Hey, book lovers! Today, I’m bringing you a list of the best enemies to lovers romance books with a spicy twist. If you’re craving some intense chemistry and fiery banter between characters who start off on the wrong foot but end up falling madly in love, this list is for you.
The first two are my personal favourite enemies to lovers, which you may have heard of before. I also wanted to include on this list the books you may not have as well. Always make sure to check the content/trigger warnings before you decide to read a book to protect yourself as a reader ❤
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My 10 Picks For Enemies To Lovers
1. The Contortionist by Kathryn Ann Kingsley
Cora Glass’s humdrum existence as a bank teller flips upside down when a long-abandoned circus mysteriously returns to life. But the entry fee to this big top show is far more than Cora bargained for.
A deal struck.
A soul…stuck.
When Cora walks through “The Dark Path,” she unknowingly offers a taste of herself to the ravenous magic that keeps Harrow Faire alive. Now she’s caught the eye of Simon Waite—the dangerously seductive Puppeteer who’s existed for over a century by consuming the essence of others.
With his silver threads and wicked smile, Simon wants to transform Cora into his newest masterpiece. But as the Faire itself begins whispering to her—something it has never done before—Cora discovers she’s at the center of a supernatural power struggle between Simon’s deadly obsession and the enigmatic Mr. Harrow’s sinister plans.
As Harrow Faire shines a spotlight on Cora, she uncovers far more secrets in this three-ring nightmare than she could possibly imagine. Caught between two immortal forces, Cora must find a way to break free before she becomes a permanent attraction.
Both parties will stop at nothing—even murder—to get what they want.
And what they want…is her.
2. Amid Clouds and Bones by Ella Fields
As the half faerie daughter of a human king, my days were spent tucked out of sight—until the Seelie Fae sought an alliance with our kingdom. In exchange for my father’s help in defeating their Unseelie enemies, I would wed Atakan the heartless.
The Seelie prince loathed everyone, but none more than me. Throughout the years leading to our nuptials, each encounter grew more terrifying than the last as he demonstrated how he’d earned his infamous reputation.
Fear would only doom me faster. So I learned to hide it with games I soon became happy to play. I wasn’t supposed to crave a monster. But just when I’d thought I might tame the untameable, fate intervened.
And delivered me straight to his enemy.
3. Throne in the Dark by A.K. Caggiano
Dark lord, demon spawn, prophesied realm destroyer.
With a demon for a father, Damien Maleficus Bloodthorne’s destiny could be nothing short of nefarious. On the cusp of fulfilling the evil inevitability his dark life has led to, all it will take to solidify world domination is the completion of his most vicious spell yet.
But then, her. Bubbly, obnoxious, blonde.
Harboring secrets of her own, a tiny yet troublesome thief calling herself Amma completely upsets Damien’s malevolent plans when she mistakenly gets chained to his side through magic. Forced to drag her across the realm on his unholy crusade, Damien knows that killing her would fix things, of course, but the nauseatingly sweet Amma somehow begins to prove herself useful. And worse yet, she then proves herself the source of something even more sinister: feelings.
Torn between his villainous birthright and the virtue Amma insists on inspiring, Damien will have to decide if he will help the tender thorn in his side or cut it out at the heart.
4. Quicksilver by Callie Hart
Do not touch the sword. Do not turn the key. Do not open the gate.
Twenty-four-year-old Saeris Fane is good at keeping secrets. No one knows about the strange powers she possesses, or the fact that she has been picking pockets and stealing from the Undying Queen’s reservoirs for as long as she can remember. In the land of the unforgiving desert, there isn’t much a girl wouldn’t do for a glass of water. But a secret is like a knot. Sooner or later, it is bound to come undone.
When Saeris comes face-to-face with Death himself, she inadvertently reopens a gateway between realms and is transported to a land of ice and snow. The Fae have always been the stuff of myth, of legend, of nightmares…but it turns out they’re real, and Saeris has landed right in the middle of a centuries-long conflict that might just get her killed.
The first of her kind to tread the frozen mountains of Yvelia in over a thousand years, Saeris mistakenly binds herself to Kingfisher, a handsome Fae warrior, who has secrets and nefarious agendas of his own. He will use her Alchemist’s magic to protect his people, no matter what it costs him… or her. Death has a name. It is Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate. His past is murky. His attitude stinks. And he’s the only way Saeris is going to make it home.
Be careful of the deals you make, dear child. The devil is in the details…
5. The Ascended by Bree Grenwich and Parker Lennox
In a world where divine power bleeds into the mortal realm, Thais Morvaren has mastered the art of deception. To her seaside village, she’s just a fisherman’s daughter, serving oysters to summer tourists. In secret, she hides her ability to forge weapons from starlight—a power that would force her into the deadly Trials of Ascension.
But when a priest’s ritual exposes her divine heritage, Thais is seized and conscripted into the trials against her will. Now trapped in a competition she never wanted to enter, she transforms her fear into purpose: to kill Olinthar, King of the Gods—the father whose divine touch proved fatal to her mother.
To take down a god, she must become one, even if it costs her everything.
Worse still, the selection ceremony binds her to a mentor: Xül. A necromancer prince with blood-soaked hands, a sharp tongue, and dark secrets of his own. From the moment they meet, sparks fly. He’s insufferably arrogant, she’s stubborn to the bone, and neither has any intention of yielding to the other… or to the heat between them.
