What Are the Best Enemies to Lovers Books If You Loved Twisted Love?

If you are hunting for the best enemies to lovers books and you powered through Twisted Love in a single sitting, I have very good news for you. The enemies-to-lovers romance trope is one of the richest in all of fiction — and when it is done right, with genuine stakes, real tension, and a slow burn that actually pays off, there is nothing better. I am USA Today Bestselling Author Victoria Pinder, and after writing over 100 novels across multiple series, enemies to lovers is one of the tropes I keep coming back to because it lets me put characters under the kind of pressure that reveals who they really are.

Below I am going to walk you through the best enemies to lovers reads I know — including several from my own catalog that readers consistently tell me they devoured in one night — organized by what kind of enemies-to-lovers energy you are in the mood for.

What Makes Enemies to Lovers Romance Actually Work?

Honestly, most so-called enemies-to-lovers books are really just strangers who bicker once and then kiss. That is not enemies to lovers. That is a misunderstanding with good hair.

Real enemies-to-lovers romance requires the characters to have a genuine, legitimate reason not to trust each other — a reason that has real stakes attached to it. The best versions of this trope ask: what happens when the thing standing between these two people is not a misunderstanding, but an actual conflict of loyalty, mission, or identity?

The secondary keywords that matter here are: fake relationship, forced proximity, forbidden romance, romantic suspense, and slow burn. The best enemies-to-lovers books weave at least two of those together. When you stack fake marriage ON TOP OF enemies to lovers ON TOP OF genuine danger? That is when readers lose sleep.

The Three Ingredients of a Great Enemies-to-Lovers Story

After writing this trope across multiple series, I have landed on three non-negotiables:

1. A legitimate reason not to trust. Not a rumor. Not a misunderstanding. A real, structural reason — opposing missions, family loyalties, a secret that changes everything.
2. Forced proximity with no easy exit. They have to stay in the same space long enough for the walls to crack. A fake marriage. A safe house. A castle in a snowstorm. A job they both need.
3. A moment where choosing each other costs something real. The HEA has to feel earned. They have to give something up — a mission, a belief, a version of themselves — to get to love.

Every book on this list delivers all three. Let me tell you about them.

The Best Enemies to Lovers Books in the Irresistibly Series — My Personal Recommendation

Okay I have to tell you about Eva and Jake because this is the enemies-to-lovers setup that still makes me genuinely giddy and I wrote it.

The Irresistibly series (Brothers in Revenge) follows the Bentley family — the rightful heirs to the throne of the kingdom of Hoskell. Their father the King was assassinated by the Kirno conspiracy. Their assets were frozen overnight. The throne was stolen. Seven brothers were left with nothing but their loyalty to each other and a plan to take everything back through counter-espionage, safe rooms, and relentless intelligence work.

Each book follows one brother finding love in the middle of what is essentially an ongoing royal shadow war. But the romance at the center of the series — Eva and Jake in Irresistibly Strong — is the one that absolutely wrecked readers in the best possible way.

Irresistibly Strong: She Was Hired to Destroy Him

Eva is sent in by the Kirno conspiracy to spy on Jake Bentley. Her mission: get close, gather intel, report back. The cover that makes the most tactical sense is a fake marriage.

What the people who hired her did not account for was Jake himself. A man who has lost everything — his father, his country, his identity as a prince — and still gets up every day and fights for his brothers. A man who looks at Eva like she is someone worth protecting, even when protection is the most dangerous luxury he has.

Eva is one of the most complex heroines I have written. She is not a villain. She is a woman who took a job that made sense at the time and then found herself in a situation where every choice costs something. Her arc is about deciding who she is when the mission and the man cannot both survive.

The full reading order for the series is: Irresistibly Lost (free prequel), then Irresistibly Found, Irresistibly Charming, Irresistibly Tough, Irresistibly Played, Irresistibly Rugged, Irresistibly Strong, Irresistibly Dashing.

Start free: Irresistibly Lost (free prequel) is available on Apple Books, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Google Play, and more. Irresistibly Charming is also permanently free and makes an excellent entry point if you want to dive into one of the brothers first.

DM me the word IRRESISTIBLY and I will send you the complete reading order!

