I’ve gotten the itch to read a romance again but I don’t even know where to start. I’m specifically interested in fantasy or sci fi based romance and I like when the story isnt just a flimsy wet noodle that floats helplessly along side the overpowering romantic couple.
So maybe I’m looking for an awesome fantasy/sci fi novel with a romantic side story?
Things I don’t like:
– No ACOTAR or Fourth Wing TikTok books please. No shade to the peeps who enjoy those but they just aren’t my style (I read 3 of the ACOTAR books so I did give them a try)
– No long, 10 books series. Give me something short and sweet. A trilogy is fine, but a stand alone novel is best.
– No YA please.
by time2bchallant
6 Comments
Outlander, seriously.
I’d been hearing about it for a decade and finally picked up the audiobooks, and wow, Diana Gabaldon is an amazing author. She gets to the core of the human experience from so many perspectives and it’s just beautiful. She keeps the twists and action and romance coming on strong, but rarely feels like she’s taking you for a ride. Just relating life, and it feels right. Yes there are 10 (?) books, but after the second one I feel confident I can leave anytime and not be left hanging.
Fair warning the first book is intense; there are multiple attempted rapes, and the most dynamic and intimately violent villain I can remember ever meeting. The second book set aside most of those shocks but retained the breathless beauty and action.
Hi! I love a good strong romantasy, so maybe some of these will be up your alley?
– The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Stand-Alone)
– The Serpent & The Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent (Will be Duology; Pretty sure is an Adult but please correct me if it’s not)
– Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett (On the softer fantasy side but maybe for something different! Stand-Alone, pretty sure.)
– Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (This is a series, but I’m pretty sure they can stand alone. Gideon is the first and most popular.)
– The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (recently a prequel was published, but stood alone for years)
– Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (A duology thus far; I haven’t read THIS one but I know Leigh Bardugo puts a romance plot in all of her books, so I can’t imagine this one doesn’t have one. Even if it doesn’t, maybe for something different?)
– The Unbroken by C.L. Clark (Planned Trilogy)
– A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (A primary trilogy, and I THINK a prequel? Also a show!)
– The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon (Sequel in the works)
I wish you luck on your hunt! TikTok has definitely taken over the fantasy romance genre! Sci-fi romance seems to be in even more desperate need of new books.
Good luck!
There’s an entire Fantasy of Manners subgenre and in general those books have a large plot along side the romance.
*Shades of Milk and Honey* by Mary Robinette Kowal. Basically Pride and Prejudice with magic and a mystery.
*Daughter of Mystery* by Heather Rose Jones. Politics, a woman with a sword, magic, a woman who wants to be a scholar, and through the series a gathering community of women scientists, alchemists, musicians, scholars, thaumaturgists, that coalesc around the two women in the first book.
*The Magpie Lord* by K. J. Charles. It’s often free on many ebook platforms. Victorian m/m romance with lots and lots of magic and a mystery to solve.
{{The Winter King by C.L Wilson}}
Standalone enemies-to-lovers (ish) set in a fantasy kingdom with monarchs who have magical powers. Fun world-building, interesting characters and mature spice. Pls don’t judge it by the awful cover art lol.
I really liked {{The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels}} by India Holton. The romance isn’t really the focus of the story but it’s certainly fun. I think it does get a little spicy at one point.
Discovery of witches