Here are 100 books that Ruthless King fans have personally recommended if you like
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I’ve been fascinated by “other worlds” since I found my father’s battered copy of Dune when I was eleven. I’ve been seeking that experience of transportation, of transcendence, that I got from reading Dune, ever since. I’ve found it in diverse places, from the very alien worlds of Jo Clayton’s Diadem from the Stars series to the somehow-familiar woods of Richard and Wendy Pini’s ElfQuest comics. I’ve tried to give that experience back to my readers, in creating worlds wondrous and strange but entirely relatable. The books on this list sparked that same sense of transcendence and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
Fenn’s Orc Sworn series transports the reader to a world both familiar and utterly strange, where gray-skinned, monstrous orcs show courage, kindness, and compassion to the human women they desperately need to continue their race while being hunted by human men. It’s a world of darkness, oppression, and fear, but also wonder, beauty, and hope. Fenn’s world building is utterly immersive—you will hear, feel, smell (and only rarely see, because it’s dark under Orc Mountain!)—what it is to be Orc Sworn.
He’s a fierce, ferocious, death-dealing beast. And he’s reading a book in her library...
In a world of recently warring orcs and men, Rosa Rolfe leads a quiet, scholarly life as an impoverished librarian — until the day she finds an orc. In her library. Reading a book.
He’s rude, aggressive, and deeply terrifying, with his huge muscled form, sharp black claws, and cold, dismissive commands. But he doesn’t seem truly dangerous… at least, until night falls. And he makes Rosa a shocking, scandalous offer…
Her books, for her surrender. Her ecstasy. Her enlightenment…
I’ve been fascinated by “other worlds” since I found my father’s battered copy of Dune when I was eleven. I’ve been seeking that experience of transportation, of transcendence, that I got from reading Dune, ever since. I’ve found it in diverse places, from the very alien worlds of Jo Clayton’s Diadem from the Stars series to the somehow-familiar woods of Richard and Wendy Pini’s ElfQuest comics. I’ve tried to give that experience back to my readers, in creating worlds wondrous and strange but entirely relatable. The books on this list sparked that same sense of transcendence and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
This book made me completely shift my frame of reference. Why? It’s set in the modern world. It should be familiar to me as a reader. But it’s not. It’s wholly “other.” It’s a world in which moth fae and succubae use a dating app to set up their monstrous rendezvous. It’s a world in which they work side by side with humans, one of them “out” and public in every way, the other closeted and fearful, and it’s not the ones you might expect. It’s a world of deep needs almost too ugly to be expressed which drive behavior in a way I immediately recognized, and sympathized with, but only when seen through the lens of these very alien characters in a very familiar world. It’s a world that requires you to completely open your mind, and you will come away much richer for it.
This monster wants to get under more than just her skin…
Avirin has a dirty little secret.
She hates her fae coworker - but that’s no surprise. Not when Pye’s tattoos and easy-going attitude clash with her pencil skirts and rigid expectations. Those strict rules help her maintain a corporate appearance so no one catches onto the truth of what she is...
A succubus, secretly scheduling the feedings she needs to survive. Imagine her shock to find Pye on her doorstep offering their services.
Avirin should refuse, but the need to feed is growing stronger...and once she gets a taste…
I’ve been fascinated by “other worlds” since I found my father’s battered copy of Dune when I was eleven. I’ve been seeking that experience of transportation, of transcendence, that I got from reading Dune, ever since. I’ve found it in diverse places, from the very alien worlds of Jo Clayton’s Diadem from the Stars series to the somehow-familiar woods of Richard and Wendy Pini’s ElfQuest comics. I’ve tried to give that experience back to my readers, in creating worlds wondrous and strange but entirely relatable. The books on this list sparked that same sense of transcendence and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
“What if?” That’s the question sci-fi and fantasy authors have been asking for over a hundred years. What if humanity was dying and aliens offered salvation, but only at a terrible price? That’s the question this book poses, and it does it so compellingly. The story’s set on a poisoned world, and in a dying race’s spaceship. There is no escape here except death. There are no familiar, comfortable spaces. Nowhere left to hide. There is only the smallest spark of hope: that the humans can somehow connect with the aliens who are “not squid” but absolutely not like us. To do so, they have to overcome the basest squeamishness of human nature, and that they do makes for not just brave characters, but an extremely brave book.
“It will take the whole night at least,” he said, “to implant all my eggs.”The colony planet is a death trap. Only the tiniest fraction of humanity survives the gruesome rejection virus.
