Do you remember the butterflies you get when two characters who hate each other start to warm up for one another? And finally, a long-awaited scene with their deep, sensual kiss comes up. Well, we all love that, don’t we?
The fight scenes show the burning desire to destroy each other’s lives, the fire of hate in their eyes. But in the end, it all transforms into love, and they turn out to be certain kinds of soulmates destined for each other. That adds a bit of spice and more interest to the whole love story!
I am a huge fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope and wish to share some of my top young adult fantasy book recommendations in this category.
Most of them feature the steamy scenes we secretly adore, but even if they don’t— rest assured that they will most definitely leave you with chills and a broken heart!
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Let’s start with the most famous and beloved Sarah J. Maas and her series A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR).
ACOTAR is a Beauty and The Beast retelling, which already tells us a lot. If you have read the books, you already know who the Beast Prince and Gaston are.
For those who have not read the books, Feyre is a 19-year-old huntress who lives with her two older sisters and father in a tiny, miserable hut. One winter night, she goes hunting in the woods to bring home some food but ends up killing the wrong kind of wolf.
The creature is a Fea warrior and a sentinel for the masked High Lord of the Spring Court, Tamlin. Turns out the High lord doesn’t take it well when someone kills his people. Later that day, he visits Archeron’s household and takes Feyre to the magical part of the continent of Prythian for retribution.
She has to live in his estate and discover the truth behind Tamlin’s mask. She hates it all at first: the estate, its owner, all the creatures of Prythian. However, as more facts get unveiled, she will find herself fighting for these very creatures, her own life, and the true love she found.
This fast-paced, dark, thrilling fae series is a must-read for anyone looking for the best enemies-to-lovers fantasy books.
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
This is another Beauty and the Beast retelling. Prince Rhen of Emberfall is cursed. He turns into a beast and has to repeat the Autumn of his 18th birthday over and over. He is determined to break it. For this, he needs someone to fall in love with him. Harper lives in Washington, DC, and has all the family issues you can imagine: a father who is never there, a mother whose time is limited, and a brother who always underestimates her. She’s pulled into a magical world when she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC. Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. A prince? A curse? A monster? She hates Rhen. She does not want to be a solution to someone’s love problem. But things shift as they face challenges together and get to know each other’s struggles and dreams. The dark shades of their hate and distrust begin to fade into something stronger and more beautiful. This enemies-to-lovers book filled with magic, monsters, determination, hatred, and love will melt anyone’s heart. Once you start, you won’t be able to put it down.
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
The Cruel Prince is a fae fantasy trilogy series.
The story revolves around Jude and her family. Jude’s older sister is half-fae, and everything starts as her father, Madoc, the General of the Fea realm, comes to the mortal world. He kills their parents and takes the three girls to the faerie world to raise them as his own.
Jude and her twin are mortals, and they spent their whole lives trying to fit in this world of magic. They go to the faerie school with other fae, but their classmates despise the girls as they do all mortals. They bully the sisters and turn their lives into a living hell— especially the son of the High King, Prince Cardan.
Holly Black
“Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever. And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.”
He and his friends have a list of ways to torture and humiliate Jude and her twin, Tarin. But Jude will not back down, and in her fight to survive, she will find herself deeply intertwined in the court intrigues.
This series has everything we love about the enemies-to-lovers fantasy books: daggers by the throat, royal schemes, betrayal, and, of course, the slow-burn romance.
The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller
This is one of my favorite enemies-to-lovers books. If you have already read The Cruel Prince and are looking for something where two characters try to outsmart each other, read this.
Alessandra has a very ambitious plan: woo the Shadow King, marry him, and then kill him to take his kingdom. Alessandra thinks getting close to him will be easy when she enters his court. But the Shadow King is not such an easy kill. His power is a mystery for everyone in the kingdom. Some say that he can control the shadows. Some say that shadows speak to him. But one sure thing is that many people are trying to kill him.
Alessandra will find herself trying to save his life long enough for him to make her his queen. These two are playing a dangerous game, but what is an enemies-to-lovers romance without some danger, right?! As they spend more time in each other’s company, hearts get lost, and things get complicated.
So, if you are searching for something with dark and twisted plans, competition for power, betrayal, and hot romance, this book is perfect for you!
Legend by Marie Lu
What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors.
