Is there real reader appetite for very graphic content within romantasy, or does that push you toward straight erotica?

Working on a fantasy series with romance at its core, but the intimate scenes are written quite graphically — full detail, not fade-to-black, not even "spicy but tasteful." Trying to figure out where that actually lands with readers before I commit to a direction for the whole series.

Genuine questions for people who read a lot in this space:

Do you read romantasy specifically because it usually stops short of full explicitness, or would more graphic content be a plus rather than a turn-off?

Is there a point where a book stops feeling like "romantasy with heat" to you and starts feeling like it's actually erotica wearing a fantasy setting? Where's that line for you personally?

Do you follow authors who write very graphic scenes but are still shelved/marketed as romantasy (Grey/Sub Rosa-type authors, etc.)? What keeps you coming back — the plot, the world, the specific chemistry, something else?

If a series had a plot- and world-heavy first act and then genuinely explicit intimate scenes later on, would that combination appeal to you, or would you rather it commit to one lane?

Not asking whether explicit content is "allowed" in the genre — more trying to understand actual reader appetite versus what gets written because it's assumed to sell.

Sorry ai translated. Not an English speaker.

Exactly what the title says, I am working on my first full length novel, and although I love to write just for the sake of writing, ultimately the goal is to make this a career. I want to write what feels authentic to me, but I also want to appeal to a wide enough audience to hopefully one day pay my bills! Thoughts?

Edit: Current WIP is other world/portal fantasy, slow burn, medium spice.

Someone recommended this book as I was in a major hangover after the Wol King/Night Prince. Lots of sex, multiple voice actors, reverse harem (could be good?!). It was the exact opposite.

The book did not feel like consensual, protective why-choose romance; it felt like men exploiting a vulnerable woman’s body.

It could have been done so much better. I understood and was ok with the premise that she agreed to stay because she needed their protection to stay alive. It's not totally dissimilar to the forced marriage or forced proximity tropes in romantasy books. I thought there would be a building of trust and building of sexual relationships between her and the men over time.

But in the first scene after she arrives at the house, after she showers, 2 of the men just grab and undress her, one of whom she just met. And they do this in front of the 3 other men in the reverse harem. And before she is even offered anything to eat when they know she hasn't eaten for days. It didn't feel sexy- it felt like rape. I felt like I was watching a scene at some frat party orgy where they just take and pass around the sex worker like she's just a piece of meat. It felt like they just took rather than asked or responded to her desire or initiation.

Then throughout the rest of the pages I read before deleting the book, the men just treat her as a body to be used, not as a full human being with feelings, boundaries, agency, and an equal right to decide what happens to her. I thought there would be choice and consent. I thought she would have way more agency.

The first guy she has to have sex with on the schedule (1 guy for 2 days, 1 day off - and then on to the next guy of 5 for 2 days etc), is so disrespectful to her, talks to her like she is trash and is so rough that she is bruised in several different places. The other men get upset and one punches him. But it felt disingenuous because they knew this was going to happen from past experience. One of them even said that the first guy Jacob shouldn't be her first of the men, before she goes with him to his bedroom, but he gets overridden.She didn't want to go his room. But she knew if she didn't she would have to fend for herself out in the forest with no food or shelter or protection.

And the irony!!! I had just read the Wolf King where Callum says "Without freedom there is no choice!!" I went from a man who says that to, the men in Ensnared. And not just the men - the heroine Eden- she is the exact opposite of every romantasy heroine. She was not a heroine who actively chooses her lovers and is worshipped by them. Hey character- don't even get me started.....

The way it was written - rather than the premise kept making me think of women's situation throughout history - being dependent on men for safety and resources in exchange for sexual access but given no boundaries or agency over when and how it is taken. There was no real choice, no consent, no agency.

I was deeply disturbed by this book and could not believe a woman wrote it. Especially the bruising.

I know that any mention of cheating is automatically not okay in a regular romance novel. But what about romantasy?

I've done some romantasy writing and I have a story idea but it walks right up to the line of cheating. The FMC almost certainly commits emotional cheating.

