Best Romantasy Books of 2026: Fantasy Romance and Dark Fantasy Picks
If you tried to keep up with every romantasy release this year, I hope you have a spreadsheet, because I sure do. 2026 has been a genuinely unhinged year for the genre. Dragon riders are back, vampires are running entire kingdoms, spies are infiltrating royal courts, and half of BookTok is arguing about whether a fictional mercenary deserves forgiveness. I've been reading through most of it so you don't have to sort the gems from the ones that just have a pretty cover.
This is the expanded version of this list, because the first draft I put together barely scratched the surface. Every book here released in late 2025 or 2026, including several that haven't hit shelves yet. Broken into three lanes depending on what reading mood you're in.
Grab your reading journal, maybe a candle, and let's get into it.
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Best Fantasy Romance Books of 2026 (For When You Want Worldbuilding With Your Butterflies)
This category is for readers who want the courtship to matter as much as the magic system. Slower burns, real stakes, and a world you can get lost in for four hundred pages before anyone even kisses.
The Ballad of Falling Dragons
by Sarah A. Parker
The sequel to When the Moon Hatched picks up with Raeve and Kaan back in the thick of it, and if you loved the tension of the first book, this one turns it up considerably. The dragon riding culture in this series is some of the most detailed worldbuilding I've read in fantasy romance, and the political intrigue around the pair keeps the pace moving. Start with book one if you haven't already, but clear your weekend either way.
Rites of the Starling
by Devney Perry
This is the follow-up to Shield of Sparrows, and it sends its heroine on a journey across a cursed kingdom that's full of twists you won't see coming. Devney Perry writes fantasy romance the way she writes contemporary romance, which is to say the emotional beats hit exactly when they should. Fair warning, this one has more spice than her earlier work, so know that going in.
Songbird of the Sorrows
by Braidee Otto
This Australian debut follows Aella, a princess forced to hide her royal past who works as a trained spy, summoned to join an elite team led by a man she used to love. Their mission sends her back into the royal world as part of deadly bridal trials. Book two Daughter of the Tempest drops in October 2026.
Read my review here.
Eleutheria
by Ruth Cantu
Released in November 2025, a magicless Day Witch captain is sentenced to help take down the Night Realm's tyrannical queen and ends up bound to Prince Maddox, the Night witch who was supposed to be her enemy. If you want the slow-building tension of Pride and Prejudice inside a witchy, morally complicated world, this indie debut delivers it.
Read my review here.
Tempest
by Victoria Aveyard
The Red Queen author's adult fantasy debut trades royal courts for pirate ships. Cat Rose, a widowed tavern queen in the Lyrian Sea, is given an ultimatum: turn in Valerian Kane, the only man she's ever loved, or die. It's already been picked up for a TV adaptation before its release date.
The Awakening of Gods
by Morgan Kielisch
Princess Elana is unexpectedly chosen over her older sister to compete in the Gods' Trials, a brutal quest across a mountain range where each heir earns an elemental power or dies trying. Quick heads up, this one is a bit older than the rest of the list, but it's still a fan favorite indie worth knowing about if you're new to the trials-and-magic-system corner of the genre.
Read my review here.
Song of Salt and Shadow
by Seren Rose
A newer indie pick making the rounds in romantasy circles right now. It is a slow-burn mermaid-pirate romantasy. I actually just started this one today, so stayed tuned for my review.
Legend of Mist and Blade
by A.M. Ross
A King Arthur-inspired portal romance following Gwen, a cop in her thirties who's secretly guarded Excalibur her whole life, until she's swept into Avalon and thrown into a war between Arthur's knights and the tyrant Mordred. A broody knight named Orin complicates things further. Older leads, found family, and a closed door romance for readers who want their portal fantasy a little softer.
Read more about Legend of Mist and Blade here.
Masquerade of Mirrors
by Samantha Hartwood
Taera has spent her life avoiding the desert, until Nikolai, a masked mage, drags her into it and enrolls her at a deadly school built on illusions and lies, where nothing, including him, can be trusted.
Read more about Masquerade of Mirrors here.
Best Romantasy Books Everyone Is Talking About in 2026
These are the crossover hits, the ones showing up on every "most anticipated" list and dominating the group chats. If you only have time for a few new releases this year, start here.
Crown of War and Shadow
by J.R. Ward
Ward's first full romantasy follows Sorrel, an outcast with mystical abilities, as she crosses a demon-infested wasteland with a mercenary named Merc. Fans of forced proximity and slow burn tension are going to want this immediately.
Read my review here.
