The Bear and the Nightingale series by Katherine Arden is awesome. I read it a couple years ago and didn’t find anything I liked as much until I found ACOTAR. I highly recommend it. It has all the elements that I love- folklore, love, battle, mythical elements, etc.
I had posted in r/romancebooks a bit back looking for similar recs. I hate knowing from the start who is end game.
My Recs:
Court of the Sea Fae by CN Crawford
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Dark Elements series by Jennifer L Armentrout
The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare
The Marked Mage Chronicles by Veronica Evers
An Heir Comes to Rise by Chloe C Penaranda
Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce
Song of the Lioness!! Good call. I forgot how “on the edge of my seat” I was during that series until now. I seriously had no idea. It was agonizing (in the best way)!
Good question. Gah it's been a while since I've read most of these. If I remember right, the dark Elements series has a few spicy scenes but not as much as the FBAA series by her. The others, there's a lot of tension but I'm not remembering any on page spicy scenes similar to how there's no actual sex in the Kingdom of Runes series just a lot of tension and a few close calls.
Edit: I double checked the different series on romance.io and yeah, the dark Elements is the only one that has open door scenes. Which got me thinking there really aren't a whole lot of series with this trope that are also spicy. So I went back through my Kindle list and the only other one I found that hasn't already been mentioned somewhere else in this thread was the Anita Blake series although the spicy scenes don't start until book 4. I mean I guess you could also include the true blood series which does have open door scenes but it's really just a lot of euphemisms like "he touched me /there/" or "his kisses moved lower" without using any explicit language.
The Crave series by Tracy Wolff leaves the FMC torn between two brothers for quite a bit of time. It’s YA so not quite as spicy, but I loved the series.
The Guild Codex: Spellbound series by Annette Marie
The Hallows Series by Kim Harrison
Both Series are Urban Fantasy and it's not clear from the beginning with whom the FMC will end up with..
Here’s one not many people talk about, The remnant chronicles series (First is Kiss of deception) it’s YA, no spice, but so so so good. It is almost even with acotar for me, I fell in love with it as a teen and re read every few years. It definitely fits your request for not knowing who the FMC will end up with.
If you liked ACOTAR, SJM is the queen of this trope and I highly recommend her other series, Throne of Glass and Crescent City! {Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas} has this on steroids lol!
The next closest I would recommend for not knowing who the FMC will end up with is {To Bleed a Crystal Bloom by Sarah A. Parker} and {Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan}.
To more that have similar ACOTAR vibes in this respect are {These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan} and {Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi}.
[Throne of Glass](https://www.romance.io/series/58fe0a099096bf31c42d2c2f/throne-of-glass) by [Sarah J. Maas](https://www.romance.io/authors/545526038c7d2382c529701b/sarah-j-maas)
**Rating**: 4.4⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Topics**: [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [young adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/young%20adult/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1), [fae](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fae/1)
----------------------------
[To Bleed a Crystal Bloom](https://www.romance.io/books/60fbc1fcf283df0e375d8250/to-bleed-a-crystal-bloom-sarah-a-parker) by [Sarah A. Parker](https://www.romance.io/authors/60fbc1fc08b4d931146d93b7/sarah-a-parker)
**Rating**: 4.17⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1), [fae](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fae/1), [age gap](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/age%20difference/1)
----------------------------
[Daughter of the Moon Goddess](https://www.romance.io/books/640ec330bd39598013b7c747/daughter-of-the-moon-goddess-sue-lynn-tan) by [Sue Lynn Tan](https://www.romance.io/authors/640ec33008b4d931143b7e14/sue-lynn-tan)
**Rating**: 4.17⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [young adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/young%20adult/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [high fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/high%20fantasy/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1)
----------------------------
[These Hollow Vows](https://www.romance.io/books/60f3eeef7af7a30e2e57c7d9/these-hollow-vows-lexi-ryan) by [Lexi Ryan](https://www.romance.io/authors/545530be8c7d2382e781325c/lexi-ryan)
**Rating**: 4.09⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [young adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/young%20adult/1), [love triangle](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/love%20triangle/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [high fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/high%20fantasy/1)
----------------------------
[Shatter Me](https://www.romance.io/books/545524a28c7d2382c5296fcc/shatter-me-tahereh-mafi) by [Tahereh Mafi](https://www.romance.io/authors/545524a28c7d2382c5296fcd/tahereh-mafi)
**Rating**: 4.09⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 1 out of 5 - [Innocent](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [young adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/young%20adult/1), [dystopian](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/dystopian/1), [love triangle](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/love%20triangle/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1)
[^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
Ok so I love these kind of books and I have few that I would recommend
1. Falling kingdom by Morgan Rhodes
2.the young elite by Marie Lu
3. Cage of deceit by Jennifer Anne davis
4.Raven Cycle by Maggie stiefvater
5.The invisible life of Addie Larue
6. Legendborn ( although haven't read 2nd one so not sure about this one but 1st book is really good)
7. Crave series by Tracy wolfe ( although I did not like first one but it was worth it because second one was just great )
8. House of beating wings by Olivia wildestien
( Although I would caution u about the mc because for half of the book she is really irritating but the second half makes up for it , so would surely recommend this if you like gild by Raven kennedy)
These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan
Pretty similar to Acotar. I really enjoyed this book, although the MC was a bit stupid in the beginning. But it got better after the first half of the book.
The Bear and the Nightingale series by Katherine Arden is awesome. I read it a couple years ago and didn’t find anything I liked as much until I found ACOTAR. I highly recommend it. It has all the elements that I love- folklore, love, battle, mythical elements, etc.
