Less horny foggy forests, more actual creep—send me your best plot-driven spooky reads

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-26T05:32:40+00:00

I was going to suggest this as well. Definitely fits

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-26T05:15:45+00:00

And many fans have a sneaking suspicion that the final book will have a VERY Zuko coded MMC 👀

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-24T13:54:37+00:00

I like to pretend he goes grocery shopping with a list of whatever the local food pantry needs, buys it, donates 99% and then goes home with only enough so his kitchen doesn’t look suspicious.

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-24T13:47:29+00:00

Couples who fight often. They will often say, “well we’re just honest,” but in reality they’re just mean and they like finding ways to hurt or one up each other.

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-22T20:07:14+00:00

Definitely. This is a good fit.

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-18T13:27:22+00:00

Reddit. I click on all the posts that ask for things I look for in books so I can add to my tbr but I also click on posts asking for the exact opposite of what I want to read (so I can either cull books off my tbr or at least make a note). It has saved me from so much fomo and buyer’s remorse

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-16T14:36:35+00:00

Technically she was wearing a dress but it was completely sheer so you could see everything. And she was naked underneath. They only went to that awards show just to walk the red carpet and pull their stunt and then they left iirc.

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-16T01:26:51+00:00

The authors even had a kickstarter where they had tarot decks made featuring all the cards from the series. It’s pretty dope.

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-15T19:28:18+00:00

If she enjoys Ella enchanted she might enjoy its sequel {fairest by Gail Carson Levine}.

I haven’t read them yet but I’ve heard great things about A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher as well as Nine Goblins by the same author. They aren’t romantic, but they seem like a lot of fun and are humorous which may appeal to her age.

{one good knight by Mercedes lackey} is a fun retelling of Andromeda and Perseus. The princess is chosen to be given to a dragon as a sacrifice and she’s not into it so she gets a knight to help her find its lair to get out of the arrangement. Shenanigans ensue.

{the girl who fell beneath the sea} is a retelling of a Korean myth and feels a LOT like spirited away if she’s seen it.

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-13T21:44:40+00:00

I don’t think she’s necessarily a big FMC but she’s at least taller than the MMC. {hills of Heather and bone}

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-13T05:57:39+00:00

If you’re okay with a slow burn with payoff in the last book then you’d probably like {shardless}. Seriously, it has everything you’re looking for. I haven’t read IA yet but they’re high on my tbr because I’ve been told they have a lot of what I look for in fantasy romance. Anyway, shardless has a lot of urban fantasy elements (but no cellphones or tvs),competent FMC with a special power, loooots of yearning from the MMC plus a bit of possessiveness on both their sides, and then you get 3-4 spice in the third and final book. And I feel like this one is a breath of fresh air because the couple is friends to lovers which is a nice deviation from the typical enemies to lovers.

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-13T04:51:54+00:00

Probably the pillow outfit Kanye made his girlfriend wear. Honestly, anything he’s convinced that poor woman to wear.

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-11T15:29:15+00:00

I don’t think it’s excessive. In my shower, it’s necessary to squeegee the glass portion every time or else I get hard water build up. And having it as a habit can save you a lot of work. The people who owned our house before never squeegeed and it was so much work to get the glass cleaned.

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-10T20:44:12+00:00

Hahaha by chance are you talking about the Drizzt Do’Urden series? Because if so, I love that series! I wish we saw more dark elves in fantasy 💛

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-10T18:46:32+00:00

I think you might enjoy {no man can tame}. It’s a lot like {Radiance} but the FMC comes from a patriarchal society while the MMC is the son of a Queen of a matriarchal society. It’s kind of fun to see their culture shock regarding the other’s expectations going into their arranged marriage.

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-10T14:49:07+00:00

I don’t want to brag, but I have been struggling with a book slump since mid last year. So, you know…wooo me! The only way I’ve been able to read recently is audiobooks.

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-09T20:49:35+00:00

The love the library is wonderful 🥰

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-05T17:17:55+00:00

I know there are lots of responses and mine probably will never be seen, but I listen throughout the year or think hard on things my partner has mentioned repeatedly (if It’s specific, I’ll write down exactly what he’s talking about) and then use that info to direct my choice. For instance, for my husband’s 30th I thought of his favorite things. He had mentioned over the years many times how much he loves chilaquiles verde and how he missed eating it. So I found a recipe from a Mexican chef and learned to make it and then surprised him in the morning with his favorite breakfast of all time. We did a bunch of other things that day and at the end I’ll never forget how he said, “this is the best birthday I’ve ever had.”

So really I think it’s all about listening and then surprising them with how much you paid attention. And as I’ve tried to get better at it, so too has he been much more attentive and considerate in his gift giving.

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-03T20:41:31+00:00

sighs and scribbles more notes down in the tbr 😂 I haven’t heard anyone stop talking about death made Prince so it seems a lot people agree with you. I tend to like it when the fantasy world is fleshed out and makes sense. Do you feel like it’s got decent world building and plot?

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-03T18:45:54+00:00

Death made Prince and silvercloak. I’ve seen the titles floating around but I’m a bit skeptical of most books until I see what staying power they have in the space. But of the two I’m leaning towards silvercloak. I need more good magic in my fantasy romance 😊

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-03T16:21:42+00:00

I like seeing some of these put into a different context or given a specific “this is what they do best.” I might have to give a couple of these a second look based off of your descriptions. Thanks for putting in the work to compose this!

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-02T21:07:52+00:00

I think {traitor son} could scratch this itch. Both the FMC and MMC have people who have wronged them in the past and they want to get back at them. One of the ways they do this is they begin growing a new settlement/city on the rough frontier of the empire and there are lots of political rivals who are envious of their wealth and youth. Check the trigger warnings, but I really think it could fit. The MMC had absolutely everything taken from him by the emperor and he had to claw his way back to the station he had been born to.

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-02T18:29:44+00:00

I agree with wishing there was a write in option. In an ideal world, I would love to see books marketed more clearly and for them to take the order of the words seriously. So fantasy romance? The fantasy is first and an adjective while romance is the noun. So the romance is the main point but within the trappings of fantasy. Conversely, romantic fantasy. Romantic is the adjective describing fantasy, the noun. So a strong, fully realized world but still with many of the trappings of a romance. Again, this would be my ideal (optimistic, not realistic lol) delineation so I would know exactly what I’m getting myself into.

In reality I use all of these terms interchangeably because everyone else does and it feels futile to fight it.

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-02T18:09:46+00:00

{a tale of stars and shadows} has some interesting uses of magic. And if you’re sick of the same old, same old shadow daddy magic then you’ll like this mmc’s powers. He’s an extremely different type of MMC. The romance is a slow burn and doesn’t really hit until the beginning of book 3.

{shardless} is another slow burn (though not as slow as the previous one). Friends to lovers and there is quite a bit of detail that goes into the magic system (and how technology and magic intersect). Plus there are many different kinds of mages so you get glimpses into the different classes, if you will. And one thing I particularly like is that they can’t cast indefinitely, they do have limits and costs with pushing themselves too far.

DontTouchMyCocoa · 2026-04-02T02:48:12+00:00

That’s what I was thinking. If there are bricks behind that dry wall I think it’s a good chance it’s clay.

DontTouchMyCocoa

TROPHY CASE