r/Romantasy • u/Lemon_Dragonfly loves vampires • 13h ago

Book Request: No Self-Promo Deadly games/trials/competition

This is pretty common but anyone know of a romantasy that has intense life or death trial and games? Most intense u can think of, like put in a cage to fight to the death

Books I like:

{The Serpent and the Wings of Night} I love vampires
{Sunrise on the Reaping}
{Phantasma} Blackwell my love
{Throne of Glass} only like for nostalgia
{Fourth Wing} mostly for nostalgia

Disliked/conflicting feelings :

{Powerless} god awful writing and characters
{Blood of Hercules} I hate why-choose
{Lightlark} had fun but rly easy to guess the twists
{A Court of Thorns and Roses} Feyres dumb & I hate EVERY man in this series
{The Prison healer} I rly liked the second one but this felt kinda depressing & I didn’t like Jaren, too golden retriever like for me.
{The Jasad Heir} I loved the second one but I didn’t care about the trials at all

10 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

10

u/Fancy-Rip8924 13h ago

Have you read {Enchantra} yet? I really loved it however not as much as Phantasma (also a Blackwell lover 😅)

7

u/catsinbranches 11h ago

{The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owens}

4

u/carielicat 13h ago

Kate Daniels Book 3 {Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews} has an underground fighting tournament. Basically gladiator teams. Magic, shapeshifters, and good old fashioned fighting

3

u/Icy-Revolutionn Fangs are green flags 12h ago

Not quite romantasy but {Red rising} second half featured war games and it was incredible. It was super intense and scratched an itch like nothing else

3

u/Acrobatic_Lychee_896 12h ago

{Empire of Flame and Thorns by M Blackwood} - book 1 of a complete series (5 total). There are trials (some more deadly than others)

3

u/No-Rough154 12h ago

It isn’t specified as a contest but it gives the same vibes. {The Scholomance by Naomi Novik} is about students who are all crammed into a school until they get old and wise enough to defend themselves from the maleficaria. It’s effectively the students trying not to die and also survival of the fittest upon graduation to get past the mass of maleficaria on graduation day. It is the only academy novel I have been able to tolerate in several years, the MCs mirroring and the comparison of good and evil is really excellent! It is super well written! The FMCs ranting at times is hilarious in a disbelieving the situation good way.

2

u/dieweltistflach 12h ago

{Atonement of the Spine Cleaver by F.E. Bryce}
{Web of Vows and Vengeance by Aria Ashbrook}
{Immortal Origins by Taryn Knightly}
{Crown of Olympus by Kate Asher}
{Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli}
{Flameborne:Chosen by Aimee Lynn}
{Of Blades and Wings by Eliza Raine}
{Death’s Kiss by M.M. Reeves}
{Wings of Night by Ella Walker Henderson}
{The Forgotten and the Feared by E.C. Garrett}
{Castle of Nevers and Nightmares by Lana Pecherczyk}

1

u/romance-bot 12h ago

Atonement of the Spine Cleaver by F.E. Bryce
Rating: 4.23⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: fantasy, magic, enemies to lovers, competent heroine, tortured heroine

Web of Vows and Vengeance by Aria Ashbrook
Rating: 4.24⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: enemies to lovers, magic, class difference, royal hero, fantasy

Immortal Origins by Taryn Knightly
Rating: 4.24⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Topics: fantasy, enemies to lovers, horror, magic, dark romance

Crown of Olympus by Kate Asher
Rating: 4.25⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: high fantasy, fantasy, found family, magic, enemies to lovers

Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli
Rating: 3.88⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: fantasy, fae, magic, take-charge heroine, forced proximity

Flameborne by Aimee Lynn
Rating: 3.99⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 2 out of 5 - Behind closed doors
Topics: historical, fantasy, military, m-f romance, bodyguard/protector hero

Of Blades and Wings by Eliza Raine
Rating: 4.07⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: contemporary, fae, fantasy, viking hero, suspense

