princess in order to save her sister. Of course, things don’t go as planned and it turns out the prince may not be as bad as his father, but there is betrayal lurking around every corner. Regardless of her conflicted feelings, her foremost goal remains to find and rescue her sister. This series has plenty of action, magic, tension, and romance to satisfy anyone.
9. Blood Oath (Darkest Drae Trilogy) by Raye Wagner & Kelly St. Clare
Everything I know is a lie.
I’m an ordinary mortal girl. Lord Irrik is a depraved dragon shifter. King Irdelron is an immortal tyrant.
In the disease ridden land of Verald, life is mapped out much like the established rings of our kingdom. Everyone has a role…
Me? I’ll be uselessly serving potato stew for the rest of my life because I can’t make anything grow. But starvation brews rebellion. When the king strikes, I’m captured by Lord Irrik. Instantly, I’m embroiled in a deadly game. One where I’m desperate to understand the rules. Because nothing makes sense anymore. Now, I’m not only fighting for my life . . . but a love that could be the key to my freedom.
What if the truth means you’re not who — or what — you thought you were?
I loved this trilogy, but it is certainly not for everyone. If you’re even the slightest bit put-off by the MC’s collection of food-based swears (“holy pancakes”), then this might not be for you. However, fans of fantasy, humor, and romance will be swept away by this series. Warning: there is some alpha male posturing, but the MC does a pretty good job of shooting it down.
8. Dance of Thieves (Dance of Thieves Duology) by Mary E. Pearson
A formidable outlaw family that claims to be the first among nations.
A son destined to lead, thrust suddenly into power.
Three fierce young women of the Rahtan, the queen’s premier guard.
A legendary street thief leading a mission, determined to prove herself.
A dark secret that is a threat to the entire continent.
When outlaw leader meets reformed thief, a cat-and-mouse game of false moves ensues, bringing them intimately together in a battle that may cost them their lives—and their hearts.
This duology is set in the same world as Pearson’s Remnant Chronicles. With much of the world building already established, there is a lot of time to focus on the hate-to-love romance, including an entertaining scene where our two not-yet-lovebirds are chained together. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of scheming and fighting to keep you guessing till the end.
7. Grace and Fury (Grace and Fury Duology) by Tracy Banghart
Serina Tessaro has been groomed her whole life to become a Grace — someone to stand by the heir to the throne as a shining, subjugated example of the perfect woman. It’s her chance to secure a better life for her family, and to keep her headstrong and rebellious younger sister, Nomi, out of trouble. But when Nomi catches the Heir’s eye instead, Serina is the one who takes the fall for the dangerous secret her sister has been hiding.
Trapped in a life she never wanted, Nomi has only one option: surrender to her role as a Grace until she can use her position to save Serina. But this is easier said than done . . . a traitor walks the halls of the palazzo, and deception lurks in every corner.
Meanwhile Serina is running out of time. Imprisoned on an island where she must fight to the death to survive, surrounded by women stronger than she is, one wrong move could cost her everything. There is no room for weakness on Mount Ruin, especially weaknesses of the heart.
Thrilling and captivating, Grace and Fury is a story of fierce sisterhood, and of survival in a world that’s determined to break you.
This duology has enemies to lovers, but it is so much more than the developing romances. Both Nomi and Serina end up in circumstances for which they are ill prepared and both must become more than they knew they were to survive. This is as much as story about feminism and sisterhood as it is about romance.
6. The Glass Spare (The Glass Spare Duology) by Lauren DeStefano
Wilhelmina Heidle, the fourth child and only daughter of the king of the world’s wealthiest nation, has grown up in the shadows. Kept hidden from the world in order to serve as a spy for her father—whose obsession with building his empire is causing a war—Wil wants nothing more than to explore the world beyond her kingdom, if only her father would give her the chance.
Until one night Wil is attacked, and she discovers a dangerous secret. Her touch turns people into gemstone. At first Wil is horrified—but as she tests its limits, she’s drawn more and more to the strange and volatile ability. When it leads to tragedy, though, Wil is forced to face the destructive power within her and finally leave her home to seek the truth and a cure.
But finding the key to her redemption puts her in the path of a cursed prince who has his own ideas for what to do with Wil’s power.
With a world on the brink of war and a power of ultimate destruction, can Wil find a way to help the kingdom that’s turned its back on her, or will she betray her past and her family forever?