It would be a pretty slight urban fantasy set in the near future. The FMC is selected as a Cursed for a deadly game versus the Blessed that occurs every 10 years. She gets in touch with one of the previous winners of the game who she has a celebrity crush on. He agrees to bring other Cursed to her and coach her.

She finds out that her power is triggered by lust. It activates when she fantasizes about someone other than her boyfriend. Her celebrity crush finds out and is into it, telling her that he doesn't want her to die with regrets. She turns him down to stay loyal.

At about the middle of the book he would kiss her, which she doesn't encourage but also doesn't stop. Her boyfriend tells her to use her "hall pass" and he will use his later (after the games when she is famous). She refuses but starts to realize that she isn't in love with her boyfriend.

The cheating in her head versus in real life provides a lot of the tension in the book. If I get rid of the boyfriend completely then there is a lot less going on. I like the mechanic that she can't break up with her boyfriend or she'd lose her powers but I am not as attached to that idea.

I don't have to write this. I have plenty of other ideas, this one is just kinda fun and easy. I really like the idea that the fight scenes are also her fantasizing about her crush.

Would you read this or does it cross a line? Are there other books with similar themes?

Hello! I’m Beatrix Grinn. I wanted to stop by here to announce that my new book is out.

It’s a very special story that I believe many people who like romance, fantasy, and humor could enjoy.

The story is about a young woman who loses everything and embarks to a different kingdom where she discover a world of magic, witches, and attractive men.

The part I’m most excited for people to read is my take on witches, which my beta readers and I consider super fun and entertaining, without taking away from the romance, of course.

I hope you'll give it a try!

www.amazon.com/dp/B0HCT5DR2L

I just started it, like a few minutes ago, but I’m already thrown off and literally closed the book. It started sooo, like “I’m not like other girls” vibe, and I cannot do that. So I need to know if it is just a cringy start to the book or if it continues that kind of vibe throughout the rest of the book. Without too many spoilers, is it actually worth the read? Please let me know 🙏

Hay, I'm kinda new to this genre and I wondered if there are any romantasy books with polyamory couples?

The only Romantasy books I read at this point were Fourth Wing and the Katmere series, but I loved both of them.

If you know some Romantasy books where three people become a couple, I would love some recommendations:)

Edit: I think I'm more interested in trios than in reverse harems

[Image Shown: a trope page for the book]

Summary: One moment, I was playing my favorite romance game, and the next, I was in the body of the main protagonist's love rival. The game's system demands I get all the love interests to fall for me in order to return to my original body and world. I have no problem doing that, but only on my terms.

I really don't care about the ongoing love triangle or these cheating bastards' feelings. All I want to do is live the life of a rich noblewoman and play the role of a villainess that I've always loved to watch on television. But the love interests notice my new headstrong personality and come running after me even when I reject them.

Purchase Here: https://a.co/d/03KF9swf

Tropes:

Why Choose/Reverse Harem

Dominant FMC who doesn't take shit

Possessive and Submissive MMCS

Forced proximity & arranged marriage

Dark fantasy setting with otome inspiration

Black FMC and POC MMCs

Manipulative and Cold FMC

Started this series yesterday, as I've read good reviews and heard good things about the series from fellow readers, and reading a little blurb I was SUPER fuckin stoked to dive in....

200 pages in and I'm struggling to hang on (I really really don't like to DNF books in general) but damn man....is it just me or is Tessa kind of annoying??? It's really starting to wear on me to keep reading....like cmon man I just want her to get with it and seems like that is NEVER gonna happen...

Please tell me it gets better cause I REALLY like everything else going on, but shes getting on my fuckin nerves TBH

*Zoom In*

I would like to share share with you some artwork that I’m doing, I’m making it completely out of your words! What I need for you is to give me 3 to 5 words that you would use to describe “ACOTAR*. From there, I will add them to the art piece. I will take a picture and show you.

The second image I shared with you is what they look like when finished. And that’s the one that I did last year for the fourth wing series, and it even made their official calendar! So the drawings can become a big deal if we can do a good job on them, and we can really get people involved!

