22 Fantasy Romance Books That Will Get Your Heart Racing

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A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

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For fans of: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

The Throne of Glass YA book series established Sarah J. Maas as a go-to for fantasy romance books. But her steamier adult fantasy book series is even more popular, with the novels going viral on the TikTok subcommunity known as BookTok. Maas perfected the enemies-to-lovers plot in 2015’s A Court of Thorns and Roses, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. After accidentally killing a fae in disguise, huntress Feyre is taken to mysterious Faerie lands by her mysterious captor, Tamlin. Prepare yourself for love triangles, plot twists and some seriously spicy scenes.

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Bride by Ali Hazelwood

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For fans of: Fangs by Sarah Andersen and The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Neuroscientist and acclaimed romance writer Ali Hazelwood is best known for romance novels featuring women in STEM and academia, but Hazelwood surprised fans with her 2024 fantasy romance, Bride. In an arranged marriage to maintain peace between the two warring species, Misery Lark, a Vampyre, is married off to Lowe, an unpredictable but undeniably attractive Alpha Werewolf. It’s a plot we’ve seen before, but Hazelwood brings a fresh voice to the romantasy genre and subverts the damsel-in-distress stereotype. I listened to Bride on audiobook while driving, and I genuinely laughed out loud whenever Misery displayed her sarcastic wit and brilliance.

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Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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For fans of: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

If you loved following Daenerys Targaryen’s rise to power as a dragon queen in A Game of Thrones or appreciated the steamy romance in A Court of Thorns and Roses, you’ll love Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Every book club I know has read this 2023 New York Times bestseller and viral BookTok sensation. Bookish and physically frail Violet is ordered to join a deadly military college and become a dragon rider. What starts as a fight for survival in a dark academia setting turns into an epic of impending war and, of course, passionate love.

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A Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon

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For fans of: A Court This Cruel & Lovely by Stacia Stark

Nominated for the 2023 Goodreads Best Romantasy award and viral on BookTok, Thea Guanzon’s Southeast Asian–inspired epic The Hurricane Wars pitted freedom fighter Talasyn’s light magic against Prince Alaric’s shadow magic. The much-anticipated 2024 sequel, A Monsoon Rising, follows up on their arranged marriage with just as much political intrigue and tension as Talasyn and Alaric must work together to save their world. While the first book started as “Reylo” (aka Rey and Kylo Ren) Star Wars fan fiction, A Monsoon Rising shows Guanzon coming into her own as a writer.

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Lucy Undying by Kiersten White

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For fans of: House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

In Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula, Lucy Westenra is a tragic character whose innocence is destroyed when she is turned into a vampire by Dracula (and subsequently slain by Van Helsing). Kiersten White’s 2024 Lucy Undying takes back ownership of that narrative, imagining what kind of life Lucy would have had as a vampire throughout the ages. In this lush sapphic Gothic vampire novel, Lucy finds love, a cultish MLM and vengeance—and we’re absolutely here for it!

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The Little Shop of Grand Curiosities by Iris Lake

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For fans of: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Unlike the darker fantasy romance books on this list, The Little Shop of Grand Curiosities is perfect for when you’re in the mood for something lighthearted and cozy. Published in 2024, this whimsical fairy tale follows magic shop owner Nepheli as charming troublemaker Apollo drags her out of her comfort zone and on a journey into the real world together. This feel-good book made me laugh, swoon, cry and, most importantly, believe in the good of humanity again.

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A Game of Gods by Scarlett St. Clair

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For fans of: Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe

Scarlett St. Clair took the fantasy romance world by storm in 2021 with A Touch of Darkness, her modern retelling of the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone. While the original Greek myth depicts Persephone, the goddess of spring, as a victim who was kidnapped by Hades, the god of the underworld, St. Clair revitalizes the story with much-needed feminism and steamy romance. Her 2023 novel, A Game of Gods, is told from Hades’s perspective as he navigates the politics and drama of Olympus to ensure a future with his beloved bride-to-be.

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The Princess Bride by William Goldman

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For fans of: Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

Not everyone knows that the 1987 cult film featuring the beautiful Buttercup and swashbuckling Westley is based on a classic 1973 fantasy romance book—and that its original title is actually The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, the “Good Parts” Version. I must have seen the book-to-movie adaptation a dozen times on TV growing up before I actually read the book as an adult and realized it was even better than the movie. (I know: Inconceivable!) Filled with sword fighting, love quotes and a fictional narrator’s hilarious and clever commentary, this metafictional book will make you laugh and swoon in the same breath.