I adored this entire duology. DeStefano beautifully captures all aspects of love: excitement, fear, doubt, elation, protectiveness, jealousy, sacrifice, and stupidity. These themes are intertwined in an enthralling tale of royalty, spies, curses, and intrigue. Each of the relationships are expertly constructed. With the thick-as-thieves siblings, the married-but-mostly-platonic best friends, the brother and sister pitted against each other from birth, the queen who loved too much, the jilted king, the jealous spare, not to mention the blossoming forbidden love, you’d think this cast of players would be too much to keep up with in a duology, but it is masterfully done.
5. The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom Series) by Danielle L. Jensen
What if you fell in love with the one person you’d sworn to destroy? Lara has only one thought for her husband on their wedding day: I will bring your kingdom to its knees. A princess trained from childhood to be a lethal spy, Lara knows that the Bridge Kingdom represents both legendary evil – and legendary promise. The only route through a storm-ravaged world, the Bridge Kingdom controls all trade and travel between lands, allowing its ruler to enrich himself and deprive his enemies, including Lara’s homeland. So when she is sent as a bride under the guise of fulfilling a treaty of peace, Lara is prepared to do whatever it takes to fracture the defenses of the impenetrable Bridge Kingdom. But as she infiltrates her new home – a lush paradise surrounded by tempest seas – and comes to know her new husband, Aren, Lara begins to question where the true evil resides. Around her, she sees a kingdom fighting for survival, and in Aren, a man fiercely protective of his people. As her mission drives her to deeper understanding of the fight to possess the bridge, Lara finds the simmering attraction between her and Aren impossible to ignore. Her goal nearly within reach, Lara will have to decide her own fate: Will she be the destroyer of a king or the savior of her people?
I cannot believe this book is on this list. Why don’t more people know about this book? Danielle L. Jensen is officially an auto-buy author for me. Her world-building, plotting, pacing, character development, and romance are top notch. The Bridge Kingdom and its sequel, The Traitor Queen, are two books of a larger planned series. However, The Traitor Queen essentially completes the arc of Lara and Aren, making it more like a duology than an unfinished series. This book is very similar to the Ruined trilogy in summary, but The Bridge Kingdom is far more mature and romance-focused.
4. Bloodleaf (Bloodleaf Trilogy) by Crystal Smith
Aurelia is a princess, but they call her a witch.
Surrounded by spirits and burdened with forbidden magic, she lives in constant fear of discovery by the witch-hunting Tribunal and their bloodthirsty mobs. When a devastating assassination attempt reveals her magical abilities, Aurelia is forced to flee her country with nothing but her life.
Alone and adrift in an enemy kingdom, Aurelia plans her revenge against the Tribunal, desperate to bring down the dark organization that has wrought terror upon her people for hundreds of years. But there’s something deeply amiss in her new home, too, and soon she finds herself swept into a deadly new mystery with a secretive prince, the ghost of an ancient queen, and a poison vine called Bloodleaf.
Aurelia is entangled in a centuries-long game of love, power, and war, and if she can’t break free before the Tribunal makes its last move, she may lose far more than her crown.
Here is another book with an undercover princess except this time she is the target of assassination. Bloodleaf is a retelling of the Goose Girl, which is not a fairytale that I am familiar with, so I can’t say how it compares. Honestly, it’s been a while since I read it and I haven’t gotten a chance to read the sequel yet, but I did rate it 4/5 stars.
3. The Bird & The Blade by Megan Bannen
Enslaved in Kipchak Khanate, Jinghua has lost everything: her home, her family, her freedom . . . until the kingdom is conquered by enemy forces and she finds herself an unlikely conspirator in the escape of Prince Khalaf and his irascible father across the vast Mongol Empire.
On the run, with adversaries on all sides and an endless journey ahead, Jinghua hatches a scheme to use the Kipchaks’ exile to return home, a plan that becomes increasingly fraught as her feelings for Khalaf evolve into an impossible love.
Jinghua’s already dicey prospects take a downward turn when Khalaf seeks to restore his kingdom by forging a marriage alliance with Turandokht, the daughter of the Great Khan. As beautiful as she is cunning, Turandokht requires all potential suitors to solve three impossible riddles to win her hand—and if they fail, they die.
Jinghua has kept her own counsel well, but with Khalaf’s kingdom—and his very life—on the line, she must reconcile the hard truth of her past with her love for a boy who has no idea what she’s capable of . . . even if it means losing him to the girl who’d sooner take his life than his heart.
