Welcome to summer, the steamiest season of the year, both literally and figuratively speaking. What better time, then, you might ask, to dive into publishing’s hottest trend? Yes, romantasy is everywhere right now, with stories full of magic, feisty heroines, beloved relationship tropes and the occasional dragon. While two of the biggest titles of the summer—Devney Perry’s Shield of Sparrows and Dani Francis’s Silver Elite—technically hit shelves in May, there are still so many great (and spicy) stories headed our way over the next three months.
From dark romance (Rose in Chains) and cozy fantasy (A Witch’s Guide to Magical Inkeeping) to high seas adventures (The Sea Witch) and dark academia (Arcana Academy), the breadth of new releases this summer is genuinely impressive. (And don’t worry, there are a few books with dragons, too.)
Here are our picks for the must-read romantasy books hitting shelves this summer.
A Dance of Lies by Brittany Arena
Release Date: June 10 from Del Ray
Why We’re Excited: The story of an imprisoned dancer forced to become an imperial spy by the king who framed her for murder, A Dance of Lies is a romantasy features rival kings, bloody betrayals, a surprisingly well-handled depiction of chronic illness, and more.
Publisher’s Description: Vasalie Moran was once a dancer in King Illian’s court, until he framed her for murder. Barely surviving her two years in the dungeons, she’s suddenly called to face her king. He offers her a deal: become his spy at the six-week royal Gathering and he’ll grant her freedom.
As Illian’s orders grow bloody and dangerous, forcing her to harm and betray those around her, Vasalie discovers that the monster she serves may be aligned with a bigger monster—one far closer to home. With her world threatened, Vasalie enlists the help of Illian’s brother and greatest adversary, the infamous King of the East.
As the rivalry between brothers escalates, with Vasalie caught in the middle, the horrifying truth of her past comes to light. If she wants to survive, she must decide who to trust, who to fight for, and how much of her soul she’s willing to damn in the process.
Realm of Thieves by Karina Halle
Release Date: June 10 from Ace
Why We’re Excited: Dragon and dragon-adjacent fantasy is everywhere in romantasy right now (thanks, Rebecca Yarros), and this series opener from Karina Halle hits the right notes. A story of a heroine who makes her living stealing dragon eggs and the formidable lord who blackmails her into searching for a secret to immortality, the familiar enemies-to-lovers vibes are familiar but well done.
Publisher’s Description: For Brynla Aihr, crime and survival have always gone hand in hand. Ever since she escaped the fanatical dragon-worshipping cult that controls her homeland, she’s had to carve out a life doing the unthinkable: stealing dragon eggs. Egg theft is illegal and, in most cases, fatal. To breach a dragon’s nest means a harrowing journey through the ancient wards spelled to keep the monstrous beasts confined. Dragons can’t get out and only those with a death wish can get in.
Despite the risks, dragon eggs are highly coveted for their magic. An illegal trade flourishes under competing criminal empires, and Brynla’s loyalty has always been to the highest bidder. Until she finds herself kidnapped and blackmailed by Lord Andor, a formidable lieutenant of House Kolbeck, and thrust into the dangerous political games of rivaling dynasties.
Brynla and Andor clash at every turn, sparking heat in ways Brynla’s never felt before. But in a world that’s prophesized to return to the dragons, and rife with betrayal and secrets at every turn…how close to the flames is she willing to stand?
The Primal of Blood and Bone by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Release Date: June 10 from Blue Box Press
Why We’re Excited: If you’re any kind of regular romantasy reader you’re probably already chomping at the bit to read this penultimate installment of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s From Blood and Ash series. (Me too.)
Publisher’s Description: In the thrilling penultimate chapter of #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Blood and Ash series, Poppy and Casteel face their most perilous challenges yet as old enemies rise and ancient powers stir from their slumber.
Bound by love but driven by destiny, they must navigate a world on the brink of devastation—where every choice has deadly consequences. With their bond tested and their future hanging in the balance, the fate of the realm rests on the strength of their hearts and the power of the Deminyen. Don’t miss the final book starring your favorite Maiden and her heartmate.
The Robin on the Oak Throne by K.A. Linde
Release Date: June 17 from Entangled: Red Tower Books
Why We’re Excited: K.A. Linde’s The Wren in the Holly Library was one of 2024’s most original romantasy offerings, trading in the high fantasy worldbuilding of most stories in this subgenre for a more urban and contemporary storytelling style. Its sequel, The Robin on the Oak Throne, will continue the series’ story of monsters and magic, and the relationship between a thief and a mysterious (and ancient) monster. (And if that’s not enough, Linde is also releasing The Monster and the Last Blood Match this month, a new prequel story set in the Oak & Holly series world.)