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The Bird and the Sword by Amy Harmon

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For fans of: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Featuring some of the most exquisite prose I’ve read in the romantasy book genre, Amy Harmon’s 2016 novel, The Bird and the Sword, is a heart-wrenching and empowering must-read for fans of medieval fantasy romance books and witchy fiction. When Lark’s mother is killed for practicing witchcraft, she curses the royal family and renders young Lark mute for her own protection. Many years later, Lark is whisked away to the royal castle as collateral, and she must literally find her voice to navigate magical persecution, political intrigue, war and her budding attraction to her alluring royal captor, who has a dark secret of his own.

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Stardust by Neil Gaiman

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For fans of: The Princess Bride by William Goldman and Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir

Beloved fantasy author Neil Gaiman’s 1999 book, Stardust, is a sweet romance filled with his legendary wit and whimsy, and it remains one of my favorite books of all time. Set in rural England, where a wall divides faeries from mortals, Stardust introduces readers to Tristran, who promises to retrieve a fallen star for the beautiful but simple-minded Victoria. But when he meets the star, Yvaine, he gets swept up in a murder plot between brothers, the schemes of wicked witches and a wild adventure. Winner of the 1999 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature and the Alex Award from the American Library Association, Stardust is a fairy-tale story for adults that you won’t be able to put down.

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Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

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For fans of: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Perhaps one of the best romantasy books of all time, Outlander has everything you can ask for: a historical setting, adventure, time travel, magic and brooding Scots. Brilliant nurse Claire Randall time-travels from 1946 England to 1743 Scotland, where she falls in love with fiery highlander Jamie Fraser. It’s no wonder the book, published in 1999, won the Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award. Since then, its adaptation into a Starz TV series has renewed interest in the tale of the star-crossed lovers.

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The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

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For fans of: A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

Filipino Indian American author Roshani Chokshi made a name for herself with her New York Times bestselling YA books—both The Star-Touched Queen and The Gilded Wolves are must-read teen book series. Chokshi’s The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is an adult Gothic fairy tale infused with her enchanting lyricism and folklore from around the world. Alternating between the past and present, this 2023 novel follows the Bridegroom and his heiress wife, Indigo, as they venture to her childhood home and unearth her darkest secrets. But it’s also very much a story about Indigo and her childhood friend Azure, who mysteriously disappeared many years ago.

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These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

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For fans of: Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Imagine Romeo and Juliet set in 1920s Shanghai, then add monsters, gangsters and anti-colonialism. The result? Chloe Gong’s debut YA novel, These Violent Delights, which quickly became a New York Times bestseller when it published in 2020. As you can guess from the title, this is one of the more gory romantasy books on this list, but it’s worth the read for the angst and yearning between these star-crossed lovers from rival gangs. It’s also refreshing to see a femme fatale flapper interpretation of Juliet.

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From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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For fans of: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Named “Best Romance Book” in the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards, Jennifer L. Armentrout’s From Blood and Ash topped the New York Times bestseller list with its sexy angst and intense world-building. Its protagonist, Poppy, is a Maiden reluctantly preparing for Ascension—burdened since birth by duty, the will of the gods and the future of the kingdom. Be prepared for some info dumps at the beginning of the book, but the context is necessary as the story picks up with fast-paced action and slow-burning forbidden desire between Poppy and her personal golden-eyed guard, Hawke.

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The Stolen Heir by Holly Black

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For fans of: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Award-winning, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black has been dominating the YA fantasy genre for more than two decades. I grew up reading her acclaimed children’s book series Spiderwick Chronicles and her many YA novels, like Tithe. As an adult, I devoured the Folk of the Air series, which gave birth to this spinoff duology. The first in this two-part romantasy books series, The Stolen Heir follows Suren, a changeling child queen of the Court of Teeth, who must venture back into the world of Faerie and team up with Prince Oak, heir to Elfhame (and Jude’s little brother from The Cruel Prince), to save their respective kingdoms. The Stolen Heir is filled with Black’s trademark dark fairy-tale elements, teen angst and beautiful prose. It’s a must-read even if you haven’t read her other romance book series (although you really should!).

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The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

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For fans of: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

The list of accolades TJ Klune received for his 2021 New York Times bestselling The House in the Cerulean Sea could be an entire paragraph, and they are absolutely well deserved. Set in an alternate magical world, the story follows protagonist Linus as he goes about his days as a caseworker at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth with self-deprecating humor—until he finds himself at a seaside orphanage where he tries his darnedest not to fall in love with the charming director and his chaotic magical found family. While it isn’t an epic tale of war and forbidden love, The House in the Cerulean Sea offers sanctuary and acceptance, like sitting in front of a cozy fireplace with a cat and soft blanket on your lap. This feel-good LGBTQ book is a fluffy, heartwarming comfort-read that’s bound to make you see magic in your own life.

