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Our Romantasy Primer for Genre Newbies (and Dedicated Fans)
Some say love is the most powerful thing in the world. Some say dragons. We say: Why not both?
Romantasy is the emerging consensus term for a certain style of hybrid novel that combines elements of both the fantasy and romance genres. As with all genre designations, the lines can get a little blurry. But there’s no doubt that, in the last few years, the romantasy aisle has been an increasingly buzzy one on Goodreads. One cool thing about that? Quite a lot of romantasy authors have gotten their start as independent and self-published authors, with grassroots support helping a number of them break out into the larger book world. What we're saying is: Nice work, readers.
For the romantasy newcomer—or for avid readers who've been following along since the Jacqueline Carey days and are looking for fresh new leads—we've assembled a primer on the current state of the field, presented below. Up top, we’ve gathered novels from four genre mainstay authors who have blazed their own trails into the realms of romantasy. These are essentially the most popular romantasy authors on Goodreads since the late 2010s, according to reader ratings, reviews, and Want to Read shelves.
After that, we’ve compiled a list of newly noteworthy novels that have explored and expanded the genre and exploded it in popularity in the last few years. Finally, we offer you the new and upcoming romantasies publishing in 2024 to help you stock your WTR shelf.
Click on the book cover images for more details about each title. If you find any promising leads, add them to your Want to Read shelf.
Genre Mainstays
These are the authors (and their most popular books) you've seen all over Goodreads for years!
Sarah J. Maas
For those who've encountered the acronym ACOTAR in the wild, those letters stand for A Court of Thorns and Roses, author Sarah J. Maas' megahit series featuring a steamy love story set in the realm of faerie. Maas is also the author of the Throne of Glass YA books and the Crescent City adult fantasy series.
Jennifer L. Armentrout
West Virginia author Jennifer L. Armentrout has earned a loyal romantasy readership with her Blood and Ash series and subsequent spinoffs. If you're wondering why so many romantasy book titles are some variation of A Blank of Blank and Blank, Armentrout's (and Maas') books might have something to do with it…
Scarlett St. Clair
With an eye to agency, inclusivity, and sex-positive storylines, author Scarlett St. Clair excavates the steamier bits of Greek mythology in her Hades x Persephone Saga. St. Clair's other series include the Adrian x Isolde books (sexy vampires!) and her Fairy Tale Retellings novellas.
Danielle L. Jensen
Prolific Canadian author Danielle L. Jensen specializes in seductive fantasy for adult readers (The Bridge Kingdom and Saga of the Unfated series) and YA readers (the Dark Shores and Malediction Trilogy series). For a sense of the relative spiciness of each series, check out Jensen’s helpful FAQ page. This year, her latest book has broken out in a big way, introducing her to a whole swath of new readers.
The Dragon Book That Could
Unless you've been living under a rock (have you? That's okay; a nice nap under a rock sounds good to us right now too), you've likely heard of the book that took the reading world by storm last year. Set at a battle college of dragonriders, Fourth Wing and its sequel Iron Flame have supercharged interest in the romantasy genre. Fans won't have to wait long for the next installment of the series, which publishes next January.
New Notables
Dedicated romantasy readers have been swapping recommendations for these titles in recent years, and with the success of Fourth Wing, many of these books are now finding a wider audience. As the saying goes: a rising tide lifts all ships.
Discover 2024's Romantasy Reads
Don't miss this year's new and upcoming standalone and series continuation romantasy titles!
Are you an avid romantasy fan or a relative genre newbie? Which romantasy titles do you recommend to your fellow readers? Drop them in the comments below!
Comments Showing 151-196 of 196 (196 new)
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Emma
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Aug 13, 2024 07:51AM
Some good books 😁
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If you haven't already, you should check out Laurie Forest's The Black Witch Chronicles. It's an INCREDIBLE series with what feels like everything included.
Can anyone tell me which of these books are NOT spicy? I love fantasy but don't read anything with explicit sex scenes.
Daughter of No Worlds needs to be on here and The Winter King.
Madly Jane wrote: "Law wrote: "I read four books on this list. Assistant to the Villain was okay. Both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame were disappointing. I enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses. Can you recommend me a book..."One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns are my favourite reads of this year so far! Highly recommend.
