BOOKS

If you've been on BookTok at all in the last year, you've probably seen book recs in your feed for the latest romantasy reads. (Romantasy = romance + fantasy fiction) If you're a big fantasy girlie but you're always wishing for even more from the romantic subplot, your genre is here!

We've rounded up some of our top YA romantasy recs to pack in your spring tote...

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

@is_reads

This Beauty and the Beast retelling is here for our hearts! Cursed by an enchantress, Prince Rhen has become a vicious monster, with a girl falling in love with him his only chance of rescue. When Harper tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, D.C., she's pulled into his magical world.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely has fabulous fairy-tale vibes and lovely romance, not to mention disability representation with an MC with cerebral palsy.

An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan

@shelf_blame

Star-crossed lovers meet Chinese mythology in this YA romantasy. It combines a present-day high school story with fantastical elements, and it's perfect if you're the kind of reader who likes your fantasy grounded in reality.

High schoolers Hunter Yee and Luna Chang both feel like they don't quite belong in their lives. Meanwhile, they're finding ominous signs like mysterious winds and unearthly fireflies, all while uncovering their families' secrets—at the same time they're falling in love. Read An Arrow to the Moon for romance, mythology *and* relatable high school protagonists (the perfect excuse to think of yourself as your own romantasy MC)!

The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh

@emilylovesgoodbooks

The Beautiful is a paranormal romance and a murder mystery combined. In New Orleans in 1872, Celine finds refuge in the Ursuline convent after she flees her life as a dressmaker in Paris.

When dead bodies start turning up, Celine must find answers for her suspicions about her new acquaintance, the mysterious Sébastien Saint Germain, while she's falling in love with him. The Beautiful is dark, sultry and *very* atmospheric (aka your cue to make a new Pinterest mood board!).

A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft

@afterblossom_art

Jane Austen girlies, this one is for you! This swoony romantasy is set in the Regency England-inspired magical world of Avaland. Niamh, a magical dressmaker, is commissioned for a royal wedding... and has to fight her growing feelings for Kit, the groom.

As Niamh and Kit grow closer, a gossip columnist notices and threatens to draw attention to their bond—unless Niamh helps uncover the royal family's secrets and the internal rot plaguing Avaland.

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

@farfrombooked

This popular book is a top BookTok pick, and we definitely understand why. Human Jude has lived in the Court of Faerie for ten years, ever since she was seven and her parents were murdered. She wants to belong in her adopted home, but many faeries are hostile to humans, especially the wicked Prince Cardan.

Jude discovers her own talents for political machinations as she becomes more and more embroiled in the Court. But a dangerous betrayal forces her to work with Cardan while the two battle their own complicated emotions.

The Cruel Prince is set in a beautiful fantasy world. The first book in the trilogy doesn't have nearly as much romance as the second two, but the plot and gorgeous writing of book one will make you want to come back for more.

Join our Bestie Book Club for more book recs @glbestiebookclub!

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by Ava Slocum | 4/13/2024