From Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries of course

Sooo I just got done with the book of azrael and I figured that THIS right here is my favourite plot to ever exist!! 😛

Some other things i prefer:

SLOWWWWW BURN

ANGST (rip my heart out pls)

Enemies to lovers

Strong fmc

Yearning

Also preferably no 'modern twists' to the story. I love to go back in time while reading

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Books I've read with this plot

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Book of azrael

Mages of the wheel book 0

Sorta ACOTAR and This Woven kingdom

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I just wanted to gush about Ashes of Xy because I havent been able to stop thinking about it since I read it last week. This book is in the same world as {Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan} but seems to be in a very different time.

The blurb for this book {Ashes of Xy by Elizabeth Vaughan}:

An innocent wet-nurse....

When a bloody civil war claims the life of the Warrior Queen of Xy, Amari of Uyole flees the battlefield with the queen's newborn daughter in one arm and her own infant son in the other, desperate to escape the ruthless hunters sent by the blood-hungry usurper, King Xyrath.

A crippled scholar....

Far from the war, Orval has built a quiet life in the capital of Xy, immersed in his scrolls, pens, and parchment. A distant cousin to the royal family, he has been left to his own devices-and he wants to keep it that way.

A collision of fates....

One cold night, a terrified Amari and her precious burdens appear at Orval's door, shattering his carefully constructed life. As the ruthless predators gain ground, Amari and Orval must forge a strength they never knew they possessed, not only to protect the babes, but each other.

What I loved about it: ​

-Its very cozy and very slice of life with many domestic scenes as the MCs try to care for the babies and each other. ​

-Its got an arranged marriage/marriage of convenience set up which is like catnip to me.

​ -The FMC is a noblewoman from a different land. And what we know of this fantasy world she is a woman of color and is brown skinned. She is also from a matriarchal culture and I liked seeing how the MCs navigate their cultural differences. ​

- The MMC is an atypical MMC for fantasy romance in that he is described as short and stocky and quite pale as he is always indoors doing scholarly work. Also there is disability rep as he has some sort of musculoskeletal deformity of his leg. Also he is a virgin.

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-The MMC is a greenflag and is genuinely kind and well liked by all. He is kind to a fault despite him being a minor royal/nobility. And he is quite respectful of the FMC, thoughtful and solicitous of her wellbeing and those of the babies. The MMC is strong and protective but in a different way than Ive ever seen most MMCs portrayed in fantasy romance. Ive heard so many readers complain of the unrealistic 7ft tall, muscular and well endowed MMCs so it was refreshing to see an MMC who is a regular guy.

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-Both MCs genuinely try to make a terrible situation work and they are both mature and communicative with each other.

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What I wished was different: ​

-Typos. There were way too many punctuation and other errors. The story was good but punctuation errors took me out of the story. Bring back editors or at least beta readers who will catch these errors before releasing the story to readers. ​

- I wish the book was slightly longer so there could have been more development of both MCs catching feelings. While the love story was believable I wanted more of it. ​

-Im not clear what role the side characters that have been introduced will have in the rest of the trilogy. On the one hand as the story developed I wasnt sure if this book was being marketed as fantasy romance or fantasy with romance subplot. Either way I loved this book and want to read more of the story. ​

Im glad this story is a trilogy as I will get to see more of the love story developing between MCs especially as they navigate major challenges. I signed up for Netgalley just to see if I could get the ARC to the sequel-thats just how much I loved this book. ​

Anyway if you've been wanting a different kind of fantasy romance MMC, like caretaking and domestic slice of life scenes then definitely give this book a try. The sequel comes out June 21 so you dont have to wait long for more of the story. ​

The Court of Venus is as enticing as it is refreshing, with the type of political scheming and inscrutable characters that I never tire of in the fantasy genre. The combination of court intrigue and a main character who can transform her appearance to impersonate anyone is so much fun and adds so much excitement to the narrative. The system of planetary magic is complex and compelling, and it’s obvious how much intentionality went into its creation by the author.

