Hi, hello, and welcome! Oh, I’m so excited to have you in the scent salon. Today’s consultation will be super quick, just so I can get a sense of your tastes and style. You’re in for such a treat since all the fragrance notes in stock are absolutely amazing.
What notes? Sorry, I got a little ahead of myself; it’s spicy romantasy books, of course. I know, right? It’s such a good category, and we’re going to find you the perfect scent (and maybe even a new book boyfriend to pine over, but I can’t make any promises on that one!).
These notes cover romantasy from basically every sub-genre. All of them have spice to some degree, but everyone in this salon is open-minded, all right? No one is yucking anyone’s yum, for sure. I’m going to go over the spicy romantasy books I recommend, from least to most spicy so there’s a kind of order, and I hope you’re drawn to one or more of their scents.
Which Spicy Romantasy Book Scent Recommendation Will You Choose?
Quicksilver By Callie Hart
Content Warnings (may contain spoilers):
Infertility, Death of A Parent, Death, Vomit, Suicidal Thoughts, War, Violence, Sexual Content (Note: This list doesn't include all content warnings. Please do your own research before reading this book)
What to expect from Quicksilver: rich notes of hot sand and deep shadows intertwine with subtle hints of touch her and die, forced proximity, and morally grey main characters.
There’s no one better at keeping a secret than Saeris Fane. No one has ever found out about her strange powers, that she’s been stealing water from the Undying Queen’s reservoirs for years, or about how easily she’s been picking pockets along the way.
The thing about secrets, however, is that they don’t stay contained. The day hers begin to unravel is the day she meets Death and accidentally opens a portal into the Fae Realm.
Trapped in a land of ice and snow she never believed could be real, her only hope of making it through the war and back home is to make a deal with the devil himself. Can she trust the devil when the devil is Death, and Death doesn’t care as long as he gets what he wants?
Many romantasy readers would agree that forced proximity is one of the best tropes, especially when said proximity is between the ‘shadow daddy’ love interest and the strong female main character before they even fall in love.
When the slow burn finally burns in this book, you know it burns because Death takes things a step further with ‘touch her and die,’ while Saeris embraces her morally grey characteristics to create the gift Callie Hart gives us with this series.
Best believe I’m excited to read book two, Brimstone, which is already out (and book 3 will be published next year)!
The Wolf King by Lauren Palphreyman
Content Warnings (may contain spoilers):
Child Abuse, Torture, Sexual Harassment, Rape, Death of Parent, Violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual Content (Note: This list doesn't include all content warnings. Please do your own research before reading this book.)
What to expect from The Wolf King: dark forests and moonlight play with the intricate tones of forbidden romance, love triangles, and forced proximity.
Saving the life of a young wolf that a powerful alpha wanted murdered isn’t how Princess Aurora pictured escaping the castle and getting out of her arranged marriage. Now, she’s been kidnapped by the same alpha and taken across the border, only to discover the formerly feral werewolf clans are making peace. Without internal war, they’re coordinating their attack against the humans, and she happens to be the secret weapon that may well guarantee their win.
Except those plans start to go astray as a forbidden romance grows. As Aurora learns that everything she’d been told about the wolves may not be true, everyone else discovers she’s in more danger than they thought, as the alpha’s enemies close in. When a love is born of war, is it destined to end happily?
If you were Team Jacob as a teen, or if you’re Team Jacob now (no shame!), this book will be right up your alley. The Wolf King has werewolves, a steamy love triangle, and enough conflict to make the romance just forbidden enough to scratch that Twilight itch.
I already know that the first book will leave you wanting more, and you’re in for a treat with this series, since the second book is well known to be even better than the first!
Bewitched by Laura Thalassa
Content Warnings (may contain spoilers):
Alcohol, Death, Vomit, Cancer, Toxic Relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual Content (Note: This list doesn't include all content warnings. Please do your own research before reading this book.)
What to expect from Bewitched: sparks of witch hazel and lulo create the perfect tart, woodsy background for deep notes of enemies-to-lovers, dark academia, and cursed fated mates.
