The State of Romantasy
trends, recs, and more
It is a truth universally acknowledged that America runs on Dunkin and BookTok runs on Romantasy. We’ve already covered the stalwarts of the genre here, but romantasy is a moving target: romantasy readers are always looking for the next big thing that will entirely consume them, AND also every day, as improbable as it seems, more people are still discovering Sarah J. Maas and going down the romantasy rabbit hole.
All of this to say, I thought it was time to talk about romantasy again and share some of the books I’m seeing that make up the new class of big romantasy books. After all, Onyx Storm was the fastest selling adult title in the past twenty years - romantasy is an unpredictable but powerful force in publishing that crosses generational lines. It isn’t just 20-something girls on BookTok reading about sexy faeries - it’s older moms, it’s my dad (occasionally), it’s your neighbor, it’s substack cooking superstar
, it’s studio executives looking for the next big TV show…you get the picture.Note: proceeds from affiliate links this week go to this fundraiser to support romance pioneer Vivian Stephens. Shout out to the Ripped Bodice for spotlighting this!
New Tropes and Trends
Assembling this list, one thing jumped out at me - new romantasy novels aren’t confined to merely one world and one type of creature. Whether that is because of the power of Sarah J. Maas’s multiversal storytelling or simply a desire for more, more, more in the genre (maximalism to the max), who can say? Whereas previous books might’ve had faeries, many of these books have faeries and vampires and zombies and more. And they’re also crossing genre lines. They often have a little dystopia, a little dark romance, some traditional fantasy elements, and a lot of spice.
Along with the maximalism comes crazy twists and reveals - the bigger the reversal, the better. This, of course, harkens back to foremother Sarah J. Maas, who writes an entire romance in A Court of Thorns and Roses only to reverse it entirely in A Court of Mist and Fury. Readers want to be forced to finish a book and go back to the beginning to read it over again, looking for clues.
Just as dark romance is overtaking BookTok and the New York Times bestseller list, dark romantasy is a growing subgenre. And, at least for me, darkness can sometimes feel a little more palatable in a fantasy world.
The Bachelor in fantasy worlds - count how many of the books below involve 10 women competing for a prince’s hand.
A new emergent trend to watch? Soulmates, fated mates, and I’ve loved you in every lifetime partnerships.
Additions to the Canon
So, you’ve read ACOTAR, you’ve read Fourth Wing, you’ve read Quicksilver, you’ve read Carissa Broadbent, what do you read next?
City of Gods and Monsters by Kayla Edwards: Loren is a human living in a city of dangerous supernatural beings (werewolves, vampires, witches, etc.) and is forced to team up with a demon hunter named Darien when women start disappearing from the city.
1 star goodreads review: I think this book has a lot of promise, but it really, really fell flat. I think it can be best described as Crescent City’s younger, and much worse sibling. I totally get what the book was going for, but it was way too drawn out. - @el-in-oz
5 star goodreads review: DARIEN CASSEL. Number 1 book boyfriend. The new standard that nobody will ever compare to. I have no words. I NEED HIM BIBLICALLY!! The epitome of morally grey and touch her and you die but sassy about it. His sheer obsession and love for Loren is everything to me. This man is also TRAUMATIZED and dealing with so much anxiety and grief I cannot wait to continue watching his character development! The tortured souls speak to me. There simply aren’t the right words to explain how much I love this man. -@Marianna Moore
Rain of Shadows and Endings by Melissa Roehrich: Tessalyn Asura is chosen to be the personal power source bound to the god of death.
1 star goodreads review: Please don't read this if you have sexual trauma or abuse history. This book is essentially following Tessa as she's treated like shit by everyone in her life and threatened with rape over and over until she gives up and goes catatonic. -@Reece
5 star goodreads review: This is a DARK fantasy romance, that is your warning! The lore in this series runs deep, I can tell it will have my head SPINNING for books. I can’t wait to unravel and learn more. 6 stars ⭐️ so so so much fun. I can tell there will be so much character development to come with an insane slow burn plot. Obsessed is an understatement! -@Emmy Rosam
Gild by Raven Kennedy: A dark and spicy reimagining of the King Midas story
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Tammi gives a great breakdown of the important things here - the first book in this series isn’t really a romance and she’s unclear who the MMC of the series is by the end of the first book.
Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli: A vigilante witch and a witch hunter fall in love.
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Romantasy, more than many other subgenres, relies on aesthetic - just think about how much AI-generated fan content there is for ACOTAR on BookTok.
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn: a contemporary Arthurian legend set in North Carolina.
Romantasy tends to be a disappointingly white genre, so this series is an extremely important addition to the canon. The final book, Oathbound, released just this week, with its own share of controversy on Threads (where else). Barnes and Noble locations displayed this highly anticipated new release on small tables by itself and in isolated displays at the back of the store, leading fans to wonder if it shouldn’t be getting more prominent store placement.