Publisher’s Description: Kierse McKenna just shattered the Monster Treaty. Again.
It wasn’t entirely her fault. The job was supposed to be simple: steal a goblin-made bracelet off of the Queen of the Nymphs in her own palace. Trade the bracelet for a way to uncover the truth about her past. Except everything goes sideways.
And then he shows up to save her.
Graves―the warlock who ensnared her, betrayed her, and left her to fend for herself. He’s a villain. A monster draped in charm and shadows. And gods help her, he always knows exactly what she wants.
But Graves never does anything for free. He has a job for his favorite little thief. One that will pit her against the most powerful monsters in existence, including his mortal enemy, the Oak King.
An ancient artifact has been located, and only together can they hope to steal it. She just has to let him in.
But once she lets a monster in, he’s impossible to forget…and even harder to resist.
Embrace the Serpent by Sunya Mara
Release Date: June 24 from Harper Collins
Why We’re Excited: A colorful, angsty story about a young jewelrymaker who marries a monster, Embrace the Serpent is technically a YA title, but its packed plot will appeal to readers of all ages.
Publisher’s Description: The Serpent King is the most eligible bachelor in the land: a monster with dark and terrible magic and the ruler of the last free kingdom. Riches and power await his future bride—but so does a life forever trapped in the games of court.
That fate is eighteen-year-old Saphira’s worst nightmare. Ever since the Empire made her an orphan, she’s found freedom in being invisible. So despite her rare gift for harnessing the magic in gemstones, she lets an unscrupulous jewelsmith take credit for her increasingly sought-after work.
But when the king sends his most clever huntsman to find the best jewelsmith of all, the spotlight lands on Saphira. Faced with choosing between falling into the Empire’s grasp or marrying a monster, she chooses the latter — even if it means getting increasingly caught between her cold, serpentine husband and his cunning, handsome huntsman.
Never the Roses by Jennifer K. Lambert
Release Date: July 8 from Bramble
Why We’re Excited: A deeply emotional romantic fantasy that’s described as Genevieve Gornichec’s The Witch’s Heart meets Madeline Miller’s Circe is pretty much a perfect Venn diagram of my interests. Bonus: This book is by best-selling romance author Jeffe Kennedy, who is being published by Bramble Books under the pseudonym Jennifer K. Lambert for the first time for this romantasy debut.
Publisher’s Description: The Dread Sorceress Oneira has retired. She’s exhausted from fighting the endless wars of kings and queens, and has long accepted that her death is near. Alone at last but for a few uninvited companions—a near-mythical wolf, a goddess’s avatar, and a feline that embodies magic itself—Oneira realizes that she’s bored. On a whim, or perhaps at the behest of fate, she makes an unlikely trip to the most extensive library in existence: the home of her most powerful rival, the sorcerer Stearanos.
By recklessly stealing a book from him, Oneira inadvertently initiates a forbidden correspondence. Taunting notes and clever retorts reveal a connection neither has found—nor could ever find—in any other.
But Oneira soon learns that Stearanos, bound to a vile king, is tasked with waging war on the queen she once served. A relationship with him is far too dangerous to pursue despite their mutual desire—and yet, Oneira can’t seem to stay away.
A bond with Stearanos could alight the long-extinct flame of life within her… or it could destroy her entirely.
The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigette Knightley
Release Date: July 8 from Ace
Why We’re Excited: One of the buzziest romantasies of the summer is this snarky enemies-to-lovers tale about an injured assassin who must join forces with a healer from an enemy faction to cure a fatal disease. Trope-filled and full of banter, watching these two characters try not to kill each other (or fall in love) is delightful. An excellent summer treat.
Publisher’s Description: When Osric Mordaunt, member of the Fyren Order of assassins, falls ill, he realizes he needs the expertise of a very specific healer. As fate would have it, that healer belongs to an enemy faction, the Haelan Order.
Aurienne Fairhrim and her fellow Haelan are inundated by sick children suffering from an outbreak of a long-forgotten Pox. Unable to get the funding needed to launch an immunization program, the Haelan Order is desperate for money – so desperate that when Osric breaks into their headquarters to bribe Aurienne to heal him, she is forced to accept.
As Osric and Aurienne work together to solve not only his illness but the mysterious reoccurrence of the Pox, they find themselves ardently denying their attraction, which only fuels the tension between them.
Soulgazer by Maggie Rapier
Release Date: July 8 from 8
Why We’re Excited: Many of the beats of this first installment in Maggie Rapier’s The Magpie and the Wolf duology will feel familiar, but the entertaining setting, complete with hunky swashbuckling hero and Celtic-influenced mythology helps set it apart. (Basically: Pirate Romantasy! Pirate Romantasy! Yes!)
