I like fantasy. I like romance. But I am not a young adult. I am not interested in one more teenage girl with dead parents going to magic school, faerie court or dragon training. Of the 20 “Romantasy” nominees on the Goodreads Choice Awards, I’ve read “A Dawn of Onyx” and “The Hanging City,” the only grown-up books on that list. I Dnf’d “Fourth Wing,” because FOMO, but not my jam.
What possible distinction is there between “Romantasy” and “YA Fantasy?” Who is writing for us olds?
YA novels are so much more than romance and fantasy!
YA means the intended readers are teenagers, and can include any speculative or literary fiction. Romantasy is fantasy romance intended for adults, even if the protagonists are young.
You basically have to ignore goodreads on this. (they are owned by amazon) so this award is just another way to push the same romantasy that already gets pushed on tiktok.
Its why there is romantasy + fantasy + ya, so these megasellers dont cannibalize each other in the same category.
if you’ve ever seen one of these images with a bookcover and arrows with tropes pointing to it, thats what goodreads tries to sell - fourth wing was sold like this too, apparently it’s"Hunger games + Harry Potter + dragons!!! + enemy to lovers + found family".
If you want to read anything else I recommend either using another site or use the lists and groups that are user created.
Yes. Even it can’t be marketed as YA because of sexual content, the writing style is the same and there’s a lot of overlap in audience. If it’s good fantasy on it’s own merit, you don’t need to make a name like that.
you want the r/fantasyromance subreddit, the youngest MC I have there is 25.
No, romantasy is going to have explicitly sexual conduct, express or implied, which is not present in YA. YA is explicitly written for under 18 year olds. New adult, NA, is the term used for ~18-22 year olds. So you should be able to filter out YA and NA romantasy and find what you’re looking for. It’s a newer publishing term so you’re going to be looking for new releases more than a large back catalogue.
Not sure if you’re looking for recommendations, but {the undertaking of hart and mercy by Megan bannen} is excellent.
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is one of my favorite books ever. I’m always trying to get more people to read it, so I second this rec. 😂
Kushiel’s Dart is NOT for kids.
Romantasy - [Morning Glory Milking Farm]
YA Fantasy - NOT [Morning Glory Milking Farm]
EDIT: I think YA is a misnomer because most people think YA = Teenagers, but a young adult is like 18~22.
Try something in the Liaden_universe it mixes space opera with fantasy and romance.
There are multiple free ebooks on both Amazon or Baen.com, many libraries carry them as well.
Sarah J. Maas would fit into what you’re looking for. She has several series out right now and while most of them are about young women with dead parents doing xyz (faerie court, investigating a murder by a demon, being the king’s assassin) they’re smutty af so definitely not YA.
No. Same reason why horror isnt just another name adults. Goosebumps is a whole diffrent ball park from gone to see the river man.
Ya is pretty much teen lit. Romantsy can be very very smutty so no.
The writing quality and complexity is similar to YA, but it’ll include a lot of pornographic passages.
Romantasy often includes explicit sex scenes and YA is written for minors between the ages of 12 and 18 so no, it’s not YA. There can certainly by YA romantasy but a lot of it is not for children
If you’re looking for Romantasy with older lead characters, T Kingfisher’s World of the White Rat books - specifically the Paladin novels - are absolutely spot on. Tender, sweet, funny and very real.
ETA: this is quite a common request over on r/Romantasy so there are some good threads with lots of recommendations.
I’ve never been a big fantasy reader, nor do I like romance, but there’s something about those books that is just perfection. I love the writing, the plots, the characters - just everything about them. The Clockwork Boys and the Wonder Engine are good too, but I agree that the Paladin trilogy is better
Romantasy is just romance with a fantasy backdrop. They’re adult. Women can write adult books. I know it’s shocking, but women can.
There is YA and adult that fit it, just like there is for scifi, mystery and fantasy. It’s similar to paranormal romance but with more epic fantasy elements.