People enjoy reading a variety of romance book cliches, and steamy enemies to lovers books are one theme that never lets them down. The relationships between the main characters in these books always get off to a bit of a rocky start. This initial hostility frequently results in hilarious banter between characters as the inevitable sparks fly, and the feelings start to shift from hatred to love. The proverb is that there is a thin line between love and hatred, and that couldn’t be more accurate when it comes to romance tales in these steamy enemies-to-lovers books. Reading books about enemies-to-lovers that focus more on a good dose of rivalry than an outright hatred of one another is also entertaining. In this article, we will be looking at some of the top steamy enemies-to-lovers books that will keep you engaged.
The slow burn and enemies-to-lovers elements of Maniscalco’s Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy are appreciated by readers because ancient demons shouldn’t fall quickly for humans or witches. The real action begins in Book 2, Kingdom of the Cursed.
There aren’t any witches or warlocks available for Penny Roundtree to hire as a familiar, despite her desire. Willem Sauer is not a marketable warlock due to his previous issues with his familiars. The two are brought together in an unusual arrangement, and their collision causes magical sparks to fly.
Even though Eve Brown is a mess, she is attractive. Jacob Wayne is a planner and a control freak. After their disastrous job interview at Jacob’s B&B, Eve rear-ends Jacob with her car, forcing the two of them to live together, where more than just the kitchen is getting hot.
Rice Fish, a sentient spaceship in need of a tech expert to look into the murder of Red Scholar, has captured Xich Si. In addition, Rice Fish is a pirate ship operating under the notorious Red Banner. Their working relationship develops into something more over time.
Wei Wuxian passed away. Many years after his own death, he is summoned back into the body of a young man and, accompanied by Lan Wangji, is given the task of exacting revenge on the man whose body he now inhabits. The Grandmaster books, which were adapted into the wildly popular television series The Untamed, are highly regarded in their native China.
There is no way Catalina wants to attend her sister’s wedding by herself. She particularly does not want to go with her rude and, ironically, attractive coworker, Aaron Blackford. She does, however, want to humiliate her ex and his fiancee, who will be present. Blackford it is, a fake relationship and all, enemy included.
What could be more of an enemy-to-lover scenario than the Prince of Wales and America’s favourite presidential son? The governments of both nations declare a truce after a highly visible altercation, uniting the two in a show of support that gradually develops into respect and more.
The battle to determine the next king draws the best warriors from eight islands. Swords are used in fights between competitors, but it’s the ones that are attached to them that count. The second volume (of two) contains the “enemies-to-lovers” segment, but both are guaranteed to be entertaining.
Kareena Mann urgently needs a soul mate. To convince a donor that he is the true authority on heart health, Dr. Prem Verma must provide evidence. We all know where this new version of The Taming of the Shrew is going; what makes the heart skip a beat is the journey.
Kiran Noorani promised her father and sister Amira that she would watch out for them after her mother died. Amira suddenly says that she is dating someone and might move across the country with him. Kiran is thrown. Deen Malik is overjoyed that his older brother Faisal has found a wonderful girlfriend, even though things are moving quickly towards seriousness. Deen, who feels enormous pressure to be the ideal son, may now no longer be the centre of attention for their parents.
Deen and Kiran silently resolve to keep their shared past private when they are face to face. Before Amira and Faisal met four years ago, Kiran and Deen were dating. Deen, however, abandoned Kiran with no justification. Deen will do anything to prevent Kiran from learning the truth, even if it means jeopardising his brother’s relationship. Kiran will stop at nothing to learn what happened. Although there is undeniable chemistry between Kiran and Deen, can either of them break down their walls?
Reid Diggory, a huntsman for the Church, has lived by the maxim, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” He has literally always believed that they are bad. He captures Lou, whom he discovers to be a witch as well as a criminal. Although she is running away from her mother and the coven, her struggle to survive on Cesarine’s streets brings her right into Reid’s hands. And, by some strange coincidence, they marry. She views it as safety.
She is in the enemy’s base, out of reach for the other witches. It gives him a headache. She is breezy, vulgar, entertaining, and fierce. He is respectful and quiet. Even without him knowing her true identity, it is clear that they are hostile towards one another. But as they spend more time together, their barriers start to crumble. And as their defences crumble, they begin to see that those intense emotions may not necessarily be pure hatred. They might be more than that. As long as Lou’s mother doesn’t first murder them both.
