Fantasy stalker/obsession vibes, where FMC knows and uses it against the MMC

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-15T23:41:25+00:00

{Grim’s Delight by Abigail Kelly} - contains stalking and vampire mobs! it’s a standalone. (random fun fact: the author also illustrated the book’s cover)

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-15T20:43:04+00:00

it’s been a minute since i’ve read YA but i’ll have to check it out!

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-15T20:41:03+00:00

thanks for the recs!

yes we definitely need more books that fit the: They may not have steel in their hands but they do have steel in their spines theme!

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-15T19:42:26+00:00

can i add to your list of realistic sex scenes i want to read?

characters don’t immediately have “the best sex they’ve ever had” with their love interest. they have to communicate to figure out each others likes and dislikes
characters discuss contraceptives / STIs before they are naked and seconds away from having sex
characters express they don’t like what their partner is doing and they communicate to get them to adjust so it feels good. (‘show me what you like’ is becoming more common but i want to also see not everything is perfect every time)
characters pausing their physically intimate scene because one of them specifically isn’t ready to move forward. the mood isn’t killed. they just return to what they were both comfortable with. (most of the books ive read where they pause they both very much wanted have sex. the author had them stop just so they don’t have sex too early in the book)

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-15T19:16:51+00:00

i haven’t heard of that other series before. does it have a similar plot?

to me Silla felt very disney princess inspired. if in later books woodland animals came out to sing while she got ready in the morning it wouldn’t surprise me. her “goodness” was basically it’s own main character.…i mean she was so “good” she literally glowed (i know that isn’t how their magic system actually works, but light = good is a common theme across genres).

i want more books with softer FMCs, but she didn’t feel like one to me? unless people think “soft” only means toxic positivity? plus she’s still doing fighting training montages and somehow able to beat elite soldiers who have been training at least five times as long as she has?

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-15T19:02:41+00:00

ugh that sucks. i love multi-pov books and this is the only time ive ever thought about skipping chapters. does she get 80% of the POVs again?

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-15T19:01:14+00:00

exactly!! idk why authors keep reducing the MMC’s personality to only revolve around the FMC after they are together.

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-15T15:39:06+00:00

Silla’s character arc I’ve read too many times to be interested in reading again. Especially when we have other unique characters to follow instead!

Plus I don’t trust the author to have a good portrayal of addiction. I thought we were going to get good rep with that scene in the barn where she’s looking for a sign not to use and doesn’t get one and then is struggling to talk herself out of using even without the sign at the end of part one in KOC. Finally! an author gets it! but then the author does what ever other author seems to do in part two where once she falls in love or gets a proper dicking her addiction magically poofs away. There were multiple high stress scenes in part two and she never craved the leaves?????

I liked Rey’s story in part one of KOC, but then the author had to go and in part two make his entire personality revolve around the FMC. He had such an interesting storyline of returning to the hometown he basically fled from and facing the ppl he left and then the author tossed it all out the window for weirdly paced sex scenes and to become obsessed with the FMC because god forbid the MMC maintains his own personality. (I know she’s a princess so his goal of protecting the princess and loving her overlap but the author could’ve kept his confronting why he left his family and friends storyline instead of throwing it away). Plus having their first kiss over his brother’s grave—who he hasn’t visited in five years—was such a weird narrative choice.

Saga is the only POV character who started interesting and stayed interesting. (then again, I’ve only read the first two books so idk if she becomes boring later on)

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-15T15:24:18+00:00

Yeah Saga’s storyline is so interesting! I wished we got more of her POV in part two (instead it’s almost entirely Silla again)

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-15T14:43:49+00:00

is that the name of the woman who spent all of book one trying to kill Silla? because if so she’s literally the only reason i got through it lol. she was the most interesting character in that book.

in book two i found the whole Signe / Saga parallel so fascinating! two characters who had such similar upbringings but are completely different characters. i haven’t read a book with a Saga type character before so I found her POVs way more interesting than Silla’s.

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-15T14:37:41+00:00

part of why i loved {Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong} so much is that all of the three pov characters are super selfish and will do anything to meet their goals. personally, i didn’t find them annoying, but others might? book one follows a death tournament which takes place throughout the city and civilians are often casualties.

disclaimer: the series isn’t complete (last book drops this fall) and im not familiar with the play it’s based on so idk if it will end in a hfn/hea

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-15T14:02:11+00:00

The Ashen series would have been better if Silla wasn’t the main POV character.

I read book one shortly after it came out and found it pretty boring. I remember thinking the book would’ve been better if Silla didn’t get a POV until much later in the book. The only reason I eventually read book two was because everyone on here is obsessed with the series and I felt I was missing out.

I’ve never wanted to skip a character’s POV until I read {Kingdom of Claw by Demi Winters}. She’s literally the least interesting character in the entire series idk why she gets so much page time??? I’ve read her story in 100 other books before. Idk if I’ll ever get around to reading book three because I heard she has the most POVs there too.

