Loved A Court of Thorns and Roses? Read These Fantasy Romance Books Next

Finishing Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series can leave you with one very important question: What should I read after ACOTAR?

With its addictive combination of fantasy, romance, dangerous magic, powerful fae, morally gray characters, and unforgettable relationships, ACOTAR has become one of the defining fantasy romance series of its generation. Finding another book that delivers the same combination of high-stakes fantasy and passionate romance is not always easy.

Fortunately, there are plenty of books that can help fill the ACOTAR-shaped hole in your reading life.

The books below feature many of the elements ACOTAR readers love, including enemies-to-lovers romances, dangerous kingdoms, supernatural creatures, political intrigue, powerful heroines, and plenty of romantic tension.

Some of these books also contain explicit sexual content, violence, and other mature themes. Readers should check individual content warnings before starting a new series.

Here are some of the best books to read after finishing ACOTAR.

Books to Read After ACOTAR

• From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen
• King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair
• House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
• The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by NK Jemisin
• What Lies Beyond the Veil by Harper L. Woods
• The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
• A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen
• The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

If you are searching for a fantasy romance series that feels like a natural next step after ACOTAR, From Blood and Ash is one of the most obvious choices.

Jennifer L. Armentrout’s series introduces readers to Poppy, a young woman who has spent much of her life controlled by traditions and expectations surrounding her mysterious role as the Maiden.

Her world begins to change when Hawke, a charismatic guard, enters her life.

What follows is a fantasy filled with secrets, supernatural creatures, political conflict, romance, and major revelations.

ACOTAR fans will immediately recognize several familiar ingredients. There is a heroine discovering that the world she has been taught to believe in may not be what it seems, a dangerously charming love interest, supernatural politics, and an increasingly complicated fantasy world.

The romance also becomes a major part of the story as the series progresses.

Readers who enjoyed Feyre’s transformation throughout ACOTAR may especially enjoy following Poppy as she begins questioning everything she thought she knew about herself.

The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen

The Bridge Kingdom is an excellent choice for readers who loved the political maneuvering and enemies-to-lovers elements of ACOTAR.

Lara has been raised for one purpose: marry the king of a neighboring kingdom and destroy his country from within.

Her new husband, Aren, rules the strategically important Bridge Kingdom, which controls essential trade routes. Lara arrives believing everything she has been taught about him and his people.

But the longer she remains in the kingdom, the more complicated her mission becomes.

The relationship between Lara and Aren is filled with mistrust, attraction, secrets, and competing loyalties.

Danielle L. Jensen creates a fantasy romance in which the political conflict matters just as much as the central relationship. Lara is constantly forced to decide where her loyalty truly belongs, making the romance even more complicated.

If your favorite parts of ACOTAR involve dangerous alliances, powerful rulers, betrayals, and romance developing between people who initially have every reason to hate each other, The Bridge Kingdom belongs on your reading list.

King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair

Vampires, arranged marriage, war, and romance collide in Scarlett St. Clair’s King of Battle and Blood.

Isolde is forced to marry vampire king Adrian Aleksandr Vasiliev in an attempt to protect her kingdom.

She plans to kill him.

Unfortunately for Isolde, killing an immortal vampire king is easier said than done.

As the two become increasingly entangled, their relationship develops into something much more complicated than either expected.

The book leans heavily into romantic fantasy and contains significantly more explicit content than many traditional fantasy novels.

Readers who enjoyed ACOTAR because of its powerful supernatural love interests and increasingly steamy romance may find plenty to enjoy here.

The combination of vampires, forbidden attraction, dangerous politics, and an arranged marriage makes King of Battle and Blood an entertaining choice for romantasy fans.

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

Sometimes the best book to read after Sarah J. Maas is simply more Sarah J. Maas.

House of Earth and Blood is the first book in Maas’s Crescent City series, and it offers a very different fantasy setting from ACOTAR.

