--- title: "Romantasy" description: "What makes the emerging genre of romantasy so appealing in this day and age? Is it the feelings of emotional connection? Steamy scenes that are too risqué to…" url: https://www.independentpress.com/article/romantasy date: 2026-04-29 categories: ["Fiction","Romance","Sci-Fi"] author: "Selise Phillips" --- # Romantasy ![Romantasy](https://images.ctfassets.net/ewtdlsoyixc1/7g6EsAkUMo1RCQfsiHB0wc/ebff2e78656a07a95776dc066926338f/Picture1.png) What makes the emerging genre of romantasy so appealing in this day and age? Is it the feelings of emotional connection? The “steamy” scenes that are too risqué to discuss in public? The ability to escape from reality and navigate complex technological change? Whatever the case, the genre of “romantasy,” an erotic mix between romance and fantasy, has been flying off bookshelves. It has appealed to the hearts of many readers, attracting an audience largely composed of women. This genre currently stands as the highest grossing fiction genre and continues to dominate fiction bestseller lists. Popular authors include Sarah J. Mass, author of the famous A _Court of Thorns and Roses_ series and Rebecca Yarros author of the hugely popular _Fourth Wing_ (2023) part of the _Empyrean_ series. Colleen Hoover, author of _It Ends With Us_ (2016), _November 9__th_ (2015), and _Regretting You_ (2019) has had two of her novels go on to become Hollywood screenplays. The success of the romantasy genre shows no signs of waning and continues to gain strength among female literary circles. The roots of romance novels originate from the “romantic fiction of the 18th and 19th centuries.”[i] Samuel Richardson’s _Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded _(1740) is considered the first true English novel and a precursor to the romance genre. Famed English author Jane Austen wrote several romance classics including _Pride and Prejudice_ (1813), _Sense and Sensibility_ (1811), and _Emma _(1815). These renowned novels were the first to examine the “lives and struggles” of female heroines setting the stage for the popularity of female protagonists in subsequent literature.[ii] Early romance novels followed a structure recognizable to many readers: a happy ending where female heroines end up with a romantic partner that the audience has been rooting for since the beginning of the story.[iii] This “perfect” plotline created an idealized version of a flawless romance story. Books like Charlotte Bronte's _Jane Eyre_ (1847) laid the foundation for strong female protagonists to dominate love story fiction. While classic romance novels focused on conflict and forbidden love, many contemporary romance novels have taken a shift towards illustrating “smutty” fiction and detailed sexual encounters. The commercial success of _Fifty Shades of Grey_ (2011) is largely responsible for igniting the trend of depicting “graphic sex scenes” in the context of the romance genre.[iv] The trend, paired with “a broader cultural tolerance for explicit sexual content in literature, helped usher risqué material into the mainstream.”[v] Social networks and digital media have further aided in the rise of contemporary romance literature allowing for easy communication and interaction among readers. The popular “BookTok,” a section of TikTok devoted to avid readers who “share their rankings of book series, theories about what might happen in future novels,” and their favorite aesthetic illustrated in certain books is just one of many examples.[vi] BookTok promotes all genres, but romantasy remains the online community’s top focus. _A Court of Thorns and Roses_ possesses a large online fanbase, and much of the discourse about the series has originated on BookTok. Hoover’s _It Ends With Us_ became “the second best-selling Adult fiction book,” crediting its success to “BookTok, where it gained significant support.”[vii] Social media has been a major player in influencing the book market, as it not only provides feedback for writers, but also allows publishers to observe which genres are garnering the most attention. Demand in fantasy and romance genres “remains strong in both traditional publishing and self-publishing markets.”[viii] Because of the high demand, publishers have begun looking for authors who can blend the two genres. Alongside high demand, many romantasy readers are drawn in by popular tropes and famous structured plotlines. Narratives that feature other-worldly creatures, dragons, fairies, and magic intersect with “classic romance plotlines,” making for an engaging tale among readers.[ix] Famous tropes like enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, fake dating, etc., all play a role in the success of romantasy novels. Both _Fourth Wing_ and _A Court of Thorns and Roses_ are well-known for including these types of tropes. The overwhelming popularity of these novels is evident in their commercial success. _Fourth Wing_, which focuses on enemies becoming lovers in a fantasy context,_ _has sold over 12 million copies, and held the #1 position on The New York Times Bestseller’s list for 18 weeks.[x] Bloomsbury, publisher of _A Court of Thorns and Roses_, reported that its sales in the 2023 – 2024 fiscal year were at an all-time high, attributing much of its success to Sarah Maas’s series, “whose sales increased 161% for the period.”[xi] The romance genre as a whole, regardless of sci-fi elements, possesses a large share of the market for the fiction, generating 22.3% of the total revenue of all fiction literature.[xii] Between 2020 – 2025, both romance and sci-fi/fantasy gained market share based on total revenue generated.[xiii] Motivations among enthusiasts include emotional comfort among romance readers and escape from reality among readers of sci-fi/fantasy.[xiv] This helps to explain the successful blending of the two genres into romantasy novels. Fans desire both the warmth of romance and the unique world-building aspects found in sci-fi/fantasy novels. This also signals the high potential for growth among novels that integrate multiple genres into their plotlines. Much like Stephen King’s _11/22/63_ (2011), a novel which blends historical fiction with sci-fi and thriller elements, authors may feel more inclined to integrate multi-genre literature for readers.[xv] Romantasy is a genre that is driving book sales and a resurgence in the sale of fiction literature. Books like _Fourth Wing _and_ A Court of Thorns and Roses_ show how popular the genre has become. On a fundamental level, audiences desire to embrace the emotional comfort of romance and the escape from reality that fantasy brings. Though romance literature has shifted over the centuries from depicting strong female protagonists to illustrating “smut” or sexually explicit material, readers have continued to welcome the pleasant distraction from mundane reality.