There’s fantasy, there’s romance, and then there’s romantasy. Romantasy is that special blend of storytelling, where the love story is just as important as the adventure. These novels don’t just throw a romance subplot in to appeal to the masses.
Romantasy has always been around, but the popularity of Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer Armentrout, and Diana Gabaldon, to name a few, have catapulted the genre back into demand like never before. Here are some of the best new and upcoming romantasy books that will have you swooning for the rest of the year.
The Best Romantasy Books of 2024 (So Far)
House of Flame and Shadow
Bryce Quinlan wants to get back to Midgard. Everything she loves is there: Her family, her friends, her mate. That's easier said than done, however. She’s stranded in a strange world and doesn’t know who to trust.
Hunt Athalar is desperate to help Bryce, but he’s locked in the Asteri’s dungeons with no word on where she is or what she needs. Bryce and Hunt both face enormous odds, with nothing less than the fate of their world—and their future—hanging in the balance.
The Queen of steamy romantasy is back with the final installment of her sexy, action-packed, swoon-worthy Crescent City series, which concluded January 30, 2024.
A Crown of Ivy and Glass (The Middlemist Trilogy Book 1)
Lady Gemma Ashbourne might be the favorite of the gods themselves, but it doesn't feel that way. A tragic family history and the absence of magical power leave Gemma isolated until she meets Talan d'Astier, the lone survivor of a family seduced by a demon.
In A Crown of Ivy and Glass, the unlikely pair strike a bargain to destroy a demon and end a deadly blood feud. The passionate bond that forms between them might prove their undoing ... or show them a new path toward power.
A Tempest of Tea
Arthie Casimir might be a criminal mastermind, but her prestigious tearoom is the envy of White Roaring. In the first novel of a new romantasy duology, bestselling author Hafsah Faizal tells the story of what happens when the tearoom is threatened. Arthie must infiltrate the dangerous vampire society known as the Athereum, and to do it, she'll need an elite crew of the city's most skilled outcasts, including one alluring adversary…
Bride
If you're in the mood for more vampires, try this romance between Misery Lark, the outcast daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, and Lowe Moreland, the Alpha werewolf. A marriage is proposed between them to keep the peace, but Lowe doesn't trust Misery…and he's right not to. Misery has her own reasons to agree to the marriage, and she'll do whatever it takes to reclaim what's hers.
To Cage a God
Galina and Sera are sisters, bound by their mother's machinations and the deities who live within them. They were raised to become living weapons, to overthrow an empire, and each has a unique role within the rebellion. While Sera joins forces with a violent rebel leader (who just happens to be her estranged leader), Galina infiltrates the palace. There she meets a princess who threatens to uncover Galina's secret … and win her heart.
Now, Galina must choose whether to tear the empire apart or try to rebuild it with a companion she never expected to mean so much.
To Cage a God publishes February 20, 2024.
A Fate Inked in Blood
Freya spends her days gutting fish, but she has a secret: She possesses the faintest touch of a goddess's blood. Even that slim piece is enough to create powerful magic, however. Freya is capable of repelling any attack.
When her region's jarl learns of her powers, he recalls a prophecy saying that one with Freya's abilities would reunite the fractured nation of Skaland. In search of power and influence, the jarl sets Freya on a grueling training regimen where she must face tests made by the gods themselves.
Her greatest test, however, may come from the jarl's son, Bjorn. She knows that it is dangerous to fall for the charming warrior who has become her protector, but he's the one man that Freya has no defense for.
A Fate Inked in Blood, the first entry in a new series by author Danielle L. Jensen, releases on February 27, 2024.
Our Favorites From 2023
Can't Spell Treason Without Tea
A cozy sapphic romance for fans of Legends & Lattes, Rebecca Thorne's Can't Spell Treason Without Tea tells the story of Reyna and Kianthe and their dreams of opening a bookshop. The only problem? Reyna works as one of the Queen's private guards, and Kianthe is the most powerful mage in the world.
It's not so easy to just retire and take up the quiet life, but after a life-threatening incident, Reyna decides to take the jump. The couple move to the small town of Tawney, where quiet tales of mishaps, mysteries, and a murderous queen ensue.
Book 1 of the Tomes & Tea trilogy hit bookshelves on July 10, 2023.