A new entry in Sarah J. Maas's world
Readers have been refreshing Goodreads for details all year. Official details are still under wraps as of this post, so consider this your excuse to reread A Court of Thorns and Roses while you wait.
Expected release October 2026.
The Wrath Gods Reap
by Abigail Owen
The finale of Owen's Crucible trilogy out November 2026 wraps up Lyra and Hades's story. The pitch, Percy Jackson for adults meets The Hunger Games, tells you everything you need to know.
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me
by Ilona Andrews
Maggie wakes up naked in a gutter and realizes she's inside the brutal, unfinished dark fantasy series she's obsessively reread for years, and that she cannot die, though everyone she loves still can. Ilona Andrews built a career on Kate Daniels and Hidden Legacy, and this portal fantasy is being called their most ambitious swing yet.
Metal Slinger and Light Wielder
by Rachel Schneider
Brynn, a guard among the exiled Alaha people, breaks a century-long peace treaty and falls for the enemy soldier sent to bring her back. The sequel jumps four years ahead into a full-blown war between the kingdoms. This is one of the biggest breakout romantasy debuts of the last two years, now with a gorgeous traditionally published reissue.
The Ascended
by Bree Grenwich and Parker Lennox
Twins Thais and Thatcher are pulled into the deadly Trials of Ascension, where meddling gods turn the competition into a battlefield. This is a spinoff of the duo's Esprithean trilogy, but it works as a standalone if you want to jump in cold.
Read my review here.
Half City and Cursed City (coming September 2026)
by Kate Golden
Viv Abbott is a demon hunter recruited by a reformed demon to attend a private academy for hunters like her, all while reckoning with her feelings for the very kind of creature she's trained to kill. Readers keep describing it as Buffy meets Fourth Wing, and honestly, that tracks.
The Poison Daughter
by Sheila Masterson
Harlow's kiss is lethal poison, and she's used it to wipe out every man her family has aimed her at, all while secretly working as a vigilante against abusive men in her city. Then her new arranged husband survives her kiss, and the only way to protect her secret is to get close enough to the one man immune to her to make him fall for her anyway.
Read my review here.
The Silversmith and The Incendiary (coming September 2026)
by LJ Claren
Ary Gold, grieving and hardened by loss, gets pulled into a war over ancient magic and a betrothal to a commander she doesn't trust. This started as a self-published hit before Second Sky and Forever picked it up for a five-book deal, and if you've been following along here, you know I've been obsessed with this one since book one. Catch up on our full spoiler recap of The Silversmith before The Incendiary lands in September.
Read my review of The Silversmith here.
Read my ARC review of The Incendiary here.
A Vow in Vengeance
by Jaclyn Rodriguez
Rune wants to cross into immortal lands to find her family, which means becoming one of the Selected in a tarot-magic system unlike anything else on this list. One of the most anticipated debuts of the year, and it delivers.
Steelborn
by Taylor J. LaRue
Thief Reya Connery must pull off an impossible heist to save immortal warrior Caelan Halcyon from the curse that's killing him, in a slow burn enemies-to-lovers debut everyone's already comparing to Danielle L. Jensen.
Crimson Jewel
by A. Gordon
A post-apocalyptic, why-choose spin on Jack and the Beanstalk. Bea escapes a predator through a hidden staircase and ends up in a realm of giants, where she has four weeks to choose a husband from the Fiefdom's most eligible bachelors or lose everything.
Read more about Crimson Jewel here.
Starside
by Alex Aster
Aster's first adult romantasy sends Aris on a quest for vengeance against the gods who killed her family, straight into the path of Harlan Raker, the man who betrayed her.
Warrior Princess Assassin and Captive Traitor King
by Brigid Kemmerer
A princess caught between duty and desire, a warrior king, and the assassin tasked with hunting them down. The sequel arrives in November and raises the stakes considerably.
One Shattered Crown
by Rebecca Zanetti
A neon-lit, high-tech dystopian romantasy twist on Cinderella. Ella is only at her stepsister's wedding for revenge, until Justice Beathach, the groom's brother, complicates everything. A dark fairytale retelling for readers who want their tropes with a sci-fi edge.
The Wings That Bind
by Briar Boleyn
The viral Bloodwing Academy series continues at a dark academia school where blood is currency and a dragon's legacy is priceless. Start with book one, On Wings of Blood, if you're new here.
Best Dark Fantasy Books for Your Villain Era
This is the section for readers who want their romance served with a side of moral crisis. Higher stakes, morally gray heroes, and the kind of books you finish and immediately need to talk to someone about.
