Terry Brooks’ The Sword of Shannara is a good cautionary example here. Because he’s not just copying the flavor of Lord of the Rings but any number of identifiable characters and plot beats, SoS is widely mocked as a straight-up Tolkien ripoff.
SoS is of course also a great pre-Shades of Gray example of how you can ride thinly-disguised plagiarism all the way to the bank. But if you want to keep your self-respect, I’d take Gower’s advice. 