Immortal Longings (Flesh & False Gods Book 1)
Five years ago, Princess Calla Tuoleimi killed most of her family and left the palace empty. On the run, she plans on using the death games of San-Er as her chance to finish the job. Anton Makusa has his own reasons for trying to win. Calla and Anton don’t expect to be allies, and they really aren’t prepared for their alliance to shift into something more. As the games move to the end, Calla has to choose: her love or her kingdom.
Inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, Gong’s adult debut is a romantasy filled with power and blood as two people fight to survive a deadly competition.
Immortal Longings published July 18, 2023.
Prophet
Neil Gaiman calls Prophet “present-day science fiction that feels like the best sort of spy novel.”
The plot follows American Intelligence Officer Adam Rubenstein and ex-MI6 Agent Sunil Rao, reluctant partners since their Uzbekistan days. Rao is an addict and pleasure hound who boasts an uncanny to discern the truth of all things … except for anything related to Adam. A murder mystery carries Adam and Rao from secret labs in Colorado to luxury lodges and remote Nevada deserts as they try to work out how people's fondest memories are being weaponized against them by an ever-shifting substance called Prophet.
The story debuted on August 8, 2023.
The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic
All magic has a price, and for Sadie Revelare, that price is four heartbreaks. She always thought it was worth it. But when her grandmother is given only weeks to live, her brother comes back to town with deeply buried family secrets. To make everything worse, her first heartbreak, Jake McNealy, is also suddenly back in her life. As her grandmother gets sicker by the day and her feelings for Jake are rekindled, Sadie faces her fourth and final heartbreak. In the end, is magic more important than love?
Does she even have the strength to decide?
A sweet debut romantasy perfect for fans of Practical Magic and Gilmore Girls, The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic debuted on September 19, 2023.
The Hurricane Wars
Talasyn has only ever known war. After life as an orphan, she’s now found family in the soldiers she fights with. But she has a secret: She has light magic, the power that killed an emperor and ignited the Hurricane Wars. It's a power that the Empire believes was eradicated.
Prince Alaric is the Empire’s greatest hope. No one has bested him and his Shadow magic. When he sees Talasyn’s blazing light on the battlefield, he seeks her out. The clash of their magic creates something no one has ever seen. Untrusted allies, they must work together to overcome the strange new magic they created. There is something else between them, too. The spark of passion they feel could save their world—or destroy it.
The start of a romantasy trilogy, The Hurricane Wars released on October 3, 2023.
A Duet with the Siren Duke
In a tale reminiscent of The Little Mermaid, Elise Kova's story features a young girl who bargained for five years of freedom on land. Now, her time is up and she has to return beneath the waves. But there’s a siren waiting for her, and he’s already claimed her as his sacrifice.
A stand-alone romantasy in the Married to Magic universe, A Duet with the Siren Duke will have readers swooning for a forbidden love that triumphs over all.
A Duet with the Siren Duke hit bookshelves August 15, 2023.
Throne of the Fallen
The Prince of Envy knows exactly who he is. A villain. Sinner. And by the time he’s done playing a deadly game, the names will get worse. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is winning. But nothing prepared him for her. Camilla Antonius never intended on playing the game. But bad luck lands on her on the wrong side of a devil’s bargain. Together, Envy and Camilla travel through the Shifting Isles. But as they fight for their lives, they both desperately try to avoid the deadliest trap of all: love.
In her adult debut, Kerri Maniscalco's Throne of the Fallen is a sweeping romantasy set in the Kingdom of the Fallen world with a seductive mystery at its heart. The novel published on October 3, 2023.
Iron Flame
Rebecca Yarros and Violet Sorrengail return in the #1 New York Times bestseller Iron Flame. Without giving away too many secrets regarding the plot of Fourth Wing, the first book of The Empyrean, the training of the dragon riders grows even more strenuous as Violet dives into the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College. If you're in the mood for a more in-depth guide of the series, however, Jena Brown's review has you covered.
A Curse for True Love
When Evangeline Fox went to the Magnificent North, she was looking for her happily-ever-after. Now, married to a prince and living in a legendary castle, it seems she found it. But Evangeline paid a steep price for her fairytale ending. She just doesn’t know it.
Her husband is set on making sure she never does. To keep the secret, he only has to kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts. The long-awaited romantasy conclusion to the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy puts true love and happily-ever-after to the test.
A Curse for True Love was released on October 24, 2023.
