1. The Hurricane Wars

Thea Guanzon

Let’s establish the standard immediately.

Talasyn and Alaric are not enemies because they have incompatible personalities.

They are on opposite sides of a war.

Much better.

Talasyn has grown up fighting against the Night Empire, while Alaric represents the power she’s been fighting.

So when attraction begins showing up, there is an actual ideological and military problem attached to it.

2. The Bridge Kingdom

Danielle L. Jensen

Lara marries Aren with the explicit intention of helping destroy his kingdom.

I feel like that qualifies.

She has been trained to infiltrate the Bridge Kingdom, uncover its weaknesses and send information back to her father.

Aren thinks he’s entering a political marriage.

Lara is effectively entering enemy territory as a spy.

3. The Jasad Heir

Sara Hashem

Sylvia is the surviving heir of a kingdom that Nizahl destroyed.

Arin is Nizahl’s heir.

I don’t think we need HR to clarify whether there is a conflict of interest.

Sylvia has spent years hiding who she is because discovery could mean death. Then she ends up forced into a bargain with the prince representing everything she has spent her life running from.

4. The Book of Azrael

Amber V. Nicole

Our heroine is not secretly a cinnamon roll being misunderstood by society.

Dianna is dangerous.

Liam is effectively the opposing god-king.

Their histories and allegiances place them firmly on different sides before circumstances force them into cooperation.

Also, bonus points for letting the heroine be the morally questionable one.

We support women’s wrongs here.

5. To Kill a Kingdom

Alexandra Christo

A siren who kills princes.

A prince who kills sirens.

Nothing concerning here.

Princess Lira literally collects princes’ hearts, while Prince Elian has dedicated himself to hunting her kind.

This is YA and much lighter on spice, but the enemy premise is wonderfully literal.

Neither side is merely irritated. Their species actively hunt each other.

Thank you for respecting the assignment.

6. The Wrath & the Dawn

Renée Ahdieh

Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid because she intends to survive long enough to kill him.

Again:

excellent enemy credentials.

Khalid is responsible, as far as she knows, for the deaths of countless young women, including her best friend.

Her objective is revenge.

Then she begins discovering that the reality behind the executions is far more complicated than she understood.

7. These Violent Delights

Chloe Gong

Technically these two are also exes.

Which somehow makes the enemy situation worse.

Juliette and Roma are heirs to rival gangs locked in a generational blood feud controlling 1920s Shanghai.

They used to love each other.

Then betrayal happened.

Now there are guns involved.

Very relaxing.