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Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli: ten women complete in a deadly competition to win a marriage to the Sun King.
1 star goodreads review: It felt like a Wattpad spin off of The Selection. The writing and the characters felt VERY YA and juvenile, and for a “strong girl who has had a tough life that shaped her into a tough person” she sure does cry a lot. -@Morgan
5 star goodreads review: The bachelor meets deadly trials, this was so fast paced I couldn’t put it down! -@Emily-Rose
The New Big Deals
More than most other subgenres at the moment, romantasy often pulls from the indie published space. Once books gain a bit of traction on BookTok or elsewhere, they can be snatched up by publishers and converted to traditional publishing deals. Here are a few of the books that have recently been acquired by traditional publishers and stand to be the next big books in the genre, a la Quicksliver:
The Kiss of the Basilisk by Lindsay Straube- one of the changes that was made to this book once it was marked for traditional publishing? The title was changed from Spit or Swallow when the series was acquired by Bloom Books for 6 figures. A basilisk teaches 14 girls the power of seduction in order to win the prince’s hand in marriage. This one sounds filthy, which is a good tactic - shock value gets you play on BookTok:
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Heavenly Bodies by Imani Erriu - the new book I am hearing about the most on BookTok lately. Elara and Lorenzo are enemies and also star-crossed lovers (I haven’t read this one yet and the summary isn’t giving me much here, but it sounds totally up my alley).
Readers are split on if the original indie-pub version or the new traditionally published version (put out by Random House Canada) is better.
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Metal Slinger by Rachel Schneider was an indie pub darling making the rounds on BookTok starting last fall - I think I read it in October. It was recently announced that it sold to Saturday Books (an imprint at Macmillan) for seven figures. The strength of this book is in the twist ending (which doesn’t feel like a spoiler because I genuinely don’t think you could guess it).
1 star goodreads review: I now understand why people are saying that they couldn’t predict the plot twist at the end. Because it made literally no sense lol -@Vi
5 star goodreads review: this sh*t was devoured in less than 24 hours. WHAT DO YOU MEAN RACHEL???? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THATS HOW IT ENDS?????? never EVER have I been so thoroughly bamboozled. I feel winded. I could easily commit a homicide or sacrificial act for the 2nd book to be in my hands rn <3 -@Emily
Coming Soon
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As we’ve previously discussed, a lot of what is coming down the pipeline in traditionally published romantasy is repackaged Dramione fanfic (side note - if you haven’t visited this post in a bit, the comments section has taken on a life of its own and there are lots of new recs!). I won’t catch everything here, but here’s a few upcoming releases I’m intrigued by:
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig: Rachel Gillig’s adult debut is everything I could want in a fantasy novel. Much like her wildly popular YA duology, the world building in this one is unique and the writing is beautiful. Reminds me of my queen Sharon Shinn (if I were a BookToker all I’d do is make videos about how criminally underhyped Sharon Shinn is).
Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber: this book by the author of BookTok favorites Caraval and Once Upon a Broken Heart sounds like a little bit dark academia, a little bit urban fantasy.
A Stage Set for Villains by Shannon J. Spann: A YA-fantasy release set in a theater company from Entangled, publishers of Fourth Wing
Exquisite Ruin by AdriAnne May: a dark romance interpretation of the story of the minotaur, with a sorceress and a demon trapped in a maze.
Prince of Mourning by Jenn Bennett: The return of Jenn Bennett is a very welcome one - a nursing student finds herself in a haunted mansion.
And a whole bevy of sequels: Enchantra, A Curse Carved in Bone, The Ballad of Falling Dragons, The Wrath of the Fallen, Accomplice to the Villain, Wrath of the Dragons, and so many more, including the Quicksilver sequel in November.
Just for fun: this man wrote an ACOTAR-inspired song? Sure I guess.
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Have you read any great new romantasy novels lately? Are you burned out on fantasy or desperate to escape? Any tropes that feel overused? Let’s chat!
Yes yes yes to Legendborn but it’s defs fantasy first, romantasy second! The second book was a slog but the third was the best one yet 🔥
as someone who grew up loving fantasy, lately i look at the summary of fantasy/romantasy books and can't even finish reading the summary bc my brain refuses to accept a new magic system/a bunch of fantasy names at the moment.
other than sticking to contemporary romance, and re-reading old fantasy faves or ongoing series (mercedes lackey, tamora pierce, seanan mcguire), i've been enjoying the subgenre of cozy witch romantasy. such as the ex hex by erin sterling, the honey witch by sydney j. shields, and the very secret society of irregular witches by sangu mandanna - still get some magic plus romance, but set within the real world and a limit to the amount of new fantasy concepts to learn and remember