15 Best Enemies-to-Lovers Romance Books of 2025
There’s no doubting that the enemies-to-lovers is a beloved romance trope — and for good reason! Who doesn’t love the witty banter, the creeping realization that perhaps it’s not total hate, the upending of everything one once thought they knew about another person?
The return of Maxton Hall — The World Between Us for Season 2, starting November 7, Swooon began thinking about the best enemies-to-lovers books of 2025. With the year winding down, we’ve collected the top 15 books that excel at all things enemies-to-lovers.
Most have already hit bookshelves, but there are a few E2L novels that will be released in the coming weeks. Make sure to add them to your TBR! Scroll down to see our selections of 2025 enemies-to-lovers stories that are sure to keep you on your toes.
Which 2025 enemies-to-lovers novel has been your favorite? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Blood Beneath the Snow
Alexandra Kennington
Princess Revna Thorunsdotter has run out of options. Her family is ready to marry her off to the prince of another nation against her will, and she realizes her only way out is to enter the Bloodshed Trials, a competition that would pit her against her brothers in battle for the throne. Revna knows she is woefully underprepared in comparison to her siblings, and when she is kidnapped by the Hellbringer, the general of a neighboring nation, she assumes she’s going to be taken out of the competition. But the Hellbringer has other plans: If he can turn Revna into a ruthless fighter and she earns the throne, she will protect the people of both their kingdoms. It’s a deal worth making, but only if they both can keep their promises as the political games begin.
Fable for the End of the World
Ava Reid
Seventeen-year-old Inesa has reached the end of her rope. She has done everything she possibly can to help her family stay financially afloat, and feels the ultimate betrayal when her mother enters her into The Gauntlet, a live-streamed death competition in which residents are hunted by assassins in an effort to pay off their debts. Melinoë is coming off the heels of a particularly embarrassing performance at the last Gauntlet and is desperate to prove herself, setting her sights on Inesa as the ultimate prize. But as the girls engage in a fatal cat-and-mouse, they come to discover a larger enemy at play.
Slaying the Vampire Conqueror
Carissa Broadbent
Fans of Broadbent’s Crowns of Nyaxia series will enjoy this standalone set in the same universe. Sylina has pledged herself to the Arachessen, the female assassins working to fulfill the commands of their goddess. When Sylina is tapped to infiltrate the army of powerful vampire Atrius, she is eager to prove herself and claim the head of a powerful vampire for herself. However, Sylina will have to do everything in her power to earn his trust and get close to him, but she doesn’t notice that he might be doing the same to her.
Enigma
RuNyx
Class is in session in RuNyx’s twisty dark romance Enigma. The cutthroat students at Mortimer University don’t know the secrets hidden behind the new student Salem. On the outside, Salem seems like any other student, but she’s there to uncover what happened to her older sister, who once walked the same halls she does now. However, she’s drawn the attention of teaching assistant Cazimir van der Waal, whose presence at the university is under suspicion. Salem has no intention of letting anything stand in the way of her investigation, not even the beautiful, conniving man who tempts her at every turn.
A Fate Forged in Fire
Hazel McBride
When the kingdom of Tir Teine was run under a matriarchy, the royals and their people lived in harmony. But the throne has been usurped by men, and Aemyra Daercathian, the rightful heir to the throne, has been lying in wait for the perfect moment to take back her kingdom’s power. When the king dies, Aemyra attempts to ascend, only to be stopped by Prince Fiorean and run out of her own kingdom. When Aemyra returns to seek her revenge, she is instead forced to marry the man who has everything she wants, and whose only goal is to keep it from her.
Six Wild Crowns
Holly Race
King Henry VIII has decided to take six wives, one for each island kingdom of Elben. He has taken a new wife, Boleyn, who proves to be a challenge to Queen Aragon, who has maintained the highest status among the wives. Their bitter rivalry stems not from a competition for Henry’s love, but to coalesce the most power within their royal court, and Queen Aragon will not lose her throne without a fight. But she soon realizes that Boleyn may not have to be her enemy in order to claim the power she desires, and as they work together to unravel the secrets behind Henry’s magic, she finds Boleyn becoming more than just an ally.
The Irresistible Urge To Fall For Your Enemy
Brigitte Knightley
Assassin Osric Mordaunt has found himself in a complicated situation: He’s ailing and in need of highly advanced magical assistance, and the only healer he knows that would be capable of saving him is of another faction. Osric infiltrates the Haelan Order in search of Aurienne Fairhrim, who has no inclination to help Osric or his fellow assassins but is desperate enough to accept his offer on the condition that he makes a donation to help research an illness that is spreading across their nations. In working together to find the root cause of Osric’s sickness, Osric and Aurienne find themselves growing closer than they ever intended to, and this newfound bond may come with dangerous consequences and revelations about their governments.