Publisher’s Description: Saoirse yearns to be powerless. Cursed from childhood with a volatile magic, she’s managed to imprison it within, living under constant terror that one day it will break free. And it does, changing everything.
Horrified at her loss of control, Saoirse’s parents offer her hand to the cold and ruthless Stone King. Knowing she’ll never survive such a cruel man, Saoirse realizes there is only one path forward…she must break her curse.
On the eve of her wedding, Saoirse seeks out the legendary Wolf of the Wild—Faolan, a feral, silver-tongued pirate. He swears to help rid her of the deadly magic if she’ll use it to locate a lost mythical isle. Crafted by the slaughtered gods, it’s the only land that could absorb her power.
But Saoirse knows better than to trust a pirate’s word. With the wrath of her disgraced father and scorned betrothed chasing them, Saoirse adds one last condition to protect herself: if Faolan wants her on his ship, he’ll have to marry her first.
Rose In Chains by Julie Soto
Release Date: July 8 from Forever
Why We’re Excited: If you’ve spent virtually any time in the romantasy space, you’ve almost undoubtedly heard about Julie Soto’s Rose in Chains, a dark romantic fantasy that’s also an original, reimagined version of one of the author’s Harry Potter fanfics in which the Death Eaters ultimately won. (Yes, this story is that dark.) Soto handles uncomfortable subject matter with depth and grace, building a richly magical world adrift in the aftermath of war, full of political intrigue, and an enemies-to-lovers romance that feels genuine, if plenty uncomfortable at times.
Publisher’s Description: The war is over, the dark forces have won, and the hero who was supposed to save them is dead.
Captured as her castle is overrun by the enemy, the world as Briony Rosewood knows it is changed forever. Evil has won, and her people face imminent servitude, imprisonment, or death.
Stripped of her Magic and her freedom, Briony and the other survivors are quickly sold off to the highest bidders in an auction—and as Evermore’s princess, she fetches the highest price. After a fierce bidding war, she’s sold to none other than Toven Hearst, scion of a family known for their cruelty.
Yet despite the horrors of her new world and the role she must learn to play within it, all is not lost. Help—and hope—may yet arise in the most unlikely of places…
A Witch’s Guide to Magical Inkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
Release Date: July 15 from Berkley
Why We’re Excited: This whimsical cozy fantasy from the author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches follows the story of Sera, one of Britain’s most powerful witches, who lost most of her power after resurrecting her beloved great aunt. But now she has a chance to get it back—with a little help from a handsome and icy magical historian. Delightful found family vibes and a charming cast of supporting characters.
Publisher’s Description: Sera Swan used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her Guild. Now she (slightly reluctantly and just a bit grumpily) helps Jasmine run an enchanted inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guests’ shenanigans, tries to keep said talking fox in check, and longs for the future that seems lost to her. But then she finds out about an old spell that could hold the key to restoring her power…
Enter Luke Larsen, handsome and icy magical historian, who arrives on a dark winter evening and just might know how to unlock the spell’s secrets. Luke has absolutely no interest in getting involved in the madcap goings-on of the inn and is definitely not about to let a certain bewitching innkeeper past his walls, so no one is more surprised than he is when he agrees to help Sera with her spell. Worse, he might actually be thawing.
Running an inn, reclaiming lost magic, and staying one step ahead of the watchful Guild is a lot for anyone, but Sera Swan is about to discover that she doesn’t have to do it alone…and that the weird, wonderful family she’s made might be the best magic of all.
In the Veins of the Drowning by Kalie Cassidy
Release Date: July 15 from Little, Brown and Company
Why We’re Excited: This tension-filled, fast-paced romantic tale about a siren forced to keep herself hidden from those in power who would hunt her kind has everything: Steamy, heartfelt romance, real stakes, and a devastating cliffhanger.
Publisher’s Description: Imogen Nel is in hiding. Hiding from a cruel kingdom that believes Sirens are monstrous, blood-hungry creatures. Hiding from a king and his captain who viciously hunt her kind. Hiding from her own alluring abilities. By keeping herself from the sea, Imogen’s bloodlust is dulled, and her black wings remain concealed beneath her skin.
When a neighboring king comes to visit, Imogen can no longer hide. He knows precisely what she is, and he believes she can save their kingdoms from an even greater monster. But Imogen’s power threatens to violently reveal itself, and the two form a blood bond that protects them both. They flee together, traversing waters teeming with the undead. As the lines between duty to their people and desire for each other begin to blur, Imogen worries her ancestral powers may not be enough to kill what hunts her—the only way to defeat a monster may be to become one herself.
