Looking for some recommendations

[jesse_custer]

He's asking for stuff like The Lord of the Rings, so why recommend A Song of Ice and Fire, which is pretty different from The Lord of the Rings?

Personally, I find Martin's work engaging because he doesn't write like Tolkien.

[The Black Guardian]

Structurally, the two are very similar. It's just that Song of Ice is much more realistic, gritty, adult, etc.

[dupersuper]

For lighter fare, Greg Keyes's Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone is rather enjoyable.

Speaking of: if you're willing to stray from novels, there's always Bone.

[jesse_custer]

Structurally, the two are very similar. It's just that Song of Ice is much more realistic, gritty, adult, etc.

I don't know about structurally. Their narratives are fairly different, and Game of Thrones isn't really a "team" book, as the OP requests.

[The Black Guardian]

The Starks are the "team" that splits apart.