Nightbane

Romantasy, a portmanteau of romance and fantasy, is a literary genre that emerged in the wake of the success of young adult fantasy series in the early 2000s, such as Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series or Rebecca Yarros’s Empyrean series.

Blending elements of romance fiction and fantasy, romantasy books typically center on romantic and occasionally sexual relationships, as well as the social and political dynamics that may inform them. That main romantic plotline is set in a fantasy world that often includes magical elements and creatures and generally lends itself to chivalric romance.

The genre of romantasy is generally aimed at teenage and young adult female readers, and its popularity has been facilitated by the growth of online literary criticism in recent years. Websites like Goodreads, for instance, and social media bubbles such as BookTok, the literary side of TikTok as nicknamed by its users, have primarily contributed to the rising commercial popularity of romantasy. Among readers of romantasy, there is some debate about the distinction between “romantic fantasy” (fantasy books that include romantic plotlines) and “fantasy romance” (romance books set in fantastical worlds), with the implication that each genre focuses on one aspect more than the other and therefore should be approached differently.