Staff Picks: A Bit of Romantasy

Tue, 02/20/2024 - 12:49pm by lucroe

For readers craving that overlap between romance and fantasy, check out these titles that have it all: magic, creatures, and love! 

Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna | Request Now
A cozy romantasy about Mika Moon, who happens to be a witch but no one knows except her coven, who don't understand how lonely she has felt throughout the years. When a mysterious message arrives asking her to come to Nowhere House to train three young witches how to control their magic, she knows it's a bad idea to go. Who knows, maybe there she'll find something worth taking a chance on like the house librarian Jamie Kelly who she is immediately attracted to but who gives her the cold shoulder. Could she melt that icy heart of his?

 

 

 

 

The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi | Request Now
This series starter, inspired by African and Arabian mythology, posits a world in which people are in a violent social hierarchy based on the color of their blood. When the Warden’s Empire begins its set of combat trials to find new leadership, three women are drawn together with the hopes of taking the Empire down. Read this one for rich world-building, thrilling action, and a bisexual love triangle. The series continues in the Battle Drum

 

 

 

 

Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon | Request Now
Talasyn has grown up an orphan in a nation constantly under the siege of the ruthless Night Emperor. But Talasyn holds a dangerous secret: she burns with the light magic thought to have been eliminated years ago, the same magic that killed a previous emperor and ignited the Hurricane Wars. Prince Alaric is the emperor’s only son and is tasked with protecting the kingdom at all costs including eliminating Talasyn using his dark magic. When Alaric sees Talasyn glowing on the battlefield, it leads to an uneasy, and sizzling, alliance between the two. It is easy to see how this was originally a Star Wars fan fiction where Rey and Kylo Ren are forced into an arranged marriage uniting the Rebel Alliance and the Empire. Kudos to Guanzon for taking that story and successfully reworking it to fit this original fantasy epic. This has a Southeast Asian inspired main setting with weather-magic world-building and alongside a variety of radically different climates and locales in which the political and romantic intrigue take place. The sequel, Monsoon Rising, is currently set to publish in October.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros | Request Now
The hold list may be long for this one, but it is well worth the wait. Last year’s breakout hit (and has already been optioned for an Amazon Prime show) tells the story of Violet, a young woman who wants a quiet life. This soon changes when her mother forces her to join the hundreds of cadets striving to become dragon riders, upsetting her life in a way she never saw coming. There, she'll try her hardest to survive alongside the best of the best. As she meets her competitors and gets deeper into the program, romance blooms, and mysteries spin out before her. The sequel, Iron Flame is also out (with a third planned). Characters that are relatable, ones to root for and others to boo, as well as action, romance, and dragons! What more could a fantasy or romantasy reader want in a book!?

 

 

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming | Request Now
This is the first book in the Mead Mishaps series. Spice trader, Cinnamon, suddenly finds herself on a quest with a demon to slay an evil witch who enslaves demon kind. Along the way they banter, kick butt, and fall for each other. Don’t expect any deep revelations here, this is all about the entertaining banter, a straightforward quest, and some spicy romance. This book is definitely character-driven and not so much about the world building as many fantasy books tend to be.