Each trial survived brings her closer to godhood, but beneath the spectacle of competition, something ancient and malevolent stalks the shadows of the divine realm—a darkness that threatens to unravel the heavens themselves.
Thais may have been forced into the Trials seeking survival, but she’ll finish them seeking vengeance.
And the cost of godhood is rising.
Because some stars aren’t meant to be weapons.
Some stars are meant to fall.
6. Pestilence by Laura Thalassa
They came to earth-Pestilence, War, Famine, Death-four horsemen riding their screaming steeds, racing to the corners of the world. Four horsemen with the power to destroy all of humanity.
They came to earth, and they came to end us all.
When Pestilence, the first of the horsemen, comes for Sara Burn’s town, one thing is certain: everyone she knows and loves is marked for death. Unless, of course, the angelic-looking horseman is stopped, which is exactly what Sara has in mind when she shoots the unholy beast off his steed.
Too bad no one told her Pestilence can’t be killed.
Alive and furious, the horseman takes Sara prisoner, determined to make her suffer for impeding his mission. Despite her pleas, nothing and no one gets in the way of his orders to destroy humankind. Only, the longer Pestilence spends beside Sara’s bravery and compassion, the more he seems to understand her, and understand humanity. And the longer Sara travels with Pestilence and his plague, the more uncertain she grows about his true feelings toward her…and hers toward him.
Sara might still be able to save the world, but she’ll have to sacrifice her heart in the process.
7. Blood Oath by Morgan B. Lee
Everbound University is the mandatory graduate school for anything that goes bump in the night. Not going isn’t an option, unless you want to be hunted down for illegally inhabiting the mortal world.
All legacies—the descendants of the Four Houses—are required to attend because we’re all cursed, and the only way to break our curses is through binding our hearts in a
quintet. Becoming part of a quintet is a dream come true. Destiny fulfilled. A gods-given, merciful blessing.
For me, it’s a hard pass. I can’t be bound to anyone else.
Trust me, it wouldn’t end well.
So when I’m placed in a quintet, I promptly reject all four of my matches for their own good. But these powerful, gorgeous, high-profile legacies have no idea how to handle rejection, because…
The cutthroat blood fae shows me his soft side.
The charming dragon shifter won’t leave me alone.
The unhinged nightmare prince calls me darling.
And the gorgeous ice elemental is as overprotective as he is cold.
They’re the kind of deadly perfection that draws attention. Which is exactly what I’m trying to avoid, since no one can know my secret. I’ll do whatever it takes to make them decide I’m not worth the chase. The problem is, no matter what I do to make them hate me, it only seems to have the opposite effect…
8. Child of Shivay by J.R. Cathers
Two hundred years ago, when mortals hunted the Fae toward extinction, the Ancients sundered the veils of Terr, fracturing their world into five realms. Many fled beyond the veil of war, but not all who remained did so with benevolent intentions.
Shivaria is an elite assassin of the crown, forged through brutal training for a single purpose: end the life of the Feyn King. When she finds herself upon foreign shores, seeking the fulfillment of her mission, she discovers a realm steeped in ancient power, forgotten truths, and whispered legends that defy everything she was taught.
When she finds herself bound to the king’s general, sought by the Fae in the northern woods, and unearthing the hidden truths of her world, Shivaria is thrust into a choice that will define her fate: follow the path she has always known, or endure a breaking that will set her on a course destined by the fates.
9. Atonement Of The Spine Cleaver
Rorax Greywood lives in the Realms and was trained to fight, kill, and steal for the House of Ice’s special forces unit, the Heilstorms, from the time she was ten years old. During her time as a Heilstorm, Rorax committed more violent atrocities in the name of her House than she could ever remember, but the blackest stain on her soul remains the Siege of Surmalinn—an infiltration and near genocide in the largest House of Death city.
Years later, when Rorax is called upon by the Gods to compete in the Choosing, a deadly competition that decides the next Guardian of the Realms, it quickly becomes clear the only House strong enough to protect her is the House of Death.
Rorax knows she isn’t worthy to become the Realms’ new Guardian, so she somehow needs to convince the House of Death—and their brutally handsome lieutenant—to both help her find the next suitable Guardian, and free her from the Choosing before the Choosing kills her.
10. This Vicious Dream by Stacia Stark
My crime? Knowing the location of a power that could reshape the world—a grimoire I swore to protect with my life.
That secret is the only thing keeping me alive while my captors wait for me to break.
Until he arrives.
Beautiful. Ruthless.
Dark, inscrutable eyes. A dangerously wicked grin.
But he’s not here to rescue me. He wants the grimoire for himself––and he’ll destroy anyone who stands in his way.
My only choice is a fragile, temporary alliance with a man I can never trust.
Because there’s more at stake than just a stolen grimoire or an ancient grudge.
And behind his mask of effortless allure, he’s hiding something far more dangerous than a thirst for power.
Something that could destroy us all.
These enemies to lovers romance books are perfect for readers who love a good dose of sizzling tension, passionate conflicts, and ultimately, a love story that will leave you swooning. So grab a cozy blanket, your favourite hot beverage, and dive into these captivating reads for a rollercoaster of emotions and an unforgettable romantic journey.
Happy reading! Leave a comment with what you thought of these books or if you’ve read some books that should be on this list!