This is Selene Bowers’ year; she’s going to get into Henbane Coven! Sure, she’s tried before, and they weren’t in love with the fact that using her magic eats away at her memories, but she knows she can use it for good, no matter the cost.
So she books the trip to South America, which kickstarts its own set of problems. A dark supernatural force starts trying to force her plane out of the sky, briefly stranding her and a bunch of strangers in the jungle. Selene can salvage this quest, though, and saving the lives of a plane’s worth of people has to count for something! She’s also found–and accidentally freed–the source of the attack. Everything should be fine, right? He’s only really after her, and there’s no way he’s going to make it off the island.
As Selene is starting to discover, nothing ever really goes to plan. She’s officially part of the Coven after everything she experienced in South America, but devilish deeds are happening at her new home, and her magic-based memory loss isn’t helping. Instead, they've flagged her as the number one suspect.
With the ancient being she released haunting the narrative and showing up when it’s least convenient, can she trust him to help her find the answers she needs to clear her name, or will giving in to his demands make everything worse?
Laura Thalassa gives us the perfect enemies-to-lovers romance in a series that’s an excellent example of a romantasy book with spice instead of a spicy romantasy.
The mystery is a great touch that could stand on its own, but it's made even better by the development of the main 'characters' relationship as a (technically) lust-first, love-follows type of situation.
I also loved how this novel mixed in some humor, which, in my opinion, makes it a perfect example of a contemporary romantasy that you’ll want to finish in one sitting.
The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
Content Warnings (may contain spoilers):
Torture, Slavery, Sexual Assault, Rape, Blood, Death, War, Self-Harm, Violence (Note: This list doesn't include all content warnings. Please do your own research before reading this book.)
What to expect from The Serpent and the Wings of Night: bright notes of frankincense and bergamot support the darker threads created by the mix of slow burn romance, rivals-to-lovers, and morally grey characters.
Oraya struggled to make her place in a world in which she wasn’t welcome. As a human in the Nightborn court, her only path to becoming a predator instead of prey is to win the Kejari: a tournament as ruthless as its contestants, hosted by the goddess of death herself.
To win, Oraya needs to partner with her most mysterious rival, Raihn. He’s her greatest competition and a threat to her adopted father’s crown, but the biggest problem is how drawn she finds herself to him. In the Kejari, there’s no place for friendly feelings, though, and more than just resentment is brewing throughout the kingdom.
As darker forces coalesce, war for the House of Night is imminent. Can love survive, or will it be the beginning of Oraya’s own destruction?
If your favorite color is morally grey, Oraya and Raihn are painting the town. Carissa Broadbent’s characters are the perfect shade of jagged around the edges and willing to bend whatever rule, ethos, or moral they can before it breaks in such clever ways.
From the tournament to the war with the love story in between, there was nothing about this spicy romantasy book that won’t leave you wanting more, and lucky for you, this book is part of a completed duology as well as the larger Crowns of Nyaxia universe, which has plenty more books that are worth checking out.
Amid Clouds and Bones By Ella Fields
Content Warnings (may contain spoilers):
Pregnancy, Blood, Death, Death of Parent, Murder, War, Bullying, Violence, Sexual Content (Note: This list doesn't include all content warnings. Please do your own research before reading this book.)
What to expect from Amid Clouds and Bones: dreamy pear and blue wisteria establish a crisp, green facet that blends with rich notes of arranged marriage, bully romance, and enemies to lovers.
Mildred is a half-fae princess who spends her days trying to stay out of sight, hoping she’s keeping out of mind. For the most part, her plan was working until her father formed an alliance with the Seelie Fae, promising to help them defeat their Unseelie enemies. In return, Mildred has to marry Prince Atakan, the most ruthless of the Seelie.
Though Atakan hates everyone, he hates Mildred the most, and it shows in every interaction they have. So she decides to play a game. He’s proving exactly why his reputation is so fearsome, but she’s going to prove she’s not afraid by seducing the fae prince.
You know what they say, though: play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Just as Mildred is about to claim the prince’s heart as her prize, fate upends everything and places her right in the hands of his greatest enemy.