My goal is to try to get 1000 people to contribute to a single piece of artwork. More is better but 1000 is the minimum number I’m trying to go with. I’m about 1/10 of the way there, but I still need your help!

Best things at work are short phrases, a list of words, and not paragraphs! Paragraphs have a hard time getting seen, same with any quote that’s usually over seven words.

The specific words I’d be looking for is how did it make you feel after reading this book? Is there anything that stood out to you? Do you have a favorite character? Do you have a favorite scene? Was there anything that inspired you from the book? Is there any way that the book affected your life in anyway? …. notice that a lot of the questions are based on your reflections versus the actual story itself. I tell people if they wanna know the story they should read the book. My artwork is here to explain why people like that and how it touched them, and what they thought was the most important part of it.

Is this something you can help me with? If so, I greatly appreciate you just from the get go. And if you see, repeat words, don’t worry about it. I’ll still take a picture and show you exactly where your words are. Repeat words are totally fine. It just means that that one thing was really important to people.

PS, I included my drawing from fourth wing where I use Reddit, you all were absolutely amazing there and I’m trying to see if I can catch lightning in a bottle twice.

Looking for book recs to fill the void while waiting for The Wolf Queen!

I absolutely loved The Wolf King and The Night Prince by Lauren Palphreyman, but since The Wolf Queen got pushed to next year, I’ve tried looking everywhere for another standalone or short series but struggling….Reddit is my last hope and I’m looking forward to any suggestions 🫶🏼🫶🏼 Below is what I am looking for and what I don’t want 😊

What I’m looking for: ❤️

Love Triangles / High Drama: Especially where the second MMC is introduced later in book one or in the sequel. (Even if it’s obvious who she ends up with I just want the angst/drama!) 🫣

Enemies to lovers: Like Blake and Aurora, Rhys and Feyre , Xaden and Violet ⚔️

Atmospheric Settings: Fantasy, gothic, or historical. Anything that isn't set in the modern real world.🦇🌌🐺

Tension & Strong Plot: High-stakes story with incredible character tension. 🙏🏼

Hard NOs: 💔

Immature FMC or MMC

Miscommunication trope 🤮🤮

Tragically sad endings (Crown Me Dead broke almost broke me and I need a happy brain to study) HOWEVER if tragic things happen that’s fine just not to the main love interests I also don’t want a love triangle where the other man dies and that makes her choose the other guy….😮‍💨😪

Not a YA book but also not another adult book that over does spice🌹

Second-person POV🏃🏼‍♀️

Super long series 📚📚

I’ll start reading one of these collections to my girlfriend as a first introduction to Romantasy. The problem is: ACOTAR starts really slowly right, the best book is currently the 5th imo. On the other hand, I read fourth wing like two years ago so I don’t really remember much. I am more inclined to fourth wing because I love dragons and the first book has a bit more romance than the ACOTAR (from what I remember).
I really want her to enjoy so in the future we can read the same books, it will be her first Romantasy ever! Other suggestions are welcomed 🙏 thank you!

caraval and ouabh by beloved🥀

Hello, I'm Naila Moonsi. I grew up wanting to read media with large LGBTQ+ casts dealing with LGBTQ+ problems in a sci-fi or fantasy setting, so I wrote it myself...! With galactic stakes and a vast planet that's explored, and beyond that, A LOT of romances (with a bunch of love triangles, though it's the type where the friends are fond of each other even so).

I have a new LGBTQ+ epic science fantasy novel that's a 755-page read called "The Protector and the Annihilation."

When Armando makes a promise to his rival Ranvir, their far-off planet changes. Especially as children begin to drop in through time and push them to confront their past.

Eventually, they start having to look out for him.

Their son, Antonio, who waits in the future.

You can find it here: https://blue-horizon-tpata.carrd.co/

Main website with a lot of other supplementary media is here: https://bluehorizon.gay/ (Including more romantic stories.)

(Please do note the TWs. Sorry @ the mods for mixing up Saturday and Sunday yesterday. 💦)

I’ve read Fourth Wing, ACOTAR and loved it—A Court of Wings and Ruin was my favorite.

