Imagine taking yourself a world away without having to worry about passports, delayed flights or your luggage arriving in one piece.
If you aren’t heading to sunnier climes this summer there is plenty of fun to be had from the comfort of your own couch– places where you swap sun lotion for healing potion, sunglasses for swords, and lifeguards for Shadow Daddies (the mysterious, morally grey love interests who are fiercely protective and devoted to the female protagonist, often with dark and broody powers – like magically controlling literal shadows…cute right?).
The cost-of-living crisis is not the only reason people may not be travelling this year but it is affecting many households. Which? Travel determined package holidays for 2025 are up, on average, 4.2% compared to last year – that’s £50 pp! So, how amazing is it that in a time when things are a bit tighter there are opportunities to escape without spending anything?
Besides, so many elements of holidays are grounded in real life: saving, organising, packing…and in the end it’s just somewhere hotter with a high chance of horrible pillows.
A Romantasy novel takes you away from budgets, deadlines and the rest, and allows you to indulge in a world where magic truly does exist.
So what is Romantasy?
Romantasy has been around for a long time, with old school authors like Anne Bishop and Robin McKinley blending the genres of Fantasy and Romance, and giving readers compelling, foot popping relationships in the midst of magic and myth. In recent years, in tandem with the rise of social media exposure on BookTok and Bookstagram, the portmanteau has exploded along with a huge boost in the popularity of the subgenre.
For this genre to work both the Fantasy and Romance elements are essential – neither can stand without the other because the plot and the emotion work hand in hand.
Bloomberg estimated Romantasy sales were $610 million in 2024, up from $454 million the year before. The Booksellerattributes the 2024 41.3% record-breaking jump in the Sci Fi Fantasy Total Consumer Market (TCM) to the BookTok/Romantasy gold rush.
Readers cannot get enough.
Why are readers so drawn to Romantasy?
Between the covers of these books are richly drawn worlds where readers can disappear, surrounding themselves with locations, politics and creatures that are completely removed from the stress and reality of their everyday existence. The heroines in these books solve problems, right injustices and fall in love. And when a heroine gets the guy – the hot guy – it’ll be one who prioritises her opinion, her needs and her satisfaction.
Dragons, fae, vampires, gods, shapeshifters, witches and demons can become villainous enemies, romantic heroes or both, depending on the story. Romantasy books have high stakes plots married with deep emotional satisfaction and that is a chef’s kiss combination for a reader who wants adventure and a happily ever after. In the post pandemic world of uncertainty and overstimulation, Romantasy gives readers somewhere to unwind with rich immersive storytelling so different from their daily lives. And not just for two weeks in summer.
Millennials who grew up on Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Twilight and The Hunger Games are desperate for something to capture the same magic that poured from the books they loved when they were younger.
But isn’t all just smut?
The short answer is no. The long answer is that the majority of these books are hundreds of pages long and contain a couple of intimate scenes between people falling in love that usually centre women’s fantasies, desires and her pleasure. People fall in love all the time. Emotional relationships develop, often through physical contact, and some readers enjoy following the characters through it all. Some of these books have no sexual content or keep it behind a closed door. And many titles are in the YA space with younger protagonists, themes and audiences in mind.
Yet, because these books are predominantly written and enjoyed by women in a sex positive way, the intimacy is a problem. Epic fantasy stories that contain graphic violence, sexual assault and sometimes incest don’t garner the same pearl clutching and sneering media headlines – some are even given big budget screen adaptations and become part of the zeitgeist.
Whilst adult Romantasy books often contain intimate scenes somewhere on the spice scale (usually rated in chilli pepper emojis out of five), they shouldn’t be reduced to just it. To do so is disingenuous to the complex world building and layered emotionality that the authors work so hard to blend. Enabling this tired, misogynistic narrative diminishes women’s voices in Fantasy fandoms.
Even within the Fantasy space, Romantasy is condescended to. New York Times #1 bestselling Fantasy author, Brandon Sanderson, commands a lot of respect. He’s sold over 40 million books (he’s a serious writer – you know, a man who writes minimal Romance into his work). Sanderson recognised this attitude as a problem and commendably used his platform to call out Fantasy fans who do not welcome Romantasy readers.
Incidentally, Sarah J Maas, a leading Romantasy author, has sold over 75 million copies of her books. And for those who only read literary fiction, it is important to point out that literary works can only be published because commercial fiction makes so much money, so even if genre fiction isn’t for you, it supports your reading choices.
But they’re just books…right?
The Romantasy bookish community is thriving – friends are passing their newfound joy on to each other like a baton and hosting reading retreats, themed cocktail nights and attending Romantasy balls.
I’m a member of a community of Irish readers via an online book club at glimmerbookclub.ie and it is so much fun! Glimmer serves so many literary and commercial reading tastes with regional, in-person meetups and lots of mini book clubs separated by genre including Romantasy. There is a dedicated Romantasy WhatsApp group chat that picks its own Romantasy monthly choice. And again, unlike lots of the nightclubs abroad – entry is free – but just like a wild night out with too many sangrias, a really fantastic Romantasy can leave you with a book hangover.
Cheaper than travelling abroad, you can get physical books and audio books from your local library for free but being a reader can end up an expensive habit if you aren’t careful: t-shirts, stickers, candles and other licenced merchandise can be found on Etsy and other internet stores. Some Romantasy readers collect special editions with unique art and intricate sprayed edges (known as spredges), and there are individuals creating stunning fan art and sharing playlists… reading and being a Romantasy reader can be two very different hobbies.
Many Romantasy authors have often come from a fan fiction space or are/were self-published and are heavily engaged with readers on social media so the sense of community is strong – and that is possibly why Romantasy recommendations lead the way in the social media book universe.
So, pick up a Romantasy and fall out of this world and into somewhere truly magical. In the words of Cher Horowitz from Clueless, ‘like, the more the merrier.’
Which Romantasy books are best to start with?
If you are migrating from the Romance space, books like Sarah J. Maas’s fae rich world of the A Court Of Thorns And Roses series or Rebecca Ross’s magical typewriters in Divine Rivals are a good place to jump in.
If you prefer something more Fantasy driven then try the fae and dragon-riders’ world of When The Moon Hatched by Sarah A Parker (currently Free with a Prime Subscription), Saara El-Arifi’s Faebound or the vampire world of The Serpent and The Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent.
If your tastes run more literary then the sapphic tale of forbidden magic of The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri or the celestial trials in the lyrical Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan are perfect.
The best bit?
To enjoy this escape prices start at nothing – your library card is your boarding pass so…bon voyage!