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Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope

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For fans of: The Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport

The first book in L. Penelope’s severely underrated Earthsinger Chronicles series, Song of Blood & Stone, published in 2018, tells of a war between two tribes. While it’s a story about racism, prejudice and refugee crises, Song of Blood & Stone doesn’t contain trite lessons about bigotry. Instead, Penelope paints the struggles of a budding interracial relationship through Jasminda, a young biracial outcast with healing powers, and Jack, a white soldier from the enemy tribe, as they prove just how much love can overcome.

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The Awakening by Nora Roberts

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For fans of: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

No romantasy books compilation would be complete without Nora Roberts, the bestselling author of nearly 250 romance novels, deemed “America’s favorite novelist” by the New Yorker. The first of the Dragon Heart Legacy series, 2000’s The Awakening is about a mortal woman who travels to Ireland and finds herself transported to an ancient, magical world of witches, mermaids, fae and, most important, handsome warriors. If you don’t love overly complex narratives and are looking for easy fantasy romance books to give you butterflies, make sure to add Roberts to your reading list!

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The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

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For fans of: Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

A retelling of the famous Korean folktale of Shim Cheong, 2022’s The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is an epic teen novel about young Mina, who throws herself into the sea as a sacrifice to the Sea God to save her family and her village. If you love Hayao Miyazaki films like Spirited Away, you’ll want to snap up this book. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea follows the same theme of a courageous mortal girl navigating a lush spirit realm of mythical gods and complex power struggles. Add gorgeous underwater scenery, and the romance between Mina and the mysterious Lord Shin becomes even more ethereal.

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Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

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For fans of: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Master of lush, evocative storytelling, Laini Taylor raised the YA urban fantasy bar when she published Daughter of Smoke and Bone in 2011. The book has been lauded by critics and readers alike, and it’s no wonder why: There’s complex world-building, a deep and heartfelt romance, plenty of humor and an epic tale of angels, demons and everything in between. Our blue-haired, 17-year-old protagonist is a mortal art student by day, a pseudo tooth fairy by night who travels to Elsewhere at the bidding of her adoptive not-at-all-human father and ends up getting caught up in a war between her two worlds—and in a smoldering, anguishing romance with an angel.

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Witchmark by C.L. Polk

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For fans of: A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

You’ll wish you could teleport into C.L. Polk’s magical alternate-history Edwardian England after you read Witchmark, in which witchcraft raises the stakes of war. Despite the murder mystery, class conflict and psychological trauma that drive the plot, make no mistake: This 2018 book is truly a sugary-sweet queer romance between our protagonist doctor (who is secretly a witch) and the dazzling man he partners up with to solve the murder. Winner of the 2019 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel and finalist for the 2019 Nebula Award for Best Novel, Witchmark is an LGBTQ fantasy romance book that will keep you up at night.

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Uprooted by Naomi Novik

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For fans of: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Based on Polish folklore, 2015’s Uprooted may have plenty of awards to its name—it won the 2015 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 2016 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel—but that’s hardly why readers love it so. Naomi Novik’s celebrated dark fantasy continues to wow readers with its enchanting prose and romantic tension between Agnieszka, an ordinary human girl, and the taciturn wizard known as Dragon, who whisks her away as payment in return for protecting her village from the terrifyingly murderous Wood. When Agnieszka discovers she is actually capable of magic as well, Dragon must train her in preparation for the fight against evil. As timeless as a fairy tale, Uprooted is the sort of book you’ll want to read again and again.

FAQs

What are romantasy books?

The word “romantasy” is a portmanteau for romance and fantasy, and it means exactly that: romance books with fantasy settings. Romantasy books could be high-fantasy epics, set in entirely magical alternate worlds, or they could be low-fantasy tales closer to the world as we know it, with fantastical elements bleeding deliciously into reality. What’s key, however, is that the romance between the two main characters—whether forbidden lovers or enemies-to-lovers—is central to the plot of the book.

What is the biggest romantasy series?

The biggest romantasy series is undoubtedly the New York Times bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas, with its whopping 2,848,059 ratings (and growing!) on Goodreads. It’s ranked as the No. 1 romantic fantasy bestseller in the Kindle store. Collectively, Maas’s Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses and Crescent City romantasy books series have sold more than 38 million copies in English worldwide and are published in 38 languages. If this hasn’t convinced you to read one of them, you’re missing out!

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