Romantasy is a portmanteau of "romance" and "fantasy" describing books where the central romance is as structurally important as the fantasy plot — dragons and destiny, but also a genuine will-they-won't-they at the center. The term exploded via BookTok around series like Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, though the genre itself (formally called "fantasy romance") predates the word by decades.
How romantasy is different from "just" fantasy or "just" romance
The distinction is about which plot has to resolve for the book to feel finished. In traditional epic fantasy, a romance subplot can exist without dominating the ending — the war gets won, the throne gets claimed, and whether two characters end up together is a bonus, not the point. In romantasy, the reverse is true: the world-building, magic system, and political stakes all exist, but the book doesn't feel complete unless the central relationship also resolves. It borrows romance's structural promise — an emotionally satisfying, believable relationship arc — and fuses it with fantasy's scale.
This is also what separates romantasy from paranormal romance, its closest cousin. Paranormal romance (vampires, werewolves, contemporary-world magic) usually keeps one foot in the real world; romantasy usually takes place in a fully secondary world, with its own geography, politics, and magic system that the plot depends on.
Where the word came from
"Fantasy romance" has existed as a shelf category for decades. "Romantasy" specifically is a portmanteau that gained mainstream traction on TikTok's BookTok community starting around 2022, accelerating hard with the 2023 release of Fourth Wing, which became one of the best-selling adult novels of the year almost entirely through word-of-mouth video content. By 2024, "romantasy" had been added to several major dictionaries as a recognized genre term.
Where to start
A Court of Thorns and Roses — Sarah J. Maas
The series most credited with laying the modern romantasy template — a human huntress taken into a fae court, court politics, and a slow-burn romance that deepens across the series. Maas's Throne of Glass series is a reasonable alternative starting point if you want slightly less romance-forward pacing.
Pair with: Enchanted Rose (sandalwood, rose, amber) — fae-court glamour, unmistakably.
Fourth Wing — Rebecca Yarros
The book most responsible for romantasy's current mainstream moment — a war college for dragon riders, a physically fragile protagonist who has to prove herself anyway, and a romance built on genuine antagonism before trust. Faster-paced and more plot-forward than Maas's work.
Pair with: Star-Crossed Lovers (dark plum, berries, vanilla) — high stakes, higher tension.
The two core moods, by candle
Romantasy tends to split into two atmospheric registers, and matching the candle to the register matters more than matching it to a specific book.
Enchanted Library
Red Rose + Woods + Vanilla + Jasmine + Orange
Layered and floral without tipping into a single-note perfume — this is the candle for the fae-court, magic-school, lush-world-building side of the genre. Reach for it during any book where the setting itself is meant to seduce you as much as the love interest.
View at Aarka Origins →Morally Grey
Bergamot + Yuzu Blossoms + Petitgrain
Sharper and more citrus-forward — a candle for the enemies-to-lovers, morally ambiguous-love-interest side of romantasy, where the romance runs on tension rather than warmth. Named for exactly the trope it suits.
View at Aarka Origins →Adjacent reading, once you're hooked
If you finish both starting points and want to keep going, dig into specific tropes — enemies-to-lovers, fated mates, slow-burn — with our full romance and spicy-reads guide, which maps candles to tropes rather than titles.
FAQ
What is romantasy?
A portmanteau of "romance" and "fantasy" describing books where the central romance is as structurally important as the fantasy plot. The term went mainstream via BookTok around 2022–2023.
Is romantasy the same as fantasy romance?
Largely, yes — "fantasy romance" is the older, formal genre term; "romantasy" is the reader-coined term that took off more recently. They're used interchangeably in practice.
What is the best romantasy book for beginners?
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas and Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros are the two most-recommended entry points.
What candle should I light while reading romantasy?
Lush floral-woody scents like Enchanted Library suit fae-court and magic-school settings; brighter, sharper scents like Morally Grey suit enemies-to-lovers and morally ambiguous romances.
Next: Trope-by-trope candles for spicy romance readers · What does dark academia smell like? · or browse the full romance candle collection at Aarka Origins.