Watch: Why the Irresistibly Series Hooks Readers From Page One

I did a deep dive on the Brothers in Revenge saga and what makes this particular enemies-to-lovers setup so compelling — watch here:

What Are the Best Enemies to Lovers Books With Fake Marriage?

If you loved Twisted Love specifically because of the forbidden tension layered on top of forced proximity, you are going to want books that stack tropes. The fake-marriage-plus-enemies-to-lovers combination is genuinely one of the most addictive in romance fiction because it takes the physical closeness of a fake relationship and charges it with genuine distrust.

Here are the combinations I recommend most:

Irresistibly Strong — Fake Marriage + Spy Mission + Enemies to Lovers

Already covered above, but worth naming again here because it hits every single one of those trope boxes simultaneously. Available on Apple Books, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Google Play, and more at victoriapinder.com/books/irresistibly-strong/.

Forbidden Crown — Arranged Royal Marriage + Enemies to Lovers

The Princes of Avce series delivers royal fake-marriage romance with genuine stakes in a fictional European kingdom. Forbidden Crown is permanently free and introduces the world beautifully. If you want the heightened-reality glamour of royal romance with real emotional grit, this is your next series. Available free on Apple Books, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Google Play, and more at victoriapinder.com/books/forbidden-crown/.

Forbidden Marquis — Abandoned at the Altar + Contract Marriage

Rossie is left at the altar and flees to Paris, where she ends up in a contract marriage with an Italian marchese who is not remotely what she expected. This one has enemies-to-lovers energy wrapped in a fish-out-of-water European setting and it is genuinely one of my favorites to recommend for readers who want glamour with their slow burn. Available at victoriapinder.com/books/forbidden-marquis/ on all retailers.

Best Enemies to Lovers Books With High Stakes and Romantic Suspense

Some enemies-to-lovers readers want the emotional complexity AND genuine danger. If the thriller undertone in Twisted Love was part of what hooked you, you need books where the romantic tension is happening alongside a real external threat.

The Irresistibly Series (Full Saga)

Every book in the Brothers in Revenge saga has this — because the Kirno conspiracy is an active threat throughout the entire series. The brothers are not just falling in love. They are protecting their women, each other, and what is left of their family while running a counter-espionage operation from safe houses. The romantic stakes and the external danger are inseparable, which is exactly what makes readers tear through the whole series.

Grab the free prequel on all retailers and start from the beginning.

The Tempting Series — Ex-Marines, Fake Engagements, Real Threats

The Hawke family saga follows five powerful men facing a deadly threat — and the women who walk into the middle of it. Olivia and Conner (the future Queen of Montina and the man protecting her), Scarlett and James Clancy — these are fake engagements that happen under genuine danger. Ex-Marines protecting heiresses. The tension is real on every level. Explore the Tempting series here, available on Apple Books, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Google Play, and more.

House of Morgan — Criminal Legacy + Forbidden Love + Twenty Books of Secrets

I have to mention the House of Morgan series here because while it is not pure enemies-to-lovers, the forbidden romance and power-dynamics tension throughout this 20-book Miami billionaire dynasty saga has everything enemies-to-lovers readers love — high stakes, impossible choices, characters with legitimate reasons not to trust each other, and a slow unraveling that spans an entire saga.

Peter Morgan was raised to become his father — a man who built a criminal empire across multiple continents. Every love story in this series is about a Morgan child choosing a different life. The power dynamics alone will keep you hooked. Start free with Secret Crush, available on all retailers.

Enemies to Lovers Books Table: Which One Matches Your Mood?

What Should I Read After Twisted Love? A Specific Answer

I get asked some version of this question constantly and I always give the same answer: if what you loved about Twisted Love was the forbidden dynamic, the protective obsession, and the slow unraveling of someone who seems cold but is actually hiding devastation — start with Irresistibly Strong.

If you loved the family drama layered under the romance — the sense that the love story is happening inside a much bigger world with its own history and secrets — start with the House of Morgan series at Secret Crush (free on all retailers).

If you loved the European glamour and the sense that these characters exist in a heightened reality with real political stakes — start with Forbidden Crown (also free on all retailers) and the Princes of Avce series.

All three give you that same bone-deep satisfaction of watching two people who absolutely should not fall in love completely lose the battle against their own feelings.

