So City of Ashes wrecked you. Welcome to the club. Whether it was the dark vibes, the forbidden love, or Cassandra Clare's ability to make you forget you have a life outside these pages — we've been there. These aren't random "if you liked X" picks. Every book on this page was matched element by element against what made City of Ashes hit different. Same energy, new stories.
We broke down City of Ashes into the elements that made it hit — and found books that match each one.
You loved City of Ashes for the dark and romantic and forbidden love? Girl, Serpent, Thorn is your next obsession. Same emotional frequency, different story — and Melissa Bashardoust might just become your new auto-buy author.
Looking for more dark and romantic and forbidden love after City of Ashes? Smoke in the Sun by Renée Ahdieh is the book your TBR has been begging you for. Clean read with all the feels.
The dark and romantic and forbidden love that made City of Ashes unforgettable? These Infinite Threads channels that exact energy. 512 pages of romantic, political that'll fill the void.
You loved City of Ashes for the dark and romantic and forbidden love? Girl, Serpent, Thorn is your next obsession. Same emotional frequency, different story — and Melissa Bashardoust might just become your new auto-buy author.
Answer one question and we'll point you to the right book.
Based on mood, trope, and pacing analysis, the most similar books to City of Ashes include Girl, Serpent, Thorn, Smoke in the Sun, These Infinite Threads. Each matches on specific elements like dark and action-packed that made City of Ashes resonate with readers.
We recommend starting with Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust — it shares City of Ashes's core Dark energy while bringing something fresh to the table.
City of Ashes is a standalone novel. You can jump right in without reading anything else first.
City of Ashes has a spice level of 0/5. The recommendations on this page range across spice levels — each one is labeled so you can find your comfort zone.
City of Ashes is already a low-spice read (0/5). Most similar books on this page have comparable heat levels.
Every "Books Like" page on Sort By Cravings is built from element-level matching — not surface genre tags. We compare mood profiles, trope density, pacing, heat levels, and emotional tone across our entire library of 12 profiled books to find reads that match on the things that actually matter to readers. Read our editorial standards.