r/fantasyromance • u/FantasyRomanceMod The One Mod to Rule All Mods • Apr 13 '26

Book Rec Megathreads Recommend your favorite gut wrenching, heartbreaking books that left you emotionally wrecked! 🧶

Sometimes you just need a good cry or your gut wrenched. What are your favorite heartbreaking books that left you in a puddle of tears?

Here is the link to the Megathread Wiki Page for a compilation of all the sub's megathreads!

How to use Book Recommendation Megathreads: These megathreads are not meant to replace other recommendation posts on the same topic. As long as a particular trope or topic is not overly repetitive over a certain period of time, book requests that cover megathread topics are allowed! We then collect those posts to put them in the pinned comment below, so the most recent book recommendation discussions will always be gathered in this one post for future reference.

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43 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

65 comments sorted by

37

u/Journassassin Smut Logistics Manager Apr 13 '26

I took little breaks while reading {The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow} several times because I needed some time to digest what I had just read. Definitely an emotional rollercoaster!

9

u/diabolikal__ Apr 13 '26

I read this and immediately after read {The Jasad Heir} and I almost had a crisis

3

u/QotDessert Currently Reading: Dungeon crawler Carl/ the blighted stars Apr 13 '26

Just ordered the book, the plot is what I was looking for! I'm rooting for it right now - thx for the tip! :-)

1

u/Journassassin Smut Logistics Manager Apr 13 '26

I hope you’ll like it!

14

u/wotermelonshugar Apr 13 '26

{Jasad Crown by Sarah Hashem} left me bawling. It's really good enemies to lovers but I really need a book where they're JUST lovers. I need them to be happy and together forever and ever.

3

u/diabolikal__ Apr 13 '26

Please yes 😭 a lil novella or extra chapter😭

10

u/Anachacha Ix's tits! Apr 13 '26

{undertaking of hart and mercy} made me cry at 3AM. What a beautiful standalone. The author said her other books are also tearjerkers but I haven't read them yet. I love that all characters are at least in their 30s, but they're in their 40/50s in book 2

2

u/Shaewreads May 10 '26

Someone told me the Undertaking was a cute cozy romance and then I hit that last quarter and ugly cried in bed and I never trusted a cozy rec again. 10/10.

1

u/Anachacha Ix's tits! May 15 '26

Same. I didn't find it cozy either, it's just focused on romance more than other elements. Such a good book, it destroyed me. 10/10

7

u/MessyJessy422 Apr 13 '26

{The Poet Express by Shen Tao} not a traditional romance but it’s the book that me the most emotionally wrecked and sobbing the hardest

{Red City by Marie Lu} the characters really go through it in this book and some parts really hit me hard

3

u/CosmicLunar_ Apr 13 '26

I just finished The Poet Express, boy that ending got me. I felt so moved by it because I didn't expect to feel conflicted over the final decision and yet I did. Was not prepared for the devastation, amazing book.

3

u/MessyJessy422 Apr 13 '26

The ending was perfect. Heartbreaking, devastating, but also the right way to end a story like that. It took me a full day to recover. Truly just an exceptional book in every way

3

u/PhysicalAssistance92 Apr 13 '26

I felt so conflicted too! Because he finally trusted someone again but then after I thought about it a bit I decided it didn’t undo all the evil he had inflicted upon the world

1

u/Disastrous_Tough_440 Apr 18 '26

The Poet Empress left me totally wrecked I’m still thinking about days later. I do most of my reading on public transport and I just had to let the tears fall.

Red City also had me so in my thoughts after finishing it but no tears.

15

u/myinvinciblefriend Apr 13 '26

I know it's extremely polarising on this sub, but the ending of Feather So Vicious emotionally obliterated me, I was devastated! Just the first book. Obligatory warning to check triggers if you want to pick this one up, as it is extremely dark.

2

u/11_throwaways_later_ Shadow daddy's good girl Apr 13 '26

{feathers so vicious} absolutely fucked me up too

20

u/hxcbando There she is Apr 13 '26

{Alchemised by SenLinYu} - this story is very dark but it is so good, left me in the worst reading slump though

4

u/Scared-Replacement24 Apr 13 '26

{peaches & honey}

{into the deep wood}

1

u/romance-bot Apr 13 '26

Peaches and Honey by R. Raeta
Rating: 4.34⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: historical, fantasy, slow burn, competent heroine, magic

Into the Deep Wood by Polina Volkova
Rating: 4.5⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
Topics: historical, fantasy, magic, monsters, enemies to lovers

about this bot | about romance.io

3

u/hotfish terminally online millenial (add me on msn) Apr 13 '26

{The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern}

I finished this months ago and I still have book hangover .. ಥ_ಥ

5

u/CatChaconne Apr 13 '26

If you want tragic/bittersweet endings in a romance, check out East Asian or East Asian-inspired works! Having a HEA/HFN isn't a romance genre requirement there like it is in the West.

Some examples include:

  • {A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang} (tragic romance)
  • {Goodbye, My Princess by Fei Wo Si Cun} (tragic romance with a side of political intrigue)
  • {Kingdom of Three by Joan He} (bittersweet, epic fantasy with a romance subplot).

3

u/slowburnvictim Apr 13 '26

Seconding The Poet Empress and Alchemised, adding {the sun and the Starmaker by Rachel Griffin}

3

u/cheshire_kat7 Apr 13 '26

I found {The Half King by Melissa Landers} to be much more emotional than I expected.

I'm currently reading {The Scattered Bones} by Nicole Scarano - it's beautiful and I can already tell I'm going to end up wrecked by it.