This book was first teased as “a little bit Aladdin and Jasmine, but if they had to kill each other” when it was first mentioned. Although A Song of Wraiths and Ruin is much more than that, it wasn’t incorrect. Karina uses dark magic to protect the only family she still has—or once had—at the price of a king’s heart. So, in her capacity as Crown Princess of Ziran, she extends an engagement proposal to the competition’s winner, Solstasia. She is unaware that Malik has made a deadly pact with a vengeful spirit outside the city. Karina must be killed in order for his sister to be set free.
Malik and Karina will discover that their initial goals won’t be made any easier by the intense emotions between them as the demands of their futures pull them together.
After college, Madeline Moore won’t let anything stop her from taking over the independent bookstore run by her family. Nothing that is, until a Prologue chain bookstore moves in across the street and threatens to stifle their business. Madeline sets out to crush the competition, but the employee from Prologue seems determined to destroy her. In addition to stealing her clients, he also has the incredible audacity to be really cute. But it makes no difference. Jasper is the enemy, and his demise is imminent. All’s fair in love and (literary) war, after all.
Following the War of Kinds, Automae—designed to be the toys of kings—took over their owners’ estates and subjugated humanity. Ayla, who is now a lowly servant, wants to murder Lady Crier, an automae, in retaliation for the deaths of her family. But later, she runs into her. And gradually learns about her. Crier is unique, as it turns out. She was created to be stunning and faultless and to continue her father’s legacy. She is, however, ominously more complicated than that.
And what about all those demands? Before she got engaged to the mysterious Scyre Kinok, she started to think her father might not be the kind king she once admired, and, most importantly, before she met Ayla, they fit her.
The Tiger of Midnight’s cat-and-mouse chase is so exciting! Since Esha and Kunal are from two countries that are at war with one another, there is tension from the moment they meet. After being fascinated and mesmerised by Esha’s beauty, Kunal discovers his uncle dead, with evidence pointing to Esha as the real killer. What? You’ll be on the edge of your seat the entire time as he searches for her to find out what will transpire between them! One fateful night, Esha and Kunal cross paths, and an unbelievable series of events follow.
The Viper and the soldier both believe they are in charge, but other players are also arranging the cards. Both the soldier and the rebel must choose where their loyalty lies: with the lives, they have killed to hold on to or with the love that has made them dream of something more as the bonds that hold their land in order break down and the sins of the past meet the promise of a new future.
This bewitching, powerhouse novel about two girls fighting back against the violence the world visits upon them will stun and enchant readers. It is lush and chilling, with razor-sharp edges and an iron core of hope. In the woods, girls have been going missing. Natasha desperately seeks out Della, a local girl who is thought to be a witch, in the hope that magic will help her sister return after she goes missing. Della, however, is hiding her own secrets. She believes that her mother, who was transformed into a terrible monster by magic gone wrong, is to blame for the disappearances. Natasha is furious. Della is not in danger. The only hope is in each other.
Cardan surpasses all of them in terms of beauty. Jude despises him more than anyone else. She despises him so much that she occasionally finds it difficult to breathe when she sees him. Jude and Cardan make an excellent couple. This human and royal fae have enough hatred for one another to cut with a sword. When no one else would dare, they both use their positions to challenge one another, and that “respect” is exactly what fuels their continued rage (and passion).
When Jude’s parents were killed, she and her two sisters were kidnapped and taken to live in the perilous High Court of Faerie. Jude was seven years old at the time. Jude still longs to fit in there ten years later, despite her impending death. However, many of the fairies hate humans, especially Prince Cardan, the High King’s youngest and most evil child. She must challenge him and take the consequences in order to gain admission to the court.
Matthias was raised to despise and hunt the Grisha as a Drüskelle. Nina had good reason to fear Drüskelle as a Grisha because they detested her. They aren’t able to put aside their prejudices and realise there’s more than meets the eye until they find themselves shipwrecked and must rely on one another for survival. Nobody knows Ketterdam’s bustling international trade centre better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker, where anything can be had for the right price. Kaz is given the opportunity to participate in a dangerous heist that could make him incredibly wealthy. But he can’t do it by himself.
Heroes and villains from a long-forgotten war are reborn in this breathtaking new fantasy book by international bestselling author C. S. Pacat, and they start to draw new battle lines. Will, a 16-year-old dock boy who was murdered by his mother’s killers, is running from them. Then, an elderly servant informs him of his destiny to fight alongside the Stewards, who have vowed to defend mankind in the event that the Dark King ever makes a comeback. Will is thrust into the magical world, where he begins to prepare for a crucial role in the upcoming conflict with the Dark.
