Romantasy Interlude: Book Recs
For my last newsletter, my editor suggested “maybe suggest a first read for those curious to dip a toe in...” And so — I figured I would make a separate post, dedicated to my recommendations. Here they are :)
A Court of Thorns and Roses - if you want to know romantasy, you gotta read the Classics. This book series propelled Romantasy into the popular lexicon and even got its own name, ACOTAR. The entire series is five books, but most people stop after reading book two. Personally, I liked book five the best, and bought the book. Over the course of 751 pages, I watched the main character transform from the least likable person in the book to someone I wholly rooted for. I saw her tackle trauma, depression, and create a group of women who fight alongside her. Also, spice level? High.
The Serpent and the Wolf - this is an indie bestseller, which I picked up for a local bookclub. I’ll talk about this more in my next post, but this was my favorite romantasy for the way it subverted romantic tropes while still remaining faithful to the genre. The male lead was consistently kind. A high-ranking female in his court led her training montage. A friendship with another female is the catalyst for the climax of the novel. There is the one bed — and they never use it. I will warn that the first chapter is pretty bad, but if you get through it, the rest of the book is good. Spice level? Medium. Political intrigue? High, and in my opinion, well done. The author majored in international relations, and based political puzzles in the book off theory and history.
Uprooted - this is technically considered a fantasy, but it pre-dates “romantasy” and I put it in that genre. After all, Uprooted has a slow-burn romance, a female lead whose emotions fuel her magic, a training montage, and a final victory. It is also, in my opinion, very well-crafted. And I really like the female main character. I will put a trigger warning on this book for the age gap relationship. Truthfully, most romantasies have age gap relationships (where the man is immortal and the woman is barely an adult). This one got attention for it, I think, because the man does not treat her kindly in the beginning and because the author includes the age gap as part of the plot. I don’t think I would write this book any differently. In writing the Dragon as he appears, Naomi Novik gives us the way townspeople see him, the uprooted disconnection that pervades the novel in different characters, and a power imbalance that sets up meaningful plot and romantic tension. The crux of the story, after the climax, is also brilliant. It is brilliant, and heart-wrenching, and wholly outside the trope of most fantasy novels in the best way.
Note: I reference other romantasies in my newsletters, because they are popular. I wanted to draw on the bestsellers to establish the genre. However, the three above are my favorites — and actually, the three that I own.
Now onto the honorable mentions:
For those who enjoy storytelling - Both The Bear and the Nightingale and Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries are an ode to folk tales. They capture the feeling of being told a story, one passed down in the culture through generations. They also convey the importance of stories.
For those who seek a Mantasy - I enjoyed James Islington’s The Will of the Many. What is a Mantasy? It is my partner’s term for a power fantasy that features a man. They feel the same as a romantasy, without the romance. There is a lot of internal dialogue, a training montage, and a powerful feeling of beating the odds. I also think the magic system and the title are clever.
For those who laugh at Paladins - Read Clockwork Boys or Paladin’s Grace by T Kingfisher. T Kingfisher writes both fantasy and horror, and her fantasy is very funny. Another honorable mention (for a truly bad but hilarious book) is Swordheart, where a man comes in and out of a literal sword. Anyway, if you’ve ever watched the Dungeons & Dragons movie and thought, “the best part of this is the self-righteous and morally rigid paladin”, then Clockwork Boys is the book for you.
Happy Reading,
Evelyn