Bryce Quinlan lives in a world filled with angels, demons, fae, shifters, and countless other supernatural creatures. Her life changes after a devastating murder leaves her searching for answers.

She eventually becomes involved in an investigation alongside Hunt Athalar, a powerful fallen angel with a complicated past.

Unlike the largely medieval-inspired setting of ACOTAR, Crescent City blends fantasy with a modern urban environment. Characters have phones, nightlife, technology, and apartments while still navigating ancient magic, supernatural hierarchies, and dangerous creatures.

The world-building can feel overwhelming at first, but patient readers are rewarded with an increasingly intricate story.

Most importantly, Maas once again delivers the combination of fantasy, mystery, romance, friendship, and emotional storytelling that made ACOTAR so popular.

If Sarah J. Maas’s writing style is what you miss most after finishing ACOTAR, House of Earth and Blood should be one of your first choices.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin

Readers who loved the complicated gods, politics, and powerful supernatural beings of ACOTAR should consider The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin.

Yeine Darr is unexpectedly summoned to the magnificent city of Sky and named an heir to the throne.

Instead of receiving a position of safety and privilege, she discovers that she has been placed in the middle of a deadly power struggle.

The ruling family controls imprisoned gods, political alliances are dangerous, and nearly everyone seems to have an agenda.

Jemisin’s fantasy is more focused on politics, mythology, identity, and power than traditional romantasy, but there is still plenty here for ACOTAR readers to appreciate.

The gods are unpredictable, relationships are complicated, and the fantasy world feels genuinely different from most other books in the genre.

Readers hoping to explore something slightly darker and more literary after ACOTAR should give this one a try.

What Lies Beyond the Veil by Harper L. Woods

Even the title What Lies Beyond the Veil should immediately catch the attention of ACOTAR fans.

Harper L. Woods’s fantasy romance takes place in a world where humans have been separated from the fae by a magical Veil.

When that protection begins to fail, the world becomes much more dangerous.

The story follows Estrella as she becomes caught in a conflict involving the fae, supernatural forces, and a mysterious man named Caelum.

The novel features several popular romantasy elements, including forbidden magic, dangerous fae, a mysterious love interest, and plenty of romantic tension.

Readers who primarily loved ACOTAR for its romance and fae mythology will likely feel at home here.

It is also one of the steamier selections on this list, making it a good option for readers searching specifically for spicy books like ACOTAR.

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

One of the strongest recommendations for modern ACOTAR fans is Carissa Broadbent’s The Serpent and the Wings of Night.

Oraya is a human living among vampires.

She is also the adopted daughter of a powerful vampire king.

In order to prove herself, Oraya enters the Kejari, a deadly tournament held in honor of the goddess of death.

Surviving the competition may require forming an alliance with Raihn, a dangerous vampire who also happens to be one of her rivals.

That alliance soon becomes much more complicated.

The novel combines a brutal fantasy competition with enemies-to-lovers tension, vampires, gods, political intrigue, and romance.

It is easy to see why the book has become such a popular recommendation among romantasy readers.

If you loved ACOTAR’s combination of dangerous supernatural worlds and intense romantic relationships, The Serpent and the Wings of Night deserves a spot near the top of your list.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Few fantasy romance books have captured the attention of readers quite like Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing.

Violet Sorrengail expects to become a scribe, but her life changes when she is ordered to join the brutal dragon rider quadrant at Basgiath War College.

Becoming a dragon rider is dangerous enough.

Complicating matters further is Xaden Riorson, a powerful and intimidating fellow rider who has plenty of reasons to dislike Violet.

The book combines dragons, military training, deadly competition, secrets, magic, and a romance filled with tension.

While the world and plot are very different from ACOTAR, the reading experience has many similarities. Both series feature heroines thrown into dangerous circumstances, powerful love interests, major revelations, and fantasy worlds that become larger with each discovery.

Readers looking for another hugely addictive romantasy series after ACOTAR should definitely try Fourth Wing.

