Here are 71 books that A Rivalry of Hearts fans have personally recommended if you like
A Rivalry of Hearts.
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I’ve been reading fantasy since before I could read (thanks, Mom and Dad!). I certainly never outgrew my love of fairy tales. But over the years, I discovered I also love historical romance. Then, I stumbled across books that combined the two. They were the best of both worlds. The comfort of a well-fitted waistcoat with the whimsy of an enchanted jewel. Naturally, I gravitated to writing what I loved: books full of magic and manners, castles and balls, romance and intrigue.
When encountering a spinster alone at a ball, there is no excuse to forget proper manners, even—or perhaps especially—if one is a vampire. Or werewolf. I adored the voice in this book, which gave that Jane Austen feel, except brimming with humor.
The characters enchanted me as they balanced between high-society manners and the reality of living with (or being) supernatural creatures. The interactions between solidly practical Alexia and exasperated Lord Maccon made it a romance I couldn’t help but root for.
Even if Alexia was soulless, you can’t convince me her werewolf wasn’t her soulmate. A perfect blend of Victorian London and paranormal romance.
Alexia Tarabotti is labouring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.
Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire - and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.
With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high…
I’ve been reading fantasy since before I could read (thanks, Mom and Dad!). I certainly never outgrew my love of fairy tales. But over the years, I discovered I also love historical romance. Then, I stumbled across books that combined the two. They were the best of both worlds. The comfort of a well-fitted waistcoat with the whimsy of an enchanted jewel. Naturally, I gravitated to writing what I loved: books full of magic and manners, castles and balls, romance and intrigue.
I fell in love with the world-building in this series. Perhaps because the main setting itself is a character. Having an estate with a mind of its own (or at least a consciousness that doesn’t understand human propriety) makes for extra fun.
The slow-burn romance in the series kept me addicted because of how it highlighted the deliciousness of mixing magic and manners—in this case, the conflict between the fae making their presence known and human society trying to cope. Oh, and did I mention how many times I laughed while reading?
The Lord of Stariel is dead. Long live the Lord of Stariel. Whoever that is.
Everyone knows who the magical estate will choose for its next ruler. Or do they?
Will it be the lord’s eldest son, who he despised?
His favourite nephew, with the strongest magical land-sense?
His scandalous daughter, who ran away from home years ago to study illusion?
Hetta knows it won’t be her, and she’s glad of it. Returning home for her father’s funeral, all Hetta has to do is survive the family drama and avoid entanglements with irritatingly attractive local men until the Choosing. Then…
I’ve been reading fantasy since before I could read (thanks, Mom and Dad!). I certainly never outgrew my love of fairy tales. But over the years, I discovered I also love historical romance. Then, I stumbled across books that combined the two. They were the best of both worlds. The comfort of a well-fitted waistcoat with the whimsy of an enchanted jewel. Naturally, I gravitated to writing what I loved: books full of magic and manners, castles and balls, romance and intrigue.
I am a sucker for fairy tale retellings. Beauty and the Beast especially. Throw in the fae, magic based on a flower language, and an assassin who just wants to be a very proper lady, and it’s really no wonder that I was hooked.
The characters are what really made this book shine. I may not be languishing alone in a sentient castle or trying to find my place in high society, but I could still relate to Briannis and the fae king. A perfect romance to showcase that, sometimes, proper manners are the villain.
Killing a fae king is hard. Doing so politely is even harder.
Briannis Iavi – well-bred lady and accidental assassin – is so close to securing the life of her dreams. All she needs to do is complete one last job: make her way into fae territory, sneak into the enchanted halls of Rosethorn Keep, and kill the king of Faerie.
But her plan goes disastrously wrong, and Briannis finds herself a captive at her target’s mercy instead.
Cursed to a life of loneliness and slow decay, the monstrous fae king seems hell-bent on revenge – and if he can’t…
I’ve been reading fantasy since before I could read (thanks, Mom and Dad!). I certainly never outgrew my love of fairy tales. But over the years, I discovered I also love historical romance. Then, I stumbled across books that combined the two. They were the best of both worlds. The comfort of a well-fitted waistcoat with the whimsy of an enchanted jewel. Naturally, I gravitated to writing what I loved: books full of magic and manners, castles and balls, romance and intrigue.
I love a good enemies-to-lovers, but you know what’s even better? Antagonists-to-lovers. Banter, teasing, and, of course, the inability of the characters to recognize that it is all flirting. I adored the little notes Frances and Jonas sent each other throughout this book, which, of course, have all of those qualities.
