In Love and War · 2021
North of the StarsSpice level, tropes & is it dark romance?
by Monica James
Spice 4/5 (Explicit) · Darkness 5/5 (No light) · 6 trigger warnings flagged
Monica James published North of the Stars in 2021. It is book 1 of In Love and War. The pull here is mafia, arranged marriage, enemies to lovers and morally grey. We score it spice 4 (explicit) and darkness 5 (pitch black). The heaviest flags readers report are sexual assault, violence, abuse. Our scores lean on what readers report, not on a full reread, so treat them as a guide. This note is ours. It is not a publisher blurb.
First published: 2021. Book 1 of In Love and War.
North of the Stars tropes
On this shelf, North of the Stars is filed under Mafia dark romance, Arranged marriage, Enemies to lovers and Morally grey heroes. Each tag opens more books with that trope.
North of the Stars spice level
Is North of the Stars dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. North of the Stars scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light).
Spice and darkness are separate scores. More no light books. How we rate.
North of the Stars trigger warnings
Book-specific flags taken from reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 7 readers), grouped by us. Also on that list: sexual content, miscarriage, toxic relationship. See the reader-submitted list.
Graphic (6) — open before you read
Open this before you read. These are the flags most likely to be a hard stop.
Moderate (0)
Harm, control, or obsession that is common in this lane.
None flagged in this band.
Minor (0)
Present, and usually not the reason someone puts the book down.
None flagged in this band.
Full North of the Stars trigger warnings
In Love and War reading order
North of the Stars is book 1 of 1 in Monica James's In Love and War series. Start here.
- Book 1 North of the Stars (this book) · 2021
Order checked against the StoryGraph In Love and War series page on 13 October 2026.
Who it's for
Shelf note written for this site. We do not copy reviews or publisher blurbs. Outbound links are search pages, not quoted ratings. Kindle Unlimited and endings are only flagged when we were willing to mark them. How we rate.
Missing a book? Suggest it.
Books like North of the Stars
Matched on shared tropes, then the closest spice and darkness scores. Other books in the same series are listed above, not here.
- Dante
Dante
Sadie Kincaid
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Arranged marriage
- Deviant Hearts
Deviant Hearts
Jagger Cole
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Enemies to lovers
- Anastasia
Anastasia
Sophie Lark
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●○
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Arranged marriage
- Bloody Heart
Bloody Heart
Sophie Lark
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●○
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Arranged marriage
- Girl in Black and White
Girl in Black and White
Danielle Lori
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●○○
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Arranged marriage
- The Darkest Temptation
The Darkest Temptation
Danielle Lori
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●○○
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Arranged marriage
- Moments of Malevolence
Moments of Malevolence
T.L. Smith
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Morally grey heroes
- Bad Bishop
Bad Bishop
L.J. Shen
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Enemies to lovers
Books like North of the Stars, with a reason for each
Questions readers actually ask
What is the spice level of North of the Stars?
North of the Stars spice level is 4 of 5 (Explicit). On-page sex, clearly written. Darkness is a separate score: 5 of 5 (No light).
What are the North of the Stars trigger warnings?
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Abuse, Death, War, Blood. Moderate: none flagged. Minor: none flagged. These are book-specific flags reported by readers on reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 7 readers), grouped by us. The author's own note may list more. Read it before you start.
Is North of the Stars dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. North of the Stars scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light). The book is not interested in pulling the punch.
What tropes are in North of the Stars?
On this shelf North of the Stars is filed under Mafia dark romance, Arranged marriage, Enemies to lovers and Morally grey heroes.
Who is North of the Stars for?
For readers hunting mafia and arranged marriage with explicit spice. Look at the warnings before you commit.
What are some books like North of the Stars?
Matched on shared tropes and similar spice and darkness: Dante by Sadie Kincaid; Deviant Hearts by Jagger Cole; Anastasia by Sophie Lark; Bloody Heart by Sophie Lark; Girl in Black and White by Danielle Lori; The Darkest Temptation by Danielle Lori. More read-alikes, each with a reason, are on zademasked.com/like/north-of-the-stars.
Is North of the Stars a standalone?
No. North of the Stars is book 1 of 1 in the In Love and War series by Monica James.
What order should I read the In Love and War series in?
1. North of the Stars.
How many books are in the In Love and War series?
The In Love and War series by Monica James has 1 main book.
What is the North of the Stars age rating?
We'd say 18+. Spice sits at 4/5 (explicit) and darkness at 5/5 (no light). That's our recommendation, not an official rating, so read the trigger warnings as well.
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