Romantasy Classics Famous Before the BookTok Boom

Romantasy plus dark romance plus epic political intrigue equals one of the most gripping and eye-opening series in all of fantasy. This one is not for the faint of heart (watch out for its many trigger warnings relating to non-con and violence), but it’s addictive nonetheless.

Phèdre nó Delaunay is a courtesan blessed with the ability to experience pain and pleasure as the same thing. She falls head-first into a courtly battle for power where her talents in the bedchamber make her an unexpectedly prepared spy.

Did Fourth Wing whet your whistle for dragons? Thea Harrison has you covered with her Elder Races series.

Pia Giovanni is half-human and half-Wyr, part of a supernatural race hidden from the outside world. After being blackmailed into stealing a coin from the hoard of a dragon, she's captured by the most feared of all Wyrkind, Dragos Cuelebre. Rather than kill her, he claims Pia as his newest treasure.

The Black Jewels saga has been one of fantasy’s most underrated series for too long and more than deserves rediscovery by today’s romantasy readers.

For years the realm of Terreille has been falling into ruin thanks to its succession of cruel and corrupt queens. But change is in the air as a prophecy reveals the coming of a new Queen who will be more powerful than any before her. She's not only a Queen: She's a Witch.

If you love Danielle L. Jensen or Grace Draven then you deserve to be introduced to C.L. Wilson's Weathermages of Mystral series. The worldbuilding is as dense as the romance is heated.

Wynter Atrialan wants his revenge on the king of Summerlea, and he'll do it by claiming one of his beautiful, beloved daughters as his bride. He's not prepared for Khamsin Coruscate, Princess of Summerlea and summoner of Storms, the black sheep of her family who is sentenced to wed him as punishment. Instead, they inspire storms of intense passion in one another that could tear their respective lands apart.

This classic slice of 2000s urban fantasy is another highly readable example of how the progenitors of romantasy blended genres and kept readers coming back for more (the Fever saga lasted for 11 books!)

MacKayla loves sunbathing, partying, and the color pink, but when her sister is brutally murdered while on vacation in Dublin, she immediately packs her bags and flies across the ocean to find the culprit. It turns out that Mac is a sidhe-seer, someone blessed with the ability to see the Fae. With that comes a lot of danger, forcing her into a battle between the worlds of human and other where she may hold the key to salvation.

Watching over her is Jericho, a darkly mysterious figure, and V'lane, an alpha fae who makes women literally addicted to his love.

The Psy-Changeling series is one of the most intricately built fantasy worlds in all of romance. The Psy possess intense psychic powers but must reject all of their emotions. Changelings are animal shapeshifters who sit at the bottom of the social ladder. They’re on the verge of war. For Psy Sascha and Lucas of the Darkriver Leopard Pack, falling in love is forbidden. And yet...

The husband-and-wife team behind the powerhouse that is Ilona Andrews offer great ass-kicking urban fantasy for fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and modern romantasy alike.

Kate Daniels is a mercenary of the magic world, cleaning up after mages and monsters. When her guardian is murdered, she must find the killer amid a power struggle between two of Atlanta's most powerful magic factions. It's all just another day's work for Kate, but then there's Beast Lord Curran, who is very scary and very alluring...