Plus, I can’t help but love a man who gets scratched by an unwanted kitten and then proceeds to let her wrap him around her tiny claws. Watching Jonas attempt to navigate the proper steps in courtship—and then turning them to his advantage since his witch was the one who insisted on all that propriety—was a joy.
Just like the fae of legend, Jonas Moen makes advantageous deals no desperate soul can turn away. A talented trickster, he’s amassed such great wealth he’s rumored to have more gold than the king himself. But there’s one thing he’s yet to acquire: a fae lord’s title. Born a commoner, he continues to be denied entry to the best the Lunar Court has to offer.
If he can secure the hand of a titled woman, he’ll finally have it all. But first, he’ll need to find a lady desperate enough to ignore his humble parentage and his…
Science fantasy uniquely combines elements of science fiction (advanced technology, futuristic settings) with those of fantasy (magic, mythological creatures, and supernatural elements). This fusion creates rich and versatile storytelling that often comes with a deep sense of mystery beyond what science fiction or fantasy achieves on their own.
This blend also requires greater “buy-in” from the reader to believe in the world we’re being presented. As readers, we often accept dwarves in fantasy with little to no explanation. We do the same with spaceships in science fiction. But dwarves in spaceships require truly creative storytelling to achieve a much higher buy-in threshold. The author who can pull this off has my attention.
The only Young Adult book on this list but firmly deserving of its place, this book is the perfect example of how to successfully blend science fiction and fantasy.
Colfer takes a traditional fantasy fairy society and gives them advanced weaponry, surveillance gadgets, and time-stopping devices. It works incredibly well, and through convincing world-building I was immediately bought into the idea of fantasy creatures with sci-fi technology.
A standout feature of the novel is the characters, whose backstories, motivations, and behaviours all help to build this science fantasy world. We get an elf “LEPRecon” officer with access to bionic wings, a centaur who heads the technology department of the “Lower Elements Police,” and a dwarven thief who sells stolen human property on the black market. They were all enormously fun to read.
Twelve-year-old criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl has discovered a world below ground of armed and dangerous--and extremely high-tech--fairies. He kidnaps one of them, Holly Short, and holds her for ransom in an effort to restore his family's fortune. But he may have underestimated the fairies' powers. Is he about to trigger a cross-species war?
Disney's “Artemis Fowl” is directed by Kenneth Branagh and stars Ferdia Shaw, Lara McDonnell, Tamara Smart, Nonzo Anozie, with Josh Gad, and Judi Dench.
I grew up loving the works of Shakespeare and the Romantic poets. Now I write romantic fantasy with a lyrical, fairy-tale vibe. The Seasons Cycle is a spin-off series from my main Lake Traveler saga. My poetry includes Poems of Myth & Magick, andSongs of Love & Longing. I compose songs and background music for key scenes in my stories. My music has been described as GoT meets LoTR with a lyrical twist and a musical theatre vibe. You can check out my songs and instrumental pieces on my youtube channel and my music website.
Yeats is one of my favourite poets, and while you may not associate him with fantasy, he did write some extraordinarily beautiful poems that are retellings of Irish folk tales and legends. Teeming with faeries, immortals, and other fey creatures, these are poems in the tradition of the great Romantic poets such as Byron, Shelley, Keats, and Tennyson. The titular poem is only one of many beautiful fantasy poems in this collection.
Since I was a child, I’ve loved stories of people who live, unseen, among or close to us. I prefer the spelling “Faerie.” Fairies are pretty, butterfly-like creatures that fly around gardens. “Faeries” suggest, to my mind, the word “fear.” They can be both benevolent and malevolent, but are primarily other. In my novel, Beautiful, and the follow up that’s in progress, faeries feature as characters both in their own realm and ours. They can cause a lot of trouble for humans, but also be well-intentioned. These books feature faeries that play similarly ambiguous roles.
Full disclosure: I almost put this book down after reading the first two chapters, full of info dumps. I kept reading though, and I ended up being glad I did. The town of Lud sits near the edge of Fairyland, but the citizens want nothing to do with the fairies thankyouverymuch! They are rational, logical people, and anything from Fairyland, especially fairy fruit, is strictly prohibited. Of course that doesn’t stop an illegal trade in fairy fruit from developing... This novel doesn’t follow the pacing and structure that most readers are used to, but when you abandon expectations and accept it for what it is, it’s a wonderful blend of fantasy, courtroom drama, and political satire.
The book that New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman considers "one of the finest [fantasy novels] in the English language."
Between the mountains and the sea, between the sea and Fairyland, lay the Free State of Dorimare and its picturesque capital, Lud-in-the-Mist. No Luddite ever had any truck with fairies or Fairyland. Bad business, those fairies. The people of Dorimare had run them out generations ago--and the Duke of Dorimare along with them.
