Romance and fantasy have been companions for a long time, popularised by Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel series and Interview with a Vampire. Romantasy is their love child, playing with fantastical elements while placing heavy emphasis on the love story between the two main characters. Here are a few of my favourites:
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett is a wildly entertaining historical romantasy told through the research notes of Emily Wilde, notorious grouch and scholar of faeries, as she works on the final chapter of her eponymous encyclopaedia. Set in a tiny isolated Scandinavian village where Emily is trying to locate a mysterious species of fae, her research is hampered by her rival Bambleby, who Emily is convinced is not a true scholar but a mischievous faerie.
Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater is a Regency romance with a fantastical twist. After being cursed by a faerie and stripped of half her soul, Theodora is incapable of feeling embarrassment or shame, which has resulted in a scandalous reputation. However, her plan to be a quiet little wallflower during the next Season fails dramatically as she is pulled into the most unpopular man in the Ton’s scheming.
Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber is a hopeless romantic’s dream come true. When naive Evangeline Fox meets Jacks, Prince of Hearts, in an abandoned cathedral, she makes a deal with him. If she kisses three people of his choice he will stop the wedding between the man she loves and her stepsister. But when Evangeline starts developing feelings for Jacks, the deal she made becomes a lot more complicated than she anticipated.
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske is a steamy queer romantasy set in an alternative Edwardian England. When Robin Blyth is accidentally assigned to the post of magical liaison for the British parliament, he stumbles into a mystery about what happened to his predecessor. This throws him into a life or death race to find an ancient document alongside a magician who hates him (or does he?)
You can view more Romatasy titles here.
