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16 Essential Romantasy Novels (Spicy Must-Reads)

If you’re looking for the best romantasy books filled with magic, action, and love, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’re sharing must-read books from the romantasy genre, including spicy romance books, tales of adventure and intrigue, and so much more.

best romantasy books

What is romantasy genre vs. fantasy with romance?

The difference between romantasy (or romantic fantasy) and fantasy with romance comes down to how prevalent the romance in the story actually is. Romantasy books have fantastical plots enriched with a heavy dose of romance, while fantasy with romantic elements uses that romance as a subplot to spice up the plot and characters.

For example, if a fantasy book’s primary storyline and characters are based on those characters’ romance, it’s a romantasy novel. If a fantasy book’s plot isn’t entirely about a love story — but rather about war, politics, and adventure, it’s a fantasy with a romantic subplot.

Must-Read Romantic Fantasy Books

From a fantasy romance reminiscent of The Hunger Games to award-winning modern novels, there’s something from the romantasy genre for almost any kind of reader here. These books are nearly impossible to put down, and many are debuts of a compelling series that you’ll want to dive straight into and never surface.

The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon

The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon

Despite the staggering popularity of Fourth Wing and A Court of Thorns and Roses, Thea Guanzon’s The Hurricane Wars is the absolute peak of the romantic fantasy genre. This is a deeply moving, empathetic, textured, and thought-provoking tale of war and political intrigue, bolstered by an exciting and dynamic magic system. And on top of all of that, we have an addictive pair of protagonists caught in an exciting enemies-to-lovers affair.

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What makes this novel stand out so much is its dedication to good fantasy world building, as well as its unique approach to romance in a war-torn world. So many romantasy books are simply shallow works of toxic romance with a veneer of fantasy. The Hurricane Wars is an intriguing and thought-provoking fantasy novel that encourages readers to consider the roles which narratives, perspectives, and propaganda play during war.

Our protagonists are a young orphaned soldier fighting to defend her home—a union of nations being invaded by a rising empire—and the son of the invading empire’s leader. Both believe their causes to be just, both are filled with righteous rage, and both also happen to be brilliantly sardonic people who provide wit and comic relief when it’s needed. There is nothing this novel doesn’t deliver.

Buy a copy of The Hurricane Wars here!

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

The Serpent and the Wings of Night is one of the very best books in the romantasy genre for one specific reason: it commits. Many authors who write within the genre (and they know who they are) use fantasy as flimsy set dressing for weird romantic encounters between meek young women and cruel older men. This one works brilliantly because Carissa Broadbent presents us with a dark world of backstabbing, bloodthirsty vampire hunters.

And the worldbuilding really is solid. Oraya is a young human whose adoptive father Vincent, king of the Hiaj vampires, saved her from a town that he himself had raided in order to quell a rebellion started by an enemy vampire clan. Since then, she has lived with him and spent her nights sneaking out to defend the underclass humans of their city from the predatory vampires who corner and kill them.

Oraya has chosen to enter a Hunger Games-style contest (as its only human competitor) in order to be granted a wish by Nyaxia, the vampire goddess. While risking her life in these trials, she teams up with a Turned vampire named Raihn, and thus begins a slow-burn romance in the most unlikely of places: a life-or-death contest of strength and skill.

Buy a copy of The Serpent and the Wings of Night here!

Faebound by Saara El-Arifi

Faebound by Saara El-Arifi

What do you get if you take the ACOTAR formula of romantasy fiction, inject it into a world that actually feels tangible and three-dimensional, populate that world with people who are more well-defined, and make it gay? You get Faebound, a fantastic example of how to do spicy fairy romantasy well!

Of course, making something gay does instantly make it better, but Faebound is more than that. It begins with a myth about the three races which once populated the world: elves, fae, and humans. Only the elves remain now, divided into tribes which have committed to an endless war for precious resources. Our protagonist is an elf commander who makes one bad decision on the battlefield and is banished to the wilds beyond their borders.

With her sister Lettle and fellow soldier Rayan in tow, Yeeran soon stumbles into the hidden world of the fae; a world that also acts as their prison. There, she will be put on trial for a murder she doesn’t know that she committed. A dark and queer romance will steadily blossom as secrets are uncovered and the world becomes an even stranger place.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

If you’re looking for spicy romantic books, the BookTok sensation Fourth Wing is a must-read. This award-winning book was almost impossible to get hold of when it first came out and ticked all the boxes for a suspenseful, sexy, and adventurous romantasy novel.

