Romantasy for people that hate romantasy
Books for people that crave romances but hate the mainstream romantasy trends, main characteristics required to fit this list: M/F pairings are completely fine, but they don't fit into a cisheteronormativy worldview (mostly, men and women aren't different species in these books) No weird and creepy possessiveness Characters that look like normal humans and not only thinstagram models They can find each other hot immediately but the romance has to be developed.
created by CoffeeWorld
last updated August, 2026
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Reasons for including the books in this list:
A taste of gold and Iron: m/m romance, weak plot but very good world building, wonderful and realist build up of the romance after one of the protagonist starts by disliking the other.
T.Kingfisher's the paladins series: each book had different characteristics but sweet and kind male characters, female characters with body types that aren't just thin, good world building and a side plot connecting all of them
Empire of Sand: very sweet MMC
The knight and the moth: bi FMC with biceps so big the MMC can't wrap a hand around it, the MMC has crooked teeth, the pairing is very well balanced and there's no ridiculous cishet dynamic
One dark window: this is the most typical romantasy but I'm still including it because the MMC has a very big and hooked nose and we need more of that. Still not violently cishet anyway
Proposed by @luna_tic: Blood on her Tide by Katee Roberts. I'll add it to the list once I get to it if I see it fitting the criteria!
If anyone has any recommendations I would so so so appreciate them, I need more romantasy books that don't annoy me so much that I can't even enjoy the silly romances š
I'm not entirely sure what a romantasy isš Does it have to have explicit magic and/or fairytale creatures in a different world, or is it okay if it has fantastical elements in this world, like magic-esque but subtle? I'm thinking Brothers of the Wild North Sea by Harper Foxš¤
I looked it up and it looks too much on the historical side to be considered romantasy? But without reading it I guess I can't be totally sure š¤
A friend just told me that, for them, a romantasy is a romantasy if you can take out the romance and have a solid fantasy book, so by that measure the book I mentioned is definitely not romantasyš
Yeah that's a good definition! I've never thought about this much because before this year when I branched out a lot I used to only read fantasy (and the occasional historical fiction) so my brain too just took it as "usual fantasy but with more romance than others" š
The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem! The female protagonist is tall, muscular, with dark curly hair and dark eyes. She bears the physical strength of someone who has spent years surviving and training which I found to be different from other romantasy books I have read despite this being the only logical characterisation. She's fiercely independent, resilient and wary of trusting others after years of betrayal and abuse. She's intelligent, sarcastic, and resourceful which makes for an entertaining read. She's emotionally guarded, carrying deep survivor's guilt and trauma which made her seem very real to me.
TALL AND MUSCULAR? Fun fact I really want to read this (I didn't because I currently can't afford to buy those books), so since I was interested in it I checked the tag on Tumblr and guess what, I did not see a fanart of her looking like that, all thin and shorter than the mmc š Anyway thank you I'm adding this! š
Oh, I love the concept for the list! I think Kingfisher's Swordheart would work. Older protagonists, very cozy, and a well written FMC, as it always is with this author.
I FORGOT TO ADD THAT ONE THANKS! I have so few romantasy I liked, I can't believe I forgot one š Most romantasy are so... Similar in a bad way. No shaming people that enjoy them, good for them! But I prefer it when they fit the criteria of this list and I thought others might enjoy this as well š
ill put my hands forward and say ive never read a romantasy and im not familiar with the concept, but from online descriptions + the characteristics you mentioned in the list the everlasting might fit this list. its FM romance but challenges very well the usual āgender normsā (i cant think of a better word sorry) and dynamics and i really like the way its doing that.
!!! That's another book that was on my radar, adding it thank you!
I LOVE this list! I also have some recommendations to add...
- Faebound series by Saara El-Arifi (the third and final book comes out in a few months!)
- Hart and Mercy series by Megan Bannen
- As Many Souls as Stars by Natasha Siegel
- Homegrown Magic by Jamie Pacton and Rebecca Podos
Ah faebound is on my wishlist, I need to check the others š But hart and Mercy didn't work out for me, it was cute but I remember being annoyed by how cisheteronormative it was (I think it had at least one paragraph of treating men and women like different species) š
Woah really! I'm sorry to hear that, I understand.
It wasn't as bad as romances written by cishet women can get š Also the setting was really fun, I need to pick up the sequel one day
Unsure If it fits your criteria, but I quite liked "Blood on the Tide" by Katee Robert. It's queer Fantasy Pirates with an Isekai Element. It does have some possesivenes, but I thought it was implied, that it is Seen as a flaw to Develop away from. It's the second in a trilogy, each book follows a different pairing, but I only read this one, because I bought it thinking it was a standalone and haven't gotten round to the Rest š But the other two should also be with queer Fantasy Pirates and some Isekai I think
You know I think it might fit š also I've checked out the other books of this series and the last one seems to be poly with an nb character in it so I'm even more intrigued ššš I'll definitely try these books and add them if they fit thank you!! I'm in a huge romance book and struggling to find them š
Listen, I love it.
some of Stephanie Burgis's books might fit this list: the Harwood Spellbook series, and Wooing the Witch Queen
I wanted to check her out!! I'm gonna add wooing the witch queen immediately, thanks!
