Romantasy Books To Start Reading Now
Although hardly a new genre, romantasy is having a moment right now due to the influx of new amazing works – namely Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses and Crescent City series and Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing series. Combining romance and fantasy, the hybrid often includes high fantasy elements and world-building entwined with a compelling romance between the book’s central characters. However, romantasy also expands to romance with paranormal or other fantasy elements that are more grounded in a realistic world (think: Twilight). No matter what type of fantasy you’re interested in, these books pair it with steamy romance that is sure to keep you turning the pages.
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Add to BookshelfBull Moon Rising
by Ruby Dixon
In a world of magical artifacts and fantastical beings, a woman determined to save her family joins forces with an unlikely partner — a minotaur — in this steamy story by USA Today bestselling author Ruby Dixon. This special first-edition hardcover includes a gorgeous, shimmering jacket with effects, brilliantly illustrated four-color endpapers, striking and detailed-stained edges, and a beautiful foil-stamped case.
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$30.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Under the Oak Tree
by Suji Kim
Lady Maximilian is the daughter of the powerful Duke Croyso, but she is rarely allowed outside her family’s sprawling castle for fear that her stutter will tarnish their noble name. When she is forced to marry Sir Riftan, a lowborn knight caught in one of her father’s schemes, Maxi doesn’t dare hope for happiness, let alone love. As she learns to navigate the intricacies of her new life, Maxi will find herself and her courage, and discover that she is anything but powerless.
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Servant of Earth
by Sarah Hawley
Trapped as a servant in the faeries’ underground kingdom of Mistei, Kenna must help her new mistress undertake six deadly trials, one for each branch of magic: Fire, Earth, Light, Void, Illusion, and Blood. If she succeeds, her mistress will gain immortality and become the heir to Earth House. If she doesn’t, the punishment is death — for both mistress and servant. With no ally but a sentient dagger of mysterious origins, Kenna must face monsters, magic, and grueling physical tests. Surviving the trials and overthrowing a tyrant king will take cunning, courage, and an iron will … but even that may not be enough.
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A Cruel Thirst
by Angela Montoya
Carolina Fuentes wants to join her family in hunting the bloodthirsty vampiros that plague her pueblo. Her father, however, wishes to marry her off to a husband of his choosing, someone who’ll take her away from danger. Determined to prove she’d make a better slayer than wife, Carolina vows to take down a monster herself. But when she runs into un vampiro, Lalo, who is somehow extremely attractive and kind, her plan crumbles. Fortunately, Lalo and Carolina share a common enemy. They can wipe out this evil. Together.
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Fear the Flames
by Olivia Rose Darling
An exiled princess teams up with the last man she thought she could trust in the start of a dazzling and unforgettable epic series. An immersive fantasy filled with a sizzling reluctant-allies-to-lovers romance, a world to get lost in, dangerous quests, dragon bonds, and an entertaining band of characters to root for, Fear the Flames marks the stunning debut of Olivia Rose Darling.
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$28.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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Heir (A Good Morning America YA Book Club Pick)
by Sabaa Tahir
Prepare for a ruthless and romantic new fantasy that introduces a new generation of characters set in the same world as the unforgettable An Ember in the Ashes series. Beloved storyteller, #1 New York Times bestseller, and National Book Award-winning author, Sabaa Tahir interweaves the lives of three young people as they grapple with power, treachery, love, and the devastating consequences of unchecked greed, on a journey that may cost them their lives — and their hearts. Literally.
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$21.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries
by Heather Fawcett
The first book in a new series (the second book, Emily Wilde’s Map of Otherlands, was just released) follows Cambridge professor Emily Wilde, who is writing the world’s first encyclopedia of faerie lore. Her research leads her to the fictional Scandinavian town of Hrafnsvik, where she runs into her academic rival Wendell Bambleby – who is naturally handsome and insufferable. Here, she’ll have to uncover the secrets of the most elusive of faeries while trying to stop thinking about the charming new man in her life.
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$18.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Bride
by Ali Hazelwood
Rooted in the world of paranormal romance, Ali Hazelwood’s first book to veer off from her usual STEMinist romances is a must-read. To continue the long-standing alliance between the Vampyres and the Weres, Misery Lark, daughter of a powerful Vampyre councilman, agrees to a marriage of convenience between herself and Lowe Moreland, the Were’s Alpha. Much like their two groups, Misery and Lowe are untrusting of each other … at first. The two soon form a powerful (and sexy) connection – but Misery is hiding the secret of why she agreed to the marriage in the first place, which may risk everything.
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House of Marionne
by J. Elle
Seventeen-year-old Quell has been trying to hide her dark and deadly magic her entire life. But when someone discovers her secret, she enters the Order – a deadly society of magical social elites – to protect her mother. If she’s able to pass the rites and master the Order’s “proper” form of magic, she’ll be able to suppress her own forever. But debutante training proves more challenging than Quell thought, especially when she’s constantly distracted by her brooding assassin-in-training tutor, Jordan. The stakes are high as Quell decides whether to embrace her own magic at the risk of losing everything – including her heart.
