One of the most popular tropes in fiction writing, books about forbidden romance have been around for a long time. The most well known couples of the highly used trope which come to mind are Romeo and Juliet and Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet (although the latter can also be used enemies to lovers too).
But here are my book choices about forbidden romance across multiple genres that merit readers undivided attention. There are various reasons why the lovers in these books are forbidden to be together be it societal norms, marriage, family loyalties, supernatural, and in some cases death *tears.*
So get your writing utensils out bookworms, because you’re going to need to write these books down and then quickly add them to your ever growing TBR.
Forbidden Romance Book Rec’s
Books I’ve Read
- The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore
Lace Paloma & Cluck Corbeau. Fall in love with the lush writing of Anna-Marie McLemore’s story about two rival families locked in an escalating feud.
- This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
Kate & August. A reimagining of Romeo and Juliet but with monsters and death? Enjoy this dark urban fantasy by one of my absolute favorite authors Victoria Schwab.
- The Wrath & The Dawn by Renée Ahdieh
Shazi & Khalid. In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Monsters and curses, Renee Ahdieh brilliantly creates a story that readers will be utterly besotted with.
- The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid
Évike & Gáspár Bárány. Sworn enemies a witch and a devout woodsman are forced together to help save their people. The story follows a young pagan woman with hidden powers and a one-eyed captain of the Woodsmen as they form an unlikely alliance to thwart a tyrant.
- The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Kestrel & Arin. Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Hazel & Augustus. “That’s the thing about pain. It demands to be felt.” I certainly felt the pain. Get ready to ugly cry in this one.😭😭😭
- Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Yelena & Valek. Choose: A quick death… or slow poison… With mounting danger, and all the odds against them, can these complete opposites make it work??
- Ivory & Bone by Julie Eshbaugh
Kol & Mya. Two clans. Only one will survive. Set in a prehistoric time two warring clans try to survive in an unyielding world.
- Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh
Mariko & Ōkami. The only daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko and a disgraced general’s son, two paths collide and the inevitable happens which begs the question, how can Mariko fall in love with her sworn enemy?
- An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
Isobel & Rook. Isobel is human and Rook is Fae, but their journey along a knife-edge in a lush world where beauty masks corruption and the cost of survival might be more frightening than death itself.
- An Ember in the Ashes Sabaa Tahir
Laia & Elias. She’s a slave and he’s a soldier. Both drawn into a journey neither knew was possible least of all what they find in each other.
- American Panda by Gloria Chao
Mei & Darren. American Panda is a novel you won’t want to put down. Filled with humor, romance, and the struggle of family expectations, Chao’s coming-of-age story will resonate with many readers.
- A Pho Love Story by Loan Le
Bao Nguyen & Linh Mai. A Pho Love Story will have readers falling in love and hungry too. It has so much to offer about the Vietnamese culture, language, food, and history that is as mesmerizing as it is delectable
Books On My TBR
- XOXO by Axie Oh
- A Psalm of Storms and Silence by Roseanne A. Brown
- The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw
- Want by Cindy Pon
- Before We Disappear by Shaun David Hutchinson
- Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds
- Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur
- Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye
What are your favorite forbidden romance books. I can never have too many book recommendations.
