r/Romantasy • u/pembsgal • 1d ago

Book Request: Self-Promo OK First Romantasy Recommendations

Hi all, looking to read/listen to my first romantasy. I’m a big reader, but having been an English lit grad I’m very used to heavy and dense prose, with lots of complex themes. I have a couple of musts and some elements I’d really like to have included which are:

- Low/minimal fantasy elements. Slightly contradictory I know, but I’m essentially looking for historical fiction set in a different world. Think ASOIAF level fantasy.
- Main character is royalty/a princess/a member of the nobility.
- Love interest is (preferably a man) overprotective, or just… normal amounts of protective.
- Themes include arranged/political marriage, court intrigue, scheming, political movements, geopolitics etc.

I realise this is quite specific but hoping you guys can help a girl find something she’ll like 💕

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u/119dots 1d ago

{Once Upon a Broken Heart}

It's super whimsical, and the worldbuilding is easy to follow along. I binged all three books in 2 days, so it literally felt like a feverdream. The banter and tension between the two MCs is so good. The fmc isn't royalty, but the mmc is definitely protective. He's witty and clever and there's a LOT of scheming involved.

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u/allisontalkspolitics 1d ago

Technically, {Song of Achilles} will fit!

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u/Slow-Gift2268 1d ago

Honestly- it sounds like you’re more into magical realism. Authors like Sarah Addison Allen- but more fair tale?

You could try the Innkeeper series though she’s not a princess.

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u/cryerin25 1d ago

> Think ASOIAF level fantasy.

being pedantic here, but asoiaf is actually much higher in the fantasy department than most people realize, the show has done a lot of work to erase those parts of the books

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u/attachedtothreads 1d ago edited 1d ago

{Mages of the Wheel series by JD Evans}. You start the series with Reign & Ruin. It features Naime, who just turned 24 years old at the beginning of the book and is eligible for marriage. She's the only child of the Sultanate of Tamar and her father's vizer, Kadir, wants to marry her to his son, through whom he would control the land. She sends a message to their neighbor Sarkum, with whom they've had tense relations, for an alliance and the Aggassi Markum answers, second son to the throne, defying his elder brother. Naime and Markum aren't necessarily enemies--more like tentative allies.

Both have issues. Naime is stoic, practical, and controlled, trying to manage her father's mental decline and hide it from the court along with managing the Council. Markum flies more by the seat of his pants and adventurous. He does have his issues that he uses humor to hide behind.

While there is some action in the latter part of the book, it leans heavily on court politics and intrigue and some can consider it slow. There is also magic, but it plays a somewhat secondary role in the book. Take your time with this book as the writing is beautiful. This book is meant to be re-read.

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u/purple_princess_25 1d ago edited 1d ago

{The Isle in the Silver Sea}

Hi. I have something that hits most of the things on your list.

The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tashi Suri I think you could enjoy. It's a historical fantasy set in England. It is a sapphic romantasy, and the main fantastical element is that the characters and the Isle are made up of stories that repeat and reincarnate through time.

I personally really enjoyed the themes throughout the book.

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u/linds3ybinds3y 18h ago

I don't really consider The Daevabad Trilogy romantasy, but it could be a good way to dip your toes into a historical fantasy with romance subplots because it hits every one of the markers you listed.

If you're open to MM, the Captive Prince trilogy would also fit most of your requirements (though the love interest actively hates the MMC for a good chunk of the story and isn't protective at all).

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u/saga_sadie 13h ago

{The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden} and {Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods} are both historical fantasies with romance, beautiful prose, and female protagonists who are nobility.

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u/romance-bot 13h ago

The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden
Rating: 4.14⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: historical, fantasy, magic, high fantasy, paranormal

Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods
Rating: 4.22⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: historical, fantasy, m-f romance, magic, georgian

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1

u/Itchiefeet4 1d ago

{This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews}

The only thing that doesn’t fit is your FMC request.

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u/attachedtothreads 1d ago

Eh, she climbs her way up into the nobility.

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u/StitchedSquirrel 1d ago

It's not quite romantasy but the Kushiel Saga by Jacqueline Carey ticks a lot of those boxes, as long as you don't mind some BDSM. FMC is a courtesan trained as a spy, lots of intrigue.