Law wrote: "I read four books on this list. Assistant to the Villain was okay. Both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame were disappointing. I enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses. Can you recommend me a book to read fro..."Powerless, Red Queen, How Does It Feel?, and Cruel Prince
I’ve read 13 on the list and reading one. I’ve got a dozen or so want to reads that I found in bookstagram. Will return back when my library has more “hold slots” available hahah
You’re missing the Zodiac Academy, Ruthless Faye’s of the Zodiac and Darkmore Penitentiary!! These are going to the top of my list, maybe even higher than ACOTAR series.
অচুপ্তা | acchupta wrote: "I was hoping for some fresh new recommendations that'd differ from the typical Sarah J. Mass/Rebecca Yarros YA romantasy format, but alas. I'm sure some of the books here are better written, hidden..."Stacia Stark's A Court This Cruel and Lovely is very well written. I am enjoying the series and I share similar opinions on Maas/Yarros.
Law wrote: "I read four books on this list. Assistant to the Villain was okay. Both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame were disappointing. I enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses. Can you recommend me a book to read fro..."I just finished the Shepherd King duology (One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns) and I highly recommend it! The romance was more of the subplot though so if you're wanting more romance than fantasy you may not enjoy it as much.
Nora Roberts: The Dragon Heart Legacy trilogy has ACOTAR vibes, just less action and spice.
Lisette wrote: "I recommend The Witch Collector book 1-3. One warning; this series is currently pauzed and Weaks is a master of cliffhangers 😱"the witch collector !!! so good, am so eager to know what happens to Raina.
The Return of the Elves series by Bethany Adams is excellent. Great stories, well written, mostly MF but there is a threesome in there, too.
There is so many of these books that I wanna read! I love this genre <3
Law wrote: "I read four books on this list. Assistant to the Villain was okay. Both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame were disappointing. I enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses. Can you recommend me a book to read fro..."If you are into fantasy with a good and exiting plot, slow burn romance, and just an epic story, then the Throne of glass series is the right one for you. Haha i sound like i'm getting paid to say this. But really it is amazing, i think about it every day!!
If you haven't read it and want to start, i would do a bit o research on which order you want to read it in. It depends on your reading style! Hope this helps!! :)
Personally my history with this genre goes back to Holly Black and her “Modern Faerie” series. Her more recent Elfhame books are pretty good too! The Stolen Heir in particular was a fresh perspective on the fae.
Claire wrote: "Not the copy and paste trope genre 😭"you get it!!!!!
Kathleen wrote: "No thanks to all of it. WHERE ARE THE MM FANTASY RECOMMENDATIONS!"Wild Sky by Zaya Feli and Far from Neverland are both amazing. Also the Infernal War Saga by Hailey Turner!
I LOVE THIS GUIDE. ROMANTASY IS MY LITERAL HOME.
I’ve read seven of these and very much loved every single one of them. And almost every other one that I haven’t read yet is already on my tbr ❤️
Doesn’t anyone remember this saying anymore: if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all.
Empire of the Vampire- Jay Kristoff… buckle in ❤️🔥
Law wrote: "I read four books on this list. Assistant to the Villain was okay. Both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame were disappointing. I enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses. Can you recommend me a book to read fro..."Viciously Yours was really good and it’s short.
I’ve never read romantasy, which book is the best introduction to the genre?
Madly Jane wrote: "Law wrote: "I read four books on this list. Assistant to the Villain was okay. Both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame were disappointing. I enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses. Can you recommend me a book..."Try Carissa Broadbent's books, or 'The book of Azrael'; it has an amazing storyline and romance.
Csiki wrote: "Chocolate cake haired minxes with silvery blue eyes, half-full orphan status and hope of all mankind stamp is a little hard to digest for me being a wrinkled 40+. Can you recommend something on thi..."Nothing on this list, but I highly recommend Anne McCaffrey's Dragon Riders of Pern series. There are 22 books in the series, the first one is DragonFlight. Hope you enjoy these as much as I did :-)
KB wrote: "I don’t normally comment on things but YOU HAVE TO READ THE HADES SAGA if you’re going to read Scarlett St. Clair’s Hades X Persephone Series. The two series are interconnected and a lot will not m..."I just read the Touch of Chaos and I honestly had no problem keeping track even though I haven't read The Hades Saga. Honestly, I barely even remembered the previous books of the Hades x Persephone series because it's been so long since the previous books.