Until the spring of his fiftieth year, Master Nathaniel Chanticleer, Mayor of Lud-in-the-Mist and High Seneschal of Dorimare, had lived a sleepy life with his only…
Who indeed? I ask myself that question often. Metaphysical issues aside, I guess you could say I’m a jack-of-many-trades in the writing department. I’ve been known to author stage plays (The Potman Spoke Sooth), write and direct feature films (Night Visitors, The Road to Flin Flon), compile and edit baseball anthologies (The Cubs Reader, A Blue Jays Companion), and do a bunch of contract writing and editing for a variety of publishers. And oh, yes: I wrote a middle-grade novel, Raising Rufus, about a boy who discovers his inner hero while raising...well, a very unusualpet.
For those who prefer their humor British, this fantasy adventure will more than fill the bill. Eleven-year-old Tom Harding thought he was just a normal kid, but he wakes up one day to discover that his parents are in hiding from evildoers in an alternate world called the Realm—and to top it off, he learns his dad is a magical fairy and he himself is a demisprite, or half fairy, of which he had no clue. Aided by his klutzy cousin Pindar, a trio of bickering fairy godmothers, and an assortment of goofy, otherworldly creatures and characters, Tom sets out on the magical adventure of his life to rescue Mum and Dad. The action is fast and fun and the humor is nonstop, with lots of understated Britishisms like “When you’ve just been told you might be about to disintegrate, it’s hard to concentrate on anything else.” And, of course,…
Tom is in shock. He's just discovered that his dad is an escaped fairy on the run. And that he must trust his life to three dangerous fairy godmothers he's never met. Two of them are hardened criminals, and one falls out of the window when she tries to fly . . .
Will their mad magic be enough to help Tom rescue his dad from the clutches of some killer fairies?
One might read for many reasons, but one of the main reasons for me is to connect and relate to the character. Female voices are very underheard, and I feel incredibly passionate about changing that and creating and reading stories where the female protagonists have strong voices and are not afraid to be heard. I think it’s important that we continue to create female characters that are raw and real and that portray subjects and feelings that need to be heard more.
I loved this entire series, but there was something about this book that was my favorite. It’s told from a different perspective than the others, giving it a really fresh view of the world. My favorite thing about this book was the character development.
You follow one of the main female characters, who at the beginning is spiteful and hurt and constantly lashing out, and you see her grow into herself. She takes responsibility for her mistakes, and reading about her opening up again really warmed my heart as I can heavily relate to it.
I think her character is very real and raw, and her development as a person is portrayed beautifully. I didn’t always like her initially, but I ultimately loved her.
THE LATEST BOOK IN THE #1 BESTSELLING SERIES
'With bits of Buffy, Game Of Thrones and Outlander, this is a glorious series of total joy' STYLIST
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Sarah J. Maas's sexy, richly imagined A Court of Thorns and Roses series continues with the journey of Feyre's fiery sister, Nesta...
Nesta Archeron has always been prickly - proud, swift to anger and slow to forgive. And since the war - since being made High Fae against her will - she's struggled to forget the horrors she endured and find a place for herself within the strange and deadly Night Court.
The…
I’m a big-time fantasy reader, and I’ve always loved non-human characters in fiction, whether it was The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast. It never sat right with me that the Beast becomes human when I got to understand his vulnerability in monster form; I hated that Ariel wanted boring human legs. I was a romance novel hater for a long time, too, because I thought they were repetitive (and mostly straight). Finding queer indie romance that embraced these monsters and explored what makes them monstrous caused a huge shift in the way I interpret all relationships in literature, and it definitely influenced my choice to write monster romance.
I love, love, love fairy lore, but a lot of books with fairies cut out some of the darker aspects—and this one decidedly leans right into the morbid, deceitful side of fairies.
I adored the setting of the fairy court, and while I don’t always consider fairies to be monstrous, the Fae Queen has unique, see-through, glass anatomy and a decidedly inhuman demeanor that made it all the more satisfying when she started to fall for the human main character. I found the thrill-seeking personality of the main character to be refreshing, and her encounters with the icy queen had strong chemistry (in addition to being super steamy).
Save some of your screams for the queen, there's a good girl...
Janneth Carter has given up on magic these days. She's done being curious, insatiable, dreamy; she just wants to finish her graduate degree and spend the rest of her life as a sensible archeologist. So the last thing she expects when she goes to her dig site on Halloween night is three mysterious strangers standing outside an ancient Scottish grave.
Okay, well the actual last thing she expects is for those strangers to kidnap her and drag her into fairyland.