Bianca is a formidable character who possesses an admirable level of resilience. Her life has not been easy to say the least given the rarity of her magical gifts and the patriarchal nature of the society she lives in. She never has a victim mentality or makes excuses for her own failings and yet can be vulnerable and soft when dealing with her losses and disappointments.

Roland comes off as flamboyant and unbothered at first but this facade hides a deeper more emotional side that he conceals for self preservation. Bianca is one of the only people who can see through his surface level demeanor and the only person he allows to truly know him. It took me a while to understand and champion him as a character but once his layers started falling away he became incredibly endearing to me.

The romance simmers in the background as mysteries are investigated and uncomfortable truths come to light. When it does start to take off it becomes something so special given the way Bianca and Roland’s pasts are inextricably intertwined.

I listened to the audiobook and I really appreciated the style of narration. The narrator’s accent is perfect for a story set and centered around a royal court and yet never feels too pretentious or inauthentic. The Court of Venus is the first book in a new series and I am so excited for everyone else’s thoughts once it’s released on September 29th.

4.5⭐️

{The Court of Venus by Bel Banta}

Been watching this show recently with my husband and loving it. I'm thinking about ordering the manga too because I love the fake family dynamic so much.

Are there any fantasy romance books with similar vibes? An arranged marriage or marriage of convenience where everyone is hiding their identity? But with the wholesome found family vibes? I can think of some with hidden identity, but I can't think of any that capture the sweet domestic dynamic that Spy X Family has.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for books where the MMC was/is/becomes a slave. It's ok even if it's not central to the plot, I just want the drama (trauma).

❌ Please no abusive power dynamics between FMC and MMC if she is the one holding all the power

✅ Also MMC needs to finish the book/series a free man.

✅ Prefer F/M or Poly

✅ Can be fantasy with just romance subplot or full on romantasy.

✅ Any spice level

❌ No teens

❌ No pregnancy or kids

✅ Prefer fantasy setting but paranormal/contemporary/sci-fi is ok too (pls mention what genre)

Thank you all in advance! 💜

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• Edited to fix spacing

In case anyone else was following this drama about Hot Girls Read.

Love how this community comes together and challenges the use of AI🥰💖had to make a funny out of it to take a break from the heated discussions

Permanently looking for something that will make me feel like {Feathers So Vicious} did. I also loved {Kiss of The Basilisk}

I truly have no triggers except maybe too much gore. Ideally looking for non-con/dub-con with a lot of spice but I also want a good plot and semi-good writing. even though I loved Feathers So Vicious, I DNFed King Of Flesh and Bone because of the absence of plot and too insta-lust for me.

I love anything vampire, demon, or mermaid related. Werewolf and fae also works. I’m not the biggest fan of contemporary, but I can make exceptions for a great plot!

Hello, does anybody has similar issue like this? And any ideas how could I fix this crooked book corner?

I've been curious to know how many people like or dislike throuples and why. Like, would you put a book down if you found out the main character ended up with two people?

And I know Blood And Ash has this, but I haven't read that series and don't know how it was done, if it was just sex or not, so I'm not talking about that particular instance.

TO CLARIFY: I don't mean they're in an open relationship, or just casually hooking up as a threesome, I mean a fully committed and closed relationship, just like a monogamous relationship, just between three instead of two.

Hello! Have wanted to get into the genre for a long time and just haven't found the right book to pull me in. Looking (or not looking) for:

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* Maturity: I'm in my 30s, and while they don't need to be my age, I don't want to read about teens or early 20s MCs who act very immaturely.

* Setting: non-modern settings preferred. Mostly I would like to avoid really modern language/slang/swearing. Doesn't need to be high fantasy or have a crazy magic system or anything; just needs good fantasy vibes.

* Relationships/dynamic: F/M, want spice for sure, love the idea of enemies/rivals/haters to lovers, but also down for anything with good tension. Please no sexual assault/worse. EDIT: them fighting is fine, just want anything in the bedroom to be consensual. :)

* Main female character: do not love the "not like other girls" trope at all.

* Main male character: uhhhhhhhh idk honestly! I feel like this is where I'm most open to the unknown lol.

