Romantasy: What Is It?

Romantasy. A combination of “romance” and “fantasy,” where both play an equal part in the story. You’ve probably seen a bunch of these books flooding the market. If you’ve ever been on the social media platform TikTok, you’ve likely seen a bunch of romantasy titles being passed around. But have you ever scrolled through reels about these books and authors and wondered what the genre is exactly? If so, read below to understand just what romantasy is as a genre.

What Is Romantasy?

In short, romantasy combines both fantasy and romance, with strong emphasis on both genres. So the backdrop is often a secondary fantasy world with different, unique elements that also include a developing relationship/romance, often developed through tropes. Think enemies-to-lovers and things like that, only with dragons, magic, and more.

Here are a few elements from the fantasy side that romantasy often includes:

1. Assassin characters (there are surprisingly a lot of these)

2. Royal characters/royalty

Here are a few tropes the romance side often includes as well:

1. Enemies-to-lovers

2. Fated mates

3. One character sent to kill the other

What Romantasy Is NOT

People tend to mix this genre up with romantic fantasy or fantasy romance. Romantasy combines BOTH genres perfectly, focusing on the relationship between the characters and the fantasy setting. This means romantasy sets itself apart from the following:

1. Romantic fantasy – a fantasy story that has a lot of romance in it. In this case, the main plot has to do with the fantasy, but a lot of the characters develop their own relationships throughout the plot. The romance, however, is not the focus of the story. The fantasy just happens to have a romantic bent.

2. Fantasy romance – a genre where the romance takes precedent, often with the fantasy just being the backdrop of the story. The plot focuses on the development of relationships in a separate world without focusing on the worldbuilding as much

Romantasy sets up both the fantasy world, with high stakes separate from the romance, and romantic relationships, which have high stakes separate from the fantasy. So how do you write the genre? Check out the following tips:

Writing Tips

Want to learn how to write the genre? I included several writing tips to get started.

1. Find the balance between romance and fantasy.

First things first, you need both fantasy and romance. Hence the name of the genre. However, there’s more to it than just including both genres and mashing them together. They need to mesh with both strong worldbuilding and strong relationships. If you focus too much on building the world, then you end up with a fantasy that happens to have romance in it. If you focus more on the romance and relationships and neglect the world, then you create a romantic fantasy instead. Make sure you build the world, then the characters needed for the romance.

2. Keep up with the plot.

Like any story, you need to make sure you properly build your plot. This means setting up the plot beats the same way you would any other story. Think of a simple three-act structure and make sure to follow the simple beginning, middle, and end. Also, be sure to raise the stakes throughout, both through the fantasy and the romance. How do the relationships develop throughout the plot? How do the fantasy world and its conflicts get worse over time? Think of these things as you write and continue working on the balance.

However, make sure the characters develop both as characters and as romantic partners throughout the plot. For example, if you start with enemies to lovers, then the characters need to progress from point A to point B in conjunction with the plot. On top of that, the fantasy needs to also be at the forefront. When you set up a conflict within your world, it needs to worsen over time, the same way any fantasy would. Keep this in mind to maintain a balance as you combine two genres into one.

Some Examples

Here are some major examples of the genre. You might be familiar with some!

Fourth Wing series by Rebecca Yarros – from Goodreads: Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general―also known as her tough-as-talons mother―has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas – from Goodreads: When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.

The Crowns of Nyaxia series by Carissa Broadbent – from Goodreads: For humans and vampires, the rules of survival are the same: never trust, never yield, and always – always – guard your heart.

The adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king, Oraya carved her place in a world designed to kill her. Her only chance to become something more than prey is entering the Kejari: a legendary tournament held by the goddess of death herself.

The Powerless Trilogy by Lauren Roberts – from Goodreads: Only the extraordinary belong in the kingdom of Ilya—the exceptional, the empowered, the Elites.

The powers these Elites have possessed for decades were graciously gifted to them by the Plague, though not all were fortunate enough to both survive the sickness and reap the reward. Those born Ordinary are just that—ordinary. And when the king decreed that all Ordinaries be banished in order to preserve his Elite society, lacking an ability suddenly became a crime—making Paedyn Gray a felon by fate and a thief by necessity.

If you want to learn more about the genre, I suggest starting with these books! If the genre doesn’t interest you, that’s fine too! Personally, the genre remains hit or miss. I enjoy fantasy more than romance. However, you never know.

Stay tuned next week for another (science fiction) book review! Happy reading!

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