June Iparis, the main female lead of the Legend series by Marie Lu, is a 15-year-old teenager who scored a perfect score on the Trial, a traditional test on every person’s 10th birthday. As a result, she becomes the youngest military agent.
With her new position, she decided to make her mission to find the rebels who killed her brother, Metias. As she goes undercover she finds herself in a fight and gets rescued by a boy who eventually kisses her.
As time passes, she suspects this boy might be Daniel “Day” Altan Wing, the murderer she was looking for. June arrests him and his brothers on the day his mother gets killed. Day is so insistent that June begins to question his guilt. She tries to redeem herself and rescue him and his brother but the death of Day’s mother always stands between them.
“I will hunt you down. I will scour the streets of Los Angeles for you. Search every street in the Republic if I have to. I will trick you and deceive you, lie, cheat, and steal to find you, tempt you out of your hiding place and chase you until you have nowhere else to run. I make you this promise: your life is mine.”
Marie Lu
There are four books in the series, and they are perfect for someone searching for a good YA dystopian romance with enemies to lovers romance.
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
This retelling of One Thousand and One Nights is another need-to-read young adult fantasy romance featuring not only enemies to lovers but also arranged marriage trope.
Get ready for the roller coaster of emotions here. The main antagonist of the series is King Khalid, who marries a new bride every day, and come next morning each of them is dead.
One day the main character’s, Shahrzad’s best friend becomes the victim and she volunteers to be the next bride with the plan to kill the king. But nothing is as simple as it seems.
Once she gets to know Khalid closer, she finds out that the reason behind the murders is a secret. She eventually starts falling in love with him.
This book had me on the edge the whole time, until I found out about the secret Khalid hid so well. It is also one of the sweetest enemies to lovers romance young adult duologies that you can find.
These Violent Delights By Chloe Gong
“In glittering Shanghai, a monster awakens”
Chloe Gong
When a book opens with such a sentence, you know it is destined to be a good one.
Chloe Gong transfers Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet into the Shanghai of the 1920s.
The city is controlled by two gangs: the Scarlets, with Juliette leading them and the White Flowers, led by Roma. The leaders once were lovers, but they are enemies now, because of the betrayal.
Suddenly, monsters appear, that make people rip out their throats and Juliette and Roma have to work together to find out what is going on with the city. This is one of the best enemies-to-lovers books and grab a copy ASAP if you haven’t read it yet!
To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
Sirens are magical creatures made to be beautiful, but they will rip your heart out without a second thought.
Lira is one of the deadliest sirens in the ocean, the princess who loves to get the hearts of the princes on her birthday!
On the other hand, Elian is a prince, but not just a prince, a siren hunter.
When Lira gets in trouble with her mom, she gets punished by being turned into a human. Elian rescues the now-human princess from the depths of the ocean and the two mortal enemies start to work together to get the world rid of the deadly sirens.
But Lira’s mission is to bring the prince’s heart back home and not in a romantic way at all. This epic time marine enemies to lovers fantasy duology will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller
One more Marine enemies to Lovers book is the Daughter of the Pirate King duology. The daughter of the Pirate King, Alosa is a captain of the pirate ship herself. She has one mission in her life, to get captured by a rival pirate crew and steal the fabled map, that holds the secrets of the hidden treasure. The 17-year-old heir of the King is finally captured by her enemies and is guarded by Enter Riden, the first mate of the ship. Alosa is always trying to deceive him to escape and fulfil her great mission, but they end up spending a lot of time together because of this. They challenge and try to figure out each other constantly. Maybe they are not such big enemies anymore?! In my opinion, this is one of the best YA fantasy books about pirates, with a lot of magic, adventures, tension and morally grey characters.
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
We all have dreamt of living in a library. Margaret is living our dream, but it’s not just a regular library, the books here are magical and some can turn into monsters. She has her rules set up to survive this magical place. However, when one of the most dangerous grimoires escapes she tries to intervene. She is blamed for it and sent to the city for the interrogation. There she meets a sorcerer named Nathaniel and his demon friend, Silas. The three of them find out about the great threat to their world and work together to defeat it. This enemies to lovers standalone fantasy book is a magical detective set in the world of dangerous magical books, with a bit of romance sprinkled on top.
Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
For the lovers of dark and twisty romance, Kerri Maniscalco has a perfect enemies to lovers trilogy. The story is about twin sisters, Emilia and Vittoria, who are witches secretly living among humans in Palermo. One night Vittoria gets murdered and Emilia wants revenge. She starts exploring the clues left by Vittoria and meets Wrath, the 7th prince of hell. They make a deal and start working together to find out who killed the witches, as Vittoria is not the only one. This YA fantasy series will give you a perfect opportunity to travel to hell itself and experience that type of slow burn romance.
Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin
Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin
Another forbidden witch romance is brought to us by Shelby Mahurin in the form of the Serpent and Dove trilogy. Louise Le Blanc is a witch, she left her coven and is now a thief in the city of Cesarine, hiding her true magical nature. The witches like Lou are feared and hunted. Reid Diggory is a Chasseur, meaning that he is trained by the church to hunt witches.
“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” – Shelby Mahurin
The two fates should never have crossed, but they find themselves in a marriage, due to unexpected circumstances. This fantasy book tells us about their relationship, we see their secrets being unwrapped and their beliefs questioned. Apart from the enemies to lovers trope, in this fantasy romance book, you will see: one bed trope, slow-burn romance, morally grey characters, female friendship and of course a badass strong female lead!
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Lou and Reid always reminded me of the characters from Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo. This is a series about six dangerous misfits planning a super difficult heist. Here we will see not only one but two enemies to lovers couples! Kaz, a criminal prodigy, is offered a chance to impossible heist, he understands that he cannot do this alone, so he hires the best crew. The dangerous assassin Wraith, the gambling sharpshooter, the brains of the operation, the Grisha who can use magic and a hunter trained to hunt Grisha. I will not spoil who ends up with whom, but this enemies to lovers series is full of trust issues, deep romance, strong female characters and love-hate relationships!
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
The warrior race, the Martials have conquered the Scholars, peaceful residents and since then the latter have seen only suffering, slavery and torture. The main character Laia is one of the Scholars until her brother is captured by the Martials and she agrees to spy in the empire’s strongest martial academy to save him. Elias is one of the best soldiers in the academy, but he has some doubts regarding his loyalty to the empire. Laia presumptuously thinks Elias is like other soldiers in the academy, ruthless and loyal. Elias has no idea who Laia is, he thinks she is just a slave. But their paths cross, and amidst the danger and secrets, something starts to grow. Despite being thought to be enemies they start to care about each other. It’s the ‘hate at first sight’ type of romance that slowly turns into something more.
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Juliette has a touch that can kill. Because of her deadly power she is being locked in the prison by the government, called the Reestablishment. It has been 264 days since she has touched someone. Once, a very influential person in the Reestablishment, Warner finds her power interesting and useful as a weapon and recruits her to work for the government. She ends up as the captive of Warner, the mortal enemy of hers. She decides to take control of her power before the government turns her into their puppet. As Juliette spends a lot of time with Warner, she starts to see the layers of him. The line between hate and love gets blurry between them. With 6 novels and 5 novellas in the series, it makes a perfect 11-book young adult enemies to lovers romance story.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
This is a very unique standalone and touching story by V.E. Schwab that will not leave you insensitive. Addie, the main character, struggles with people not remembering her after striking a deal with a sneaky god named Luc. She gets to know a person, but they leave the room and have no idea who Addie is. This continues for 300 years until she meets Henry in the bookstore, who remembers her name the next day. It is a story about being seen, a story about the girl and the god. A story about a girl being stuck in this curse because of the mysterious god who pops up in her life time after time. It is a very complicated history of the two. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue is the best of the best. Thought-provoking, complex, and beautifully told, V.E. Schwab brings us yet another mesmerizing and unforgettable tale.
Zodiac Academy by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti
The last one is one of my favourite ones in the genre. One of the most tense, full of cliffhangers, mindblowing and torturing enemies to lovers series there is to exist. The Zodiac Academy series is the story of twin sisters, Tory and Darcy Vega, who are brought to the faerie world after living as the changelings in the human realms for 18 years. They turn out to be the thought to be dead heirs of the Savage King and Queen of Solaria. The Vegas start attending the Zodiac Academy, a boarding school, where they have to learn how to use their magical powers and the truth about their parents. They meet the Celestial Heirs in the Zodiac and this is where it all starts. You will read a lot of bullying, torturing and near-death situations, but it is all so worth it. This series is full of astrology, magic and every magical creature you can think of. Every single couple in this book is an enemies-to-lovers one.
Enjoy the true torture of all the cliffhangers as the characters slowly unravel the truth, so powerfully hidden by their parents.