When it comes to vibes, Ella Fields delivered with this novel! Her writing is darkly atmospheric, blending the characters' constant struggle between attraction and control with a deliciously dangerous chemistry.
I’m a sucker for a character-focused story, so I really enjoyed how this story was built around our morally grey main characters. You definitely can’t go wrong with this choice!
A Kiss of Iron by Clare Sager
Book #1 in the Shadows of the Tenebris Court series
Published: February 2023
Spice Level: Hot (🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️)
Content Warnings (may contain spoilers):
Body Shaming, Fatphobia, Animal Death, Child Abuse, Domestic Abuse, Physical Abuse, Murder, Violence, Sexual Content (Note: This list doesn't include all content warnings. Please do your own research before reading this book.)
What to expect from A Kiss of Iron: leather, grapefruit, and rose evoke the elegance and power of the courtly intrigue, morally grey characters, and miscommunication that make this scent so beautiful.
Kat lives on the edge of losing everything until the job comes along. This could be her chance to finally turn her life around, or it could be the very thing that sends her to rock bottom. The job? To spy on the fae lord everyone knows as the Night Queen’s Shadow.
Bastian Harwood is exactly what you think of when you think of the upper class. He’s handsome, smart, and a little ruthless, but Kat can’t quite read him beyond what he shows to the world. To determine just how much of a threat he really is to her kingdom, she’ll have to dive into deadly court intrigue and play a few tricks of her own.
The deeper Kat delves into her mission, the darker things get, and soon she realizes she might actually want to sink into Bastian and who he is behind his masks. When you’ve only got one job, though, your only choice is the one that means you survive. Love might not be enough to free Kat from the very thing she thought would save her in the end.
Court intrigue, the simmering tension of a slow burn, and the most gorgeous setup for a romantasy series? I was already here for this book, and then Clare Sager included amazing mental health representation. This book has so many green flags that you’ll find it easy to devour the next two and wish for more.
Feathers So Vicious By Liv Zander
Content Warnings (may contain spoilers):
Miscarriage, Infertility, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual Assault, Sexual Violence, Child Death, War, Emotional Abuse (Note: This list doesn't include all content warnings. Please do your own research before reading this book.)
What to expect from Feathers So Vicious: somber notes of forced proximity, no real heroes, and why choose twist around hints of musk, oud, and rose to celebrate the darkness of this romantic scent.
The Prince of the Ravens is waiting.
Never has Lady Galantia not known a world at war. Generation after generation of humans and raven shifters have fought with no end in sight. For the most part, Galantia has stayed sheltered from the fight's atrocities. She knows her father plays an important part, but lives her day-to-day life embroiled in high society.
Everything changes the day the raven shifters come. After murdering her whole family, they take Galantia as their prize and deliver her to their prince. A prince at war knows only humanity's darkest parts, and Malyr and Sebian have their own vengeance to exact.
Lady Galantia is the perfect toll, yet love grows even in the darkest of places. But is love truly enough to start healing the traumas of war?
Dark romantasy readers, this recommendation is for you. When I say this duology is made up of two of the darkest and spiciest romantasy books, I mean this is pitch black, middle of the overcast night dark. The depths and most depraved parts of humanity are dredged up and rifled through to give you everything you want and more in this love story (which left no crumbs).
While this is one to absolutely double-check all the content warnings for, many readers are obsessed, and I can’t blame them. I should probably call my therapist or a priest about it, but I’m here to tell you to read it instead.
Aren’t these the best set of fragrance notes to come from spicy romantasy books? You’re going to have the hardest time picking, but that just means the solution is to try them all. Pick your favorite to start, then dive into the dark, the spicy, and the dreamy with another series or standalone from this list. Happy reading!
All book cover images are sourced from Goodreads/Storygraph.
This article was commissioned and paid for by OwlCrate.
Where mentioned books are available from the store, they may be linked for convenience.
The titles featured have been selected and recommended by the author of this blog,
and do not necessarily reflect the views or endorsements of OwlCrate.
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