I love the lore and world-building of this book. The romance is a slow burn and not exactly a HEA, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and it is worth checking out.
2. Beasts of the Frozen Sun (Frozen Sun Saga) by Jill Criswell
Burn brightly. Love fiercely. For all else is dust.
Every child of Glasnith learns the last words of Aillira, the god-gifted mortal whose doomed love affair sparked a war of gods and men, and Lira of clan Stone knows the story better than most. As a descendant of Aillira and god-gifted in her own right, she has the power to read people’s souls, to see someone’s true essence with only a touch of her hand.
When a golden-haired warrior washes up on the shores of her homeland—one of the fearful marauders from the land of the Frozen Sun—Lira helps the wounded man instead of turning him in. After reading his soul, she realizes Reyker is different than his brethren who attack the coasts of Glasnith. He confides in her that he’s been cursed with what his people call battle-madness, forced to fight for the warlord known as the Dragon, a powerful tyrant determined to reignite the ancient war that Aillira started.
As Lira and Reyker form a bond forbidden by both their clans, the wrath of the Dragon falls upon them and all of Glasnith, and Lira finds herself facing the same tragic fate as her ancestor. The battle for Lira’s life, for Reyker’s soul, and for their peoples’ freedom has only just begun …
This is another one that I’m surprised more people don’t know about. I highly recommend this for fans of Sky in the Deep. It has a similar feel, but this is part of a series. Book 2 is releasing in September 2020. I received a free copy of this for a book tour and ended up adoring it.
1. The Heart of a Changeling (The Changeling Saga) by Caitlyn E. Lloyd
Nora’s entire life has been marked with bad luck and horrible accidents. With so much tragedy in her past, all she dreams of is a normal life. But when a camping trip is cut short by a brutal attack and a kidnapping that nearly costs Nora her life, she is thrown headfirst into Avalon—a world where magic thrives, and the creatures of myth and legend all vie for dominance. This is the world of the Fae, and this dark realm claims Nora as one of its own. She’s a Changeling of unknown origin—a Fae child hidden at birth in the human world.
When she lands in the court of the Winter Fae she ignites a mystery spanning back centuries, and everyone in the magical world of Avalon wants a piece of her. Even the impossibly cold Winter King has taken a keen interest. Nora just wants to get back to the human world in one piece: a task that might prove impossible in a world ravaged by wars long past, magic
glamour, and the whims of the immortal Fae.
As Nora seeks answers to the questions about her history, she finds herself drawn in more and more by the alluring darkness Avalon offers, but will her Changeling heart allow her to remain and give up the quiet life she’s always dreamed of?
Warning: this book ends in a cliffhanger and book 2 is not out yet. That being said, YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK!! I’m planning a reread soon, so I’ll be sure to post a full review once I’ve completed it. Serkhele is the Fae Lord of the Winter Court and he is EVERYTHING! If you love ACOTAR or The Cruel Prince, this one is for you!
Well, there you have it. My TTT of Enemies to Lovers books you (probably) haven’t read. Have you actually read any of these? Any that you would add to the list? Let’s chat in the comments!
Great list!! I just added ruined to my TBR. I’ve been wanting to read Dance of Thieves for a while, but I just haven’t gotten to it.
I loved Dance of Thieves better than Remnant Chronicles. I hope you get a chance to read it soon.
Thanks!! Me, too!!
A list after my own heart! Enemies to lovers is my favorite trope and yesssss about Danielle L Jensen she is an auto-buy author for me too. Loved Bloodleaf, Dance of Thieves Duology, Darkest Draw and Bloodleaf! I haven’t read the others but will check them out.
Yay! I was so shocked that Bridge Kingdom did not have more ratings. It was one of my favorite reads of last year. I hope you get a chance to read the rest!
Fun topic! I haven’t read any of these, but those are some gorgeous covers! And I do like the enemies to lovers trope!
I’m glad I could provide some unknown ones to add to your tbr!
You are right, not many people have read Ruined. I enjoyed that one more than I thought I would.
It was a surprise for me as well. I’m glad I stumbled upon it
Dani, now it is my turn to say I don’t read much of this type of book, although I have read some: earlier this year, I read The Sacred Scarred by Joanna Alonzo, which I think would fit this trope. 🙂
I will look into it. Thanks for the recommendation!