A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen

Danielle L. Jensen makes a second appearance on this list with A Fate Inked in Blood.

Inspired by Norse mythology, the novel follows Freya, a woman trapped in an unhappy marriage who possesses a secret magical power.

When her abilities are revealed, she becomes valuable to a powerful ruler who believes Freya may be connected to a prophecy capable of changing his kingdom’s future.

She is placed under the protection of Bjorn, a warrior she finds increasingly difficult to ignore.

Naturally, things get complicated.

The book features prophecy, gods, magic, warriors, forbidden romance, and political ambition.

Its mythology helps distinguish it from many fae-centered fantasy romances while still delivering the emotional tension and supernatural stakes that ACOTAR readers often want.

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Readers who loved the fae politics of ACOTAR but want something less focused on explicit romance should read Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince.

Jude is human, but she has grown up in the dangerous world of Faerie.

She desperately wants to earn her place among the immortal inhabitants who frequently look down on humans.

One of her greatest obstacles is Prince Cardan, a cruel and arrogant member of the royal family.

Their rivalry becomes tangled with political schemes, betrayal, ambition, and unexpected attraction.

Holly Black’s faerie world is darker and more treacherous than many fantasy settings. The fae are manipulative, dangerous, and distinctly inhuman.

The romance is slower and less explicit than ACOTAR, so readers searching primarily for spice should look elsewhere on this list.

But if the politics, fae mythology, court intrigue, and morally complicated characters were your favorite ACOTAR elements, The Cruel Prince is an excellent choice.

What Should You Read First After ACOTAR?

The best choice depends on exactly what you loved about Sarah J. Maas’s series.

If you want another sweeping fantasy romance, start with From Blood and Ash.

If you want enemies-to-lovers and political intrigue, try The Bridge Kingdom.

If you want vampires and plenty of romance, read The Serpent and the Wings of Night or King of Battle and Blood.

If you want dragons and an addictive fantasy series, pick up Fourth Wing.

And if what you really want is more Sarah J. Maas, House of Earth and Blood is the obvious next choice.

There may never be another series that feels exactly like ACOTAR, but that is part of the fun. The enormous popularity of fantasy romance has introduced readers to countless new worlds filled with magic, dangerous characters, complicated relationships, and unforgettable adventures.

Your next obsession might be waiting on this list.

Frequently Asked Questions About Books Like ACOTAR

What should I read after ACOTAR?

Some of the best books to read after ACOTAR include From Blood and Ash, The Bridge Kingdom, Fourth Wing, The Serpent and the Wings of Night, and House of Earth and Blood.

What book series is most similar to ACOTAR?

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout is frequently recommended to readers searching for a similar combination of fantasy, supernatural characters, romance, and an evolving heroine.

What should I read if I loved Rhysand?

Readers looking for charismatic or morally complicated fantasy love interests may enjoy From Blood and Ash, The Serpent and the Wings of Night, Fourth Wing, and The Bridge Kingdom.

Are there spicy books like ACOTAR?

Yes. From Blood and Ash, King of Battle and Blood, What Lies Beyond the Veil, and The Serpent and the Wings of Nightall combine fantasy romance with mature romantic content. Spice levels vary by book and throughout individual series.

What Sarah J. Maas series should I read after ACOTAR?

Crescent City, beginning with House of Earth and Blood, is a natural choice for ACOTAR readers who want to explore another fantasy world created by Sarah J. Maas.

Conclusion

Finishing A Court of Thorns and Roses does not mean your journey through fantasy romance has to end.

Whether you want fae kingdoms, vampires, dragons, enemies-to-lovers romance, political intrigue, dangerous tournaments, or powerful magic, there are plenty of books capable of becoming your next obsession.

Start with From Blood and Ash, The Bridge Kingdom, The Serpent and the Wings of Night, Fourth Wing, or House of Earth and Blood and see which fantasy world pulls you in next.

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