“The stars incline us, they do not bind us.”
Set against a backdrop of 1920s Shanghai, Chloe Gong’s These Violent Delights series has seriously shaken up the Fantasy-Romance genre. The Goodreads Choice Award-nominated series retells the world’s most famous love story by blending historical fiction with fantasy and urban romance tropes. Roma and Juliette navigate their personal feelings, the blood feud between their two factions and a dark presence growing in the city’s shadows, with Gong being lauded for her vivid worldbuilding, captivating characters and gut-punching revelations. Join us today at What We Reading as we pay homage to Chloe and Juliette with the best fantasy romance books like These Violent Delights!
Six Of Crows (Six of Crows #1) – Leigh Bardugo
Kicking off our list of the best books like These Violent Delights is another Goodreads Award-nominated fantasy romance epic. In the first book in her Six of Crows series, Leigh Bradugo introduces readers to the world of Ketterdam. In a bustling metropolis of international trade where everyone and everything has a price, criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker hatches a plan that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams.
Recruiting five other outcasts, Six of Crows is a thrilling story of a deadly heist set in Bardugo’s Grishaverse universe. An impossible heist with a rag-tag collection of colourful characters, anyone who loved the grimy world-building and high-stakes feel of Chloe Gong’s series will love Six of Crows!
Check Out The Best Fantasy Books Like Six Of Crows
The Stolen Heir (The Stolen Heir Duology #1) – Holly Black
#1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black whisks readers back to the world of Elfhame following Jude’s brother Oak, and the changeling queen, Suren in The Stolen Heir duology. Having fled the icy north and the Court of Teeth, Suren, child queen, has been living feral in the human world. After a run-in with the hag witch, Bogdana, she is saved by Oak, the seventeen-year-old prince she had been previously engaged to.
Prince Oak is charming, handsome and manipulative. Planning to embark on a crusade to the north, he wants Suren to help him overcome her mother, Lady Nore, and her army of monsters made of sticks and snow. If she agrees, it will mean putting her trust in the boy she once loved and facing the horrors she thought she had left in her past.
Caraval (Caraval #1) – Stephanie Garber
Scarlett lives with her sister Tella under the thumb of her cruel father on the tiny island she’s never left. When he arranges for her to get married, she realises that her dreams of seeing the Caravel – a renowned performance where the audience gets to partake – are over. But, through the help of Tella and a mysterious sailor, the two sisters whisk themselves off to the show.
However, when Tella disappears suddenly, Scarlett becomes immersed in a bizarre world of love, heartbreak and magic. Stephanie Garber’s Caravel is a spellbinding series where everything is not as it first seems. Whether Caravel is real or not, Scarlett will have to locate her sister before the five nights of performance are up. Failing to do so will trigger a dangerous domino effect of consequences, with her sister being lost forever.
Dance Of Thieves (Dance of Thieves #1) – Mary E. Pearson
For one of the best young adult fantasy romance books like These Violent Delights, Mary E. Pearson’s Dance of Thieves is still an absolute go-to. Set in her bestselling Remnant Chronicles universe, it follows Jase, the young ruler of the Ballenger empire and the infamous street thief, Kazi.
Sent to investigate a series of transgressions by her queen in Ballenger territory, Kazi soon learns that there is more to Jase than what meets the eye. But, as sinister events spiral out of control around them, the pair soon find themselves in a game of cat-and-mouse that may cost them their hearts – and their lives. Full of intrigue and wit where two factions collide through their two young characters, there’s plenty for Chloe Gong fans to sink their teeth into with Dance of Thieves.
Check Out The Best Books Where The Villain Gets The Girl
Kingdom Of The Wicked (Kingdom of the Wicked #1) – Kerri Maniscalco
Kerri Maniscalco’s Kingdom of the Wicked introduces readers to twin sisters Emilia and Vittoria. The pair are streghe – witches who live covertly alongside humans. One night, after missing a family meal at the family’s Sicilian restaurant, Vittoria’s corpse is found unimaginably desecrated. Devasted by her loss, Emilia embarks on a vengeful mission to discover her sister’s killer – even if it means tapping into dark, forbidden magic.
This quest for vengeance leads her into the path of Wrath, one of the princes of Hell. Wrath claims to be on her side, tasked by his master with solving a series of women’s murders. But, when it comes to individuals like Wrath and the Wicked he belongs to, nothing is as it seems. With strong heroines and deliciously dark magic to indulge in, it’s no wonder why Pearson’s works have been touted as some of the best young adult fantasy romance books!
Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment #1) – Rebecca Ross
Rebecca Ross’s Divine Rivals is an epic fantasy enemies-to-lovers story, blending historical fiction with the immense powers of hope, heartbreak and unbridled love. Ross whisks readers to a world where, after centuries of sleep, the old Gods are at war again. Eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow is attempting to hold her family together, and she knows her best bet of doing that is through getting a columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.
With her brother fighting on the front lines, Iris begins writing letters to him through her wardrobe door where they vanish – right into the hands of her cold, handsome rival at the paper, Roman Kitt. When he anonymously writes back to her, the pair forge a magical connection. Amidst the brutal conflict and fantastical beings, the two find solace in their exchanges, filling them with hope for each other and the world around them.
Check Out The Best Books Like Divine Rivals
Belladonna (Belladonna #1) – Adalyn Grace
Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has gone through a number of different guardians – all of whom have been more interested in her wealth than her well-being. All of them, however, have met grizzly and untimely demises. In Adalyn Grace’s Belladona, readers are introduced to Signa’s current guardians: the Hawthornes. Living lavishly in a grand estate, the family are mourning the death of their matriarch when her restless spirit appears claiming that she was poisoned.
Quickly realising that the killer may be closer to home than anyone else has realised, Signa teams up with a surly stable boy to help hunt down the culprit. But, Signa’s best ally may just be Death himself. The shadow living close to her shoulder her whole life, he shows her that their connection has always been growing, and that true power is tantalisingly closer than she ever could have realised.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
