Read all of Sarah J. Maas's smutty fantasy books and need something new? We've got you (2024)

The book hangover post Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series is real.

But the bright side is, there are so many more book boyfriends/girlfriends/nb-friends out there in magical realms beyond Prythian, just waiting for you to fall in love with them.

Maas's Crescent City (CC) and Throne of Glass (TOG) series are obvious options — but not everyone wants to make time for all that. Especially when the pay-off from reading all those thousands of pages isn't necessarily worth it. *Ahem CC*.

Here are eight series by other writers whose fantasy worlds we've loved spending time in, from Jennifer L. Armentrout to Carissa Broadbent. Their stories feature dark and mysterious "villains", world-buildingandbattle scenes, as well as the requisite romance tropes.

Say goodbye to your loved ones while you're still aware of their existence.

The one with a love interest to rival Rhysand

The Blood and Ash series by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Yasmin Jeffery

Born in the shroud of the gods, Penellaphe Balfour is the Maiden — which sucks. Because the future of the entire kingdom of Solis depends on her ascension. And until she ascends, the Maiden isn't allowed to touch, talk to or be seen by anyone aside from her maid, guards and the Lord and Lady Everton, who rule over the manor Penellaphe calls homeprison.

Though she has questions about what ascending involves or even means, Penellaphe is resigned to her fate. Until, that is, she meets Hawke Flynn — the guard from Carsodonia tasked with ensuring her ascension.

Suddenly, she yearns for the touch that is forbidden to her. She dreams of being seen by him… and their burgeoning relationship forces her to reconsider everything she's ever believed.

Jennifer L. Armentrout is the real romantasy GOAT as far as I'm concerned. I'm not lying when I say I've barely thought of Rhysand since I finished this series. But not only does Armentrout write faultless love interests and captivating leads who organically develop over the course of each instalment of her series, she also strikes the perfect balance of world-building and that all-important smut.

The sixth book in this series is out next month. But if you finish the five already out before then, I have huge news for you: there's a Blood and Ash spin-off, the Flesh and Fire series, which currently comprises three books (with the fourth due to drop in September) that's equally as gripping.

Spice rating: 4/5

The one with the dragons

The Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros

Anonymous

Violet Sorrengail is not your typical would-be dragon-rider. A bookworm with a promising career as a scribe, the 20-year-old is more comfortable decoding ancient texts than engaging in hand-to-hand combat. But a twist of fate (and her mother's insistence) means Violet is forced to attend the illustrious Basgiath War College, where Navarre's toughest soldiers are trained to ride dragons.

Prospective students undergo a perilous bridge-crossing to earn a place at the college, the first of a brutal series of tests of their skills and resilience. Violet, suffering from a mysterious illness that makes her physically weaker than others, struggles to find her place. It doesn't help that Xaden, the son of her mother's enemy, attends the same school and holds a grudge against her family over his father's execution during a failed rebellion.

This smouldering, enemies-to-lovers romance is fuelled by frisky late-night dragon trysts, handmade blades (the secret to any woman's heart, really) and a deadly secret that threatens to up-end Violet's belief system.

Violet is the perfect romantasy heroine: wicked-smart with the ability to think 10 steps ahead; tenacious and fiercely loyal to those close to her. But it's the epic world-building and cast of characters around Violet that make the Empyrean series stand out.

Spice rating: 4/5

The one for all the former Twilight girlies

The Crowns of Nyaxia series by Carissa Broadbent

Yasmin Jeffery

The Crowns of Nyaxia series introduces us to Oraya, the adopted human daughter of the Hiaj king of the Nightborn vampires, who presides over a realm where humans are treated like livestock to be fed upon and discarded.

From a young age, Oraya's beloved father Vincent has taught her to fight so that she may one day enter the Kejari, a tournament held by the goddess of vampires and death, Nyaxia. Winning would give our protagonist the chance to ask one thing of Nyaxia, and Oraya plans on asking the goddess to turn her into something more than prey.

If she is to have any chance at winning, she needs help. Enter Raihn — a mysterious vampire from the rival Rishan house.

Over the course of the Kejari, they go from predator and prey to enemies, to allies, to — you guessed it — lovers. The slow-burn is everything.

But the Kejari is far from a tacked-on premise. It bears some resemblance to the gripping trials Feyre faced Under the Mountain, but it's far less predictable and never feels bleak. Speaking of our dear High Lady — if you loved *that* Court of Nightmares scene in which Feyre and Rhysand put on something of a display, you will love a certain scene in this book involving a cave and a starved Raihn.

There's a massive cliffhanger at the end of book one, but book two in this planned six-book series is already out. Book three isn't due out until November, though, so start preparing yourself now for the agonising wait.

Spice rating: 4/5

The one with a next-level enemies to lovers premise

The Bridge Kingdom series by Danielle L. Jensen

Anonymous

Lara has spent most of her life training to be the perfect weapon for her kingdom. Plucked from her mother's arms inside the King's harem, she and her half-sisters are hidden away in a harsh desert landscape and taught the skills necessary to bring down an empire.

Now, Lara is ready to fulfil a plan 15 years in the making. Under a deal signed by her father, the King of Maridrina, Lara must marry her sworn-enemy, King Aren of Ithicana. The rival ruler lays claim to the Bridge, the only viable trade route between lands, and Lara believes King Aren has been depriving her homeland of desperately needed food and supplies. So she and her father plan to penetrate Ithicana's defences and take the Bridge from them.

It's only after she arrives in enemy territory that she discovers a reality far from the picture painted for her as a child. Danielle L. Jensen's epic tale contains two familiar tropes of romantasy fiction — enemies-to-lovers and a marriage of convenience.