Sun of Blood and Ruin
In 16th-century New Spain, witchcraft is punishable by death. Pantera defies the law, fighting tyranny with magic and swordplay while hiding her identity behind a mask. Behind palace walls, Leonora de Las Casas Tlazohtzin is promised to the heir of the Spanish throne. She’s obedient, quiet, and faints at the sight of blood. No one would believe Pantera and Leonora are the same person. When an ancient prophecy threatens to come true, Leonora has to make a choice: Let go of her mask or die fighting. But when she discovers the truth of her magic, she may be destined for more than an early grave.
A gender-bent, Zorro re-imagined romantasy with a heroic warrior sorceress that weaves Mesoamerican mythology and Mexican history in a swashbuckling debut, Sun of Blood and Ruin hit shelves November 7, 2023.
A Touch of Chaos
Persephone the Goddess of Spring never prepared for the life she was thrown into. A chance encounter with Hades, God of the Underworld, changed everything. Now, she’s in the middle of a war as gods battle for humanity. To save the people she loves, she’ll go to war. But to end the violence, she has to let go of Spring and embrace the darkness that comes with being Queen of the Underworld.
The fourth in a series inspired by Greek mythology, A Touch of Chaos is an all-consuming romantasy that continues the epic love story between Hades and Persephone. It released on November 14, 2023.
A Dance of Smoke and Steel
Laina is heir to the Krimathe throne, but Anumith the Destroyer’s army marches to destroy her realm. To find the strength to defeat him, she seeks the aid of a goddess. All she has to do is serve the man who helped destroy her family. A man she’s sworn to kill.
Saxen was only freed from years of torture thanks to a tenuous alliance. Son of a demon warlord, he only wants to make amends to his people and has no interest in the company of a quiet woman who insists on joining his small band of warriors. He does everything he can to get rid of her, but Laina won’t let him chase her away. She needs to fulfil her quest to defeat the Destroyer. But the price is much higher than she ever imagined possible, and it may destroy Saxon first.
As the steamy conclusion to the Gathering of Dragons romantasy trilogy that fans have been breathlessly waiting for, the audiobook for A Dance of Smoke and Steel published on December 1, 2023.
A River of Golden Bones
After a powerful sorceress destroyed their kingdom, twins Calla and Briar, heirs to the throne, went into hiding. Briar is to marry the prince of an ally wolf pack to save the Golden Court, and Calla is to be a secret: Briar’s shadow, just in case. The only person who knows the truth is Prince Grae, Briar’s betrothed. But when the twins come out of hiding for Briar’s wedding, the sorceress strikes with another sleeping curse aimed at the heir. To save her twin and her kingdom, Calla must travel across the realm, discovering not just a world she never knew, but pieces of herself she never dared explore.
A Dance of Golden Bones is a thrilling stand-alone romantasy filled with monsters, adventure, self-discovery, and forbidden love. It's been available since December 5, 2023.
Gold
Being gold-touched by King Midas seems like a blessing. But then war comes, and with it, betrayal.
Auren went from being kept in a cage to being free. But freedom has a price. Surrounded by enemies, tangled in plots and schemes, she’s been manipulated and used. Until she met him. With kingdoms pressing in, one man and one woman face them all. Villains? Heroes? It doesn’t matter as long as they end up together. And it all ends now.
The heart-pounding conclusion to the sensational Plated Prisoner series, Gold has been available on Amazon starting December 7, 2023.
2022 Favorites
Wicked Beauty
Katee Robert's retelling of the story of Helen of Troy, Achilles, and Patroclus is the third entry of the Dark Olympus series, which began with Neon Gods.
Achilles Kallis swore to reach the inner circle of Olympus, and a tournament has begun to fill an opening. Achilles and his partner, Patroclus Fotos, decide to enter to double their odds of winning. Their competition includes Helen Kasios, who also happens to be the tournament's prize …
She has no interest in being married off like livestock, but some within the city would sooner see her dead than ruling. The only people she can trust are the ones she can't keep her hands off—Achilles and Patroclus.
Wicked Beauty was published June 7, 2022.
The Night and Its Moon
BookTok favorite Piper CJ tells the story of two powerful young woman and the winding path they take to reunite. Orphans Nox and Amaris were sold as children to the highest bidder—Nox to a brothel, while the fae-touched Amaris is sent to a home of mysterious assassins.
Despite their new lives and identities, Nox and Amaris will stop at nothing to reunite. But as war looms, the fate of the realm may well lie in their hands…
The Night and Its Moon was published on September 20, 2022. It is the first of a four-book series, which concludes with The Dawn and Its Light.