Will must stand with the last heroes of the light as London is in danger, and old animosities reawaken in order to stop the fate that destroyed their world from destroying his own.
The ideal candidate to serve as editor-in-chief of her school newspaper is Eliza Quan. That is, until Len DiMartile, a former jock, decides on a whim to challenge her. Her extensive experience is suddenly meaningless because inexperienced Len, who is tall, attractive, and male, just seems more like a leader. Eliza, who is torn between those who see her as a champion of gender equality and those who think she is simply crying misogyny, finds herself at the centre of a feminist movement she never intended to launch when her irrational frustration is let loose in a widely read essay.
The school asks Eliza and Len to collaborate in order to show civility in the face of this mounting conflict. Eliza, however, feels increasingly entrapped by the horrifying realisation that she might be falling for the patriarchy’s face as they get to know one another.
Pretend you’ve never heard of these two authors if you haven’t read this book and don’t want to be spoiled. Just trust us to read the book, and when you do, know that the revolution and growing romance will make you awestruck. Okay, now that we have cleared that up: You all, Dani and Carmen, these two rivals eventually become very different members of the same family in a world where girls attend school to prepare for two distinct domestic roles. However, a revolution is on the horizon, and Dani must decide if she is ready to risk everything her family sacrificed to place her in that situation in order to fight for true freedom. Dani doesn’t hold out much hope for Carmen, but the truth is that she is much more than she appears to be.
What more can we possibly say about these two than what has already been said? Even with their animosity, Juliette and Warner have such strong tension from the start that it is understandable why they develop into something much more than just “enemies.” He melts around Juliette, revealing her true strength despite his reputation as a brutal leader. However, he also harms Juliette as a result of his obsession with using her as a weapon. We reached our breaking point when Juliette discovered she could touch him without causing him any harm.
This tale of adversaries turned lovers is gold! Nobody knows the source of Juliette’s extraordinary power. It seems like a curse, a weight that no one person could ever carry alone. However, the establishment views it as a gift and sees her as a chance for a lethal weapon. Juliette has never before stood up for herself.
This book has major Slytherin energy, which is what we are here for. Alessandra is ambitious and incredibly cunning. Her objective is to seduce the Shadow King and take his kingdom. But as you might expect from someone whose name means “Shadow King,” he has a lot of foes. Alessandra is thus working to defend him from his other foes while also attempting to win him over and steal everything he owns. You won’t be able to put the book down until everything is resolved because the tension between these two is perfect. That’s why it’s standalone, which is fortunate. Prepare to swoon and dive in.
As Feyre delves deeper into the Faerie world’s history, what appears to be a chance encounter becomes so much more, and we are hooked even by his covert visits to her cell. How were we supposed to be aware of everything that would happen next? Rhys cemented his place in our hearts by transforming from Amarantha’s lackey to someone who allowed Feyre to mature, assisted her with her depression, and taught her to read. The High Lord and High Lady of the Night Court are here.
Feyre learns that her captor, whose face is hidden by a jewelled mask, is hiding much more than his piercing green eyes would suggest after being dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie. As Feyre learns why her presence at the court is so closely guarded, her feelings for him change from hostility to passion, making the Faerie Lands an even riskier place. Feyre risks losing him forever if she doesn’t fight to end an old curse.
Ash comes from a long line of gladiators, so she is familiar with the brutality of battle. However, she swears to overthrow her fire god in order to exact revenge after her mother perishes in an arena. Madoc learned to fight in the streets as a child, but he is concealing a terrible secret: unlike his rivals, he lacks the abilities of the earth god. His talent is distinctive. His talent is a rarity that dates back many centuries. They shouldn’t possess any common items.
But when a revenge plot goes horribly, dangerously wrong, Ash drags the earth and fire gods into a conflict that can only be resolved through lethal gladiator matches, crossing their paths and ensuring the inevitable tension between them. She understands that his abilities are the key to her rebellion, but Madoc isn’t willing to risk his family’s security. Then they learn about the impending war from long ago.
A Pho Love Story by Loan Le
Bao Nguyen would describe himself as a rock if he had to. Strong and steady, but not especially captivating. His social standing is unremarkable, and his grades are average. He works at the pho restaurant owned by his parents, where he ranks as their fifth favourite employee. Not optimal. Linh Mai would describe herself as a firecracker if she had to. When unlit, it is stable but full of potential for happiness and fire. She adores the arts and aspires to work in the field. The sole issue? Her parents depend on her in ways they won’t admit, like when she works almost exclusively at the pho restaurant owned by her relatives.
