Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber (series)
The title is quite deceiving, but this book (and this whole series) is one big love story unfolding. The main character Evangeline is heart broken by her boyfriend when he breaks the news that he is marrying her step sister. In a panic to get him back she goes to the town’s church of love to pray to Jacks, The Prince of Hearts, in hopes that he can grant her true love and ruin the wedding. There is one condition, she would have to kiss three people of Jacks’ choosing. While she is tethered to The Prince of Hearts with the promise of three kisses she slowly starts to fall in love with him. The only issue with this is that kissing Jacks is fatal and any girl that has ever tried has died.
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo (Series)
“King of scars” is the second to last book in the Greishaverse series, but the first in the duology for this storyline. This book demonstrates a somewhat toxic dynamic between The King, Nikolai, and his assistant, Zoya. They are clearly in love with each other, but they are both very avoidant because they were both hurt in the past. Zoya is very avoidant while Nikolai is pining for her attention. When Nikolai isn’t coming on to Zoya she is secretly sneaking glances and touches when no one is around.
Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo (series)
“Rule of wolves” is the last book in the Greishaverse series, but it can be read as a duology with King of Scars because it follows different characters. Nina Zenik has just lost her boyfriend to a gun fight after a heist that is pulled off in Six of Crows (a separate duology that she is included in). She becomes an undercover spy to catch her boyfriend’s killer and uses her powers as a tailor (she can make herself appear as other people) to go unnoticed by the people in power. She meets a girl named Hanne who is the daughter of the king and becomes her best friend. They slowly begin to fall in love as they try to avenge the killer. It is a very complex relationship because Hanne then comes out as transgender to Nina which she accepts and they decide to marry and Hannes steps up as the next king.
The Eternal Ones by Kristen Miller (unfinished series)
“The Eternal Ones” is for the readers that love yearning. The protagonist is a teenage girl named Haven Moore. Her health starts rapidly declining and she starts experiencing regular seizures. These seizures are not normal though, she realizes that she is having visions. These visions are of herself in a different life and in New York. She moves to New York to try to find answers of her past self and finds a secret society that deals with these things. She meets a man named Lian who helps her uncover her memories and she finds out that they were married in her past life. They fall in love again in this life and tragically die together, but they keep finding their way back to each other every time they reincarnate and Iian waits for her in every lifetime to make her way back to him.
Powerless by Lauren Roberts (series)
The protagonist, Paedyn, is very poor and makes her living thieving in the slums. She is undercover as a psychic because everyone in the kingdom has powers, and if you don’t you are executed. Paedyn was born powerless. One day while she is on her daily thieving journey she comes across a man being beaten and threatened and she saves him. He ends up being one of the princes, Kai Azer. She is rewarded by having dinner with the royal family where she finds out that he is the King’s right hand man who kills the people who are powerless. Paedyn is disgusted and wishes that she never saved him, but on her way home she sees that the people of the slums are congratulating her for saving him. They deem her brave enough to fight in the kingdom’s deadly games in their honor. In these games she has to compete against Kai and they have a rivalry. It turns into a slow burn enemies to lovers romance that leads to Paedyn revealing her
secret to Kai hoping that she isn’t murdered for doing so.
