There is a land, dear reader, that exists just beyond the shimmer of twilight—a realm where courts of terrible beauty hold sway, where immortal princes wear cruelty like crowns, and where love blooms in the most treacherous of gardens. If you have ever felt that peculiar ache to slip between worlds, to dance with danger in moonlit halls, then you have come to precisely the right place.
What follows is a gathering of the finest fae court romantasy tales, each one a doorway to realms both Seelie and Unseelie, where romance tangles with ancient magic and mortal hearts beat against immortal odds.
The Timeless Treasures of Fae Court Romance
A Court of Thorns and Roses Series by Sarah J. Maas
One cannot speak of fae court romance without first bowing to the series that captured millions of hearts and refuses, quite stubbornly, to let them go. When young Feyre kills a wolf in the frozen woods, she awakens something far more dangerous than winter’s bite—she awakens the attention of the Fae themselves.
Dragged into the Spring Court by the masked High Lord Tamlin, Feyre discovers a world of impossible beauty hiding terrible secrets. What begins as a Beauty and the Beast retelling unfolds into something far grander, sweeping through the Night Court, the courts of war and starlight, and into the arms of the most beloved romantic hero in modern romantasy. This series has sold over seventy-five million copies, and for good reason—it is pure enchantment.
The Cruel Prince (Folk of the Air Trilogy) by Holly Black
Holly Black, whom readers rightfully call the queen of faeries, offers something altogether different and deliciously dangerous. When seven-year-old Jude watches her parents murdered and finds herself stolen away to the High Court of Faerie, she makes a choice that will define her: she will not merely survive—she will belong.
But the Fae despise mortals, none more so than Prince Cardan, the wickedest son of the High King. This is not a gentle romance of soft glances and sweet whispers. This is enemies-to-lovers at its most cutting, political intrigue at its most tangled, and love at its most impossible. The fae here are genuinely other—beautiful and cruel, with tails and talons, and absolutely no interest in being tamed.
War for the Oaks by Emma Bull
Now we must journey backward in time to 1987, to the book that many consider the very first romantasy novel. In Minneapolis, musician Eddi McCandry has just quit her band and her boyfriend when she finds herself pursued through the night by a shape-shifting phouka—a faerie creature who has selected her for a most unwelcome honor.
She has been drafted into the ancient war between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, and her mortal presence may tip the balance. What unfolds is lyrical and funny, shadowy and mysterious, with a romance that develops like a subtle change of seasons. Emma Bull created the urban fantasy genre with this tale, and it remains essential reading for anyone who loves fae fiction.
Contemporary Favorites Burning Bright
Quicksilver by Callie Hart
This enemies-to-lovers sensation has swept through BookTok like wildfire, and oh, does it deserve every flame of attention. Saeris survives in a world where the sun never sets, where water is scarce and heat is unrelenting. A skilled thief, she provides for her little brother through cleverness and daring—until one heist goes spectacularly wrong.
Ripped from her dying world, Saeris lands at the feet of a fae warrior named Kingfisher, whom she believes to be Death himself. Trapped in the Winter Court, she discovers she possesses the rare ability to control quicksilver—the magical substance that opens portals between realms. The banter is razor-sharp, the romance blistering hot, and the world-building is absolutely intoxicating.
These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan
Brie despises the Fae with every fiber of her being. But when her beloved sister is sold to the sadistic king of the Unseelie Court to pay a debt, hatred becomes an insufficient shield. To save her sister, Brie must infiltrate the Seelie Court itself, posing as a potential bride for the golden Prince Ronan while secretly stealing magical relics.
The complication? She begins to fall for Ronan. The greater complication? A band of Unseelie misfits offers their help, led by the devastatingly charming Finn. Caught between the Court of the Sun and the Court of the Moon, Brie must navigate treachery, desire, and the impossible question of whom to trust when everyone lies as easily as breathing.
Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana
In the fae world of Alytheria, humans are confined to Duskmere, forbidden to venture beyond its borders. Twenty-one-year-old Lore Alemeyu has never questioned this arrangement—until disaster strikes and she finds herself conscripted to Wyndlin Castle. Her task: catalog an enchanted library that no fae has entered in a thousand years.
Within those forbidden shelves, Lore discovers magic she never knew she possessed, secrets that could shatter the world she knows, and perhaps—though she fights it—the stirrings of something like love. This debut novel pulled readers in with its deliberate, delicious unraveling of mystery and romance.
Cozy Fae Romance for Gentler Hearts
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Not all fairy tales require courts of thorns and bloodshed. Some arrive wrapped in wool scarves, warmed by hearth fires, and sprinkled liberally with academic footnotes. Emily Wilde is a brilliant, socially disastrous Cambridge professor determined to complete the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore.
Her research takes her to a remote village in the frozen north, where the local Folk are proving difficult to study. Matters complicate considerably when her handsome academic rival, Wendell Bambleby, appears with his easy charm and suspicious secrets. This is cottagecore at its most enchanting—a grumpy-sunshine romance wrapped in a mystery, perfect for reading beneath blankets with tea.
Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater
Imagine, if you will, Regency England—but with magic, faeries, and a heroine who cannot quite feel her own emotions. When she was young, Theodora “Dora” Ettings had half her soul stolen by a faerie lord, leaving her peculiarly detached from the world. Now she must navigate London’s marriage market while appearing, in polite terms, rather odd.
Enter the Lord Sorcier, Elias Wilder: grumpy, brilliant, and possibly the only person who sees Dora as she truly is. This is a sweet, low-stakes fantasy romance with sharper edges than its cozy exterior suggests. The fae here are the cruel, twisted sort, and the social commentary on Regency inequality gives the tale unexpected depth.
An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
In the land of Whimsy, humans practice Craft—cooking, artistry, writing, designing—skills that the fair folk cannot possess without crumbling to dust. Isobel is a portrait painter of remarkable talent, and when the Autumn Prince arrives requesting her brush, she cannot refuse.
Her mistake is subtle but fatal: she paints human sorrow in his immortal eyes. For this crime, she must travel to the lands of the fair folk and face judgment. What follows is a whirlwind romance through autumnal forests where beauty conceals rot, and love itself becomes a kind of Craft. This standalone gem proves that magnificent world-building needs neither a sequel nor a thousand pages.
Dark and Dangerous Courts
Gild (The Plated Prisoner Series) by Raven Kennedy
The myth of King Midas takes on dark new life in this adult fantasy that has consumed readers whole. Auren isn’t merely touched by the golden king—she is his possession, his gilded bird, kept in a cage of luxury and isolation. Everything she knows begins to unravel when war comes to Midas’s kingdom.
This series ventures into genuinely dark territory, exploring manipulation, power, and the slow awakening of a woman who has forgotten she has her own strength. The fae elements weave through the world-building, and the romance that eventually unfolds is hard-won and all the more satisfying for it. Be warned: this tale does not shy from shadows.
The Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa
Meghan Chase never expected to discover that her father is Oberon, King of the Summer Court. She certainly never expected to journey through the Nevernever, the realm of faerie, with the mischievous Puck at her side and the cold Prince Ash of the Winter Court watching with silver eyes.
But a new enemy has risen—the Iron Fey, born of humanity’s technology and deadly to the traditional courts. This series masterfully blends the Seelie and Unseelie conflict with a thoroughly modern threat, creating a faerie world that feels both ancient and urgently contemporary. The love triangle is genuinely difficult, the stakes are real, and Meghan’s journey from confused teenager to High Queen is utterly satisfying.
Unseelie by Ivelisse Housman
Here is something precious and rare: an autistic heroine written by an autistic author, set against the gorgeous backdrop of faerie mythology. Iselia—called Seelie by those who know her—is a changeling, left in the human world by the fae as an infant. She has always known she is different.
When her twin sister Isolde becomes entangled in a dangerous treasure hunt, Seelie must venture into realms both magical and threatening. This duology explores self-discovery and sisterhood, found family and forbidden love, all while engaging with the historical connection between changeling mythology and neurodivergence. It is brave, compelling, and unlike anything else on this list.
Tithe by Holly Black
Before The Cruel Prince, Holly Black gave us her first journey into faerie with this darker, edgier tale. Sixteen-year-old Kaye has grown up knowing the invisible world exists—she has always seen the faeries others cannot. When she returns to her childhood home, she discovers she is far more connected to that world than she ever imagined.
This is where the modern fae renaissance began, with an explicit war between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts spilling into the human world, and a heroine who must discover which side—if any—deserves her loyalty. It remains essential reading for understanding how we arrived at today’s explosion of fae romantasy.
The Future of Fae Romance: 2026 and Beyond
For those eager to know what lies ahead, several enchanting releases await in 2026. The Court of Embers continues with a second installment by Grace Yarrow. The Choosing Chronicles adds a fourth chapter with A Tempest of Wind and Fate by Elayna R. Gallea. Series by Soraya Cole and Jamie Applegate Hunter promise further adventures in fae-touched realms.
The genre shows no signs of slowing, dear reader. The courts eternal continue to call, and writers continue to answer with tales of impossible love, dangerous magic, and the intoxicating border between mortal and immortal worlds.
Finding Your Perfect Fae Court Romance
Perhaps you came here seeking a first doorway into fae romantasy—in which case, begin with A Court of Thorns and Roses or The Cruel Prince, those twin pillars of the genre. Perhaps you desire something cozier, gentler, warmed by hearth rather than heated by danger—then Emily Wilde awaits with her encyclopaedia and her mysteries.
Perhaps you crave the darkness, the moral complexity, the loves that are earned through suffering—Gild and The Plated Prisoner series will satisfy that hunger. Or perhaps you seek something truly different, a story that speaks to experiences rarely centered in fantasy—Unseelie offers that precious gift.
Whatever draws you to the fae courts, whatever you seek in their moonlit halls, know this: somewhere among these pages waits a story that will change you. For that is the true magic of fairy tales—not the glamour or the immortality, but the way they reach into mortal hearts and leave us forever transformed.
Now go, dear reader. The courts are waiting.