And then the aliens arrive.
The Nepenthe, too, seek a new home world, but discover instead a species capable of incubating their precious eggs: humans.
The two dying races can either reach an agreement to help each other live on … or prepare for extinction.
Publisher's Note: The We Are Nepenthe series contains tentacles, shapeshifting aliens and squirm-in-your-seat depravity. A one-click read for the seriously adventurous only.
Science fiction is a wonderful genre and a fun one to write because it offers authors the opportunity to explore age-old topics from a fresh perspective. For me, as both a writer and a voracious reader, the one thing that ties me to a great story—no matter the genre—is romance. Whether the hero is an alien from a faraway world or a werewolf with mechanical organs, the heart of a story is its characters, the relationships they form, and the healing power of love. Below are my top five recommended reads in science fiction that are sure to melt your heart!
All of R. Lee Smith’s novels are dark, explicit, and fascinating, but my favorite (and it was a Sophie’s Choice, for sure!) is The Last Hour of Gann. The heroine, Amber, and her spaceship full of fellow pioneers crash land on a dystopian alien world inhabited by lizard people. The humans are woefully unprepared to survive in the wild and all too willing to turn on one another. When a passing lizard/warrior/judge, Meoraq, stumbles upon their camp, Amber jumps at the opportunity to beg for his aid, a near-impossible task without knowing his language. Together, they learn to communicate, and as Meoraq embarks on the futile task of keeping “his humans” safe, so begins the delicious, inexplicable, slow-burn romance between woman and lizard that I never knew I needed.
It was her last chance:Amber Bierce had nothing left except her sister and two tickets on Earth’s first colony-ship. She entered her Sleeper with a five-year contract and the promise of a better life, but awakened in wreckage on an unknown world. For the survivors, there is no rescue, no way home and no hope until they are found by Meoraq—a holy warrior more deadly than any hungering beast on this hostile new world…but whose eyes show a different sort of hunger when he looks at her.It was his last year of freedom:Uyane Meoraq is a Sword of Sheul, God’s…
I have been writing since I was in kindergarten. Granted, it started out with poetry, but words are still words. When it comes to omegaverse, I made sure to devour some of the great writers before I even stuck my toe in. The great thing about omegaverse is that you can put it in almost any setting, and it fits. I just happen to like dystopian, and now historical regency England, as my backdrop. I’ve been writing professionally since 2020, and I have never looked back once. This is my passion. This is my calling. This is what I’m meant to do.
When I first started reading romance, I read nothing but historical. But then, I got bored with it because it all felt the same. That changed when I read this book. It was kinky and filthy, and still had that amazing historical romance mannerisms that I love and crave. I didn’t know books could be like this. I was smitten. Because of her, I fell back in love with historical romances.
Pride and Prejudice meets Fifty Shades of Grey in this steamy tale of a stern lord and his new wife…
Lady Cordelia knows the Marquess of Dunbury did not marry her for love. Still, as he awakens her passion and pleasure, she begins to hope their marriage can become something more.
The Marquess of Dunbury rules his household with a stern demeanor and a hard hand. His new wife has begun to soften his harsh edges, engaging his more tender emotions. Their passion burns bright, but no relationship is without its tests.
Will a wicked stepdaughter and Cordelia’s own insecurities…
Monsters intrigue me. I’ve always enjoyed the weird and obscure – the creatures who are recognizably not human. Being a queer, autistic person, I’ve often felt as if I didn’t understand the world…or the world didn’t understand me. Reading and writing about monsters sheds a new light on the parts of myself that I was taught are undesirable. By conventional standards, the monsters in these stories are horrifying, yet they find people who love them and their monstrosity. Monsters get their happy endings – and I can get mine, too.
We all know the story: someone messes around with magic and ends up indebted to a demon. In this short, however, our main character is a queer Black man, and the devil that finds him won’t take no for an answer. For fans of Omegaverse, dubcon, and monsters that look like monsters, definitely check this out!
The last thing Silas Cromwell expected was for a book to change his life. When a rare first edition book from a famous 19th-century Occultist ends up in Silas's lap at an auction, life as he knows it suddenly changes. Pressured into performing one of the rituals from the book by a friend, Silas gets a tease of regret. Now Silas can’t sleep, is having nightmares that end with him waking up terrified. Something obscene, dark and deadly wants Silas and he isn’t human. Bazaduil lusts for Silas and won’t take no for an answer, even if it means tricking…
I have been writing since I was in kindergarten. Granted, it started out with poetry, but words are still words. When it comes to omegaverse, I made sure to devour some of the great writers before I even stuck my toe in. The great thing about omegaverse is that you can put it in almost any setting, and it fits. I just happen to like dystopian, and now historical regency England, as my backdrop. I’ve been writing professionally since 2020, and I have never looked back once. This is my passion. This is my calling. This is what I’m meant to do.