Trust me when I say you will not run out of books. I have over 100 novels waiting for you. Browse the full series list here.

A Personal Note on Why I Keep Writing This Trope

I have to be honest with you about something. When I started the Irresistibly series, I was thinking about what it would feel like to have a job that requires you to become someone you are not — and then to meet a person who somehow sees through the performance to who you actually are. That is Eva’s entire arc. She walked into Jake’s life as a lie and found out she was more herself with him than she had been in years.

I wrote a lot of the early Bentley brothers books during a season of my own life where I was thinking about what it means to carry a legacy you did not choose. The Bentley brothers did not ask to be princes. They did not ask for their father to be killed. They did not ask to wake up one day as men without a country. But they chose each other. And then they each chose the woman who walked into their chaos and made it make sense.

That is what enemies to lovers, at its best, is really about. Not hatred turning into love. Walls coming down. Two people discovering that the person they were most afraid to trust is the one person who actually deserves it.

I hope you find that in these books. I put it there on purpose.

Start Reading the Best Enemies to Lovers Books Today

Here is your quick-start guide with links to every book mentioned in this post, available on Apple Books, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Google Play, and more:

• Irresistibly Lost (free prequel) — Start the saga free on all retailers
• Irresistibly Charming (Book 3, also free) — Free entry point on all retailers
• Irresistibly Strong (Eva + Jake) — Available on all retailers
• Forbidden Crown (Princes of Avce, free) — Free on all retailers
• Forbidden Marquis — Available on all retailers
• Secret Crush (House of Morgan Book 1, free) — Free on all retailers
• The Hawke Fortune 1 (Tempting Series) — Available on all retailers

DM me the word ENEMIES on Instagram and I will send you my complete enemies-to-lovers reading list — or browse all my series at victoriapinder.com/romance-book-series/.

And if you want a free book to get started right now, head to victoriapinder.com/free-books/ — there are eight permanently free titles waiting for you, including the Irresistibly prequel.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best enemies to lovers books for fans of Twisted Love?

The best enemies to lovers books for fans of Twisted Love stack multiple tropes — forbidden love, fake relationships, and genuine external stakes. Top recommendations include Irresistibly Strong by Victoria Pinder (spy hired to betray him marries him for cover and falls for him), the Forbidden Crown royal series, and the House of Morgan billionaire dynasty saga. All feature slow burns with real emotional costs and satisfying HEAs.

What is the enemies to lovers trope in romance?

The enemies to lovers trope features two characters with a legitimate reason not to trust each other — opposing loyalties, a secret mission, family conflicts, or competing goals — who are forced into proximity until their walls break down and they choose love over the conflict that divided them. The best versions require the characters to give something real up to be together.

Where should I start with the Irresistibly series by Victoria Pinder?

Start with Irresistibly Lost, the free prequel that introduces the Bentley family and the Kirno conspiracy that stole their throne. Irresistibly Charming (Book 3) is also permanently free and works as a standalone entry point. The full reading order is: Lost, Found, Charming, Tough, Played, Rugged, Strong, Dashing. All books are available on Apple Books, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Google Play.

Are there enemies to lovers romance books with fake marriages?

Yes — some of the best enemies to lovers books combine the trope with fake marriage for maximum tension. Irresistibly Strong features a spy who marries her target for cover and falls for him. The Princes of Avce series features arranged royal marriages with genuine enemies-to-lovers dynamics. Forbidden Marquis features a contract marriage after an abandoned wedding. All are available on all major retailers.

What is the Irresistibly series about?

The Irresistibly series (Brothers in Revenge) follows the Bentley brothers — rightful heirs to the throne of Hoskell — after their father the King is assassinated and their assets are frozen by the Kirno conspiracy. Each of the seven books follows one brother fighting to restore their kingdom while falling for the woman who walks into their dangerous world. It is royal romance, counter-espionage, and enemies-to-lovers all in one saga.

Does Victoria Pinder have any free enemies to lovers romance books?

Yes — several. Irresistibly Lost (the Brothers in Revenge prequel) and Irresistibly Charming (Book 3) are both permanently free on Apple Books, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Google Play. Forbidden Crown (Princes of Avce Book 1) is also free and features a royal enemies-to-lovers arranged marriage. Browse all free books at victoriapinder.com/free-books/.