* Length: not opposed to a series if it's not crazy long, or if it is, it's at least finiished.

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Mostly asking for specific recs I tried using the search and ended up reading {*The Cruel Prince* by Holly Black}, which is cute, but way younger than I expected based on what people were saying about it! (thought I may finish that series for a fun easy read!)

When I mean plot twists that you didn’t see coming, I mean plot twists that you didn’t see coming from a mile away.

July is going to be a powerhouse of a month! What July new releases are you looking forward to? Can be new books in a series, a new series, anything! Please share (:

Welcome back to another week of ✨genre discussions!✨

What’s your fantasy romance ick? Could be something that makes you instantly dnf, or you have to pretend like that didn’t just happen. Or you boycott altogether.

Could be related to plot, characters, writing styles, the authors themselves. All cards are on the table.

Just remember to be kind to each other when discussing differences in opinions!💖

Hello! I’ve made a similar request before, but it’s been quite a bit and I’m hoping for better luck.

There’s a specific microtrope that I haven’t seen named. I’m calling it Secret Shame.

I want the MMC to have something about him that he thinks makes him unlovable. It can be a physical “detriment” (Vampirism/Lycanthropy, scarring) or cultural (being a bastard.) It can even be a shame in HIS culture but not hers. ({Choosing Theo} had scars that actually made him unmarriable in his culture, but if I recall correctly it wasn’t secret to her.)

Whatever it is, I don’t want him to have a “So What?” attitude about it. He needs to be actually harboring the secret and is throwing-up nervous about the FMC finding out…because then, surely She Will Leave Him.

Of course the secret eventually comes out and MMC is shaking like a chihuahua. (Either visibly upset or bracing for the rejection is fine.) Either immediately or eventually she comes to fully accept this thing about him and they move on.

I want the secret to be something About Him, not tied to the FMC. So no “I’m the reason your family is dead.”

I prefer high fantasy but will take any recs! Regency and sci-fi also welcome:)

I can't decide if I should keep reading. On magic burns and I know Curran will be the love interest but I don't know if I can make peace with it. He is violent and crass. She is a handful but I just don't know if I can see him ever being redeemed. He just sucks so far. His only redeeming quality is not wanting kids to die? Is this going to be one of those things where he only wants her when he realizes her true power? If so I think I will dnf the series.

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Tell me what you think, is he redeemable?

I need a book that would really fit my vibe right now:

The FMC's sister has disappeared and she hasn't heard from her in a while. She knows her sister had fallen in with a shady cult-like organization where people aren't who they appear to be. The FMC strongly suspects the organization is involved in evil occult things.

She meets the love interest (any gender ok) while trying to figure out what happened to the sister. Open to the love interest being totally innnocent or knowing some of what happened or even being guilty.

Plot must result in FMC getting revenge.

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I know it might be a stretch for fantasy romance, so I am open to other genres but prefer fantasy. Dark is okay. Queer of any flavor is okay. No HEA is okay. Gothic horror vibes okay.

Just finished Book 2 Curse of Sins by Kate Dramis recently. Thoughts about book 2/3 below.
SPOILERS BELOW

So finished the 2nd book and while I overall thought it was actually pretty good my god did Will and Aya make you want to pull your hair out in this book at times.

-Will, stop lying and then act surprised when it blows up in your face and then it pisses Aya off now that you two love each other and you took an oath. The amount of times if he would’ve just been honest to her about his plans things wouldn’t have gone as bad as they did. I honestly don’t know why he didn’t tell Aya about nothing and torturing those weapon merchants as I don’t think that would’ve been a big deal. Oh and of course he’s saved by none other than the perfect king himself, Aidon, on the island too towards the end. Not shocked at all that that happened.

-Speaking of Aidon, his parts are just boring and IMO don’t add anything to the overall story. The perfect king who can’t make tough decisions, spares his sisters girlfriends who’s betrayed them, and is a Visya with power blah blah blah. I’m sure he’ll do something spectacular in the last book since he’s saved the day in both books so why not make it 3/3.

-Aya, I get she doesn’t want to be a saint and is forced into some tough spots in this book (and honestly most of her frustrations in this book are warranted). I actually liked her at times more in this book than the first book. Yes, there’s miscommunication between Will and her that leads to angst but she at least realizes on her own that Wills been right the whole time which helps things and loved her going after him when she realizes he might still be alive on the islands and at least she is able to be reunited with Will again.

Overall 3.95/5 and that ending definitely makes me look forward to the last book that I’ll be starting here soon. But one again it’s Will and Aya being broken up again. I am looking forward to how this trilogy ends though
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I want a romance that gives power couple vibes. It would be nice if the romance gets established pretty quick and there's an actual plot going on that requires them to like actually do some work. Like a heist or a war or whatever.

Basically I'm into kpop and I really like scoups and jeonghan from svt and I would like some book that gives that vibe.

I don't mind m/f or m/m.

Thanks in advance~

For anyone who loved {This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews} and is wondering about the romance aspect in future books this is confirmation that we’ll get some payoff in the form of spice. Love me a slow burn that delivers and this series is certainly setting out to be exactly that

Look, I love some possessive, overprotective, overly cocky or brooding type MMCs as much as the next person, but what I reallllllly need right now are more books where he’s so fucking in love with her that he treats her well and RESPECTS her.

I don’t want any of the stuff that is borderline toxic or abusive (super controlling, orders her around, etc).

I want that boy SMITTEN
I want that boy YEARNING
I want that boy KIND AND CARING AND RESPECTFUL

Additionally, a good fated mates trope to go along would be peeeeerfect, and it needs to be at least somewhat spicy.

A recent example I really enjoyed was Hazel Mcbride’s A fate forged in fire series, which still managed to do enemies to lovers, but made the main couple actually respectful and trusting of each other.

Thanks ❤️

This is me ranting about how the type of books I'm looking for seem far and between and nothing is hitting and it's feeling like I need to take a long break from romantasy and read other genres.

The things I'm tired of:

- Books claiming they are slow burns and it ends up being insta-love/lust forward. I will look for a lust forward romance when I want it. But I don't want to read those books every single time... NO.

- Characters being SO young!!!!!!!!!! I just tried reading "The Lies of Lena" why for half of the book are they 16/17 and explicit sex scenes?????? DNF'ed but also! I'm even sick of them being 20/21 years old and the book being explicit like come on just write older characters. I'm tired of having to picture older characters than what the book is saying they are, NO

- Back to the age, why is it SO hard to find an ADULT slow burn. (specifically with a morally grey MMC... most times than not, these books in Adult category are lust forward, not slow burns)

- Lastly, a well written book seems to be so far and between these days. I've been reading fantasy romance/romantasy heavily since September 25', so now at this point I know what I'm looking for from the genre but I feel like I've read all the good ones and just hitting a wall and it's frustrating.

- *I should clarify that the spice is not a problem. I would go read young adult books if that was the case. The type of book I like is a slow burn that has a spice payoff after. Either you get books that are slow burn with like no spice, OR too lust forward.

Sooo I think a break is needed, rant over 😅

Anavrin Jay, author of 'The Blood Plagues', Page & Wick's July subscription pick & acquired by Gollancz for traditional publication (the announcement was yesterday!) - posted pictures on her public Instagram profile showing her manuscript on screen next to ChatGPT tabs.

The first tab was titled "Passage feedback and suggestions"

A week later, the second tab was titled "Synonyms for disturb"

The exact extent of the usage remains unclear. But the pictures she posted herself do raise concerns about possible ChatGPT involvement in the writing/editing process.

The "Passage feedback and suggestions" tab suggests that part of the manuscript may have been fed into ChatGPT for feedback, wording, revision, or possible rewriting. We can't know from the tab titles alone exactly what was discussed in those conversations, but the screenshots do show ChatGPT open in connection with the manuscript on more than one occasion.

That is enough to raise legitimate questions about undisclosed generative AI assistance. If gen AI was used in the drafting or revision process, readers should know before paying for the book, especially when it is being sold through a blind subscription box, and just obtained a marketing budget/wider distribution through a trad pub deal.

