5 Romantasy Books To Read in 2026

Here's 5 books I have loved that I think should be read if you love the Romantasy sub genre (wait, is it classed as a sub-genre??... anyhow) I've popped this together in hopes of you reading them ( and hoping you reach out so I can discuss them with you hehe)

If any of these take your fancy, i've linked them to Amazon so just click the image to be directed there 

Warror Princess Assasin by Brigid Kemmerer

This is my most recent read on this list and I just need to shout about it. It was just incredible. I loved the writing and the characters. They were so well thought out in my opinion. The story is full of longing and pining and I just loved this element. The slow burn romance was just so well done in my eyes and kept me wanting to read on. It definitely isnt the most action-packed romantasy out there but the characters really made it for me. 

Blurb:

Who should you trust?

Warrior King Maddox Kyronan’s fire magic has earned him a ruthless reputation. But now his kingdom is slowly burning, a blaze he cannot control, and his one chance to save it is a marriage alliance with the neighbouring royal family of Astranza and their power to manipulate the weather.

Who should you love?

As war looms on the horizon, Princess Jory’s home needs this alliance. But her family is hiding a dangerous secret: their magic is fading. When she meets her intended he sets her heart aflame, but what will he do when he realises she’s deceiving him?

Who should you kill?

Once a young nobleman causing mischief with Jory in Astranza’s palace, Asher is now part of the Hunter’s Guild. When a lucrative job arises, he can't refuse – until he sees the targets. Someone wants King Maddox and Princess Jory dead. Now Asher must decide what he’s willing to do to protect the woman he loves and the king she’s about to marry.

 

Arcana Academy by Elise Kova

The magic system in this is honestly esquisite ! I love tarot based magic systems. If you loved The Shepherd King series you'll like this as in my opinion this is so much better. The writing is so easy to follow and the plot PLOTS!! That ending had me in a chokehold and let's not forget to mention.... DARK ACADEMIA!! Highly recommend this one. Just writing this is bringing it all back... 

Claim your destiny in the hottest new Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling fantasy romance, in which a magical tarot card wielder lands herself in a fake engagement with the headmaster of a mysterious academy.

Clara Graysword has survived the underworld of Eclipse City through thievery, luck, and a whole lot of magic. But when she is sentenced to a lifetime in prison for illegally inking tarot cards, it seems her luck has finally run out.

Until Prince Kaelis offers her an escape - for a price.

In exchange for her life, Clara must pose as Kaelis' bride-to-be and a student of the elite Arcana Academy. There, she and Kaelis will conspire to steal a powerful card from the king and use it to bring his tyrannical rule to an end.

Clara soon discovers that the prince she swore to hate may not be what he seems. But can she risk giving him power over the world . . . and heart? Or will she steal the magic for herself?

This is a really tricky one for me because whilst I really am enjoying the series, the questions I have still havent been answered. However.... VAMPIRES!!! It's so fun and I love the characters. The end of book one will have you immediately picking up book 2.

I didn't sign up for this.

A half-fae in a school of highblood vampires? That's a recipe for torment.

I'm Medra Pendragon – last of the dragon riders, or so they tell me. Funny thing is, there are no dragons left. Not a single one. But somehow, that hasn't stopped the vampires from deciding I'm worth capturing. Now I'm stuck at Bloodwing Academy, where the highbloods run everything and blightborn like me? We're just blood in their veins, pawns in their games.

But that's not even the worst part. Enter Blake Drakharrow. Cold, arrogant, and way too gorgeous for his own good. He's been tormenting me since the moment we met, and now, thanks to some ancient ritual, we're betrothed. He acts like he owns me, but I'm not going down without a fight.

Bloodwing isn't just a school – it's a battlefield. Highbloods fight for power, and if you're weak? You're dead.

Between deadly competitions, lies that could get me executed, and a dragon-shaped secret looming over my head, all I have to do is survive. Easy, right? Except I'm starting to think the real danger isn't the academy – it's what I'm becoming in this twisted game of power.

And Blake? He might just be the one who pushes me over the edge.

They think they can control me. They think they can use me.

But they have no idea what they've awakened.

Dire bound by Sable Sorensen

This was so, so good! Who knew I loved wolves! A lot of people are saying it's like Fourth Wing but with Wolves instead of dragons. Honestly, I don't see it... maybe I just got swept up in the story (extremely likely) but it was so worth my time and became my first five star read of 2026! The twists were so well done I didn't see them coming. 

Blurb

Only the worthy survive the Bonding Trials. She’ll risk her life - and her heart - to be one of them.

Meryn Cooper has always hated the Bonded, elite warriors who form mental links with the massive, vicious direwolves they ride. While they live in luxury, Meryn struggles to keep her family out of poverty. When her little sister, Saela, is kidnapped - stolen across the border by the immortal monsters her country has spent centuries fighting - Meryn’s world falls apart.

Desperate to cross the front and save her sister, Meryn enlists in the army and is thrown into the deadly Bonding Trials, where any mistake will cost her life.

Now Meryn must survive four months of training at the castle. She is bound to a feral direwolf who refuses to communicate. The other trainees would love to spill her common blood. And her cold and beautiful instructor, Stark Therion, is eager to punish any weakness.

Everything is a competition, and everyone is out to get her - everyone except the dangerously handsome crown prince, whose attention adds another target to her back. In the castle, every smile hides a knife … and the halls hide dark secrets.

It’s bond or bleed. Duel or die. Failure is ruin.

Blood & Steel by Helen Scheuerer

I binged the entire series back to back and in hind sight I really wish I took a little break inbetween each one as I was mentally drained from it and began to think the series as a whole is over written. That being said, I ate this series up. It was so fun full of high risks, magic and warror training! I am very excited to read the Sister series to this later this year! 

Blurb

With her death foretold, Althea Zoltaire only has three years to become what she’s always dreamed of being: a warrior legend.

Women are forbidden to wield blades, so she has trained in secret her entire life. Now racing against the clock, she fights to secure her place in the elite guild charged with the protection of the five kingdoms.

The sparring and hazing of the new trainees border on deadly, but even more dangerous is her growing attraction to Wilder Hawthorne, her unwilling warrior chaperone.

All around them, schemes are afoot and darkness looms.

Will Althea pass the perilous initiation test and take her place as a champion of Thezmarr – or will the invading evil snatch away her dream before it starts?

 

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if you pick any of these up, I'd love to know your thoughts. Drop me a message or comment below what you thought! 

If you've read and loved any of these already, let me know below ! 

 

 

 

 

 

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