The Best Romantasy Books of 2025 (and Where to Start)

If you've been anywhere near BookTok or BookTube in the last year, you know romantasy has completely taken over.

But with so many new releases dropping every month, it's hard to know where to start — or what's actually worth your time.

This guide breaks down the best romantasy books of 2025 by subgenre, so you can find exactly what you're looking for.

What Is Romantasy?

Romantasy is the mashup genre that gives you the epic world-building and magic of fantasy with a central love story that actually pays off. You get the tension, the slow burn, the swoony moments — and dragons, fae courts, or magic academies on top.

Fae & Court Romance

Books set in fae courts dominated 2024. Expect morally grey love interests, bargains that go wrong in the best ways, and prose that makes you want to live in a forest.

The hallmarks: a human (or half-fae) heroine stumbling into a world she doesn't understand, a powerful fae who is definitely not going to fall in love with her, and approximately 400 pages of denial before the inevitable.

What to look for: Slow burn, found family, ancient magic systems, and twists that recontextualise everything.

Enemies-to-Lovers Fantasy

If you want banter, rivalry, and two people who are absolutely furious at each other for 80% of the book, enemies-to-lovers fantasy is your genre.

The best books in this category make you genuinely unsure whether these two characters are going to kiss or kill each other — ideally both, in that order.

What to look for: Sharp dialogue, training montages that are secretly flirting, and a moment about two-thirds in where everything changes.

Dragon Rider Romance

Dragon rider books have surged in 2024. They hit a specific sweet spot: action-adventure plotting, a dragon bond that adds emotional stakes, and a romance that develops alongside the war plot rather than interrupting it.

What to look for: Multiple POVs, high stakes, and a dragon who has opinions about who their rider falls for.

How to Pick Your First Romantasy

If you're new to the genre, start with the trope you already love in contemporary romance and find the fantasy version.

• Love enemies-to-lovers? Go for court fantasy.
• Love forced proximity? Try dragon rider academia books.
• Love secret identity? Look for books with hidden heir plots.

What Makes a Great Romantasy?

The best romantasy books balance both halves of the genre. The fantasy plot should be strong enough to stand on its own, and the romance should feel earned — not just a reward at the end of a quest.

The ones that stick with you are the ones where the relationship actually changes both characters. Where falling in love has consequences for the world they're trying to save.