Fourth Wing tells the story of Violet Sorrengail, who was meant to enter the Scribe Quadrant for a quiet life of books and history. Instead, her mom—the ruthless head of the military academy—ordered her to join the dragon riding division as a recruit; a fate which might prove fatal to this meek but savvy young woman.

Violet, a person much smaller than the others she has been lumped with, is up against dragons, and her chances of surviving too long are slim. With every new sunrise, Violet must face friends, enemies, and lovers while doing whatever she can to prevail. If you enjoy it, then the next installment, Iron Flame, is already out and ready to read.

Buy a copy of Fourth Wing here!

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrou

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrou

From Blood and Ash is one of the spiciest reads of the romantasy genre. It’s filled with action, sexy, and nearly impossible to put down. Poppy was born into a life barely her own. As the Maiden, she couldn’t be touched, looked at, or spoken to. She couldn’t experience pleasure and spent her days with a duty to usher in a new era.

As a maiden with a heart, soul, and longing, her duty becomes tangled with her desires and needs when a guard, Hawke, enters the picture to ensure her Ascension. Hawke provokes her anger, makes her question everything, and seduces her with the forbidden.

Discover what happens when Poppy’s life starts unraveling as she faces the possibility of losing her heart and being considered unworthy by the gods.

Buy a copy of From Blood and Ash here!

A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross

A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross

Experience a magical world with A River Enchanted, a Scottish-inspired fantasy novel that showcases enemies-to-lovers romance, magic, and a thrilling mystery. A River Enchanted starts with a letter and journey across dark waters. Jack Tamerlaine is sent home to Cadence after ten years on the mainland to help find missing people from the island.

Jack must work with his childhood nemesis, Adaira, to solve the missing person mysteries. Eventually, they find a dark secret about Cadence that might be unstoppable.

Buy a copy of A River Enchanted here!

A Court of Thorns and Roses Series by Sarah J. Mass

A Court of Thorns and Roses Series by Sarah J Mass

A Court of Thorns and Roses (the first book in the series) is seductive and filled with exciting action.  Feyre, a young adult, kills a wolf in the woods when a horrifying creature comes for revenge. When Feyre is taken to a precarious magical land beyond the border on which her home sits, she learns that the creature, Tamlin, isn’t a beast but really one of the immortal Fae that onced ruled her world. 

As Feyre starts feeling more at home in her new land, her hostility towards Tamlin grows into a fiery passion. As she fights this passion, she must figure out what’s wrong with this dangerous world—what strange disease plagues it—and how to stop it.

Buy a copy of A Court of Thorns and Roses here!

Quicksilver by Callie Hart

Quicksilver by Callie Hart

What begins as a gritty fantasy tale in a desert city defined by class struggle and roguish characters pulling daring deeds soon shifts into a romantasy tale with all the tropes for which the genre has become known (for better or worse). Protagonist Saeris is a young woman from a poor district who risks her safety to steal from the rich and keep her brother safe. Soon enough, she is brought before the city’s immortal queen.

While engaging in a struggle with the queen’s guard, Saeris grabs for a strange sword, which summons a dark and brooding stranger to appear and whisk her away to the mysterious land of the fae. Once there, she must come to grips with this unusual new world and its magical denizens, learn about her own alchemical powers, and tame her feelings for the dangerous stranger who stole her away and abuses her relentlessly. Romantasy at its finest.

When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker

When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker

Narrated with a deep flair for the dramatic, When the Moon Hatched is the tale of Raeve, an assassin and member of a rebellion known as Fíur du Ath. Too soon, however, she is captured and held at the mercy of the Guild of Nobles. Her romantic interest, Kaan Vaegor, is a kingslayer who ventures into the prison of the city of Gore, and there he finds our assassin, rage spilling out of her like a flood.

All of this takes place in a richly detailed world, the origins of which are told to us in a vibrant prologue that teaches readers about the gods and dragons they will become familiar with as the story progresses. This is a tale of rage, retribution, love, and yearning, presented through electric and impassioned prose.

Sun Serpent by Geneva Monroe

Sun Serpent by Geneva Monroe

The first book in a romantic fantasy series, Sun Serpent is the story of a cursed kingdom, a Fire Singer looking for revenge, and a prince who isn’t what he seems.

