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Romantasy for beginners: 12 books to start with

Romantasy is fantasy where the love story carries the plot. If you have never read one, start here: twelve books that each open a different door into the genre, from no spice at all to open door, with the spice level and tropes on every one so nothing takes you by surprise.

Updated November 2026

  1. Cover of Fourth Wing

    Fourth Wing

    Rebecca Yarros · The Empyrean, No. 1

    The book that made the genre a household name: dragon riders, a war college and a slow burn that pays off.

  2. Cover of A Court of Thorns and Roses

    A Court of Thorns and Roses

    Sarah J. Maas · A Court of Thorns and Roses, No. 1

    Where most readers’ romantasy journey begins: a human huntress taken to the fae lands, and a series that grows darker and bigger with every book.

  3. Cover of From Blood and Ash

    From Blood and Ash

    Jennifer L. Armentrout · Blood and Ash, No. 1

    A sheltered Maiden, a guard who is not what he seems, and the forbidden romance that keeps readers up until three in the morning.

  4. Cover of The Cruel Prince

    The Cruel Prince

    Holly Black · The Folk of the Air, No. 1

    No spice, all scheming. A mortal girl in the High Court of Faerie, and the best enemies to lovers in young adult fantasy.

  5. Cover of Divine Rivals

    Divine Rivals

    Rebecca Ross · Letters of Enchantment, No. 1

    Two rival journalists, a typewriter that carries letters across a war, and a love story told as much in ink as in person. Gentle on spice, heavy on feeling.

  6. Cover of Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries

    Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries

    Heather Fawcett · Emily Wilde, No. 1

    A prickly scholar, a charming rival and a village at the edge of the faerie world. Cosy, witty and closed door.

  7. Cover of The Spellshop

    The Spellshop

    Sarah Beth Durst · The Spellshop, No. 1

    The gentlest start on this list: a librarian, a sentient spider plant and a jam shop that is secretly selling spells.

  8. Cover of Once Upon a Broken Heart

    Once Upon a Broken Heart

    Stephanie Garber · Once Upon a Broken Heart, No. 1

    A fairy-tale bargain with the Prince of Hearts, for readers who like their magic glittering and their villains charming.

  9. Cover of One Dark Window

    One Dark Window

    Rachel Gillig · The Shepherd King, No. 1

    A mist-locked kingdom, a monster living in the heroine’s head and a slow-burn romance with a highwayman. Darker and more gothic than most.

  10. Cover of Assistant to the Villain

    Assistant to the Villain

    Hannah Nicole Maehrer · Assistant to the Villain, No. 1

    The funny one. A cheerful assistant, a brooding Villain and an office comedy set in a kingdom of magic.

  11. Cover of The Serpent and the Wings of Night

    The Serpent and the Wings of Night

    Carissa Broadbent · Crowns of Nyaxia, No. 1

    A human in a vampire tournament, with the enemies-to-lovers slow burn that readers put beside Fourth Wing.

  12. Cover of Quicksilver

    Quicksilver

    Callie Hart · Fae & Alchemy, No. 1

    A thief dragged into the fae realm and a sharp, spicy enemies-to-lovers story. Start here if open door is what you came for.

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