There exists a particular sort of enchantment in stories where magic and love intertwine so thoroughly that one cannot imagine the tale without both. We have wandered through countless worlds where dragons soar and kingdoms tremble, where forbidden passions spark between unlikely souls. Now we invite you to join us on this most agreeable expedition through the finest high fantasy romance novels—from beloved classics to the freshest treasures of 2025 and 2026.
What Makes High Fantasy Romance So Wonderfully Irresistible
Before we reveal our treasured selections, permit us a moment of reflection upon why this genre has captured so many hearts. High fantasy romance—or “romantasy,” as the modern parlance would have it—offers something rather extraordinary: fully realized worlds of magic and wonder, paired with the most compelling of human emotions. These are tales in which love must contend with ancient curses, political machinations, and the occasional fire-breathing dragon.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
We must begin with what many consider the gateway to this enchanted realm. When young huntress Feyre slays a wolf in the frozen forest, she could not fathom that she would soon find herself claimed by a masked fae lord and swept into the glittering, treacherous courts of Prythian. What begins as captivity transforms into something altogether more perilous—a love story woven with thorns indeed. This Beauty and the Beast retelling established Sarah J. Maas as a storyteller of remarkable prowess, and we suspect it shall continue ensnaring readers for generations.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Never has a tale so thoroughly captured the reading world’s imagination as this thrilling adventure at Basgiath War College. Violet Sorrengail, delicate of frame yet fierce of spirit, must survive among dragon riders when she was meant for a scholar’s quiet life. The dragons here do not suffer weakness—they incinerate it. Yet Violet’s greatest danger may not be the beasts themselves, but the dangerously alluring Xaden Riorson. With two bonded dragons and lightning at her command, Violet’s story has become nothing short of a phenomenon.
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
The third installment of the Empyrean series arrived in 2025 like a tempest upon eager shores. Violet must journey beyond failing wards to seek allies in unfamiliar lands, carrying secrets that could shatter everything she holds dear. Having sold over two million copies in its first week, this continuation proves that readers’ appetite for dragon riders and perilous romance remains utterly insatiable. We find ourselves quite breathless alongside Violet as the stakes rise ever higher.
From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout
In the kingdom of Solis, Poppy exists as the Maiden—never to be touched, never to be seen, waiting for an Ascension she did not choose. When the golden-eyed guard Hawke Flynn enters her carefully controlled existence, every rule begins to unravel. The revelation of Hawke’s true identity as Prince Casteel transforms this forbidden romance into something far more dangerous and delicious. Winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Romance, this series delivers passion and plot twists in equal measure.
The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen
Here we have a most delectable enemies-to-lovers tale that makes our hearts race with anticipation. Lara has trained her entire life to infiltrate and destroy the Bridge Kingdom, the only passage through a storm-ravaged world. Married to King Aren under pretense of treaty, she intends betrayal—yet finds herself questioning whether she is the hero or the villain of this story. The slow burn of passion between assassin-bride and unsuspecting king is simply exquisite.
King of Ravens by Clare Sager
We confess a particular weakness for bargains struck with dangerous fae, and this one—published January 27, 2026—is utterly magnificent. Rhiannon is dying of a mysterious ailment when the unseelie King of the Dead appears with a devastating ultimatum: descend to the underworld as his bride, or he shall take her family instead. But Drystan is not quite the villain she expects, and when he offers a second bargain—escape his deadly labyrinth and win her freedom—Rhiannon discovers that the underworld holds far more than withered gods and scheming courtiers.
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Before courts of thorns and roses, there was Celaena Sardothien—Adarlan’s most notorious assassin, surviving in a slave camp until offered the chance to compete for her freedom. This eight-book series follows our fierce heroine through competitions, conspiracies, and the revelation of her true identity as the lost princess of Terrasen. The romance develops across multiple suitors and books, rewarding patient readers with a sweeping saga of revenge, redemption, and remarkable love.
Radiance by Grace Draven
We present something wonderfully unusual: a marriage of convenience between two beings who find each other utterly hideous. Brishen, prince of the silver-skinned Kai, and Ildiko, human noblewoman with her strange pale flesh, wed for political alliance. Their mutual revulsion transforms through shared humor and growing respect into the most tender of loves. This friends-to-lovers romance proves that true connection transcends surface beauty in the most heartwarming fashion imaginable.
The Wolf and the Crown of Blood by Elizabeth May
In the realm of Vartena, royal blood is the currency of peace—monarchs are sacrificed and resurrected to appease the gods, and a princess must die every fourteen days. When a war-weary god and a furious princess forge a pact in the ashes of a broken city, the centuries of fragile peace between divine and mortal begin to crack. Published in January, 2026, this first book in The Broken Accords series is gothic, lush, and unapologetically intense, weaving Beauty and the Beast with the myth of Eros and Psyche into something haunting and wholly original.
Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
Inspired by the beloved Chinese legend of Chang’e, this debut novel introduces us to Xingyin, hidden daughter of the moon goddess. When her existence is discovered by the Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother, she must flee to the very kingdom that persecutes them. Her journey from servant to warrior, navigating between two compelling love interests, is rendered with breathtaking beauty. The world-building draws upon rich mythology to create something both familiar and wonderfully fresh.
A Kiss of Crimson Ash by Anuja Varghese
Arriving in May 2026, this debut novel transports us to Nandapore—a city of spellcasters and secrets inspired by medieval India, where an ancient goddess sets an extraordinary plan in motion. She calls upon a newly crowned queen, a heartsick prince, a common thief, and a courtesan with magic in her blood, sending them weaving through temples and palaces on a collision course with the empire’s most powerful men. The first in the Games of the Goddess trilogy, this promises rich South Asian mythology, slow-burn romance, and the sort of lush worldbuilding that one wishes never to leave.
The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
We conclude with a tale set in a world inspired by ancient India, where a captive princess and a maidservant with forbidden magic forge an unlikely alliance. Malini, imprisoned until she agrees to burn upon a pyre, and Priya, hiding her dangerous powers, discover that their fates are irrevocably entwined. Winner of the World Fantasy Award, this sapphic romance delivers political intrigue, revolution, and passion in equal measure. The prose is absolutely magnificent.
How to Choose Your Next High Fantasy Romance Adventure
With such riches before you, we understand the difficulty of selecting where to begin. If you crave dragon-filled adventure, reach for Fourth Wing. For fairy tale romance steeped in myth, King of Ravens and A Court of Thorns and Roses shall enchant you thoroughly. Those seeking slow-burn tension will find satisfaction in The Bridge Kingdom or Radiance. If dark, gothic atmosphere is your pleasure, The Wolf and the Crown of Blood awaits. And for richly imagined worlds drawn from mythology beyond the Western tradition, Daughter of the Moon Goddess, A Kiss of Crimson Ash, and The Jasmine Throne offer something truly extraordinary.
Whatever your pleasure, we are quite confident these volumes shall transport you to worlds where magic and love prove equally powerful forces. Happy reading, dear friends—may your adventures be as thrilling as any between these pages.