This book grabbed me from the moment I picked it up. It was dark, delicious, and one of the best mindf*cks I’ve read in a long time. It kept me on the edge of my seat with the twists and turns I never expected. And as far as the spicy scenes go…they were beyond magnificent. There was no skimming there, I devoured every morsel.
I have been writing since I was in kindergarten. Granted, it started out with poetry, but words are still words. When it comes to omegaverse, I made sure to devour some of the great writers before I even stuck my toe in. The great thing about omegaverse is that you can put it in almost any setting, and it fits. I just happen to like dystopian, and now historical regency England, as my backdrop. I’ve been writing professionally since 2020, and I have never looked back once. This is my passion. This is my calling. This is what I’m meant to do.
Once again, Addison Cain is on my list for omegaverse, but this time, it’s for a reverse harem omegaverse. Until this time, I had never read reverse harem, but there it was in all its intricate depraved glory. Again, very much on the dark scale, but I still devoured it. There really is no one like her when it comes to darkverse books. She’s literally the one I hold the standard for.
Electrifying, dark, and delicious! I devoured every tantalizing word...” Renee Rose, USA Today Bestselling author
Lips brushing my ear, Caspian offers me a fair exchange.
My life in exchange for the freedom of my wards.
Infamous for his cruelty, renowned for his wealth, the most powerful man in the city meets my desperate gaze and smirks. Aggressive in his appetites, vicious in his demands, Caspian will brook no refusal. So long as I am his, he will enact no restraint, bear no qualms, dress me as he wishes, shower me with riches, and teach me the secrets of pleasure in…
I have been writing since I was in kindergarten. Granted, it started out with poetry, but words are still words. When it comes to omegaverse, I made sure to devour some of the great writers before I even stuck my toe in. The great thing about omegaverse is that you can put it in almost any setting, and it fits. I just happen to like dystopian, and now historical regency England, as my backdrop. I’ve been writing professionally since 2020, and I have never looked back once. This is my passion. This is my calling. This is what I’m meant to do.
When I tell you this book took my heart and ripped it out, I’m not even joking. I knew it was a dark book. I went in with this knowledge, but knowing and knowing are two totally different things. This was my first foray into contemporary omegaverse and I was fascinated beyond belief. This is one of those books that kept me up all night, downloading the next just so I could get my fix and find out the end of the story. Some of the scenes still live in my head rent-free.
Quinn Ivers scrapes by one day at a time in a world where Omegas are viewed as less than nothing and are subject to the whims of others. Slinging drinks in a nightclub with a wicked reputation, she just wants to make it to the next day. Her world is rife with an array of dangers, but it's hers and she answers to no one.
Until Tobias Kahler appears and ruins everything, including her.
The man who owns the city has set his eyes on the waitress, and he won't be denied. Merciless and without…
I have been writing since I was in kindergarten. Granted, it started out with poetry, but words are still words. When it comes to omegaverse, I made sure to devour some of the great writers before I even stuck my toe in. The great thing about omegaverse is that you can put it in almost any setting, and it fits. I just happen to like dystopian, and now historical regency England, as my backdrop. I’ve been writing professionally since 2020, and I have never looked back once. This is my passion. This is my calling. This is what I’m meant to do.
This was the book that broke my Omegaverse cherry. It was dark, raw, and unapologetic, and it left an impression. It’s one of the few reasons I write omegaverse today. This trilogy was the first time a book ever broke me. I was sobbing so hard my husband worried for me, but it left an impression. I have devoured every book since.
“Unapologetically raw and deliciously filthy, Shepherd & Claire's dark, gritty story is an emotional punch to the gut!” - Anna Zaires, New York Times bestselling author
At the mercy of a jealous, possessive villain, gentle Claire begs her city’s savage conqueror to save the vulnerable Omega females, from the violence his soldiers have inspired in her fallen city. Not only does Shepherd refuse her, he takes the desperate and rare Omega woman for his own.
The first book in Addison Cain's exciting, raw, and suspense-filled Paranormal series is an addictive Dark Romance that will consume you mind, body, and soul.
