Fantasy love stories are my bread and butter. It’s not uncommon for the romantic plot line to be my favorite component of books. Add in imagined worlds and magic, and you’ve got me hooked! The romantic tension between main characters is delicious to me, and when done right, can bring out a whole new layer to a story for me. I figure I can’t be alone in that, so I’ve compiled a handy list of fantasy books or series that have heart-eyes worthy romances.
Enemies To Lovers: A Court Of Thorns And Roses Series by Sarah J. Maas
No one does that tension building, agonizingly wonderful long burn of a love story better than Sarah J. Maas. What she does in the A Court of Thorns and Roses trilogy is the kind of love story that makes you want to cry out in frustration then exclaim how much you love it and can’t get enough. Enemies to lovers? Check. Hidden moments in dark corners? Check. Melt-worthy kissing scenes? Check. I will give a warning, there are sex scenes in this series. And they can be graphic. They are also fairly predictable so you can skip those pages and not miss much plot wise.
Enemies To Lovers: Caraval Series by Stephanie Garber
My favorite type of guy in a romantic plot line is the dark, handsome, mysterious guy. Which is probably why I devoured the Caraval trilogy so quickly. What inspired me most though was how Garber wove the love story into the main plot. Love was a driving force throughout the series which made me root for the main couples that much louder. And, the best thing about this series is there are TWO amazing love stories. In other words, there are not one, but TWO swoon-worthy guys.
Unrequited Love: Shadow and Bone Series by Leigh Bardugo
One of my all-time favorite series, Shadow and Bone has a lot going for it. Intrigue about magic and mythical creatures, adventures across an imaginative kingdom, and of course, a beautiful love story. This one was different than some of the others on my list in that I’d classify it as more of a sweet love story than a hot and heavy one. But that didn’t make it any less enticing. The heartfelt longing throughout the series kept the story moving forward without distracting from the main plot. It truly was beautiful.
Enemies To Lovers/Friends To Lovers/Unrequited Love: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Set in the same world as the Shadow and Bone trilogy, this clever and pulse-racing duology has more of the sweet, awe-inducing romance I loved in Shadow and Bone. But multiplied. The love stories in these two books are so unique from what I normally read. Enemies to Lovers? Check. Love from afar? Check. Scared of my love for you? Check. There was so much rich content with the romantic plot lines, I would stay up later each night because I had to know what happened next to the characters. AND, it all takes place during a high-stakes heist. So, Ocean’s 11 but with more luuuurrrrvvvvvv.
Enemies to Lovers: Uprooted by Naomi Novik
This is the only stand alone novel on the list, but that doesn’t mean it has any less of a love story. Uprooted is a re-imagining of Beauty and the Beast, where the Beast is a rich wizard called the Dragon. Sexy already. Because she is forced to live with the man who stole her from her life, she obviously gets to know him really well. Hearts soften. Minds open. But the most wonderful part of this story is reading about how they discover they complete each other. How they are stronger together. It’s a love story that’s more than just heat and tension. It’s heart and soul.
Love Triangle: The Remnant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson
A love triangle with a twist. A young princess runs away from her arranged marriage before meeting her husband-to-be because she desired freedom. Then she meets two handsome strangers. Why can’t stuff like that happen to me? The two men fall for her, creating one of the most delicious love triangles I’ve seen. But the twist is what makes it interesting. One of the men is the jilted prince she was supposed to marry, and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Except, she doesn’t know that. And the reader doesn’t know who is who!!!!!! Any book that centers on a love triangle is going to be filled with lots of that tension we adore. But this one is especially enticing because we don’t know if we’re rooting for the prince or the assassin.
Enemies to Lovers: The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
If you knew a guy had this pattern where he’d marry a girl then have her murdered the next morning, would you marry him? Neither would I. That’s why we are not nearly as brave as Shahrzad, for she does just that so she could defeat Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph who has become hated for this gruesome tradition. But she manages to convince Khalid not to have her killed the next morning. And the love story begins. This is one of the most extreme examples of enemies to lovers I’ve read, and it was handled with expert care. Through their heart-racing scenes together, we watch them uncover who each other really is behind all the drama.
Love Triangle: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
The series starts off with an aggravatingly delightful love triangle that left me in love with both guys. It’s hard when I can’t choose whose team I’m on! So often I found myself scanning ahead to see how much longer I had to wait to get to a romantic tension scene. Yes, they are that good. But what I love most about the love stories Sarah writes in her books, is that they really center on the growth of the characters in love. We get to see each become better people thanks to the person they are in love with. It’s my favorite thing about this series. We see Celaena grow and mature and learn about who she wants to be in big part because of the influence of her romantic interests. It’s what love should be.
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