Arcana Academy by Elise Kova
Release Date: July 22 from Del Ray
Why We’re Excited: Arcana Academy is a new romantasy series arriving in 2025 from author Elise Kova, best known for her Married to Magic and Air Awakens books. And this one has a little bit of everything that’s hot in this genre right now: An elite magical school, dark academia vibes, a feisty heroine with a unique ability who finds herself in a fake engagement to a powerful man with his own goals. Shorter version: Let’s go.
Publisher’s Description: Clara Graysword has survived the underworld of Eclipse City through thievery, luck, and a whole lot of illegal magic. After a job gone awry, Clara is sentenced to a lifetime in prison for inking tarot cards—a rare power reserved for practitioners at the elite Arcana Academy.
Just when it seems her luck has run dry, the academy’s enigmatic headmaster, Prince Kaelis, offers her an escape—for a price. Kaelis believes that Clara is the perfect tool to help him steal a tarot card from the king and use it to re-create an all-powerful card long lost to time.
In order to conceal her identity and keep her close, Kaelis brings Clara to Arcana Academy, introducing her as the newest first-year student and his bride-to-be.
Thrust into a world of arcane magic and royal intrigue, where one misstep will send her back to prison or worse, Clara finds that the prince she swore to hate may not be what he seems. But can she risk giving him power over the world—and her heart? Or will she take it for herself?
The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk by Carissa Broadbent
Release Date: August 5 from Bramble
Why We’re Excited: The fourth installment in Carissa Broadbent’s excellent Crowns of Nyaxia series, The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk picks up where its predecessor left off, following Mische and Asar after her sacrifice plunges the world into an eternal night. The high-stakes conclusion to Broadbent’s Shadowborn duet features lots of action, heart-wrenching emotion, and big swerves for her larger fictional universe. Bring on Book 5.
Publisher’s Description: Mische made the ultimate sacrifice to save those she loves – and plunged the world into an eternal night. Now, imprisoned by the gods and obsessed with revenge, Asar is desperate to find her again.
When a goddess offers them a final path to redemption – and back to each other – Asar and Mische embark on an extraordinary mission. Together, they must seize the power of the god of death so Asar may do the impossible: ascend to true divinity.
Their journey will take them through mortal and immortal realms, alongside both old friends and ruthless enemies. But as the underworld teeters on the brink of collapse and the gods prepare for a war, Asar and Mische must decide what they are willing to sacrifice for the power to defy death. In a game of vengeful gods and ancient betrayals, there are some debts that even love may not be able to repay.
The Deathless One by Emma Hamm
Release Date: August 5 from Gallery Books
Why We’re Excited: The Deathless One occasionally feels as grim as its premise—a princess murdered at the altar makes a deal with he god of death for revenge—but it’s slow burn story of female rage and romance is deeply satisfying.
Publisher’s Description: Jessamine was raised to be a leader for her people, but when the land is overrun by an incurable plague, she must enter a political marriage to save them all. A union that should have brought hope only brings death as her new husband murders her at the wedding altar and seizes the throne.
But her death is just the beginning. Her spirit is met by the Deathless One, a god of death yearning to return to the mortal plane, and he needs her help. The two of them make a deal—her life and the return of her kingdom in exchange for his resurrection. But the Deathless One is a known trickster, and a deal with him is one made in blood.
Jessamine knows the Deathless One is a dangerous ally, but the longer they work together, the more she wants him and the less she can stay away. As their connection deepens, soon she wonders if she even wants this contract to end. Perhaps the more appealing throne is the one by his side, but she’d have to turn her back on her people to get it.
Warrior Princess Assassin by Brigid Kemmerer
Release Date: August 12 from Avon
Why We’re Excited: The steamy adult fantasy debut from megapopular YA author Brigid Kemmerer, Warrior Princess Assassin is a romantasy that follows the story of three characters who lives are irresistibly entangled with one another: A princess caught between duty and desire, the king she’s meant to wed, and the assassin charged with hunting them both down.
Publisher’s Description: King Maddox Kyronan’s fire magic has earned him a ruthless reputation on the battlefield, but now his land is slowly burning. Ky’s only chance to save his people is to enter a marriage alliance with the neighboring nation of Astranza, and hope that their royal family’s power to manipulate the weather will help his kingdom flourish once more. He just needs to ensure no one finds out how this blaze began.
