5 Upcoming Fantasy Romance Books We Can't Wait To Read In 2025

A new year brings on a load of new things to get excited about. New movies, new music, new places to travel to, new things to try, and also a ton of new books. If you're an avid reader, new books are always something to be excited about when heading into a new year. Whatever genre you're a fan of, there will always be something to read. Are you a fan of romance novels, but kind of getting bored with the same old love stories? Then, why not give fantasy romance a try? Fantasy romance (or as book lovers call it, romantasy) novels are love stories with bits of twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat and wanting to read more.

While there may not be a new installment of Sarah J. Maas's popular series "A Court of Thorns and Roses" coming out in the new year, don't be discouraged, romantasy lovers. The world is a library, and you have options ... so many of them. There are countless romantasy books by amazing authors to look forward to in the new year, and we're here to share our top five with you.

Not only did the Empyrean series's first book, "Fourth Wing" sell more than two million copies globally and become a viral sensation on TikTok, but it's also in the works to become an Amazon TV series. The bad news? It seems like it'll be quite a while before the TV series actually premieres, as there isn't a set release date yet. However, have no fear, the waiting game doesn't have to be boring. Rebecca Yarros is keeping things fun and exciting as she rings in the new year with the release of the third book of the Empyrean series, "Onyx Storm," on January 21, 2025

The story picks up 18 months after the series protagonist, Violet Sorrengail, arrives at Basgiath War College. With enemies drawing closer and the fear of battles arising, Violet knows there is no more time to waste. She must set out on a journey beyond the walls of Aretia in search of allies for Navarre.

Best-selling author of "Babel" and "Yellowface," R.F. Kuang is set to release "Katabasis" later this year. #BookTok is already on it, and it's been long-anticipated by readers everywhere; Kuang has proven through her past works to write the most tragically beautiful love stories. It seems like you'll have to brace yourself for this one, too, as it may be a serious tearjerker that breaks your heart, again. The novel revolves around aspiring magician Alice Law, who turns to Professor Wei to teach her everything she needs to become a great magician like him. When the professor is involved in a magical accident that leads to his death, Alice must set aside her differences with a rival student, Peter Murdoch, to save their deceased professor's soul from the depths of Hell.

The novel is the most anticipated romantasy novel on Goodreads, garnering heaps of four- and five-star reviews. Kuang, herself, posted a TikTok about her up-and-coming novel and explained that the meaning of the title, Katabasis, is a journey into the underworld. The meaning of the title, alone, has left readers eager to dive into the novel set to release on August 26, 2025.

You've asked while creating insane fan art and waiting patiently, and Heather Fawcett has answered, bringing you the third and final installment of the Emily Wilde series. Fawcett had everyone talking and obsessing about faeries when "Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries" was first released in early 2023. The final installment, "Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales" is set to release February 11, 2025. With both the first and second books of the series garnering high scores on Goodreads, readers are anticipating the final book won't disappoint.

Emily Wilde has dedicated her life to studying faeries as a renowned dryadologist. Her studies have all been documented in her Encyclopedia of Faeries and now in her Compendium of Lost Tales, she will continue her journey studying the world of faeries, but this time, as their queen. She will have her former rival-turned-fiance, Wendell Bambleby, by her side throughout this journey. Readers will get to see Emily ascending into her new Faerie life as royalty, and will also get to see just how much Emily struggles to find herself deserving of the title — just as she did in the mortal world.

Axie Oh brought romantasy lovers into a whole new world of Korean folktales with "The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea." The feminist retelling of Shim Cheong's tale made her a New York Times bestselling author. This time, she's given her magical spin to the tale of Korean Celestial Maidens in "The Floating World," set to release this April. Oh's official website describes the upcoming book as a "Final Fantasy" meets "Shadow and Bone" read that will have readers in love with the protagonists, Ren and Sunho.

Ren is a cheerful acrobat who happily travels with her adoptive family to perform in nearby villages, but everything changes when the village her family is performing in falls under attack by a demon-like monster. Ren uses her secret superpower, a silver light, to save the day and kill the monster, but it's too late. Ren's family has suffered a great loss and her uncle is left severely wounded. Ren will have to journey over the mountains, from which Ren fled a decade ago, to find where the dangerous creature comes from. On her journey, her world will collide with Sunho's, who is an ex-soldier living in the Under World in search of a girl who wields a silver light.

Sangu Mandanna's "The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches" was given 4.08 stars out of 5 on Goodreads by more than 200,000 readers. People loved delving into the lives of irregular witches, so it's only fitting that Sangu takes us on another journey in the wonderful world of witches. In her new book, "A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping," Mandanna introduces us to Sera Swan. 

Sera, once one of Britain's most powerful witches, has been through quite a lot. Not only has she resurrected her great aunt from the dead and lost mostly all of her magic, but she's also befriended a slightly sinister fox and was exiled from her Guild. Sera's life now consists of longing to regain the life she once had while helping her aunt run an enchanted inn in Lancashire. When she finds out about an ancient spell that may help restore her power, she'll do anything to make it work.

As mentioned in the beginning, there are so many incredible romantasy books headed our way in 2025. Romantasy seems to be one of the most discussed genres on social media, so can you imagine how hard it was to just pick five books? It had to be done, so now you may be wondering just how these books were chosen. Well, first, there was a lot of research, but we tried to stay away from major websites. We took a different approach, as the last thing we wanted was to recommend books that everyone else was recommending. Of course, no one can avoid recommending books that are highly anticipated by millions of people, but we hope to bring you more than that. We want to bring you a truly diverse and new selection of reads that might take you by surprise and be worthy of your time. So, we searched through the fantasy romance subreddit, vetted user-written reviews on Goodreads, read so many synopses, and watched a whole lot of #BookTok.