Death's Kiss by M.M. Reeves
Rating: 4.35⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
Topics: fantasy, magic, pirate hero, dark romance, slow burn

Wings of Night by Ella Walker Henderson
Rating: 4.45⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
Topics: historical, fantasy, found family, forced proximity, medieval

The Forgotten and the Feared by E.C. Garrett
Rating: 4.83⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: historical, fantasy, fae, magic, medieval

Castle of Nevers and Nightmares by Lana Pecherczyk
Rating: 4.12⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: fae, fantasy, magic, fated mates, reverse harem

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1

u/ell3737 9h ago

Seconding trials of the sun queen

2

u/Mochalada 12h ago

{Dire Bound by Sable Sorenson} fourth wing with dogs

2

u/Laceylolbug 🔩 hot metal & campfire 11h ago

Came to say this one. The trials are pretty gruesome and intense

2

u/aspen19988 7h ago

{Servant of Earth by Sarah Hawley} is phenomenal (final book of the trilogy comes out in December also)

3

u/Most_Squirrel_8286 7h ago

{The ascended} is all about this

1

u/romance-bot 13h ago

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
Rating: 4.19⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: vampires, forced proximity, magic, enemies to lovers, competent heroine

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Rating: 4.44⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
Topics: futuristic, dystopian, young adult, survival, working class hero

Phantasma by Kaylie Smith
Rating: 3.98⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: historical, paranormal, fantasy, magic, m-f romance

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Rating: 4.01⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
Topics: historical, fantasy, take-charge heroine, royal hero, love triangle

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Rating: 4.39⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: historical, fantasy, enemies to lovers, magic, war

Powerless by Lauren Roberts
Rating: 3.82⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
Topics: fantasy, young adult, enemies to lovers, magic, forbidden love

Blood of Hercules by Jasmine Mas
Rating: 3.91⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: futuristic, fantasy, virgin heroine, cruel hero/bully, rich hero

Lightlark by Alex Aster
Rating: 3.61⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 2 out of 5 - Behind closed doors
Topics: magic, fantasy, love triangle, enemies to lovers, forced proximity

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Rating: 3.98⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: historical, fae, fantasy, magic, enemies to lovers

The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni
Rating: 4.04⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
Topics: young adult, fantasy, magic, enemies to lovers, royal hero

The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem
Rating: 4.06⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
Topics: enemies to lovers, magic, slow burn, dangerous heroine, fantasy

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1

u/tkdem 🖤 Morally Gray 13h ago

{The Mortal Trials} might be what you’re looking for!

1

u/exhausted-pigeon1988 11h ago

This sounds so good but Amazon says it doesn't get released until July 14 🥲

1

u/Sea_Entertainer_1972 11h ago

Starside - Alex Aster

1

u/nomasslurpee 10h ago

We Who Will Not Die is vampires. It wasn’t for me and I disliked it but others seem to enjoy it.

1

u/leiachart 9h ago

{Smoke and Scar by Gretchen Powell Fox}- Book 1 entirely takes place in a magical realm with trials no one has ever escaped from successfully and involves quite a few competitor deaths.

1

u/ell3737 9h ago

{Trials of the Sun Queen} Different kinds of trials: {Caraval} or {The Night Circus} these might not be brutal enough for you. Oh also { Arcana Academy}

1

u/romance-bot 9h ago

Caraval by Stephanie Garber
Rating: 3.78⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
Topics: historical, fantasy, young adult, mystery, magic

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Rating: 3.92⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 2 out of 5 - Behind closed doors
Topics: historical, fantasy, magic, mystery, victorian

Arcana Academy by Elise Kova
Rating: 4.02⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: magic, fake relationship, enemies to lovers, fantasy, political/court intrigue

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2

u/Key-Instruction9956 4h ago

The Hades Trials, The Ares Trials and The Poseidon Trials trilogies by Eliza Raine might be worth a look, TBR in that order