There comes a time in every avid reader’s life when they must put away serious things and take up more (im)mature ones.
Jokes aside, there’s something inherently healing about loosening one’s grasp on high literature and delving into the murky depths of high fantasy and romance instead. This isn’t to say that some novels which fall within the genre are not, or cannot be, considered high-brow classics – far from it.
Novels like The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke remain firm favourites and top-shelf warriors in my eyes. It's when the contemporary concept of romantasy enters the picture that the lines become blurred.
Neither fantasy nor romance or even a subtle blend of the two, romantasy is a separate entity entirely – geared towards a generation of women and men alike who used to spend days trawling websites like Wattpad, Tumblr and AO3 for epic fanfiction which explored untold, smutty storylines from their favourite films, TV shows and books. It’s even highly likely that some of the most popular Romantasy authors making the rounds on BookTok today started by writing chapters on these blog-like sites.
Romantasy books are about pleasure in its simplest form: the joy of a page-turning plot, the magic of exploring innovative world-building and, of course, the fulcrum of the obsession with such novels – the smut. In Middle English, ‘smut’ meant to defile or debase, and became commonplace in the 17th century to describe indecent or obscene content. Nowadays, it’s a must-have element for any romantasy book.
As a result, many novels within the genre are not only considered low-brow but a perversion of the fantasy genre as a whole. While there are certainly wildly popular novels in which the fantasy element seems to run away from the author, who focuses too intently on the quality of intimacy, how attractive the female protagonist’s male counterpart is, and so on, this is a gross generalisation.
Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing was the first novel to shift my perspective. While I’m not hailing it as a piece of prized literature, I can safely declare it to be an enthralling book with well-developed characters and the perfect balance of romance and fantasy. Chances are you agree, or else you wouldn’t have gotten this far.
Navigating the world of romantasy as someone who enjoys it, but values the art of brilliant writing, is no simple task. Fear not, for I’ve done all the sorting for you. Keep scrolling for my curated selection of the best reads to cure your Empyrean hangover.
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Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
If you stumbled into the world of Yarros’ Fourth Wing without first reading Bardugo’s cult-favourite Shadow and Bone, you’re in for a real treat.
A masterclass in worldbuilding filled to the brim with twists, turns, romance and marvellously addictive characters, the story begins with our orphaned protagonist Alina Starkov. She’s a mapmaker in the First Army of Ravka who knows she likely won’t survive her first trip across the fold – a shadowy expanse of darkness filled with horrifying monsters.
But when her regiment is attacked, she unleashes a dormant power that sees her swept away to the world of the Grisha – Ravka’s magical military elite led by General Kirigan, otherwise referred to as The Darkling, who believes Alina can banish the shadow fold for good and save their war-ravaged, divided country.
We follow along as Alina trains alongside the magical yet rather scientific Grisha to hone her unique powers, while she begins to unlock secrets about her past, present and future.
Buy now £3.35, Amazon
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Fantasy veterans will be well aware of Naomi Novik, author of modern classics such as the dragon-filled Temeraire series. One of her many best-selling novels, Uprooted follows a young girl named Agnieszka, who lives in an idyllic, quiet village which borders the corrupted Wood – which is filled to the brim with malevolent power.
Agnieszka’s people rely on a terrifying wizard known only as the Dragon to keep the wood at bay, but his protection comes at a price. Every ten years, one young woman must be handed over to serve him. The next Choosing approaches fast, and Agnieszka should worry about herself more than her charming and beautiful dear friend Kasia.
Buy now £5.74, Amazon
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
A highly unique and beloved urban fantasy, Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones is the first in a sextet known as The Mortal Instruments series. You may recall the 2013 film adaptation, which sadly didn’t get a sequel despite broad fan appreciation. Rather than watch the adapted television series which came three years later and doesn’t accurately reflect the painstaking worldbuilding and magical craftwork of Cassandra Clare, it’s time to read the books.
Fifteen-year-old Clary unintentionally witnesses a murder – a rather supernatural one. At the Pandemonium Club in New York City, three teenage boys kill someone, or something – which proceeds to vanish without so much as a drop of blood. They are Shadowhunters; warriors dedicated to ridding the Earth of demons. Warriors that regular, mundane people like Clary shouldn’t be able to see, which intrigues the Shadowhunters – namely, Jace. Within twenty-four hours, Clary’s mother disappears, she herself is attacked by a demon and she is inescapably pulled into a dark underworld that she never knew existed.
Buy now £6.96, Amazon
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Yet another option by Naomi Novik, A Deadly Education is the first of three books within the Scholomance series. Like Yarros’ Fourth Wing, the novel is set in a mythical cut-throat school which sees its students survive and thrive or fail and die. It follows Galadriel "El" Higgins, a half-Welsh, half-Indian sorceress on a mission to graduate, while she begins to uncover untold secrets about the institution.
