Like most people who as tweens enjoyed reading the ilk of Twilight, The Hunger Games, and Harry Potter, I have moved onto the genre of “Romantasy” (though in reality I have been chest deep in this genre for ages thanks to fanfiction–it’s just now become more of a respected ($$$) genre in the publishing world).

If you’re on apps like Instagram or TikTok, you might have heard of the term “Romantasy” through “Booktok” and users gushing about authors like Sarah J Maas (SJM), Carissa Broadbent, and this year’s blockbuster author of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame: Rebecca Yarros.

Romantasy is the intertwining of Fantasy and Romance into its own sub genre. The fantasy can be as epic in complexity as The Lord of the Rings, or as simple as a retelling of Cinderella. The romance can be as innocent as Mr.Darcy flexing his fingers in a rare fluster of emotion after barely touching Elizabeth Bennet’s hand, or as bodice-ripping as the books your mother used to hide beneath a pile of freshly folded laundry; only reading them in the dead of night when no child or husband could interrupt her.

Personally, I like my books to have a high amount of fantasy with a love story that makes you want to squeal into a pillow when they finally kiss (hopefully in the middle of a dramatic sword fight, both characters conflicted and overwhelmed as they give in to feelings that had been brewing for ages). I want adventure. I want mythology. I want main characters that blossom as the pages turn–that fight as well as they love. I want The Lord of the Rings but more focus on Arwen and Aragorn, Faramir and Eowyn. Basically I want every one of my favorite Sci-Fi and Fantasy books to be written by authors with a keen eye for combining romance with epic stories.

This year, I’ve read 23 books(and counting), and below are 3 of my favorites:

*none of the Amazon links below are affiliate links. I recommend using an app like Libby to gain access to FREE library eBooks. You need a library card at an associated library to use Libby but I have found all of my Texas libraries (Galveston and Dallas) are connected. I used Libby to read "A River Enchanted" and "Nightbane."

Atonement of the Spine Cleaver by F.E. Bryce

Titles mean a lot to me when I’m scouring Kindle for a new book to try. Atonement stuck out to me in a not-so-great way when I first stumbled upon it, it seemed a little too much, but the name intrigued me enough to look it up on goodreads, and the abundance of good reviews had me downloading the ebook just to try.

Color me surprised when this book ended up being my favorite read of the year.

Atonement of the Spine Cleaver had everything I look for in a good Fantasy Romance:

1. A main character that I grew to love as the plot progressed and her past unfolded
   • Rorax Greywood is not your normal name for a female main character in a fantasy or romance book and I LOVED it. She is powerful, but without the mary-sue tendencies. She makes mistakes (but not the kind that has you rolling your eyes at the naivety and questioning reading another page). She listens to her friends and tries to be better each and every day because she wants to repent for her wrongdoings, sometimes failing but never truly giving up–even with death barreling towards her in hoards of demon-like creatures that’d make most of us piss our pants. Rorax is a believable character in her grief and her joy and she alone would make the story interesting if nothing else did.
2. A world and plot that kept me captivated throughout (aka: no page flipping during boring world building, or complex explanations that take me multiple re-reads to understand)
   • While Atonement is the first in this series, and first published book by the author, the world building and story telling is quite nice. There is room for improvement as there is in all, but I have total faith in the author to improve throughout the rest of the series. The world is interesting in its different houses and the complex relationships between them (something you’ll see quite often in the romantasy genre is different peoples being represented by houses inside of countries or kingdoms). The story isn’t unique in that it revolves around a magical competition for an overwhelming power and a war between “good” and “evil”, but it feels fresh, and that’s what matters.
3. A romance steamier than a sauna in the middle of winter
   • I don’t want to spoil too much, but I really enjoyed the multiple romances in Atonement. I appreciate a good book with multiple POVs to round out different storylines. I like getting lost in conflicting feelings and this book has TONS. It’s very enjoyable when the characters give in.
4. Dragons
   • While we don’t get to see or interact with them too much (yet). I always give a book kudos when there’s dragons. Who doesn’t like dragons?

A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross

A River Enchanted will make you want to run away to the Scottish Highlands, light a wood fire in a small, black stove, and nurse a cup of tea as the winds howl outside. It definitely reminded me of the older romance books I used to find in the shelves of Bed and Breakfasts, and while the story does not take place in Scotland explicitly, the world the book is based in is as Scottish as it gets. There’s kilts, there’s clans, there’s haggis.

What delighted me about A River Enchanted was how much I enjoyed the myths and legends that were woven into the story. As someone who likes to read and write about Irish and Greek Mythology, this book was perfect for me. There are differences between The Folk from Irish mythology and Scottish, but that sameness could be felt in the elemental tricksters that lived in the otherworld of A River Enchanted, and whom kept the mystery at the heart of the story going in a way that had me sitting up all night trying to find out what was disturbing the hill folk enough to kidnap young girls; how a bard could captivate them with his music long enough to try and learn their secrets.

Another thing that surprised me about the book was the fact that I didn’t care that I didn’t like the main characters, but instead, I fell in love with two of the side characters: Torin and Sidra. Thankfully the sequel, A Fire Endless, delves even deeper into their story, so as soon as you’re done with A River Enchanted you can dive right into the next one.

Nightbane by Alex Aster

Nightbane is the sequel to Lightlark, a fantasy with a dash of romance, revolving around a world of different magical beings whose leaders are forced together in a magical-tourney-of-sorts to end the curses that ravage them (Air creatures that can’t fly, forest creatures forced to consume hearts to live, a king whose power is tied to the mainland slowly wilting beneath their feet). I found Lightlark to be enjoyable, but it was Nightbane that ruined me.

I mean that in the best of ways. Both Lightlark and Nightbane are classed as YA novels, but to me they lean far more towards New Adult (especially Nightbane). It’s hard to explain why Nightbane was better than Lightlark, and how it ruined me, without spoiling Lightlark itself, so I will try to tread as lightly as possible.

Basically there is a story weaving in-between the present in Nightbane that unravels as the characters hurtle towards an unknown-but-known enemy which leads to beautiful, conflicting feelings that had me on the edge of tears as the author showcased the intricacies of love and memory.

Honestly, I wish these books leaned more into the New Adult category with their length and complexity, but I will wait anxiously for the next book and hopefully it will show the author’s ability to continue to exceed expectations.

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I did read 23 books this year, so as it was difficult to find just 3 that I wanted to gush about, there were others that I wanted to mention in case you needed more recommendations to add to your to-be-read in 2024:

1. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
2. The Serpent and the Wings of Night
3. A Queen of Thieves and Chaos (3rd in the series)

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Hello all! It’s been awhile but I’m back!

I’ve found writing to be quite difficult these past few years since I finished my MA and returned from Ireland, but I’m slowly getting myself back into the swing of things. My husband has been pushing me so hard to write that I almost had no choice but to take up blogging again as I fight with my brain to craft stories and poetry worth submitting to publications. So, please feel free to subscribe for updates on future posts and share these posts with your friends if you enjoy them! It means a lot that you’re even reading this.

Please post your favorite reads of the year, or in general, in the comments. I’m always searching for more books to read, and I DO read outside the Romantasy genre, it’s just where I tend to be right now.

Thanks for reading, byeeee!

❤ Bri