Cover of Bloodmarked

Bloodmarked

Tracy Deonn

The Legendborn Cycle #2

young adult romance(90k)

A Black girl with ancestral magic must rescue her kidnapped love — while falling for the mage sworn to protect him.

Content Warnings
violence/goredeath of loved onegrief

Description

An instant #1 New York Times bestseller!"Deonn expertly weaves together a universe that both shines a light on the pervasive nature of racism and also harnesses the complexity of Black identity within this space. Deonn writes so much more than simple fantasies or Arthurian retellings." — Booklist (starred review)The "worthy successor to an explosive debut" (Kirkus Reviews) — the New York Times bestselling and award-winning Legendborn — perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare and Margaret Rogerson!The shadows have risen, and the line is law.All Bree wanted was to uncover the truth behind her mother's death. So she infiltrated the Legendborn Order, a secret society descended from King Arthur's knights — only to discover her own ancestral power. Now, Bree has become someone new:A Medium. A Bloodcrafter. A Scion.But the ancient war between demons and the Order is rising to a deadly peak. And Nick, the Legendborn boy Bree fell in love with, has been kidnapped.Bree wants to fight, but the Regents who rule the Order won't let her. To them, she is an unknown girl with unheard-of power, and as the living anchor for the spell that preserves the Legendborn cycle, she must be protected.When the Regents reveal they will do whatever it takes to hide the war, Bree and her friends must go on the run to rescue Nick themselves. But enemies are everywhere, Bree's powers are unpredictable and dangerous, and she can't escape her growing attraction to Selwyn, the mage sworn to protect Nick until death.If Bree has any hope of saving herself and the people she loves, she must learn to control her powers from the ancestors who wielded them first — without losing herself in the process.

The Legendborn Cycle series

Books like this

Cover of Half-Blood (Covenant, #1)

Half-Blood (Covenant, #1)

Jennifer L. Armentrout

young adult romanceCovenant #1
(116k)

A half-blood returns to her gods-descended school — and falls for the pure-blood trainer she can never have.

forbidden romancemythology retellingrivals to lovers

9 tropes in common

Cover of Voice of the Ocean

Voice of the Ocean

Kelsey Impicciche

young adult romance
(6k)

A siren sent to assassinate a prince must choose between duty and the dangerous feelings growing between them.

forbidden romancemythology retellingrivals to lovers

10 tropes in common

Cover of Daughter of the Moon Goddess

Daughter of the Moon Goddess

Sue Lynn Tan

young adult romanceThe Celestial Kingdom #1
(130k)

Hidden on the moon her whole life, a girl risks everything to save her mother — and loses her heart to an emperor's son.

forbidden romancemythology retellingrivals to lovers

8 tropes in common

Cover of Fireborne

Fireborne

Rosaria Munda

young adult romanceThe Aurelian Cycle #1
(36k)

Two rival dragonriders — one lowborn, one secret aristocrat — must choose between love, loyalty, and revolution.

forbidden romancefound familyrivals to lovers

9 tropes in common

Cover of Fallen City

Fallen City

Adrienne Young

young adult romanceFallen City Duology #1
(7k)

A legionnaire and a priestess's novice fall in love — then end up on opposite sides of a holy war.

forbidden romancemythology retellingrivals to lovers

9 tropes in common

Cover of These Violent Delights

These Violent Delights

Chloe Gong

young adult romanceThese Violent Delights #1
(171k)

Romeo & Juliet meets 1920s Shanghai: rival gang heirs and ex-lovers must unite to stop a monstrous plague.

forbidden romancemythology retellingrivals to lovers

8 tropes in common

Cover of The Floating World

The Floating World

Axie Oh

young adult romanceThe Floating World #1
(9k)

A soldier-for-hire is paid to hunt a girl with silver light — but doesn't realise she's his travelling companion.

