The Romantasy Books Goodreads Members Are Most Obsessed With

Rebecca Yarros broke the whole romantasy genre with the release of Fourth Wing, the debut novel in the Empyrean series. In it, we follow young Violet Sorrengail as she enrolls in Basgiath war college to train as a dragon rider and defend her nation’s borders. We see her bond with her dragons, fall for her rival, and make incredible friends — and all of their lives are constantly in jeopardy, so the suspense is great.

Onyx Storm, the most recent release in the series, is the most popular 2025 publication on the Goodreads platform. It currently boasts more than 1.2 million reader ratings. And of the most read books of 2025, three of the top four are Yarros’ Empyrean series. So if you haven’t read it yet, you should — you’ll be in good company.

The Knight and The Moth is the first in a new series by author Rachel Gillig, and it has a super unique magic system. Sybil is one of six diviners who are plunged into a pool to receive signs from the gods and ordain the futures of customers (usually nobles and kings). When her fellow diviners begin disappearing right before their 10 years of service are up, Sybil enlists the help of a brusque knight to find her sisters. The world as she knows it kind of unravels from there.

The Knight and The Moth is probably getting so much love because the author’s first duology was an absolute banger. One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns follows Elspeth, who is harboring a dark secret: A being she calls the Nightmare occupies her mind, speaking to her and keeping her secrets. As Elspeth joins a quest to rid the kingdom of dark magic, the Nightmare begins taking over more and more of her mind. Who will keep it in the end?

If my husband ever spoke to me the way some of these characters do, we’d never make it. But somehow when it’s an ancient fae warrior who can travel through pools of silver that cause him physical anguish, I eat it up. Saeris is an alchemist, a power she keeps hidden in order to survive — until she accidentally opens a gateway to the fae world and lands in the clutches of Kingfisher. He’s kind of a jerk, but he needs Saeris’ help to end a centuries’-long war in his lands, and helping him is the only way she’ll ever make it home.

The sequel to this book cannot come out fast enough to suit me (it’s slated for some time in 2026). In this world, when dragons die, they fly into the sky and curl into moons. And for the first time in ages, they’re falling. A young rebel, Raeve is captured and encounters a surly king who whisks her away to his kingdom. I don’t want to spoil a single thing for you, but this is a really novel story and an adventure through a creative new world.

Something of hers was bound to make this list. House of Flame and Shadow is the final installment of Maas’ Crescent City series, which is part of a larger multiverse encompassing two of her other series. Unlike many romantasy books set in medieval-ish worlds, this one takes place in what feels like a modern-day city — just with fae, angels, werewolves, otter messengers, fire nymphs, and much more magic.

I’m a big fan of all Carissa Broadbent’s series, but the Crowns of Nyaxia is perfect for fans of Underworld and similar vampire stories. The Serpent & the Wings of Night and its sequel, The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King, follow human woman Oraya as she attempts to survive in the political hellscape of warring vampire kingdoms, where she was raised by a vampire king who took her in as his own when she was small. To prove herself, she enters the Kejari, a series of deadly trials that will prove her worthy of inheriting her father’s crown... if she lives.

In this story, warriors with a drop of god’s blood are called the Unfated, the only people who can truly control their destinies. Freya is a shield maiden whose power can repel any attack, and a prophecy foretells that whoever controls her will control the world. Naturally, this puts her in some harrowing positions. I really loved the characters in this one, and it has some great twists.

Devney Perry's latest was just published in May and has already been added to more than 295K Goodreads members' "read," "want to read," or "currently reading" shelves, and boasts an average rating of 4.45 stars. In it, we meet Odessa Cross, the spare princess to her sister Mae, who has been promised to the prince of another kingdom since birth in a marriage pact. But when he arrives, he claims Odessa instead. Mae and her father had secretly been plotting the kingdom's downfall, and now, Odessa must pull off an assassination in her stead.

I’ve been meaning to read this book for forever, and I think this fall is finally going to be the time! Here’s a Goodreads review from someone who has read it already: “4.5⭐️ stop what you’re doing and read this WARM COZY WITCHY MASTERPIECE. We know how much I love Beach Read by Emily Henry. For some reason I feel like this is like the witchy version of that book!!!!! The main focus wasn’t the romance but it was still very prevalent. JAMIE WITH THE WORDS OMFG ‘your heart’s the strongest fucking thing I’ve ever known’ *SWOONING*.”

Evie has ailing family members to care for, so when she sees that the local villain is hiring, she decides to ignore the squish of an errant eyeball on the floor and take the job anyway. Now to figure out who’s foiling all this evil plans, and try not to fall for him in the process...

Reviewers say this book doesn’t have any spice and very much has a YA, kicking your feet and giggling vibe, if that’s what you’re into.

This is another new title to me, but I think this Goodreads reviewer summed up the book (and its best qualities) nicely:

“Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries is the perfect, snuggled-under-a-blanket, Winter read. A Cozy Fantasy with low-stakes, light romance, enchanting atmosphere and easy-to-love characters. This was exactly what I needed for January!! I really enjoyed the cold, barren setting with the backdrop of the magical faerie realms as well. There were quite a few whimsical scenes that I thought were done really well. Additionally, I liked how Fawcett chose to format this. It reads like you are reading Emily's journal entries. It felt intimate and real-time with her adventures.”

Spark of the Everflame has been on my TBR forever and I keep prioritizing other things, but this review makes me think it’s time to bump it up my list:

“If you're a fan of immersive fantasy worlds, strong heroines, and epic romance, Spark of the Everflame is a must-read that will leave you eagerly anticipating the next installment in this captivating saga. Penn Cole has crafted a gem of a novel that sparks the imagination and kindles the flames of excitement for what's to come. Highly recommended for lovers of magic, dragons, and epic adventures!”

This one made me chuckle: “alright i think i'm ovulating but hear me out i kind of loved this? lmao. diem was pretty irritating and frankly kind of stupid. but i was entertained the entire time, no part of this lagged for me. which is my chief complaint when it comes to romantasy. there's always a mid point slog. not really the case here.”

Deadly trials but in a haunted house? Sure, sign me up. Here’s one reader’s glowing review:

“While the romantasy genre often leans on familiar themes and tropes, and Phantasma feels familiar, it also innovates. We've got a gothic, paranormal New Orleans, a haunted house drenched in mind games, blood and terror, a Necromancer FMC, hot ghosts, uniquely complicated family dynamics an endearing ghost cat, explorations on the afterlife, and Heaven and Hell, and representation for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It’s fresh and compelling, and it worked for me. Your mileage may vary depending on how you feel about religious afterlife references in your fantasy — and gore that might make Tarantino look twice.”

I’ve somehow never come across this book before, but I am a fan of some of the author’s previous work. One Goodreads reviewer gave its spicy content four ambulance emojis out of five, which feels like a hilarious and telling scale. The gist is that king Erik is somehow trapped because someone killed his dad and imprisoned him, and when his enemy’s daughter unwittingly sets him free, he fully intends to use her in his revenge scheme. And it’s set on the high seas, so... pirates?

Silver Elite has been all over my algorithms lately, and while it’s not my usual cup of tea, I’m starting to warm up to it. This book follows Wren, a Mod with psychic abilities in a world where being Modified is a death sentence. So, when she is forced to train for her enemy’s elite military faction, she sees it as an opportunity to take them down from the inside. If, of course, her maddening commander would ever take his eyes off her long enough to try.