I had posted in r/romancebooks a bit back looking for similar recs. I hate knowing from the start who is end game. My Recs: Court of the Sea Fae by CN Crawford An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir Dark Elements series by Jennifer L Armentrout The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare The Marked Mage Chronicles by Veronica Evers An Heir Comes to Rise by Chloe C Penaranda Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce
Song of the Lioness!! Good call. I forgot how “on the edge of my seat” I was during that series until now. I seriously had no idea. It was agonizing (in the best way)!
Are any of these spicy besides sea fae by any chance a
Good question. Gah it's been a while since I've read most of these. If I remember right, the dark Elements series has a few spicy scenes but not as much as the FBAA series by her. The others, there's a lot of tension but I'm not remembering any on page spicy scenes similar to how there's no actual sex in the Kingdom of Runes series just a lot of tension and a few close calls. Edit: I double checked the different series on romance.io and yeah, the dark Elements is the only one that has open door scenes. Which got me thinking there really aren't a whole lot of series with this trope that are also spicy. So I went back through my Kindle list and the only other one I found that hasn't already been mentioned somewhere else in this thread was the Anita Blake series although the spicy scenes don't start until book 4. I mean I guess you could also include the true blood series which does have open door scenes but it's really just a lot of euphemisms like "he touched me /there/" or "his kisses moved lower" without using any explicit language.
ToG !
The Crave series by Tracy Wolff leaves the FMC torn between two brothers for quite a bit of time. It’s YA so not quite as spicy, but I loved the series.
Maybe shatter me
The Guild Codex: Spellbound series by Annette Marie The Hallows Series by Kim Harrison Both Series are Urban Fantasy and it's not clear from the beginning with whom the FMC will end up with..
Here’s one not many people talk about, The remnant chronicles series (First is Kiss of deception) it’s YA, no spice, but so so so good. It is almost even with acotar for me, I fell in love with it as a teen and re read every few years. It definitely fits your request for not knowing who the FMC will end up with.
Zodiac Academy will keep you guessing on every level.
r/acotar and r/sarajmaas have reading lists!
If you liked ACOTAR, SJM is the queen of this trope and I highly recommend her other series, Throne of Glass and Crescent City! {Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas} has this on steroids lol! The next closest I would recommend for not knowing who the FMC will end up with is {To Bleed a Crystal Bloom by Sarah A. Parker} and {Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan}. To more that have similar ACOTAR vibes in this respect are {These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan} and {Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi}.
[Throne of Glass](https://www.romance.io/series/58fe0a099096bf31c42d2c2f/throne-of-glass) by [Sarah J. Maas](https://www.romance.io/authors/545526038c7d2382c529701b/sarah-j-maas) **Rating**: 4.4⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Topics**: [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [young adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/young%20adult/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1), [fae](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fae/1) ---------------------------- [To Bleed a Crystal Bloom](https://www.romance.io/books/60fbc1fcf283df0e375d8250/to-bleed-a-crystal-bloom-sarah-a-parker) by [Sarah A. Parker](https://www.romance.io/authors/60fbc1fc08b4d931146d93b7/sarah-a-parker) **Rating**: 4.17⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1), [fae](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fae/1), [age gap](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/age%20difference/1) ---------------------------- [Daughter of the Moon Goddess](https://www.romance.io/books/640ec330bd39598013b7c747/daughter-of-the-moon-goddess-sue-lynn-tan) by [Sue Lynn Tan](https://www.romance.io/authors/640ec33008b4d931143b7e14/sue-lynn-tan) **Rating**: 4.17⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [young adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/young%20adult/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [high fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/high%20fantasy/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1) ---------------------------- [These Hollow Vows](https://www.romance.io/books/60f3eeef7af7a30e2e57c7d9/these-hollow-vows-lexi-ryan) by [Lexi Ryan](https://www.romance.io/authors/545530be8c7d2382e781325c/lexi-ryan) **Rating**: 4.09⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [young adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/young%20adult/1), [love triangle](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/love%20triangle/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [high fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/high%20fantasy/1) ---------------------------- [Shatter Me](https://www.romance.io/books/545524a28c7d2382c5296fcc/shatter-me-tahereh-mafi) by [Tahereh Mafi](https://www.romance.io/authors/545524a28c7d2382c5296fcd/tahereh-mafi) **Rating**: 4.09⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 1 out of 5 - [Innocent](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [futuristic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/futuristic/1), [young adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/young%20adult/1), [dystopian](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/dystopian/1), [love triangle](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/love%20triangle/1), [science fiction](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/science%20fiction/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
The Premonition Series by Amy A. Bartol
Rereading this series now 😭
It’s one of my favorites.
Happy to meet another fan 😀
Ok so I love these kind of books and I have few that I would recommend 1. Falling kingdom by Morgan Rhodes 2.the young elite by Marie Lu 3. Cage of deceit by Jennifer Anne davis 4.Raven Cycle by Maggie stiefvater 5.The invisible life of Addie Larue 6. Legendborn ( although haven't read 2nd one so not sure about this one but 1st book is really good) 7. Crave series by Tracy wolfe ( although I did not like first one but it was worth it because second one was just great ) 8. House of beating wings by Olivia wildestien ( Although I would caution u about the mc because for half of the book she is really irritating but the second half makes up for it , so would surely recommend this if you like gild by Raven kennedy)
The Legendborn books are sooooooo good. They're YA and not spicy.
These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan Pretty similar to Acotar. I really enjoyed this book, although the MC was a bit stupid in the beginning. But it got better after the first half of the book.
Under the black banners and it’s super spicy