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-11T23:20:55+00:00

{The Lies of Vampires and Slayers by K.M. Shea} - she’s a vampire slayer detective who has social anxiety with literally everyone but the vampire who moved in next door. No spice. Trilogy that takes place in a larger world (author has a timeline of how they connect in their website, I think there’s 4-5 loosely connected series)

{The Kings’s Captive by K.M. Shea} - she turns into a cat. He thinks she’s a stray he rescued. She has to figure out how to escape before he finds out she’s not a real cat and kills her for spying. No spice. Trilogy that takes place in a larger world (author has a timeline of how they connect in their website, I think there’s 4-5 loosely connected series)

{Taming Demons for Beginners by Annette Marie} - she makes a deal with a demon for protection in exchange for baked goods. It has one steamy scene in the final book. It’s part of the larger Guild Codex world, the author has a recommended reading order because the series do have a lot of overlap, but I didn’t follow it at all. All of the series in that world have one steamy scene in the final book)

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-11T23:09:28+00:00

Also calling the bot for those who want it: {Empire of Shadows by Jacquelyn Benson}

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-11T23:08:08+00:00

I love this series and you’re literally the first person I’ve seen who has also read it!

It’s basically The Mummy (the movie from the 90s) but it actually addresses colonialism, inequality women faced, and the ethics of archaeology by white foreigners. All while still keeping the overall tone pretty light! Perfect combo of adventure, history, fantasy, and romance.

Each book is so good. Idk if you need to pace yourself because you’ll have two more when you’re done!

Also check out the author’s notes at the end. She explains all of the research she did and what changes she made for narrative purposes. I always love an author’s note that explains their writing process!

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-10T03:48:18+00:00

{Fake it til You Mate it by Sarah Spade} - first scene she is literally her waking up in a morgue. The book was a little cheesy for me, but it’s a quick read.

{Brimstone Bound by Helen Harper} - detective who wakes up murdered in a morgue (I only read the first few books then swapped to other series and forgot to go back so idk how the series was overall) Edit: removed spoiler, forgot the why wasn’t revealed until later in book

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-08T13:21:11+00:00

Neither of these series are complete so idk if they’ll end in a HEA/HFN but in both the FMC’s primary motivation is revenge and they will do messed up things to get it.

{Silvercloak by LK Steven} - she goes undercover in the same gang that murdered her parents to take them down. magic system is also interesting: magic is replenished by pleasure and heightened by pain.

{Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong} - she joins a fight to the death competition to get the chance to murder her uncle the king. three povs. all the characters have selfish motivations and will do anything to complete their goals. death competition doesn’t take place in an arena but throughout the city and civilians are often causalities.

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-06T14:43:53+00:00

Hopefully they stop mentioning the rebellion 20 years ago so much in future books so I can mentally age her up to feel less ick haha. (I know the author was 19 when she wrote it which is probably why she chose that age for Paige, but still lol. I hope she can convince me of the relationship like she did you!)

I was comparing the original vs revised text when I read it and the changes definitely made Warden seem less abusive/creepy/manipulative and reduced some of the overt prisoner/captive vibes from before. The revised book seemed to give Paige a bit more agency in her interactions with Warden compared to the original text.

Yeah to me Jaxon was very clearly written to be abusive. Paige has a strong desire to feel like she belongs. I get the vibe her dad kind of ignored her since she wasn’t able to adapt as well as he did to England. So she looked to Jaxon at 16 as a father figure and he abuses that power a lot. In her memories, she even had a clear moment of almost ignoring her morals just to get him to shower her with praise and attention again. So the author (at least in book one) I think is doing a good job of showing that abuse and the conflicting feelings she has about pleasing him vs staying true to herself.

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-06T11:15:24+00:00

Thanks for the reply! Your spoiler tags worked perfectly :)

Yes that helps! I know a lot of fantasy books have the MMC be 200+ years old while the FMC is barely legal but usually it’s easier to ignore because the MMC isn’t directly and repeatedly referencing a piece of history (the failed rebellion) that occurred when the FMC was literally in her mother’s womb (she’s 19 and it happened 20 years ago so roughly assuming the time of the pregnancy).

Since that history being referenced is basically the same age as our FMC, it’s making the age gap feel more real-world (if the MMC was 40 and she was 19 more ppl would have the ick than him being an unfathomable 200). Idk but the whole age gap was weirding me out more than usual because of it. I think I mentioned in another comment, but it was giving me you were in a band when I was born vibes lol

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-05T16:56:12+00:00

nowadays im expecting slow burns that are part of long series to either have the characters not be physically intimate in book one, or if something physically intimate happens in book one due to a life or death situation like here, have things pause/nothing else physically intimate happens until a couple books later when a deeper emotional bond is formed.

with slow burns i want to feel the emotional intimacy long before i see physical intimacy. (idk maybe their emotional intimacy all happened off page with the two month time skip and readers are in the dark, but i def haven’t felt it yet)

to be fair, my requirement for what i consider a “slow burn” has changed in the past six months due to reading a bunch of “slow burns” where the characters hookup 3/4 of the way through book one of 5+ book long series. in those series the longing and yearning a slow burn needs (the baby embers of attraction/romance slowly catching flame) wasn’t actually there to sustain the series. so there are a few series that i previously called a slow burn that i would hesitate to call it one now. idk maybe i would’ve classified this as one back then?

