When it comes to BookTok, the word “excited” isn’t quite strong enough to describe just how hype the community gets about their favorite books. Case in point: I recently watched a review of a book (this one) that was 90 seconds of incoherent screaming (and yes, I did immediately add that book to my TBR). When the BookTok community gets behind a new book or author, the frenzied joy and excitement is inescapable. There’s no better example of this in recent memory than Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.
Fourth Wing quickly skyrocketed to BookTok royalty when it was released earlier this year. It became one of my favorite books of all time and reminded me why I loved reading so much in the first place. From beginning to end, Fourth Wing is simply a good time. If you too read Fourth Wing and are looking to recapture the feelings it gave you while you wait for Iron Flame (the second book in the series), this is the place for you.
What you’re looking for is your next romantasy book. The romantasy genre blends the best of romance with the best of fantasy in stories that give readers both badass heroines who need to save the kingdom and swoon-worthy romances that will leave you giggling and kicking your feet. We’re a couple months away from Iron Flame yet, but these 12 romantasy books will tide you over in the meantime. They’re a mix of highly-rated books from Goodreads and a few that have my personal stamp of approval as The Everygirl’s self-proclaimed Chief of Fantasy.
After twelve long years, Lor wants nothing more than to escape the Aurora King and pay him back for every moment of misery she’s endured. When she finds herself released and in the hands of the rival Sun King, Lor is thrust into the spotlight to compete against nine other Tributes for the role of queen. If she wins the Sun King’s heart, she’ll earn her freedom and finally get her revenge. Standing in her way are nine other women who will stop at nothing to see her removed from the competition, permanently.
In a kingdom where she's forced to hide her affliction, the monster inside Elspeth's head, called the Nightmare, is both her fiercest protector and her deadliest secret.
When Elspeth is confronted by a group of highwaymen on her way home, she's forced to leave the comfort of her quiet existence behind and instead finds herself embroiled in a treasonous plot to undermine the King and save her kingdom—and hopefully, herself.
But if high treason wasn't enough, with each passing day, the Nightmare grows stronger in Elspeth's mind. Will she be able to stop him or will he succeed in taking complete control?
Ten years ago, the kingdom of Jasad burned. Its magic outlawed; its royal family murdered down to the last child. At least, that’s what Sylvia wants people to believe.
The lost Heir of Jasad, Sylvia never wants to be found. She can’t think about how Nizahl’s armies laid waste to her kingdom and continue to hunt its people—not if she wants to stay alive. But when Arin, the Nizahl Heir, tracks a group of Jasadi rebels to her village, staying one step ahead of death gets trickier.
A deadly game begins. Sylvia can’t let Arin discover her identity even as hatred shifts into something more. Soon, Sylvia will have to choose between the life she wants and the one she left behind.
Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life-working hard all day and partying all night—until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. The crimes start up again even though the accused is behind bars and Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. By her side through the investigation is Hunt Athalar, the notorious Fallen angel who’s been promised the one thing he wants most if he and Bryce find the murderer: his freedom. Along the way, they discover a dark power and a blazing passion that could set them both free—if only they let it.
This is the story of King Midas, the Golden King with his palace of riches, and Auren, the girl he turned to gold. After he rescued her from the streets, Auren was locked away in Highbell Castle—for her safety, she’s told—and promised to love the king forever. But when war comes to the kingdom, Midas uses Auren as a bargaining chip. Her love is challenged, her trust is broken, and everything she thought she knew is wrong.
The gods are warring again, but Iris Winnow has more pressing matters on her mind. Her mother is struggling with addiction, her brother is missing from the frontlines, and she only has one opportunity to keep her life together: win the promotion to columnist at the Oath Gazette. The only thing standing in her way is her rival, Roman Kitt, who also happens to be receiving the private, heartfelt letters that Iris has been writing to her brother and placing underneath her wardrobe where they mysteriously vanish. When Roman decides to anonymously write Iris back, the two forge a connection they never saw coming.
In a Hunger Games-esque tournament, vampires fight to the death to win a favor from the goddess Nyaxia. This year, Oraya, a human, enters the deadly fray for her one and only chance at becoming an immortal just like the vampires she was raised with. In the midst of the games, she allies herself with the mysterious and dangerous vampire Raihn against her better judgement. Though everything about him should set her on edge, Oraya can't help but be drawn to her new ally—and he to her. When the time comes, will they be able to turn on each other for the prize they risked their lives for?
Poppy’s life has never been her own. As the Maiden, her life is solitary. She is never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders. But when she meets Hawke, the golden-eyed guard honor bound to make sure she fulfills her destiny, her duty becomes entangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her questions everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.
Exiled by her despotic brother, princess Malini spends her days dreaming of vengeance while imprisoned in the Hirana: an ancient cliffside temple that was once the revered source of the magical deathless waters but is now little more than a decaying ruin.
The secrets of the Hirana call to Priya. But in order to keep the truth of her past safely hidden, she works as a servant in the loathed regent's household and cleaning Malini's chambers.
When Malini witnesses Priya's true nature, their destinies become irrevocably tangled. One is a ruthless princess seeking to steal a throne. The other a powerful priestess desperate to save her family. Together, they will set an empire ablaze.
Willow was raised to be a weapon against the Coven that took away her father’s sister and his birthright. She’ll stop at nothing to protect her own younger brother from the same fate. In order to fulfill her duty, Willow journeys to the secret town of Crystal Hollow and the prestigious Hollow’s Grave University, where the best and brightest learn to practice their magic free from human judgement. Standing in her way is the beautiful and infuriating Headmaster Alaric Grayson Thorne, a man who despises her just as much as she loathes him.
Touraine is a soldier. Stolen as a child and raised to kill and die for the empire, her only loyalty is to her fellow conscripts. But now, her company has been sent back to her homeland to stop a rebellion, and the ties of blood may be stronger than she thought.
Luca needs a turncoat. Someone desperate enough to tiptoe the bayonet's edge between treason and orders. Someone who can sway the rebels toward peace, while Luca focuses on what really matters: getting her uncle off her throne.
Through assassinations and massacres, in bedrooms and war rooms, Touraine and Luca will haggle over the price of a nation. But some things aren't for sale.
Gifted thief Romeria steals jewels under a notorious New York City crime boss. But when a mysterious woman secures her services at swordpoint, Romeria is wrenched from this world and transported into a realm of opposing thrones, warring elven societies, and elemental magic.
Annie and Lee were just children when a brutal revolution changed their world, giving everyone—even the lowborn—a chance to join the elite class of dragonriders. After seven years of training, they are rising stars in the new regime and rivals competing for the top position in the dragonriding fleet. When survivors from the old regime resurface, bent on reclaiming the city, Annie and Lee are thrust into the center of the conflict where everything they believe in, and their love for each other, will be put to the test.