forced proximitymythology retellingrivals to lovers

8 tropes in common

Cover of This Vicious Grace

This Vicious Grace

Emily Thiede

young adult romanceThe Last Finestra #1
(17k)

Her touch kills every partner — so she hires a cynical outcast to guard her life and maybe steal her heart.

bodyguard romanceforbidden romanceforced proximity

10 tropes in common

Cover of Storm and Fury (The Harbinger, #1)

Storm and Fury (The Harbinger, #1)

Jennifer L. Armentrout

young adult romanceThe Harbinger #1
(72k)

A half-human girl hiding a deadly secret must trust the infuriating Warden warrior sent to protect her.

forbidden romanceforced proximityfound family

10 tropes in common

Cover of Red Winter

Red Winter

Annette Marie

young adult romanceRed Winter Trilogy #1
(14k)

A girl destined to unite with a goddess strikes a dangerous deal with a yokai who could destroy her.

forbidden romanceforced proximitymythology retelling

8 tropes in common

Cover of Intermix Nation

Intermix Nation

M.P. Attardo

young adult romance
(208)

In a dystopia where interracial love is illegal, a girl born of mixed races joins the rebellion for vengeance.

forbidden romancefound familyrivals to lovers

7 tropes in common

Cover of Starcrossed (Starcrossed, #1)

Starcrossed (Starcrossed, #1)

Josephine Angelini

young adult romanceStarcrossed #1
(76k)

She's cursed to make men kill for her — he's her mortal enemy, and the only one worth dying for.

forbidden romancemythology retellingbadass heroine

8 tropes in common

Cover of City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)

Cassandra Clare

young adult romanceThe Mortal Instruments #1
(2.2M)

A girl discovers she's a demon-hunter — and falls for a mysterious boy who may be the worst person to love.

forbidden romancefound familyrivals to lovers

8 tropes in common

Cover of Sing Me to Sleep

Sing Me to Sleep

Gabi Burton

young adult romanceSing Me to Sleep #1
(8k)

A siren assassin becomes bodyguard to the prince she's secretly been hired to destroy — and falls for him.

bodyguard romanceforbidden romancerivals to lovers

6 tropes in common

Cover of What the River Knows

What the River Knows

Isabel Ibañez

young adult romanceSecrets of the Nile #1
(89k)

A Bolivian-Argentinian heiress sails to 19th-century Cairo to uncover her parents' fate — and clashes with her guardian'

forbidden romanceforced proximitymythology retelling

8 tropes in common

Cover of Legend of the White Snake

Legend of the White Snake

Sher Lee

young adult romance
(3k)

A white snake spirit disguises himself as a boy — but the prince he's falling for is hunting him.

forbidden romancemythology retellingrivals to lovers

7 tropes in common

Cover of Cruel Beauty

Cruel Beauty

Rosamund Hodge

young adult romanceCruel Beauty Universe
(94k)

Trained from birth to kill the immortal man she must marry, Nyx finds herself falling for her sworn enemy.

forbidden romanceforced proximitymythology retelling

8 tropes in common

Cover of Stolen Songbird

Stolen Songbird

Danielle L. Jensen

young adult romanceThe Malediction Trilogy #1
(32k)

Kidnapped and bonded to a cursed troll prince, a singer must choose between escape and the rebellion only she can lead.

forbidden romanceforced proximityrivals to lovers

10 tropes in common

Cover of Dance of Thieves

Dance of Thieves

Mary E. Pearson

young adult romanceDance of Thieves #1
(200k)

A thief sent to spy on an outlaw dynasty finds herself caught in a dangerous game with its ruthless new leader.

forbidden romanceforced proximityrivals to lovers

9 tropes in common

Cover of Song of Silver, Flame Like Night

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night

Amélie Wen Zhao

young adult romanceSong of the Last Kingdom #1
(15k)

A hidden-magic girl and a rogue practitioner must unlock ancient secrets to reclaim their colonized kingdom.

forbidden romancemythology retellingbadass heroine

8 tropes in common