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$13.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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A Novel Love Story
by Ashley Poston
Ashley Poston, author of The Seven Year Slip and The Dead Romantics, is back with a new fantasy about a woman who finds herself slipping into the pages of an actual novel. When Eileen’s car breaks down on her way to her annual book club retreat, she finds that she’s stranded in Eloraton – the town where her favorite romance series is set. Elsy knows this town – and she’s sure she’s here to finish the late author’s last story. But when she meets the grumpy bookstore owner she doesn’t recognize from her favorite pages, she suspects the town’s happily ever after and her own are more connected than she thought.
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The Final Strife
by Saara El-Arifi
In the first book of a visionary fantasy trilogy with its roots in the mythology of Africa and Arabia that “sings of rebellion, love, and the courage it takes to stand up to tyranny” (Samantha Shannon, author of The Priory of the Orange Tree), three women band together against a cruel empire that divides people by blood.
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Uprooted
by Naomi Novik
A fresh take on Polish fairy tales, Naomi Novik’s Uprooted centers on a quiet village protected by a mysterious wizard known only as the Dragon from the terrible power that lurks within the Wood on its border. The price for this protection? Every 10 years, the Dragon takes one young woman to serve him. Agnieszka and the rest of the village suspect that the Dragon will take Kasia, her beautiful best friend, next. But when he instead chooses Agnieszka and she uncovers powers of her own, the young woman will learn just how she’s connected to the Wood and drawn to the Dragon himself.
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The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
by Sangu Mandanna
This story about love, magic, and found family follows Mika Moon – an isolated witch in Britain who is used to being alone … apart from her online account where she “pretends” to be a witch. One person takes her claims seriously and enlists her help to teach three young witches how to control their powers at the mysterious and remote Nowhere House. There, she meets a cast of quirky characters – including Jamie, the grumpy and handsome librarian who sees Mika as a threat to the children’s wellbeing. But when danger surrounds her new friends, Mika will have to decide what she’s willing to risk for love.
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$17.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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My Roommate Is a Vampire
by Jenna Levine
This paranormal romance takes place in our modern world. My Roommate Is a Vampire follows artist Cassie Greenberg – a woman in desperate need of a new place to live. She knows the deal offered by her new Chicago roommate, Frederick J. Fitzwilliam, is too good to not come with a catch … but she’s not in a position to turn it down. Frederick has some strange tendencies – like sleeping all day and being out all night on “business.” He’s also incredibly charming – leaving her sweet notes, complimenting her art – and his looks don’t hurt either. But when Cassie discovers Frederick is a vampire, will she accept his proposition?
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A Fate Inked in Blood
by Danielle L. Jensen
When Freya is betrayed by her husband and forced to fight to the death against the son of a power-hungry jarl, she’s forced to reveal her deepest secret: She’s a shield maiden, possessing a drop of a goddess’s magic and capable of repelling any attack. It’s been foretold that the shield maiden will unite the fractured kingdom of Skaland under the one who controls her. Believing himself to be that ruler, the jarl binds Freya with a blood oath and orders his son, Bjorn, to protect and train her. But will Freya and Bjorn be able to resist their fierce attraction to each other? The first in a new Norse-inspired duology is sure to keep readers captivated.
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An Ember in the Ashes
by Sabaa Tahir
The first book in the completed An Ember in the Ashes quartet introduces us to Laia, who lives an impoverished existence with her grandparents and older brother in a world inspired by ancient Rome. They know not to challenge the Empire, but when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, she strikes a bargain with the rebels who intend to save him: she’ll act as a rebel spy from within the Empire’s military academy. There, she meets Elias, the academy’s best soldier who secretly wants to be free from its tyranny. They realize their goals are more aligned than they first thought in this gripping story full of action, suspense, and, of course, romance.
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The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern
At the center of this beautiful fantasy novel is a circus, Le Cirque des Rêves. It appears in new towns without warning and is only open at night. Celia and Marco, two of the illusionists, have been trained since childhood to perform. But what they don’t know is that they’re in a fierce competition, started by their instructors, and only one of them can be left standing. Matters are complicated when they fall head over heels in love in this stunning debut from Erin Morgenstern.
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A Dawn of Onyx
by Kate Golden
The first book in The Sacred Stones series, A Dawn of Onyx is an enemies-to-lovers romance, full of worldbuilding and witty banter between Arwen Valondale and King Kane Ravenwood. Arwen is taken prisoner after she sacrifices herself for her brother’s crimes, forced to use her powers as a healer for the Onyx – her enemy. Arwen’s desperate to escape back to her family but finds herself drawn to her captor in the meantime. Full of tension, pining, and many secrets, this book is sure to leave readers grasping for the next in the series.
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