Elyria Solaris dances with fire and disguises her skills as showmanship, and she craves answers about why she has a power no one else does. Prince Cal is looking for the girl who burns the brightest, and only Elyria can stop the horror his kingdom is facing. 

When Cal shows up in Elyria’s life, she’s on a path of vengeance over a loved one’s death. He’ll do anything to protect his people, including giving Elyria the answers she wants and lying to her about who he is. But what happens if Elyria trusts their undeniable spark? Will it be the one fire she can’t tame?  

Buy a copy of Sun Serpent by Geneva Monroe here!

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

Leigh Bardugo is a powerhouse writer when it comes to twisting the fantasy genre and pushing it in new directions. She wrote a thrilling heist novel in a fantasy world, then injected the dark academia genre with sinister magic. And here, with The Familiar, she has blended historical fiction with romantasy.

Our protagonist is Luzia, a scullery servant working in a Madrid household that sits in the dregs of high society. Luiza and her aunt keep their Jewish identities a secret from the watchful eye of the Spanish Inquisition, but Luzia has another secret: a magic which she is able to manipulate, and which the wife of this household will soon discover and use to worm her way into the upper echelons of bourgeois Spanish society.

Once thrust into this high society world, Luzia will be used as a tool but will also have the opportunity to prove herself. And along the way, she will fall in forbidden love with a dark and immortal man with powers of his own. Danger surrounds her, and even simply surviving will prove a challenge for our young heroine.

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

A Marvellous Light, the first book of a three-book series, won the 2022 Romantic Novel Award in Fantasy. This spicy romantasy tells the story of Robin Blythe, who must contend with magic’s danger and beauty, a deadly curse, and the terrifying visions of the future.

As Robin learns about unsettling truths, he faces unexpected dangers with his unfriendly counterpart in the magical bureaucracy, Edwin Courcey. Robin and Edwin go on a journey to discover a conspiracy that threatens every magician in the British Isles and the secret someone has already died to keep.

Buy a copy of A Marvellous Light here!

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

Follow the dark, gothic romantic fantasy of Elspeth Spindle in One Dark Window. Elspeth doesn’t need luck to stay safe in her home, an eerie, mist-locked kingdom. She needs a monster.

When she meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, who turns out to be the King’s nephew, her life drastically changes. She becomes part of a world of shadow and deception and joins a dangerous pursuit to cure the dark magic infecting the kingdom. 

Elspeth and the King’s nephew, Captain of the Destriers, have until Solstice to collect the keys to the cure, twelve Providence Cards. The problem? As her attraction to the Captain and the stakes intensify, she must face her darkest secret.

Buy a copy of One Dark Window here!

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

The Cruel Prince is a romantic fantasy story of Jude, who was a child when her parents were killed, and she and her sisters were abducted to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie.

When Jude becomes a teenager, she wants nothing more than to belong there despite her mortality. But the fey detests humans, especially the king’s son, Prince Cardan. To be welcome at the Court, Jude must rebel against Cardan and face the consequences.

Buy a copy of The Cruel Prince here!

A Market of Dreams and Destiny by Trip Galey

A Market of Dreams and Destiny by Trip Galey

Set in London during the 19th century, A Market of Dreams and Destiny takes place just below Covent Garden, where everything has a price.  When Deri was a child, he was sold to a power merchant. Now, years later, Deri falls into the path of a runaway princess and has a chance to buy his freedom and a place with the Market’s elite.

As news of the missing princess spreads, Deri meets Owain, who becomes the love of his life. Owain’s employers are using the Market for their own schemes, and Deri is faced with the high price of selling the royal destiny, making a name for himself, and saving Owain. 

Buy a copy of A Market of Dreams and Destiny here!

The Book of Azreal (Gods & Monsters) by Amber Nicole

The Book of Azreal (Gods & Monsters) by Amber Nicole

The Book of Azreal (Gods & Monsters) is a dark story of enemies to lovers. When Dianna gave up her life in the deserts of Eoria to save her dying sister, she called on anyone who would listen. What Dianna didn’t expect was a monster to answer.

Once Samkiel, now Liam, one name remains. He’s the World Ender, a myth to his enemies and a saviour and King to those who are loyal. After the Gods War, the World Ender hid from the world. Now he’s back and must face an old enemy and even put their differences aside to work together to save their world.

Buy a copy of The Book of Azreal here!

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