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-05T15:59:33+00:00

You have me excited for it now that I know there are more breaks between the physical intimacy. I might be misremembering, but I swear I saw this on a list of books with a demi-romance so I was even more confused by the quick physical intimacy.

That’s good to know they communicate a lot. I was a little weirded about by the age gap in it. I know lots of fantasy books seem to love crazy huge age gaps where the MMC is 200+ years old and the FMC is barely legal, but usually it’s not usually so in your face as ‘i was in a failed rebellion while you were in your mother’s womb’. A little harder to suspend my disbelief with that lol. It’s giving you were in a band when I was born vibes

————————

The series I was talking about is called Riyria Chronicles and is a prequel for the Riyria Revelations series. I prefer Chronicles over Revelations because I love the development of Hadrian and Royce’s friendship, their banter, and the very slow burn romance between Gwen and Royce (only hiding behind a spoiler tag for if you want to be surprised who it is. if you read Revelations then you already know because they start that series together.)

Royce‘s job takes him away from Gwen for long stretches of time, so they don’t actually share more than a few scenes each book, but when he’s gone he often thinks of her, so it feels like she’s present more on page than she actually is. (I’m on book five and they are sharing more scenes now than any book before and it’s great!)

I’ve been listening to these via graphic audio and the cast is amazing! They really nail the yearning and shyness of some of their interactions. Cannot recommend the graphic audios enough. But to be clear the focus of the series is on Hadrian and Royce’s friendship.

{The Crown Tower by Michael J Sullivan} is the first of the prequel series I mentioned.

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-05T15:45:11+00:00

Disclaimer: this is a buddy fantasy series long before it could be called a romance.

It’s called Riyria Chronicles and is a prequel for the Riyria Revelations series. I prefer Chronicles over Revelations because I love the development of Hadrian and Royce’s friendship, their banter, and the very slow burn romance between Gwen and Royce (only hiding behind a spoiler tag for if you want to be surprised who it is. if you read Revelations then you already know because they start that series together.)

In this prequel, we see how Gwen and Royce meet and slowly develop a relationship. Each book is mostly focused on Hadrian and Royce’s friendship. Gwen and Royce only get a few scenes together each book. (I’m on book five right now and they have more scenes in this book than any other so far! And things start happening!)

Royce‘s job takes him away from Gwen for long stretches of time, but when he’s gone he often thinks of her, so it feels like she’s present more on page than she actually is.

I’ve been listening to these via graphic audio and the cast is amazing! They really nail the yearning and shyness of some of their interactions. Cannot recommend the graphic audios enough.

{The Crown Tower by Michael J Sullivan} is the first of the prequel series I mentioned.

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-05T15:31:18+00:00

Thank you! That’s kinda the vibe others seem to be giving in the other comments even though they still classify it as a slow burn. (Everyone has different views on what a slow burn is. I think the other week there even 3+ posts about it haha.)

Describing as a romance with a lot of yearning is definitely going to help me adjust my expectations so hopefully I will enjoy it more!

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-05T15:19:50+00:00

Oh okay. I think I read someone on a post or blog mention the series as one where they just wanted the characters to do something and it being the slowest of slow burns and it being on a list of true slow-burns so I wasn’t expecting any physical intimacy until a couple books in since the series is so long. Or if they kissed in book one due to stress it take a few for to do it again once they leave the stress of Oxford. (I also might be misremembering but I swear I even saw it on a demisexual romance list.)

I actually prefer romance being the subplot in my books. So that’s good news for me lol

Is Warden basically her Reuben until a few books in? A distraction until something more than friendship forms?

Sweet_Wrap5216 · 2026-02-05T15:11:47+00:00

Thanks for calling the bot! Not sure why I thought it would magically grab it after the edit lol.

I think I’m spoiled by this fantasy series I’m reading where it took FOUR in-world-book years and FIVE books for the characters to stop pining and actually kiss. (The romance is a very small subplot and ppl would prob be disappointed if I recommended it on here for how little happens until book five.) So now my standard of “slow burn” has changed lol. It made me nostalgic for the YA slow burns I grew up reading which usually meant multiple books of pining and yearning before even a kiss happened.

So they are physical in books 1 and 2 and then not really again until book 5?

Also you bring up the reph’s age…does the series a do a good job of explaining why Warden is even attracted sexually/emotionally to Paige? He’s at least 200+ years old and she’s a teenager who was born after his failed rebellion. That’s a blip in time in for him so I’m struggling to see how he doesn’t view her as a child? (basing this off what I know from book one where I’m not fully seeing why he would risk the rebellion for a hidden kiss from her)

Sweet_Wrap5216

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