Buy now £9.19, Amazon
One Dark Window by Rachel Gellig
Elspeth Spindle is plagued by an ancient, mercurial spirit which torments her from its cage within her head. She calls him the Nightmare, and he’s the only thing that keeps her safe in the shadow-filled, misty kingdom of Blunder.
One evening, our protagonist meets a mysterious highwayman on a forest road, who enlists her in a dangerous quest to cure Blunder of the dark magic which infects it - which infects her. The highwayman just so happens to be the King’s nephew, who is guilty of high treason and in charge of some of the most dangerous men in the kingdom.
Buy now £10.11, Amazon
The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
Though the world in The Serpent and the Wings of the Night may be rather bizarre, it has captured the hearts of BookTok lovers across the globe. The novel is about the human, adopted daughter of the Nightborn vampire king.
Her name is Oraya, and she desperately craves acceptance within a kingdom designed to kill her. To achieve this impossible task she enters the Kejari, a tournament held by the goddess of Death. She’ll have to compete against vicious warriors from the three vampire houses, and to survive must ally with a mysterious rival – a ruthless vampire and efficient killer named Raihn, who she inevitably finds herself drawn to.
Buy now £1.43, Amazon
When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker
As a valued member of the rebellion group Fíur du Ath, our protagonist Raeve is a professional killer – but when a renowned bounty hunter is employed by the Crown to capture a member of the Ath, Raeve’s world is turned upside down.
Crushed by the loss of his great love, dragon ride Kaan Vaegor is tormented by acts committed in his past, and the futility of his future – until he stumbles upon a prisoner with blood on her hands.
Buy now £9.19, Amazon
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
Set within a world where select humans are capable of skills which vary from the ability to manipulate matter, control the desires of others, and communicate telepathically, The Atlas Six is the story of six of these magic-wielding beings who are invited to compete for membership in the highly secretive Alexandrian Society.
Led by the enigmatic Atlas Blakely, the Alexandrian Society are magic-wielding custodians of lost knowledge from ancient civilisations. Over the course of a year, our six protagonists must practice and innovate their supernatural abilities from within the hallowed halls of the society’s London-based headquarters. The winner is invited into the mystical fold of the supernatural society, while the losers may not survive at all.
Buy now £5.00, Amazon
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Stephen King declared Bardugo’s best-seller to be “the best fantasy novel [he’s] read in years, because it’s about real people.”
We follow the life of Alex Stern, a high school dropout and the sole survivor of a horrific unsolved multiple homicide, as she enters her freshman year at Yale. A free ride at one of the world’s most prestigious institutions supported by mysterious benefactors inevitably comes with a catch, and Alex is tasked with monitoring the activities of Yale’s darkest secret societies – otherwise referred to as tombs.
Known for producing esteemed members of the global elite, Alex uncovers the occult secrets of the university’s haunted societies – but at what cost?
Buy now £6.00, Amazon
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
An epic, and consequentially rather lengthy, fantasy for you to sink your teeth into, Samantha Shannon’s bestseller focuses on two warring kingdoms within a world besieged by fire-breathing wyrms. Though the East and the West kingdoms view dragons differently, both agree on one resolute fact: the ancient Nameless One cannot reawaken.
Rather than following the lives of the nobility, Shannon hones in on four distinct protagonists: the spy Ead Duryan, courtier Arteloth Beck, dragon rider Miduchi Tané, and alchemist Niclays Roos.
Buy now £9.90, Amazon
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
For those who have raced through Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone trilogy, The Six of Crows is also set within the mystical Grishaverse. It follows criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker and his crew of six dangerous outcasts. Faced with the challenge of an impossible heist which could make the Crows richer than they ever thought possible, the motley bunch of flight risks, criminals and shadow-dwellers must work together to avoid definite destruction.
Buy now £7.49, Amazon
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
A fantasy novel written with romantics and dark academia enthusiasts in mind, A Discovery of Witches is about a centuries-old vampire, a reluctant witch and a mysterious alchemical manuscript hidden in the depths of Oxford’s Bodleian library. An object desperate to be discovered, Diana Bishop unwittingly comes across the ancient, bewitched text during the course of her research – and it changes her existence forever.
Buy now £9.19, Amazon
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
One of nine cult-favourite books, Outlander is a time-travelling mystical novel filled with romance, death-defying adventure, monstrous horrors, war, kidnappings and so much more. The year is 1946, and Claire Randall is on a second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands with her husband Frank. Yet one afternoon, while exploring her surroundings, Claire walks through a circle of stones and disappears into the year 1743.
Buy now £8.99, Amazon
