I have read Games of Thrones. I was drawn to the realism of the realpolitik, but the draw fell through for me with the shadowy conspiracy figures who knew too much without clear sources of information. Also, their attempts at pulling strings always seemed to work, where such attempts always went wrong for our clueless protagonist du jour (du jour because they kept getting killed off!). At the end of the day though, it still had Jon Snow, Arya Stark, and dire wolves, so it's not like I regret it. :)

If you liked the realpolitik, I highly recommend The Baroque Cycle because you get the feeling that the whole mass of complicated politics in the 17th century is in fact driven by real people who get hungover and wonder if their coat is still in fashion, and then send a nation to war because their stocks are bad or their cousin called in a favor. Some of them are just better at it than others.

Anyway! Thank you for the rec. I guess the fact that I'd read it means you're good at guessing what I'd like. I would love to hear more suggestions!