Lara is a beautiful, highly skilled warrior determined to save her kingdom at any cost. But she meets her match in Aren, the fierce but noble leader of Ithicana. Together they are an unstoppable force, but Lara has a job to do.

And if the true intentions behind her arrival in the Bridge Kingdom are discovered too soon, it could ruin not one but two kingdoms.

Spice rating: 3/5

The one with First Nations Fae and queer goodness

The Halfling Saga series by Melissa Blair

Katherine Smyrk

The Lands of Elverath are under control of a brutal mortal King. The Dark Fae, who the King befriended before he betrayed them, have been pushed to a remote corner of the lands, their magic slowly dwindling. The Elves, the first inhabitants of the land, were murdered or banished in the Blood Purges.

The offspring of mortals and magic beings are born Halflings and deemed property of the crown — young Halfling girls are taken from their families to either become courtesans or assassins called Shades.

Our protagonist is silver-eyed Keera, the Halfling lead assassin of the Shades, who drowns her self-loathing and isolation with alcohol.

When Keera is sent to kill the Shadow — a mysterious figure who is sabotaging the crown and kidnapping Halflings — she finds out a lot more about herself than she ever expected, and begins to question who the real enemy is.

In case you haven't picked it up yet, this book is all about colonialism. Author Melissa Blair (she/her/kwe) is an Anishinaabe-kwe of mixed ancestry living in Turtle Island (North America), and she isn't afraid to get dark. She dives headfirst into addiction, self-harm and intergenerational trauma.

The Elverin (Fae, Elves and Halflings) are all coded as characters of colour, and are also all hot (think high cheekbones, tattoos and long, swishing black hair). This book is also very queer, with many of the Elverin casually portrayed with a gorgeous fluidity.

There could be more smut, IMHO, but the sex scenes pick up in the later books, and they do a satisfying job of centring female pleasure.

The writing and world-building in this series is not as assured and detailed as in ACOTAR, but that's to be expected from such a new author, and Blair hits her stride as the series continues.

A word of warning before you get started! The final book in this series won't be released until 2025.

Spice rating: 3/5

The one with the Prince who has a tail

The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black

Jessica Riga

The Folk of the Air has everything you want in a young adult fantasy series: a feisty human heroine (Jude); an arrogant but misunderstood faerie prince (Cardan); and plenty of inner turmoil, kingdom politics and plot twists. But it needs to be said early on that the cruel prince in question has a LITERAL TAIL, so don't say I didn't warn you when that thing starts swishing about.

And while the wings in the ACOTAR series are described as some sort of masculine (and functional) appendage, you can't help but picture Cardan's tail taking on a donkey-esque quality – he does act like an ass, after all.

All that aside, The Folk of the Air has a cosy, fairytale quality to its writing, before its author Holly Black skilfully foreshadows a darkness that lingers on the edges of the court.

Being a YA series, it's not super spicy, but is instead a masterclass of a slow-burn between enemies turned lovers.

The best bit, though? It's a completed trilogy where each book is well under 400 pages, making it an addictive escape worthy of a place on your to-read list.

Spice rating: 1.5/5

The series that is more about smut than plot

The Awakening series by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Anastasia Safioleas

Calista can glimpse the future with a simple touch of her hand, so she gets put to good use as a courtesan in the house of the Baron of Archwood — an affectionate yet ultimately spineless nobleman.

The Baron uses her skills to his political advantage in exchange for food, lodging and glamorous parties. It's at one of these she meets a certain Hyhborn lord. Tall, commanding and dazzlingly handsome, Thorne positively purrs in Lis's presence after she comes to his rescue.

Orphans, magic and monsters abound in this romantasy story, a world in which Lowborns collect the bones of Hyhborns for their healing properties and bone magic.

Is there a plot? Not really. Does it matter? Not really. We're here for something else entirely. Still, imagine my surprise when within the first chapter we get hints of an impending orgy.

For those who love slow-burn romance, you won't find it here. But if you prefer your plot lines to revolve around sexual tension, smouldering romance and sizzling sex, you'll enjoy the first book of the series, Fall of Ruin and Wrath. It's the only book in the series so far, and ends with a cliffhanger, so consider this a set-up to a slowly unfurling new world.

Spice rating: 4/5

The smuttiest one, with the most morally grey of characters

The Of Flesh and Bone series by Harper L. Woods

Yasmin Jeffery

Estrella's upbringing in a village bordering the Veil that separates the mortal realm from the fae of Alfheimr has been a pitiful one.

Raised in poverty, forced into hard labour and groomed by the town of Mistfell's presiding Lord Byron, her only pathways in life are marrying the man who has abused her since she was a child, or sacrificing herself to the gods to ensure the Veil stays in place.

But then the magical wall falters for the first time in almost 400 years. This means the fae — who Estrella has grown up believing to be ruthless and cruel — are free to cross over into Mistfell, Nothrek and beyond. They are searching for their fated mates, the fae-marked — and Estrella is one of them.

While on the run from the protectors of the mortal realm and the ghostly Wild Hunt tasked with retrieving the fae-marked for their mates, Estrella comes across the mysterious Caelum, another fae-marked human… whose inking happens to bear a striking resemblance to her own. He also happens to be shockingly fast, strong and is determined to protect her from the moment they meet. I wonder why that could be?

If you loved From Blood and Ash and wish you could have stayed in that universe a little longer or, hell, wish it had had less plot and an even more obvious twist, or you wish it had been darker, dirtier and its characters more morally grey, then this is for you.

This three-book series (the fourth is due out in September) is 90 per cent smut and 10 per cent everything else. And I love that for us.

Spice rating: 5/5