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What Is Romantasy?
Romantasy is a subgenre of the fantasy and romance fiction genres. It has to have fantasy elements combined with a romance plot that if you were to remove the romance, it would no longer make sense for the story. It’s basically fantasy that focuses on relationships and not just the fantastical and magical elements.
Fantasy can definitely have romance in it, but for it to be romantasy, I think the romance has to be a central theme, and it follows more of the beats of a romance novel, with some kind of conflict that breaks up the couple and a third act where they reconcile.
8 Books to Read if you want to get into Romantasy
The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
If you want vampires with high stakes
Buy: Bookshop.org
For humans and vampires, the rules of survival are the same: never trust, never yield, and always – always – guard your heart.
The adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king, Oraya carved her place in a world designed to kill her. Her only chance to become something more than prey is entering the Kejari: a legendary tournament held by the goddess of death herself.
But winning won’t be easy amongst the most vicious warriors from all three vampire houses. To survive, Oraya is forced to make an alliance with a mysterious rival.
Everything about Raihn is dangerous. He is a ruthless vampire, an efficient killer, an enemy to her father’s crown… and her greatest competition. Yet, what terrifies Oraya most of all is that she finds herself oddly drawn to him.
But there’s no room for compassion in the Kejari. War for the House of Night brews, shattering everything that Oraya thought she knew about her home. And Raihn may understand her more than anyone – but their blossoming attraction could be her downfall, in a kingdom where nothing is more deadly than love.
This is the first book of the Crowns of Nyaxia series, with five books and two supplemental books so far. I’m not sure if it’s done or not.
This first book is basically if hunger games had vampires, so if hunger games was your jam growing up and you want to get into reading romantasy, definitely start with this series.
It’s a deadly tournament with slow-burn romance between a human and a vampire, so enemies-to-lovers vibes as well, which is pretty common in romantasy.
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
If cozy fantasy is more up your alley
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Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party–or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.
So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily’s research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.
But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones–the most elusive of all faeries–lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all–her own heart.
This is the first book in a trilogy, but it does look like there will be a fourth book coming out soon!
This is more of a cozy fantasy vibe, and some people might debate if there really is enough romance in this book to classify it as a romantasy and not just a fantasy with a romance subplot. It is closed-door for sure, so if you don’t like a lot of spice but still want a romance element, this is a good book to try. I would also say later in the series is more romantasy, where the romance does take more of a central plot, but for this first book, maybe not as much.
It does have magical academia, dry humor, and a cozy setting, when they’re not off fighting for their lives against faeries. I would still give it a try, even though the romance plot is a bit dimmed.
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
If you love emotional stories
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All eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow wants to do is hold her family together. With a brother on the frontline forced to fight on behalf of the Gods now missing from the frontline and a mother drowning her sorrows, Iris’s best bet is winning the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.
But when Iris’s letters to her brother fall into the wrong hands – that of the handsome but cold Roman Kitt, her rival at the paper – an unlikely magical connection forms.
Expelled into the middle of a mystical war, magical typewriters in tow, can their bond withstand the fight for the fate of mankind and, most importantly, love?
Honestly, I highly recommend the audiobook for this one. It’s dual narrators, and the voice actors totally fit the vibe of the book. This is one of the very few books I’ve been able to do through audio.
This is also a duology. The romance is definitely there for both books, and they’re rivals-to-lovers, where they’re rivals by day competing as journalists but at night they share anonymous letters through magical typewriters and fall in love that way.
There is magic and it’s a magical world where there is a war between gods and the humans are caught in the middle, but the system isn’t explained very well until book 2. The romance definitely takes more of a center stage in this one.
I also do think it could’ve been written as a historical fiction, so if you typically like historical fiction, but want to check out fantasy and romantasy, this is a great book to start with.
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
If you’re coming from contemporary romance
Buy: Bookshop.org
Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again…
Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was….
Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she’s ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf.
This is a paranormal romance, so it’s fantasy in that the creatures are werewolves and vampires and they’re warring, but not exactly a fantasy in the sense that I would typically think of first. Again, it’s enemies-to-lovers, so if you’re sensing a trend it’s because that’s one of my favorite tropes, so the books I recommend tend to have that element in it.
This centers around a political marriage and doesn’t have too much fantasy or magic, so it’s a very beginner friendly book for anyone who’s into romance but may be new to the fantasy genre. Ali Hazelwood is known for her romance, so I think this book does a good job of bridging her readers into a more fantasy setting.
