Comp Recommendations (Fantasy WITH Romance NOT Romantasy)
TLDR: Very specific book recommendation request for SuicideSquad X epic fantasy X romance SUB plot (not Romantasy)
I'm a fantasy writer. I'm struggling to find the right comps for my current book (basically, books that my potential readers enjoy)
I tried searching for the right comps all over, it's not that I'm so damn original that I can't find anything like it. But my fantasy has a strong romance SUB-plot. It's NOT a romantasy, but the romance is definitely a major element.
The book is about A royal bastard who kidnaps 4 death-row criminals and offers them a pardon in exchange for helping her complete a quest: recovering the prophesied artifact to end the Century War. But one of the criminals she recruited is an enemy spy, and he plans to steal the artifact at the first chance.
The royal bastard and spy are, of course, each other's love interests.
Think SuicideSquad x epic fantasy
I already read Five Broken Blades (a bit too romance-oriented but overall a fair comp), The Second Death of Locke (too romance-focused) , The Melevolent Seven (too grim dark) (considering the Jasad Heir)
I won't find an exact match, but if you read a good title published in the last 5 years that has any number of these elements combined, I'd love to read it:
a band of misfits saving the realm
a cat and mouse romance sub-plot
forbidden magical powers hidden from the government.
Thank you!!