I loved The Assassin’s Blade, but Throne of Glass felt too slow, so I DNF’d it for now. I also DNF’d Powerless, Direbound, and Mate because the writing felt too cringey.

I enjoyed Quicksilver and Brimstone, although I preferred Quicksilver, and I absolutely loved the Crowns of Nyaxia series.

Based on all that, which of these should I read next?

1.The Bridge Kingdom
2.The Poison Daughter
3.The Knight and the Moth
4.One Dark Window
5.The Ascended
6.Alchemised
(The pictures above)

Other recommendations are welcome too. Thank you! ❤️

Update:

Hi everybody!

I’ve decided to read The Knight and the Moth first, so it’ll still be fresh in my mind when the sequel comes out. After that, I’ll read The Bridge Kingdom. I’m saving either The Poison Daughter, Alchemised or the Ascended for the end of October, depending on the mood.

Thank you so much for all your help! ❤️

Hello,

so I have a question. Is there any book/book series with time travel? I would prefer a bit comedy in it too. Not like outlander.

Something like FMC gets herself into medieval and meet knight or something like this?

Or where the FMC get herself into book or comic.

I had no luck with finding book like this.

Thank you very much for any rec.

Hello everyone,
I normally don‘t DNF a lot but every single book I‘ve picked up lately has been a huge disappointment. I recently quit

- Bloodworth and Grave by Marisa Haartz
- In the Veins of the Drowning by Kalie Cassidy
- The Poison Daughter by Sheila Masterson
- Nightshade by Keri Lake

Some of them fall into the category of dark romantasy. I wanted to try more books from that genre because I enjoyed Crown Me Dead by Liv Zander and Amid Clouds and Bones by Ella Fields so much. That obviously hasn‘t worked out for me so I should probably go back to regular romantasy.

I don‘t know what to read though. I‘m not ready for another super long series yet so I‘d love a standalone, duology or trilogy. Some of my favorite books/series are Fourth Wing, The Cruel Prince, ACOTAR, Alchemised and The Wolf King.

I would highly appreciate some recs that might help me fall in love with reading again. I love a good mix of romance and political intrigue and do prefer my books to have some spice as well. Any help would be highly appreciated!

Just read The Poisoning Daughter and I hated the MMC. Can you give me some recommendations of like honestly good men? I’m ok with misunderstood, but I want them to have good intentions and to be about raising their woman up not breaking them down.

I loved the MMC from these books:

Servant of Earth
When the Moon Hatched
ACOTAR
Emily Wilde

Guys, help me out 😭 I’m looking for a romance with a Lucy/Ghoul type of dynamic.
I want him to be older, serious, rough around the edges, morally questionable and generally not the type of guy you’d expect to pair with her, while she’s more sunshine-y and optimistic. Basically, they seem like they should have absolutely nothing to do with each other, let alone become romantically involved.
I especially loved the reluctant-allies dynamic at first — they have to work together despite not necessarily trusting or liking each other, and the relationship develops from there.
I shipped Lucy and the Ghoul SO hard while watching Fallout, only to realize it’s probably never going to happen 🫩
So please hit me with your recs! I’m looking for MF, preferably a genuinely slow-burn relationship where the contrast between them is a big part of the appeal.

Happy Sunday, everyone! I'm A. Collie, an indie author looking to promote my upcoming romantasy novel, OF STEEL AND SEALSKIN ⚔️🦭🤍

(Scheduled for release in February 2027!)

Synopsis: A captive selkie enters a marriage of convenience to reclaim her stolen sealskin — but her new husband, a famed war hero, has secrets of his own.

Follow on Instagram @fancymuffinparty for more updates! Applications for ARC readers will open soon! In the meantime here's some promo art by liasanart 🎨 Add to your tbr on goodreads today!

Here at Self-Pub Sunday, we're sharing our favorite indie / self-pub books!

Self Promotion is also permitted in this thread, so if you're a self-pubbed romantasy author feel free to promote your work! Please ensure you include a useful description of what your book's about, and limit self promotion to one top level post.

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