There is also a second book that just came out, focusing on different characters than the first but set in the same world.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
If you love magical atmospheres and lyrical writing
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The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.
This is somewhat enemies-to-lovers, but they’re more being forced to be enemies against their will. It centers around a mysterious circus that only appears at night.
Two young magicians, unknowingly bound to a lifelong magical competition, fall in love despite knowing only one of them can be the winner. The writing is beautiful and rich, the romance is tender, and the setting feels like stepping into a dream. This is a good place to start if you think the atmosphere is just as important as the plot.
We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal
If you want epic adventure with rich cultural inspiration
Buy: Bookshop.org
People lived because she killed. People died because he lived.
Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the sultan. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways. Both Zafira and Nasir are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya―but neither wants to be.
War is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the sultan on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds―and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine.
This is a duology as well. It’s inspired by ancient Arabia and is once again enemies-to-lovers. There’s a dangerous quest to recover a magical artifact that could restore balance to their world, so it’s a classic fantasy plot.
It’s definitely slow-burn. The romance develops slowly as they get to know each other, and there’s breathtaking worldbuilding, compelling characters, and high-stakes adventure. This is a great choice if you’re more looking for a fantastical setting with romance coming in second.
An Heir Comes to Rise by C.C. Penaranda
If you want a longer series with political intrigue and magic
Buy: Bookshop.org
A SWORD…
In the impoverished outer town of a kingdom where fae outrank humans, Faythe, an orphan with a talent for swordplay, knows the importance of keeping her head down around the fae patrol. She and best friend Jakon long for a better life, and her desire to swing her sword in combat may bring the purpose and coin she’s yearned for.
A DREAM…
When she draws the attention of royal guard Nik, she soon learns that her mortal nature isn’t the only reason to remain out of sight. Nik is a Nightwalker, a silent assassin of the mind with the power to enter others’ dreams, and whether she trusts him or not, he’s about to awaken abilities in Faythe that shouldn’t exist in a human. Nightmarish abilities. Deadly abilities. Abilities that will teach Faythe blood really does run thicker than water…and if she doesn’t trust in higher powers soon, blood will run indeed.
AN HEIR…
For this is no battle Faythe can fight with steel. Within the city walls, suspicions are arising, and here in the outer town she has deeper bonds to protect. It seems everyone will die with a dark secret to tell, but what if one unlikely human girl was born harboring the darkest secret of all…?
There are six books in the series, and it is a completed series so you can dive right in! It’s also available on Kindle Unlimited. Honestly, this is one of the best romantasy series I’ve read in a while. There are so many hallmarks of romantasy in this one, with a brooding MMC, a messy love story, a FMC who grows into her own power, enemies-to-lovers of course, and political intrigue.
This does deal with a lot of courts, countries, and policies, so if you want something that feels kind of like Game of Thrones, but with a lot more magic, this is a good choice.
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
If you want a timeless fantasy adventure with humor
Buy: Bookshop.org
What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all time and he turns out to be…well…a lot less than the man of her dreams?
As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad’s recitation, and only the “good parts” reached his ears.
Now Goldman does Dad one better. He’s reconstructed the “Good Parts Version” to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere.
What’s it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex.
I felt like I needed to include a classic. Obviously this was written before romantasy became a thing, but looking at the traits of romantasy, I would say this definitely fits the bill.
It blended romance, adventure, comedy, and fantasy into one unforgettable story. The Princess Bride offers a charming fairytale storyline that definitely influences romantasy today, so if the classics are more you’re thing but you haven’t read The Princess Bride yet, I’d give it a try as a romantasy pick.
Final Thoughts
These would be my recommendations if you want to dip your toe into the romantasy genre. I do think romantasy is becoming a bit oversaturated. A lot of fantasy coming out is marketed as romantasy, and I think some are labeled that way erroneously because some recent ones don’t have much of a romance plot in my opinion. I do think publishers are pushing people to market it as romantasy even if it doesn’t quite fit the bill since it’s trending, so it’s taken over the fantasy genre a bit, but these are all great reads.
Let me know what you would add to the starter pack!
Check out other Recs:
Dark Academia Starter Pack
Banned Book Recs
13 Must-Read Horror Books
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