Nora wrote: "Any less spicy recs ✨? Enjoyed ACOTAR but I’m not huge into the spicy scenes!"I second this! I love romance and fantasy, but I avoid reading anything spicy.
Serpents of the Wings & Night was one of my favs from this list, half of these are still on my bookshelf waiting, I also really liked throne of the fallen as a standalone. I’m just starting faebound and enjoying it so far.
Kirby wrote: "Csiki wrote: "Chocolate cake haired minxes with silvery blue eyes, half-full orphan status and hope of all mankind stamp is a little hard to digest for me being a wrinkled 40+. Can you recommend so..."Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries! and One Dark Window and Cruel Prince only have a teeny bit
Lisette wrote: "I recommend The Witch Collector book 1-3. One warning; this series is currently pauzed and Weaks is a master of cliffhangers 😱"The fourth book has actually been restarted and it's coming out next year! I subscribe to the author's newsletter.
I also recommend all Jacqueline Carey (as the list's intro did), E.J. Mellow's Mousai series, Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent (a bit more action than most), The Road of Bones by Demi Winters (new duology). Then Sara Douglass' The Wayfarer Redemption and Elizabeth Haydon's Rhapsody: A Child of Blood for more high romantasy (ie. more worldbuilding, plenty of romance and magic).
KB wrote: "I don’t normally comment on things but YOU HAVE TO READ THE HADES SAGA if you’re going to read Scarlett St. Clair’s Hades X Persephone Series. The two series are interconnected and a lot will not m..."I totally second this post! Absolutely loved the Hades/Persephone Series from Scarlett St. Clair.
Gotta add Call of the Norns series by Aimee Vance
Also want to add that KF Breene has the Deliciously Dark Fairytales with the four book series A Ruin of Roses followed by a two book series A Cage of Crimson. I am impatiently waiting for the second book in A Cage of Crimson. I will say it is definitely spicy but entertaining and captivating. I couldn't put these books down. And well, once you meet Hadriel, you won't stop laughing.
To anyone who ADORES fantasy… and a smattering of romance (my recommendation truly has 0 spice) please read the most underrated series of our recent history. Garth Nix’s “Sabriel”. Think: Chronicles of Narnia, LoTR, etc… he’s a living legend in the genre and Sabriel does have some* romance but it’s barely a shade (just FYI if that’s a must). The world he builds is unlike anything I’ve ever read. It’s tremendously well-written. With characters you’ll love forever. Do yourself a favor and add it to your WTR shelf.
The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick is book 1 of trilogy that delivers to the end. It has a complex story and well developed characters. Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik is a space romance. There are more books in the series, but it can be read on its own.
Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews - Lucky you if you have not read any of this terrific author duo.
Keramia wrote: "Any solid WLW recs?"I know I'm late but... Read through the replies looking for this same comment, but sadly I couldn't find any good recs, so I'll just add my own (some are older, but still solid):
- Crier's War - it's a duology
- Tempered in Ash - I guess there'll be more volumes? no ETA yet
- The Priory of the Orange Tree - there's a prequel but it's not necessary, can be read as a standalone
- Breaking Legacies - plot is a rollercoaster; the plot twist got me good. Ending made me bawl my eyes out but in a good way
- Unworthy: The Blacksea Odyssey Book 1 - it's a trilogy, third book arrives in october (23rd I think)
Recommend me please a romantasy well written ( not cringe). I like queer themes, withcraft, asian vibes, but anything that is written properly ( not from wattpad or felling like it, i like mature and comunicative characters )
Claire wrote: "Not the copy and paste trope genre 😭"Try out MAAIJKE, a story of two loves, time travel, history.
Astra wrote: "Law wrote: "I read four books on this list. Assistant to the Villain was okay. Both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame were disappointing. I enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses. Can you recommend me a book..."You might enjoy MAAIJKE, a story of romance, time travel, and history
Law wrote: "I read four books on this list. Assistant to the Villain was okay. Both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame were disappointing. I enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses. Can you recommend me a book to read fro..."definitely check out the other sarah j, maas books and the caraval and once upon a broken heart series
Law wrote: "I read four books on this list. Assistant to the Villain was okay. Both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame were disappointing. I enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses. Can you recommend me a book to read fro..."When the moon hatched!
I just noticed that above the titles you put "kindle unlimited" and I really appreciate that. I don't appreciate all these titles I'm going to have to add to my TBR!
<3
Please consider adding Ilona Andrews to this list.