The Entanglement of Rival Wizards
Sara Raasch
There is little one could say to magical student Seb to convince him that the Tourael family is worth much, despite the massive wealth they’ve accumulated as a shady magical business. So when Seb finds himself in competition with their darling son Thio for a research grant, it should be game on. But upon learning that their research is similar, and they’re likely to get much further working together, Seb attempts to withhold his disdain for Thio and his family’s history for the sake of earning this grant. But time spent in laboratories, with someone who speaks the same language, reveals that the pair have always had more in common than they once believed, but Seb questions where Thio’s loyalties truly lie when the family business gets involved in their research.
Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal
Meghan Quinn
If you’ve missed How My Neighbor Stole Christmas, have no fear! Quinn returns to the universe for another chaotic Christmas rom-com that is full of laughs and swoonworthy moments. In the town of Kringle, Christmas is everything, and town local Max is determined to ensure his family’s tree farm continues to be the best in town. Upon learning that a new farm is opening next door, Max schemes to destroy the farm, and thus the competition, by breaking the heart of the shop’s owner, Betty. Though the animosity on this one begins one-sided, Betty and Max give each other a run for their money in this laugh-out-loud holiday romp.
Try Your Worst
Chatham Greenfield
There are fewer times in one’s life when the feelings of animosity are higher than in high school, and Greenfield captures the essence of adolescent rivalry with true verve. One might think that high school seniors Sadie Katz and Cleo Chapman are too old for pranks, but neither would agree. The duo has partaken in a prank war ever since their academic rivalry needed to be upped a notch, and now all they want is to outdo each other. However, when someone utilizes their prank war’s reputation against them and blames them for a prank they didn’t commit, the pair is forced to work together to clear their names or face major trouble.
The Maiden and Her Monster
Maddie Martinez
There are rumors about what lurks in the forest near Malka’s home, but she and her healer mother pay it no mind until it is Malka’s mother who disappears one day. When Malka goes in search of her mother, she encounters Nimrah, a golem who has trapped her mother and is willing to make a deal: If Malka can free Nimrah’s creator from prison, then she will let Malka’s mother free. Forced to become allies, it becomes clear to Malka that there’s more to Nimrah than the rumors about her and how far she is willing to go to learn more.
Huntsman
Naima Simone
Once upon a time, Esha, a mafia heiress’ daughter, was on top of the world. Until one day, she wasn’t. Her aunt, jealous of her mother’s power, decided to take it for herself, even if that meant betraying her own blood. Esha waited patiently for years to seek her revenge, but discovers that her aunt was one step ahead when she finds a ransom and the assassin known as the Huntsman is on her trail. Fleeing her home and seeking safety, she has nowhere to turn, until she remembers that the enemy of my enemy could be my friend…and maybe even her lover.
Your Knife, My Heart
K.M. Moronova
Serial murderer Emery expected to live out the rest of her years in prison until she’s selected to participate in the Under Trials, a boot camp run by the Dark Forces, a military force for black ops missions. In the Under Trials, only the strong will survive, which would make Emery being paired up with Mori, the most intimidating and lethal of the Dark Forces military, seem like a win. But Mori has had a bad habit of killing his last partners, and no one in this ruthless competition is meant to be trusted. Even with their survival on the line, Emery and Mori find they cannot stay away from one another, starting an explosive affair that could upend both of their futures. With everything on the line, can love be enough, or is betrayal written in the stars? Your Knife, My Heart will hit bookshelves on November 11.
Lessons in Faking
Selina Mae
Selina Mae kicks off her Beck University series on November 11 with this college campus-set romance between a student and her brother’s biggest rival. Athalia knows that she and her twin brother, Henry, have been struggling to connect lately. So when she requires a tutor for a class she’s on the edge of failing, the last person she wants is Dylan, her brother’s biggest rival on the soccer field. But when Athalia figures out that time with Dylan seems to be the only way to get her brother to care about what she’s doing, she decides to take it to the extreme by fake-dating her tutor. Mae knows just what makes enemies-to-lovers work so well and makes a charming addition to the canon.
Tender Cruelty
Katee Robert
In the ninth (saucy) addition to Robert’s Dark Olympus series, out December 2, Hera has waited long enough to abandon her marriage to Zeus and kill him like she’s always dreamed of. She only married him in the first place to save her sisters, and even if the ruling council of gods is at each other’s throats, none of that was her problem to begin with. But when the wall of Olympus is crumbling, with infiltrators threatening to destroy their home, the pair must work together to get their council ready for the battle of a lifetime.