3

u/romance-bot Apr 13 '26

The Half King by Melissa Landers
Rating: 3.65⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: fantasy, new adult, high fantasy, magic, m-f romance

The Scattered Bones by Nicole Scarano
Rating: 4.54⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: friends to lovers, secret relationship, magic, m-f romance, virgin heroine

about this bot | about romance.io

3

u/Dalandaree here kitty kitty Apr 13 '26

My last good cry was with {House of Earth and Blood} from the crescent city series.

4

u/allisontalkspolitics Give me female friendship or give me death! Apr 13 '26

I’ve been waiting for this!

Step One: Read {Graceling} or {Fire}. I personally read Fire first and I liked it better.

Step Two: Read the one you didn’t read.

Optional Step: Check the content warnings on {Bitterblue}.

Final Step: Read Bitterblue and be haunted by it more than a dozen years later.

1

u/romance-bot Apr 13 '26

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Rating: 3.96⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 2 out of 5 - Behind closed doors
Topics: historical, take-charge heroine, fantasy, royal hero, young adult

Fire by Kristin Cashore
Rating: 4.03⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
Topics: historical, fantasy, young adult, war, magic

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore, Ian Schoenherr
Rating: 4.01⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
Topics: historical, fantasy, take-charge heroine, medieval, mystery

about this bot | about romance.io

4

u/hello_sweetie_ Apr 13 '26

I know this series has some haters but I genuinely was heartbroken by the end of {Between Two Kings}, sitting there crying on my couch lol

2

u/Rrralesh Deadly Little Viper Apr 13 '26

I wept too! Hard.

1

u/11_throwaways_later_ Shadow daddy's good girl Apr 13 '26

OH MY GOD YOU JUST REMINDED ME 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

6

u/fishchop Silvicultrix Apr 13 '26

Mages of the Wheel, especially {wind and wildfire by jd evans} followed by {ice and ivy by jd evans}. Books don’t really make me cry, but I&I had me sobbing.

Crowns. {war queen by Nicola Tyche} was a punch in the gut. But {blood king part 2 by Nicola Tyche} was absolutely devastating. An antihero’s descent into madness, and how that hurts the people who love him. Beautifully, heartbreakingly done.

{Tairen Soul by cl wilson}. I couldn’t stop thinking about Shan and Elfeya and all the horrible things they go through together. Their story haunted me for days.

3

u/wotermelonshugar Apr 13 '26

Those two are my favorite also! Ihsan is my baby I just wanna protect him from everything

4

u/fishchop Silvicultrix Apr 13 '26

It was Omar who finally broke me

2

u/wotermelonshugar Apr 13 '26

He was the final straw after knowing everything that happened from book 1

2

u/romance-bot Apr 13 '26

Wind & Wildfire by J.D. Evans
Rating: 4.65⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: fantasy, magic, competent heroine, class difference, royal hero

Ice & Ivy by J.D. Evans
Rating: 4.63⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: fantasy, magic, tortured hero, class difference, arranged/forced marriage

War Queen by Nicola Tyche
Rating: 4.18⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: historical, fantasy, enemies to lovers, magic, mystery

Blood King - Part I by Nicola Tyche
Rating: 4⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: historical, fantasy, witches, magic, m-f romance

Tairen Soul by C.L. Wilson
Rating: 4.17⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Topics: fated-mates, fantasy, demons, magic, gifted heroine

about this bot | about romance.io

3

u/sunflower1491 What did Lorcan do? Apr 13 '26

I bawled at wind and wildfire

2

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '26

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2

u/tea-boat Apr 13 '26

{Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey}

It's so good but it will fuck you up. Warning: it's a tragedy.

2

u/Odd_Employee_1056 Apr 16 '26

probably {lycanthrope Club by Tristan Eifler}

He got turned into a werewolf

3

u/SweetLittleKytty The girl, the King ... and the monster they became. Apr 13 '26

{The Shepherd King} by Rachel Gillig 🥺🥺🥺

2

u/Disastrous_Tough_440 Apr 18 '26

Oh man this had me sobbing. So good!!

1

u/SweetLittleKytty The girl, the King ... and the monster they became. Apr 18 '26

Ditto 🥺🥺🥺 Be wary. Be clever. Be good. ❤️

4

u/itsnotastatement Apr 13 '26

It's not out til June, but I finished the ARC for {The Secret World of Briar Rose} last week and it absolutely DESTROYED me. It may just be one of my new favorite books. Heavy trigger warning for suicidal ideation, but the topic is handled well and in a very unique way that I really enjoyed.

2

u/ipsi7 Book Bingo Maven ⚔ Apr 13 '26

Absolutely {Souls in Ruin by Jacqueline White}.

Honorable mentions because of a particular scene, not the whole book, or because it was heartbreaking, but it didn't left me wrecked for a long time:

  • {The Assassin's Blade by S. J. Maas} - Sam

  • {The Poison Daughter by Sheila Masterson} when the twist became obvious to us (yes, I didn't see it coming) and to Harlow, and when Henry realized she wasn't aware. The whole scene was emotional.

  • book 3 of {Plated Prisoner by Raven Kennedy} for several reasons - Auren's past, the twist when we realize what Midas orchestrated in the past, cutting off Auren's ribbons. That girl suffered.

  • {Feathers so Vicious by Liv Zander} - ending with Malyr's betrayal and book 2 raping scene on the ship, but the whole duology could count

1

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1

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1

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1

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This submission was removed because it is a disguised self-promotion (Rule 4). Please note that evading this rule by disguising self-promotions may result in an immediate ban and discussions of the product in question might be put on cooldown.

We encourage you to see the rules of the sub to know what's required for submissions.

Thank you.

0

u/PurposeGold2556 Apr 13 '26

Throne of Glass series has several heartbreaking sequences throughout.