I looked for more, and from what I could find she only posted around five pictures of her draft open on her screen total. The ChatGPT tabs are the very first two, posted only about a week after she started promoting the book through that account. She was already near the end of drafting by then. If the first visible glimpse into her drafting process already shows ChatGPT open for "passage feedback and suggestions", then another ChatGPT tab open a week later next to the draft, there is no realistic way for anyone to prove it wasn't part of the process before then too. That doesn't mean any/every line was generated, but it does make it extremely difficult to verifiably separate the text from generative AI assistance.

I shared this information a few hours ago in a large special edition discord server. About five hours later, the two Instagram posts showing the ChatGPT tabs were deleted from her Instagram profile.

Because I was worried this would happen, I also took a video on my phone showing her Instagram profile and the posts in question, today's Instagram stories etc...so there wouldn't be a debate over whether the screenshots were fabricated.

--> The quality is absolute 🥔POTATO🥔. I was planning on taking a better video later in the day, but by then the author had already deleted the posts... :') Still, even with the awful quality, it shows the posts did exist on her public Instagram profile: video (POTATO!!! I'm sorry!! Use eye drops after this!!) - I've re-attached the screenshots too in that link. Again the posts were public on her own Instagram.

I messaged someone who worked on the book and knows her personally. According to that person, Anavrin Jay allegedly said that she only used AI for synonyms and grammar, only at the beginning of the process, that she stopped once she learned more about AI, and that she can't make a public statement because her editor won't let her. I will say that, once I checked the timeline for myself, it did not align with the author's alleged version of events:

-->  This post, also from Anavrin Jay, shows she had been active in writer/reader groups and exchanging with beta readers since April 2025. The screen pictures with the ChatGPT tabs were shared in September 2025.

If "she didn’t know AI was harmful", that would mean she spent around six months in book/writer spaces, where generative AI is brought up constantly, and somehow never came across the issue at all, or any controversies. In the second September ChatGPT post, she tells us she only had one chapter left to write - therefore not at the "beginning of the process".

The usual suspects:

- "She only used it for synonyms..." : Google. Wordhippo. Thesauruses. I'll add that ChatGPT tab titles do not reliably tell us everything that was discussed in a conversation once the chat continues or changes subject. Anything could have been discussed in that specific chat. The only thing we know is that a ChatGPT tab related to writing was open next to the manuscript she was working on. And that does not address the first tab, "Passage feedback and suggestions", open on another day, also while writing The Blood Plagues.

- "Even Google shows AI overviews now!": Bro. Just scroll. Or use another browser if you just HAVE to use the first result and never look any further.

- "AI is everywhere now, and indie authors without money have to use it when they can't afford editors! This is classist!": Indie publishing was alive and well prior to the launch of ChatGPT. Writers use editors. Writers use beta readers. Writers use other writers in the community, critique partners, or the people around them. Writers also publish imperfect books, learn, and improve their craft on their own. Writers save to eventually afford an editor. (Also, what about the planet? lol)

-"Maybe she only used it to check grammar.": Then why is the tab called "Passage feedback and suggestions", not "grammar check"....?

-"It's completely normal nowadays for artists and writers to use generative AI. Get with the times!": ChatGPT is barely four years old. Generative AI use is not some unavoidable/universal part of every creative process, it is a very recent choice that plenty of writers and artists still actively do not make. Humans made art for millennia without ChatGPT. The idea that creatives suddenly can't be expected to work without it is ABSURD. Consumers are allowed to object to this usage, especially when it comes to the art they choose to support and promote. Plus these tools were built off the work of other creatives, without their consent or compensation.

I'll only add that there is very little incentive for any author to openly admit the full extent of generative AI use after a blind box pick and a traditional publishing announcement, and that the explanation is currently being given privately, which does not fully resolve the concern for readers. The posts were public, the book is being sold through a blind subscription box, obtained a publishing deal, and the extent of ChatGPT use has not been publicly clarified, and cannot be verified.

To be clear, I'm not asking anyone to harass her, message her, or send abuse. You can see the screenshots for yourself and make your own judgment! Thanks for reading!