The Mais and the Nguyens, who ran rival, close-by pho restaurants, have been at odds for years. Both Bao and Linh, who have avoided one another for the majority of their lives, believe that the feud is the result of emotions that go much deeper than simple rivalry. Nevertheless, despite their best efforts, a chance encounter places Linh and Bao nearby, and when they do, sparks begin to fly. This makes them both wonder why it took so long for them to connect. Then, of course, they remember right away. Can Linh and Bao find love despite their complicated pasts and fighting families?
It’s safe to say that Akos and Cyra don’t get along well from the beginning because Cyra’s family killed Akos’s father and abducted him and his brother when they were young. But when fate brings these two together, they realise they might have something in common: they both want to overthrow a cruel government, and what better way to do that than by planning a revolt? Cyra Noavek and Akos Kereseth were raised in rival nations engaged in a protracted conflict over control of their planet. Akos is forced to serve Cyra, the sister of a despot who rules with violence and fear, after the Noavek family, who are in power, kidnaps him and his brother.
Her tyrant brother uses Cyra as a weapon against those who oppose him because of her deadly ability to inflict extraordinary pain on others with a single touch. However, as Akos struggles to survive, he realises that Cyra is also struggling to survive and that her true talent—resilience—might be the thing that saves them both.
Zuri is unimpressed by the snobbish and haughty Darius when the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, despite the fact that Zuri’s older sister begins to develop feelings for his brother, Ainsley. But as they are compelled to work together, Zuri and Darius’ initial hostility changes into an unexpected understanding—and something more. Zuri Benitez speaks with pride. She is proud of her Afro-Latino roots, her family, and Brooklyn. However, pride might not be sufficient to prevent her rapidly gentrifying neighbourhood from losing its identity.
Even as her older sister, Janae, begins to develop feelings for the charming Ainsley, Zuri wants nothing to do with the wealthy Darcy family’s two teenage sons when they move in across the street. She finds Darius to be especially judgmental and haughty.
Em is impersonating Cas’s betrothed in Ruined in order to murder him. We swear it doesn’t stop there; the book actually begins with a vicious ambush to replace the aforementioned betrothed. Let’s just say that as things become more complicated, Em starts to develop feelings for the sympathetic Cas while still plotting to murder his entire family. It’s just… ugh, the lengths she has to go to hide her identity while experiencing real emotions. Emelina Flores is in need. Her parents were killed, and her sister was abducted; the war destroyed her home in Ruina.
Em is determined to exact revenge, even though she is only a useless Ruined and has no magic. Her strategy is straightforward: She will enter the enemy’s kingdom while pretending to be engaged to the crown prince. She’ll take charge of an ambush. She will assassinate the king and all of his loved ones, including his son.
Introducing Shanghai in 1926. The blood feud between two gangs is raging in this glamorous yet seedy city, turning the streets crimson. However, since this is a Romeo and Juliet-inspired debut, we would be remiss if we failed to mention the two hearts that serve as the story’s emotional core. Former flapper Juliette is the proud heir to the Scarlet Gang, an outlaw organisation. The opposition? The White Flowers, who has been at war with the Scarlets for many generations, is now ruled by Roma Montagov, their heir. He wasn’t only Juliette’s first love, either. Her first betrayal was by him
Juliette and Roma need to put their differences aside and work together as the situation worsens and rumours of gangsters on both sides slitting their own throats begin to circulate. Shanghai’s streets can only be ruled by one person, but they must first ensure that there is a city to rule.
Nothing can stop Jules because she is on a mission. Liam may be left out. Jules accepts a job at the Everless estate in a place where time is money in order to assist her ailing father. Liam, a prince at Everless, strikes the audience right away as being stern, cold, and even dangerous. Jules discovers, however, that there is more to the story as her journey progresses. Is Liam preventing Jules’ ability to complete her task? Or does he assist her in spite of all the obstacles? This fantasy pokes fun at everything connected to a person’s identity, including their life, their legacy, their inheritance, and, of course, their love.
The 18-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, Khalid, is a monster. He takes a new wife every night, only to murder her by dawn. Shahrzad is the first candidate to step forward to be Khalid’s bride. For the friend she lost and all those who died before her, she swears to put an end to his reign of terror. Shahrzad miraculously makes it through her first morning and then the next. She captivates the Caliph with her storytelling night after night, buying time and learning more about the mysterious boy-past kings. How does Shahrzad find it so easy to fall for Khalid if he is truly the murderous lunatic everyone claims he is?