27 Romantasy Books to Swoon Over

With a swoon-worthy love story and a fantastical magical setting, you get the best of both genres with these must-read romantasy books.

What is Romantasy?

In recent years, the romantasy genre has grown so popular, Goodreads added it as a separate category in their Goodreads Choice Awards. Romantasy is the combination of the fantasy and romance genres where the tropes and plots of romance books are combined with the fantasy book. 

Romantasy can be anything from steamy sex scenes among dragon riders to more chaste teenage love triangles. I’ve rounded up the best romantasy books, that will satisfy your desire for imaginative world-building as well as the drama of a powerful love story.

In her super popular romantasy book series, Sarah J Maas introduces you to Feyre, a teenage girl turned huntress doing all she can to provide for her poor yet ungrateful family. After she kills a faerie disguised as a wolf, Feyre is taken to an enchanted land run by her captor, a powerful man who can turn into a beast. Maas starts the story as a typical Beauty and the Beast retelling but transforms it into her own original work.

Publication Date: 5 May 2015
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Violet Sorrengail is all set to live a quiet life among her books until her mother orders her to become a candidate for the highly competitive dragon riders. But dragons usually prefer to kill rather than bond with weak humans like Violet. With half the competition willing to kill her to improve their odds and the other half hating her because of her mother, Violet must use all her wits to survive the war college. Fourth Wing took the book world by storm in 2023 and its sequels continue to dominate the bestselling charts. If you haven’t read it yet, steamy adult fantasy romance books with dragons might be the perfect choice.

Publication Date: 2 May 2023
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Enter the Grishaverse in Leigh Bardugo’s debut novel, which set up the world for all of her subsequent young adult fantasy novels. The once-great kingdom of Ravka has been split in two by the Shadow Fold, an impenetrable realm of shadow and monsters dividing the kingdom. When patrolling the border, Alina Starkov is surprised to discover in herself a hidden magical ability and finds herself whisked away to train with the Grisha, the kingdom’s magical elite. For Alina might be the only one who can save the kingdom, if she can learn to understand the Grisha … and her own heart.

Publication Date: 5 June 2012
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The adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king, Oraya enters Kejari, the legendary tournament to the death, to prove her her place. Full of the vicious warriors from all three vampire houses, Kejari will be no easy task. To survive, Oraya allies herself with the ruthless vampire Raihn. But what scares her the most is how much she is drawn to him in this action-packed romantasy book for adults that is described as The Hunger Games with vampires.

Publication Date: 30 August 2022
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Chosen from birth, Poppy has lived her whole life in solitary confinement waiting for her Ascension where she will be given over to the gods. However, Poppy is never told what exactly her Ascension will entail, only that it is the only way to save her kingdom. When a handsome new guard enters her life, Poppy must reconcile her desire with her duty.

Publication Date: 30 March 2020
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Stolen away by her parents’ murderer, twin sisters Jude and Taryn are raised among the magical folk of the fairy world. Being a mere mortal, Jude suffers under the senseless cruelty of the other young adults – especially the cruel Prince Cardan. Now, with the King of the Faeries abdicating his throne for one of his children, Jude is swept up into the complicated intrigue of court life. For its political machinations and young adult drama, The Cruel Prince is one of the best ya romantasy books of recent years.

Publication Date: 2 January 2018
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After spending a year of hard labor for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is taken before the Crown Prince. He wants Celaena to be his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. If she wins, she’ll be granted her freedom after four years of service. As Celaena trains with the gruff Captain of the Guard and catches the eye of the Crown Prince, she must use all her strength to fight off her competitors and all her wits to discover who is murdering contestants.

Publication Date: 15 August 2013
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Leigh Bardugo’s heist novel, part of her Grishaverse, is often considered one of the best young adult fantasy novels out there. Kaz Brekker is particularly familiar with the criminal underground of Ketterdam and won’t pass up a chance at a heist that will make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. All he needs to do is assemble a team of unscrupulous misfits, and hope they don’t kill each other before securing their prize.