The Lion and the Deathless Dark
by Carissa Broadbent
Book five in the Crowns of Nyaxia series, this one drops readers back into a world run by vampire politics, and Broadbent has built one of the most immersive dark fantasy worlds currently being published. If you've followed the series this far, this is the installment fans have been waiting for. It's releasing in early August, so preorder it now and thank yourself later.
The Wicked Sea
by Jordan Stephanie Gray
A mermaid on the run from her past is caught and sentenced to death by a cold, brutal warlock, then offered a bargain that entangles their souls instead.
Souls in Ruin
by Jacqueline White
The first book in the Soulbound trilogy follows Princess Mireille, married off to a foreign king with cold intentions, who finds herself caught between two powerful, dangerous beings while imprisoned in her own kingdom's dungeons.
Runebreaker
by Mila Finch
Aelie can break the runes the fae built their world on, and they hate her for it. Forced proximity, captive and captor dynamics, and a hero who falls first and hard.
Bright Burns the Flame
by Angelina Steffort
Lory survives Dunai's streets by wit alone until she's conscripted into Ashthorn Ward, the kingdom's most brutal military academy, where the weapons being forged are people.
Bride of Ash and Dust
by Meredith Hart
Princess Lilias is betrothed to Zarek, known across the realm as the Snake, a ruthless assassin she's ordered to marry and expected not to fall for.
Read my review here.
Dire Bound and Fury Bound
by Sable Sorensen
Meryn is thrown into a ruthless contest after her sister vanishes, in a kingdom where power comes from bonding with direwolves. The sequel picks up with Meryn inheriting a crown and a war she never asked for.
Blood Bound
by Ellis Hunter
Astrid and Skylar, heirs of rival continents, are forced into a death duel by an ancient covenant, with dragon bonds and a forbidden mate bond changing everything.
Read my review here.
We Who Will Die
by Stacia Stark
A Roman-inspired world ruled by vampires. Arvelle makes a magically binding vow to kill the emperor and has to survive a gladiator-style arena to get close enough to try. Already an instant New York Times bestseller.
Read my review here.
Between Tides and Thunder
by Leena Kazak
Princess Mayah is bartered into a marriage with Zevayr, the ruthless Dark Commander she was raised to hate, and now has to survive sharing his bed.
Shadow Trials
by Evelyn Hart
Fiona has trained her whole life to kill monsters like Azric Cyrus and the dragon he rides. Now she's entered his trials to become the God of Darkness's next champion.
Heir of Twisted Lies
by LJ Andrews
The conclusion to the Stonegate duology finds Lyra forced to trust Roark, the man who saved her life and then deceived her, as war closes in on them both.
Crown of Crimson and Crows
by Tessa Hale
A why-choose romantasy where a single drop of blood binds the heroine to four vampire kings who are supposed to be mortal enemies.
Kiss of the Black Flame
by Helen Scheuerer
The first book in The Bookbinder's Bargain trilogy follows a gifted bookbinder and a cursed immortal bound together by a deadly bargain.
Harbinger
by Geneva Lee
Pitched as Game of Thrones meets Sarah J. Maas meets Divergent, this follows Arden, branded an omen of war, and Bishop, the ruthless enforcer sworn to keep her alive.
The Bounty of Blood and Nails
by NK Brown
Tam is a bounty hunter bound to a cruel handler through forbidden blood magic, sent undercover into a royal castle to capture a mysterious prince, and slowly realizes the man she's been sent to destroy might be the one person worth risking everything for.
Read my review here.
Defy the Dusk
by Danielle L. Jensen
The Bridge Kingdom author's post-apocalyptic fantasy follows Lirien, the woman whose magic broke the world, as she's forced to choose between fighting for the man who holds her fate or being fed to the creatures that hunt the night.
Kiss of Ashes
by MK Dawson
In a world where fae rule and mortals serve, a young woman's magic gets claimed by a dragon shifter prince who declares her his fated mate and drags her into the brutal Dragon Trials, where the only way to save her siblings might mean destroying the very man she's falling for.
Which Romantasy Pick Is Going on Your TBR First?
That's the full rundown, from swoony worldbuilding to villains you probably shouldn't be rooting for. If you want more of this kind of thing, I've got you covered with our villain era dark romance roundup and my full August 2026 romance releases guide if you're trying to plan your next few weeks of reading.
For more romantasy TBR inspiration, Goodreads has been tracking every 2026 release as it gets announced, and this dark romantasy roundup is a great companion list if the villain era section spoke to you.
Tell me in the comments which one you're starting with.