Best of · Romantasy
Romantasy booksThe best fantasy romance, ranked, with spice and darkness ratings
Romantasy is romance and fantasy in one book. The love story carries as much weight as the magic, the war or the quest. Faeries, dragons, vampires, cursed kings, and a relationship right at the centre.
New here? ACOTAR is short for A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. That and Rebecca Yarros' Fourth Wing are where most people start. Below are 32 picks, split into where to start, the spicy ones, the dark ones and the low-spice ones. Each book has a spice and darkness score out of 5, and the trigger warnings are one tap away.
Start here
The big names. If you've heard of one romantasy book, it's in here.
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1.A Court of Thorns and Roses
Sarah J. Maas
The book that made romantasy huge. A huntress, the fae lands of Prythian and a High Lord under a curse.
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2.Fourth Wing
Rebecca Yarros
Dragons, a war college and Xaden Riorson. Book one of the Empyrean series.
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3.From Blood and Ash
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Poppy is the Maiden, kept untouched for the gods. Then her new guard, Hawke, turns up.
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4.Throne of Glass
Sarah J. Maas
An assassin in a king's competition. Low spice early on, much hotter later in the series.
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5.House of Earth and Blood
Sarah J. Maas
Sarah J. Maas in a modern city of fae and angels, with a murder to solve.
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6.The Bridge Kingdom
Danielle L. Jensen
A spy princess, married to the king she was sent to destroy.
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8.Onyx Storm
Rebecca Yarros
Spicy romantasy
Open door and explicit. Look at the spice score before you start.
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11.Quicksilver
Callie Hart
Callie Hart's fae romance. The hero is called Kingfisher, and the heat is real.
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12.A Shadow in the Ember
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Set in the world before From Blood and Ash, and hotter than the main series.
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14.When the Moon Hatched
Sarah A. Parker
Dragons, a heroine who kills for a living and a very dark world.
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15.A Touch of Darkness
Scarlett St. Clair
Hades and Persephone, set in a modern world run by Greek gods.
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18.A Deal with the Elf King
Elise Kova
A cosy standalone. A village healer is chosen as the Elf King's bride.
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19.Throne of the Fallen
Kerri Maniscalco
A spicy standalone with a demon prince, set in the Kingdom of the Wicked world.
Spoiler note: read after the Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy.
Dark romantasy
Where romantasy crosses into dark romance. Read the warnings first.
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21.The Serpent & the Wings of Night
Carissa Broadbent
A human raised by a vampire king enters a tournament built to kill her.
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25.Spark of the Everflame
Penn Cole
A slow-burn rebellion romance with the children of gods in charge.
Low-spice romantasy
Kissing, tension and very little on the page. A lot of these sit on the young adult shelf.
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26.The Cruel Prince
Holly Black
Jude, a mortal raised in the High Court of Faerie, and Cardan, the prince who hates her.
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30.Kingdom of the Wicked
Kerri Maniscalco
A witch, a murdered twin and a prince of Hell. Book one burns slowly.
Spice and darkness at a glance
| Book | Spice | Darkness |
|---|---|---|
| A Court of Thorns and Roses | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Fourth Wing | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| From Blood and Ash | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Throne of Glass | 1/5 | 2/5 |
| House of Earth and Blood | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| The Bridge Kingdom | 3/5 | 2/5 |
| Serpent & Dove | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Onyx Storm | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Rites of the Starling | 4/5 | 2/5 |
| Fearless | 1/5 | 2/5 |
| Quicksilver | 4/5 | 4/5 |
| A Shadow in the Ember | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| A Fate Inked in Blood | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| When the Moon Hatched | 4/5 | 4/5 |
| A Touch of Darkness | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| The Witch Collector | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Shield of Sparrows | 3/5 | 2/5 |
| A Deal with the Elf King | 3/5 | 1/5 |
| Throne of the Fallen | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Alchemised | 3/5 | 5/5 |
| The Serpent & the Wings of Night | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| A Dawn of Onyx | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Gild | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Phantasma | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Spark of the Everflame | 2/5 | 3/5 |
| The Cruel Prince | 1/5 | 3/5 |
| Powerless | 1/5 | 2/5 |
| Divine Rivals | 1/5 | 2/5 |
| Lightlark | 1/5 | 2/5 |
| Kingdom of the Wicked | 1/5 | 3/5 |
| The Prison Healer | 1/5 | 3/5 |
| Red Queen | 1/5 | 2/5 |
Books like your favourite
Read the warnings first
Every pick links to its own warning page, and the trigger warnings A to Z explains every flag we use. Filter the whole library by spice and darkness.
Questions readers actually ask
What is romantasy?
A mix of romance and fantasy. The love story matters as much as the fantasy plot, and the couple usually end up together. A Court of Thorns and Roses and Fourth Wing are the best-known examples.
What is the best romantasy book to start with?
Most readers start with A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas or Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Both score 3 out of 5 for spice on our scale. If you want very little spice, start with The Cruel Prince or Powerless.
What does ACOTAR stand for?
ACOTAR stands for A Court of Thorns and Roses, the first book in Sarah J. Maas's fae series. Readers use it for the whole series too.
What's the spiciest romantasy series?
On this list, Quicksilver, When the Moon Hatched and A Fate Inked in Blood are the spiciest, at 4 out of 5. For the most explicit, go to our spicy romantasy books list.
Is Fourth Wing romantasy?
Yes. Fourth Wing puts an enemies-to-lovers romance inside a dragon-rider war college, and it's one of the books that made the word romantasy popular.
Are there romantasy books with low spice?
Yes. The Cruel Prince, Powerless, Divine Rivals, Lightlark, The Prison Healer and Kingdom of the Wicked all score 1 out of 5 on our spice scale.