Publication Date: 29 September 2015
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With the gods fighting again after centuries of sleep, eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to keep her family safe. Her mother is fighting addiction, her brother has disappeared from the front lines, and Iris hopes a promotion as a columnist at the Oath Gazette will help. When Iris sparks up a magical correspondence with a stranger, she never imagined her secret pen pal would turn out to be Roman Kitt, her archrival at the paper. But she can’t deny the connection she feels, even when Iris enlists to be a war correspondent on the front lines. For those who love quick engrossing romantasy books, Divine Rivals is an adorably fun young adult fantasy duology that mixes Greek mythology and World War 1 with a chaste enemies-to-lovers romance.

Publication Date: 4 April 2023
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In this light-hearted Young Adult fantasy, Scarlett Dragna imploringly writes letters each year for tickets to Caraval – a once-a-year performance/carnival where the audience gets to join in on the fun. When her sister whisks her away to enjoy just one night of Caraval, Scarlett is dragged into a journey of love, magic, and mystery.

Publication Date: 29 September 2016
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Of course, you can’t list popular fantasy books for teens without mentioning the Twilight series. In the woods of Washington, Bella Swan can’t help obsessing over a beautiful boy at her new school. Edward Cullen seems to have eyes that peer straight into her soul, and she falls deeply in love with him, even though he is a vampire. Despite its poor writing and annoying protagonist, Meyer’s fantasy books made a generation of teens (and adults) swoon over its forbidden romance and likely paved the way for the entire romantasy genre. 

Publication Date: 5 October 2005
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A genetic twist of fate has split mankind into two castes. The Silvers are the ruling elite, with superhuman powers coursing through their silver-blooded veins. On the other hand, the regular red-blooded humans live as expendable commoners. While working at the Palace, Mare Barrow accidentally discovers she has unimaginable power, stronger than most Silvers. Can she successfully pass as a lost Silver princess or will she be discovered as a spy for the Red resistance movement?

Publication Date: 10 February 2015
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Witches hiding among humans, twin sisters Emilia and Vittoria live a normal life working in their family’s Sicilian restaurant. When Vittoria is murdered and her body desecrated, Emilia vows to find her killers and exact vengeance. When Emilia meets Wrath, one of the princes of Hell, he claims he is also investigating a series of women’s murders on the island. Can one of the Wicked be trusted and how far into dark magic is Emilia willing to go for revenge?

Publication Date: 27 October 2020
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In a bestselling new romantasy book, Lyra is a cursed office clerk in the Office of Thieves just trying to keep her head down and out of the way of Zeus. To determine who will next sit on the throne in Olympus, the gods chose mortal as their champions in a deadly contest. For the first time ever, Hades enters the contest and chooses Lyra as his champion. Now Lyra must decide if she’s a pawn or a player while resisting the feelings she is developing for the God of the Underworld.

Publication Date: 3 September 2024
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Ali Hazelwood switched from STEM Romance to paranormal with her newest adult fantasy book. Misery Lark’s days of living in obscurity among humans are over. As the daughter of the most powerful councilman of the Vampyres, she is promised in marriage to their mortal enemies, the Weres, as a peacekeeping measure. Lowe Moreland, the Weres alpha, is suspicious of Misery from the start. And he should be, because Misery has her own hidden agenda, and she will do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers.

Publication Date: 6 February 2024
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Stuck in an unwanted marriage, Freya spends her days dreaming of becoming a warrior. When her husband betrays her, Freya is forced to reveal her deepest secret. Freya has a drop of goddess’ blood and the magical ability to repel any attack, an ability that was prophesied to save the kingdom. Now Freya must train to fight and learn to control her magic without falling in love with the warrior set to protect her.

Publication Date: 27 February 2024
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After a violent revolution, witches have been overthrown as rulers to ruthlessly hunted outcasts. By day, Rune pretends to be a vapid socialite but by night she acts as The Crimson Moth, a vigilante saving other witches from the purge. When a rescue goes wrong, Rune decides to court the handsome witch hunter Gideon Sharpe. While each is using the other to gain information, Rune and Gideon never expected they would fall in love in this enemies-to-lovers romantasy series.

Publication Date: 20 February 2024
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In a new horror fantasy romance, Ophelia must enter a deadly competition named Phantasma to save her sister. Ophelia, a necromancer, enters the haunted house in New Orleans where she must defeat nine challenges and the only survivor is granted one wish. When a charming stranger offers her aid in exchange for ten years of her life, Ophelia knows she shouldn’t trust him but just can’t seem to resist him.

