Some people like romance. Some people like dragons. Turns out, quite a lot of people like both.
 
That’s one way of looking at the really quite remarkable phenomenon of romantasy, which continues to be one of the hottest areas in all of publishing. The year 2026 looks like it will be keeping pace nicely.
 
Below, we’ve put together a guide to the new year’s most anticipated romantasy books, as determined by Goodreads members. These are the books that readers are adding to their Want to Read shelves, sorted monthly by publication date. A few quick caveats: Genre is a notoriously inexact science, but we’ve done our best here to include everything romantasy or romantasy-adjacent, including cozy fantasy featuring love stories, say. And remember that publication dates can change. For readers seeking books on the more traditional romance or fantasy ends of the spectrum, don't worry. We've got you covered.
 
For returning romantasy readers, 2026 will bring several sequels and series continuation books, including Sarah A. Parker’s The Ballad of Falling Dragons, Devney Perry’s Rites of the Starling, and the latest from Kerri Maniscalco’s lively Prince of Sin series.
 
Other notable releases include Jordan Stephanie Gray’s The Wicked Sea (mermaids!), Jaclyn Rodriguez’s A Vow in Vengeance (tarot magic!), and India Holton’s The Antiquarian's Object of Desire (lustful academics!). Alert readers may notice established authors from other genres getting into the romantasy game, like space horror specialist S.A. Barnes (Death's Daughter) or literary mystery author Jean Kwok (Dominion).
 
Click on the book cover images for more information about each title. You can also use the Want to Read button to assemble your own romantasy reading queue for the new year. Keep it spicy, bookworms.