With enemies advancing on Astranza, Princess Jory’s home needs the protection of the fearsome warrior king, but she is hiding a dangerous secret: her family’s magic is fading. Tempting as it is to reject her duties and run away with her childhood friend, Asher, Jory knows that she is the kingdom’s last hope. When she meets her intended, Jory is surprised to discover that beneath Ky’s daunting exterior is a compassionate and sharp-witted man who sets her heart aflame. But what will he do when he realizes she’s deceiving him?
Asher’s done what he must to survive, even if that means getting his hands dirty. Once a young nobleman in Astranza’s palace, where he and Jory caused mischief together, now he’s part of the Hunter’s Guild, employing much darker skills. When a lucrative job comes his way, Asher can’t say no—until he discovers the targets. Someone wants Ky and Jory dead. With the Guild watching, Asher must decide what he’s willing to do to protect the woman he loves.
Voidwalker by S. A. Maclean
Release Date: August 19 from Orbit
Why We’re Excited: A monster romantasy from the author of cozy fantasy The Phoenix Keeper is a delightful swerve that should fascinate us all.
Publisher’s Description: Fionamara is a smuggler. Antal is the reason her people fear the dark. Fi ferries contraband between worlds, stockpiling funds and stolen magic to keep her village self-sufficient – free from the blood sacrifices humans have paid to Antal’s immortal species for centuries.
Only legends whispered through the pine forests recall a time when things were different, before one world shattered into many, and the flesh-devouring beasts crept from the cracks between realities, with their sable antlers and slender tails, lethal claws and gleaming fangs. Now, mortal lives are food to pacify their carnivorous overlords, exchanged for feudal protection, and the precious silver energy that fuels everything from transport to weaponry.
When Fi gets planted with a stash of smuggled energy, a long-lost flame recruits her for a reckless heist that escalates into a terrorist bombing – and a coup against the reigning immortals, with Fi’s home caught in the crossfire.
She’s always known the dangers of her trade – and of the power she’s wielded since childhood, allowing her to see the secret doors between dimensions, to walk the Void itself. But nothing could have prepared her for crossing paths with Antal. For the deal she’ll have to make with him, a forced partnership to reclaim his city that begins as a desperate bid for survival, only to grow into something far more dangerous.
House of Dusk by Deva Fagan
Release Date: August 26 from DAW
Why We’re Excited: There is no world in which I am not racing to read a sapphic romantasy that has fire-wielding nuns and a slow-burn romance between a princess who sees the future and her bodyguard (who also happens to be an undercover spy).
Publisher’s Description: Ten years ago, Sephre left behind her life as a war hero and took holy vows to seek redemption for her crimes, wielding the flames of the Phoenix to purify the dead. But as corpses rise, a long-dead god stirs, and shadowy serpents creep from the underworld, she has no choice but to draw on the very past she’s been trying so hard to forget.
Orphaned by the same war Sephre helped win, Yeneris has trained half her life to be the perfect spy, a blade slipped deep into the palace of her enemies. Undercover as bodyguard to Sinoe, a princess whose tears unleash prophecy, Yeneris is searching for the stolen bones of a saint. Her growing attraction to the princess, however, is proving dangerous, and Yeneris struggles to balance her feelings for Sinoe with her duty to her people.
As gods are reborn and spirits destroyed, the world trembles on the edge of a second cataclysm. Sephre must decide whether to be bound by her past or to forge a better future, even if it means renouncing her vows and accepting a new and terrible power. Meanwhile, when the real enemy makes their bid for power, Yeneris must find a way to remain true to her full self and save both her mission and her heart.
The Sea Witch by Eva Leigh
Release Date: August 26 from Canary Street Press
Why We’re Excited: A chaotic Pirates of the Caribbean-style story with a dash of romance and female rage is exactly what I need this summer, is all I’m saying.
Publisher’s Description: Condemned as a witch, sentenced to die, Alys Tanner uses her innate magical power to flee Puritanical New England. Stealing a ship, Alys becomes captain of The Sea Witch, leading its all-female, sorcery-wielding pirate crew. But the colonial British navy is in hot pursuit. The navy fights for a choke hold on the Caribbean and will destroy anything they cannot control, especially witches.
When Ben Priestley, a headstrong naval navigator, is inadvertently captured by the lady pirates, dangerous truths are revealed. A quest that could turn the tides against the navy’s might ignites a reluctant partnership between the by-the-books prisoner and the fierce witch pirate captain. While they brave backstabbing pirates, perilous tropical islands and monster-filled seas, Alys and Ben’s mistrust grows into unexpected desire as they battle an enemy that will stop at nothing to rule the waves.
Lacy Baugher Milas is the Books Editor at Paste Magazine, but loves nerding out about all sorts of pop culture. You can find her on Twitter and Bluesky at @LacyMB