Publication Date: 3 September 2024
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Decades ago after the Plague, the Elites were left with exceptional powers that pass down through the generations. When the King of Ilya decrees that all Ordinaries, non-magical people, are to be banned from the kingdom, Paedyn Gray must use her keen observation skills to pose as a psychic. After Paedyn saves the life of one of Ilya’s princes, they decide to honor her by entering her into the Purging Trials, a brutal competition to showcase the powers of the Elite. But even if she can somehow survive the trials, her growing attraction to the prince makes her even more likely to be found out as an Ordinary.

Publication Date: 31 January 2023
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Every 100 years, the island of Lightlark appears to host the Centennial. The rulers of each of the six kingdoms are invited to participate in a battle to enter the deadly game, and if they win, they will break the curses that have plagued their kingdoms for centuries. Isla Crown of Wildling is a Temptress, cursed to kill anyone she falls in love with. To free her kingdom, she must lie, cheat, and betray without letting love get in the way.

Publication Date: 23 August 2022
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Nineteen-year-old Signa has bounced around between guardians since her parents’ deaths but each guardian comes to an untimely end. Sent to live with her last remaining relatives, Signa finds herself in a house where the widower father throws wild parties, the son tries to control the family’s waning reputation and the daughter has a mysterious illness. When the mother’s spirit appears and claims she was murdered, Signa must turn to the stable boy for help solving the mystery. Yet the whole time, Signa finds herself haunted by Death himself and an alliance with him might be her only hope.

Publication Date: 30 August 2022
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In 19th-century Buenos Aires, Inez Olivera dreams of leaving her sheltered upper-class life to explore the world like her parents. When her parents die tragically, Inez inherits a fortune and a mysterious guardian who is an archaeologist who works with his Egyptian brother-in-law. Sailing for Egypt, Inez learns there is more to her parents’ deaths than she realized. Thwarted by her guardian’s handsome assistant, Inez relies on old world magic to discover the truth.

Publication Date: 31 October 2023
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In a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Brigid Kemmerer takes a foray into ya romantasy books. Due to a curse, Prince Rhen is forced to relive the autumn of his 18th year over and over again until he can get a girl to fall in love with him. Except at the end of each fall, he turns into a vicious beast. Is Harper Lacy – the often underestimated girl with cerebral palsy sucked into the kingdom from Washington, D.C. – the one to break the spell? And is there more at work than just a curse?

Publication Date: January 2019
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Cambridge professor Emily Wilde may be the world’s foremost expert on faeries but she has never learned how to properly connect with humans. Traveling to the far northern town of Hrafnsvik, Emily Wilde searches for the secrets of the Hidden Ones with as little interaction as possible with the townspeople. When the charming Wendell Bambleby, Emily’s academic rival, arrives in town, Emily finds the key to unlocking the secrets she needs might be to unlock her own heart.

Publication Date: 10 January 2023
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To escape a forced marriage, Addie LaRue makes a bargain with the devil in 1714. She gets to live forever, but the catch is she will be forgotten by everyone she meets. After 300 years, Addie has become resigned to her fate until she meets a young man who remembers her name. An all-around joy of a read that is a must-read for those looking for good adult fantasy books.

Publication Date: 6 October 2020
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With an ailing family to support, Evie Sage is not going to turn down a well-paying job with benefits, even if it happens to be the assistant to an Evil Villain. Yes, her gorgeous boss is terrifying, temperamental and running an evil empire but Evie can’t help developing a tiny crush on him. When Evie realizes there’s a traitor at work, she must ferret out who is sabotaging their boss because she has a job to do.

Publication Date: 29 August 2023
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From the author of The Bone Season, we have Samantha Shannon’s latest high fantasy novel. With its diverse and feminist approach, The Priory of the Orange Tree tells the story of a queen in need of an heir, a lady-in-waiting secretly using magic to protect her. At 800+ pages, it will fulfill any romantasy lover’s wish for epic world-building.

Publication Date: 26 February 2019
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What Are Your Thoughts on Romantasy Books?

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with my Romantasy Books list? What Fantasy Romance books have I forgotten? As always, let me know in the comments!

More Fantasy Reading Lists:

• 31 Creative Historical Fantasy Books
• 40 Standalone Fantasy Books to Read
• The Best Grimdark Fantasy Books
• Enchanting Novels About Magicians
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