Romantasy, short for romantic fantasy, is a genre that combines fantasy and romance so tightly that the plot wouldn’t make sense without the love story. Think dragon riders, fae courts or magic-soaked kingdoms where the relationship matters as much as the war or the quest. The term took off in 2023 and 2024 as a social media trend, driven largely by BookTok, with Rebecca Yarros’s Empyrean series and Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses among the books leading the wave.
What counts as romantasy? #
The simplest test: remove the romance, and see if the story still works. If it does, you’re reading fantasy with a romantic subplot. If the plot collapses, it’s romantasy. Wikipedia’s definition puts it the same way, describing romantasy as fantasy where the plot depends on the romance so much that it wouldn’t make sense without it.
That separates it from two close neighbors:
| Genre | Setting | Role of the romance | Typical creatures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Epic fantasy | An invented world | Optional subplot | Anything |
| Romantasy | Usually an invented or hidden world | Central to the plot | Fae, dragons, gods, witches |
| Paranormal romance | The real world with supernatural elements | Central | Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, witches |
The lines blur. A werewolf romance set in a hidden pack in the modern world might be shelved as paranormal romance by one store and romantasy by another. Readers mostly use “romantasy” for anything where magic and love share the spotlight.
Why did romantasy get so popular? #
A few things came together at once.
BookTok. Sales of romantasy have been driven heavily by TikTok’s book community. Readers post reactions, trope lists and favorite scenes, and that kind of word of mouth suits a genre built on big emotions.
Record-breaking books. Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, followed by Onyx Storm in January 2025, broke sales records and are being adapted for television. Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series brought fae courts to a huge audience.
Tropes you can search for. Readers increasingly pick books by trope: fated mates, enemies to lovers, a bargain with a dangerous stranger. Romantasy leans into its tropes openly, which makes it easy to find exactly what you’re in the mood for.
Escapism with a heart. Fantasy gives you another world; romance gives you a reason to care about the people in it. Romantasy does both at once.
What are the most common romantasy tropes? #
- Fae courts. Beautiful, dangerous immortals with strict rules. The best-known rule is that fae can’t lie, which we explain in why can’t fae lie.
- Fated mates and bonds. A magical connection that ties two people together, whether they like it or not.
- Enemies to lovers. Rival factions, rival kingdoms, rival students. See the enemies to lovers trope explained.
- Bargains. A deal with a powerful being that costs more than it seemed.
- The morally grey love interest. Someone powerful, dangerous and not entirely good.
- War colleges and academies. Training grounds full of danger and rivalries.
- Slow burn. Many romantasy series stretch the build across several books. See what is a slow burn romance.
What are the main types of romantasy? #
- Fae romantasy: courts, bargains and the Folk.
- Dragon romantasy: riders, bonds between human and beast, and usually a war.
- Shifter and werewolf romantasy: packs, alphas and fated mates.
- Vampire romantasy: immortal courts, bloodlines and old grudges.
- Academy romantasy: magical schools and training camps.
Is romantasy spicy? #
It varies a lot. Some romantasy is clean or closed door, some builds slowly and keeps intimate moments off the page, and some bestsellers include explicit scenes. There are both young adult and adult romantasy books, and they can differ a great deal in content.
If you want to know what you’re opening, check the age category, content notes and reader reviews before you start. Some platforms go further. Secret Fantasy, a library of interactive romances told in text messages, shows a heat rating on every story, and its current stories are slow burn with mature themes, never explicit on the page.
Can you play romantasy? #
Yes. Interactive stories let you step into the heroine’s role and make her choices. In Secret Fantasy, two of the three stories are romantasy:
- Thornwilde is a fae romance. Your brother vanished into a night market at nine years old, and seven years later a number with no area code says he’s alive. The Folk can’t lie, so they build traps out of true sentences. Its three love interests are Cassien, Lord of the Ninth Door; Halloran, the Hound; and Vesper, envoy of the Hollow Court.
- Moonbound is a werewolf romance. The mate who rejected you at nineteen, and a bond that refuses to break, when your grandmother’s death calls you home to the pack.
Each story runs twelve episodes of about five minutes, with three romance routes tracked separately, and no episode is ever locked behind a purchase. The third story, Omerta, is a contemporary mafia romance rather than a fantasy.
Frequently asked questions #
What does romantasy stand for? #
It’s a blend of “romance” and “fantasy,” often described as romantic fantasy. It refers to fantasy stories where the romance is central to the plot rather than a side story.
What’s the difference between romantasy and paranormal romance? #
Paranormal romance usually takes place in the real world with supernatural elements added, such as vampires or werewolves in a modern town. Romantasy more often takes place in an invented or hidden world with its own magic and politics. Many books fit both labels.
What romantasy books should I start with? #
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas are the most talked-about entry points. Both are written for adults, so check content notes if you prefer lighter reads. Holly Black’s The Folk of the Air, beginning with The Cruel Prince, is a popular choice for fae stories.
Is romantasy only for women? #
No. It’s especially popular with women readers, and much of its growth came through BookTok, but anyone who likes fantasy with emotional stakes can enjoy it.