If you tore through A Court of Thorns and Roses in a weekend, or stayed up until 3 a.m. with Fourth Wing and immediately needed another fix, you have caught the romantasy bug. Romantasy (romantic fantasy) is the genre that has taken over BookTok and bestseller lists alike: a fully realized fantasy world with high stakes, dangerous magic, and at its beating heart a central romance, usually a slow burn, an enemies-to-lovers spiral, or a bargain that becomes something neither character planned. The fantasy is not set dressing for the love story, and the love story is not an afterthought to the quest. Both carry equal weight, and when it works, it is impossible to put down.
Below are ten romantasy reads worth picking up next, grouped by the flavor of fantasy you are in the mood for.
Fae courts and enemies-to-lovers (the ACOTAR lineage)
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
The book that defined the modern wave. A huntress is dragged into a deadly faerie court and finds the line between captor and love interest dissolving. If you are reading this list you have probably already met it, but the later books in the series deepen the political intrigue and the romance in ways the first only hints at. Start here if you somehow have not.
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
A human girl raised in the treacherous High Court of Faerie decides she would rather rule than be ruled, and her sparring partner is the cruelest prince of them all. Black writes razor-sharp court politics and an enemies-to-lovers arc with genuine venom before the warmth. Sharper and more morally gray than most of the genre.
From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout
A chosen maiden forbidden to be touched, a guard sworn to protect her, and a world far less holy than she was raised to believe. It leans into the forbidden-romance tension hard and pairs it with a kingdom-sized conspiracy that keeps unspooling across the series. Fast, propulsive, and unapologetically swoony.
Dragons, trials, and deadly academies (the Fourth Wing lineage)
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Conscripted into an elite war college where dragons choose their riders and washing out means death, a physically fragile cadet has to outthink everyone who expects her to fail, including the brooding wingleader she cannot stand. The dragon bonds are the standout, and the romance crackles. The sequel only raises the stakes.
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
A brutal military academy in a Rome-inspired empire, told through a soldier and a spy whose paths keep colliding. Tahir's worldbuilding is darker and more political than most romantasy, and the romance is a slow, earned thing threaded through real danger. For readers who want the fantasy stakes turned all the way up.
The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
A human adopted by a vampire king enters a deadly tournament where her chief rival becomes her reluctant ally. Trial-by-blood structure, a beautifully tortured love interest, and a gothic world that has earned its enormous fanbase. Perfect if you want the competition tension of Fourth Wing with vampires instead of dragons.
Myth retellings and gilded curses
A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair
A modern Hades and Persephone retelling where the goddess of spring strikes a wager with the god of the underworld. Lush, steamy, and built on a myth romantasy readers cannot get enough of. The contractual-bargain setup is catnip for fans of high-tension banter.
Gild by Raven Kennedy
A reimagining of the King Midas legend from the perspective of the woman he turned to gold and kept as a prize. It starts in a gilded cage and slowly becomes a story about reclaiming power, with a love interest who is all the more compelling for being a slow reveal. Darker and more atmospheric than its glittering premise suggests.
Cozier and more whimsical romantic fantasy
A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova
A young woman is offered as a bride to the immortal Elf King to renew an ancient treaty, and what begins as duty turns into something tender. Lower on grimdark, higher on warmth and worldbuilding charm. A gentler entry point for readers who want the fantasy and the romance without the body count.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
A lonely witch takes a position tutoring three young magical children and finds an unexpected found family, plus a prickly, protective librarian. Cozy, funny, and full of heart, this is comfort-read romantasy at its best. Ideal for when you want magic and a soft landing.
Why romantasy works so well in serialized form
One thing every book on this list shares is momentum: a cliffhanger at the end of a chapter, a relationship that advances one charged scene at a time. That is exactly why romantasy thrives chapter by chapter. If you want to keep the feeling going between releases, plenty of serialized romantasy is being written right now by emerging authors on Fictionate.me, where you can follow a story as it unfolds. However you read it, the genre is not slowing down, and there has never been a better time to fall in.