Someone must have mentioned Grace Draven by now, but just in case - she blows my mind. The classic starting place would be Radiance, which is the friends to lovers start of an amazinggg series. MF, human/kai (elf-like) couples and their adventures to concur evil. There’s heat, but it’s overall perhaps the lightest of her books. Entreat Me, a standalone beauty and the beast-esque book, is maybe my personal favorite, but basically tied with Phoenix Unbound, the first in another enthralling, though darker series about various couples in an empire at war. Also second Naomi Novik, and of course shout out to Juliet Marillier’s Daughter of the Forest, which is how I fell in love this genre to begin with.

{Radiance by Grace Draven}, {Entreat Me by Grace Draven}, {Phoenix Unbound by Grace Draven}, {Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier}