15 of The Most Beautifully Written Fantasy Romance Books

Ten years after being sent away to become a bard, Jack Tamerlaine is called back to Cadence, where girls are mysteriously disappearing. Adaira, his childhood rival and future clan leader, believes Jack’s music is key to summoning elemental spirits to help. Together, they unravel a mystery that hides darker secrets beneath the island’s surface.

With its rich folklore and vibrant characters, A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross offers a compelling tale of love, duty, and balance in a world where music and magic collide.

She is the heir to a once-great Sultanate, embodying order and intellect. He is a prince of chaos, driven by violence and determination to protect his people. Their magic, shadow and light, intertwines, but balancing it could come at too high a cost. As magic fades, they must recruit mages with the forbidden power of death to save their world.

Facing a new war of science and machines, they must also confront their forbidden passion—his restlessness against her calm, night against day, to restore balance before everything is lost.

In the harsh Russian wilderness, Vasilisa and her siblings grow up listening to fairy tales, especially the story of Frost, the winter demon feared by all. When Vasya’s devout stepmother forbids honoring the protective household spirits, misfortune creeps into the village. As darkness from the forest approaches, Vasya’s stepmother becomes more controlling, pushing her toward marriage or the convent.

But to save her family and village, Vasya must embrace her hidden powers and face the terrifying forces from her childhood tales.

Lazlo Strange, an orphan and junior librarian, has been obsessed with the lost city of Weep since childhood, fearing his dream chose him poorly. When a legendary hero, the Godslayer, offers a chance to find Weep, Lazlo must seize it or risk losing his dream forever. What happened to isolate Weep two centuries ago? And who is the blue-skinned goddess haunting Lazlo’s dreams?

In this sweeping novel by Laini Taylor, past shadows, myth, and mystery collide in a world of nightmares, love, and wonder.

Damen, a warrior and rightful heir to the throne of Akielos, is betrayed by his half-brother, captured, and sent as a pleasure slave to Prince Laurent of Vere, an enemy nation. Laurent is beautiful, manipulative, and ruthless, embodying the worst of Veretian court politics.

But as Damen becomes entangled in a deadly power struggle, he must work with Laurent to survive and protect his homeland. However, Damen’s greatest challenge is keeping his true identity hidden from the one man who has the most reason to despise him.

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever―and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.

Sorcha, the seventh child and only daughter of Lord Colum of Sevenwaters, is cherished by her six brothers. But her world crumbles when her father falls under the spell of an evil enchantress, who curses her brothers. Only Sorcha can break the spell—but she must remain silent until her quest, given by the Fair Folk, is complete.

Captured by enemies of Sevenwaters and torn between her mission and a newfound love, Sorcha fears she may never save her brothers. Yet, love’s magic proves to be her greatest strength.

Deborah Harkness’s sparkling debut, A Discovery of Witches, has brought her into the spotlight and galvanized fans around the world.

In this tale of passion and obsession, Diana Bishop, a young scholar and a descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript, Ashmole 782, deep in Oxford’s Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont.

Agnieszka loves her peaceful village in the valley, nestled near a bright river and dark, corrupted Wood. The malevolent power of the Wood threatens her people, kept at bay only by a cold wizard called the Dragon. His price? A young woman taken to serve him for ten years. Everyone expects Kasia, Agnieszka’s brave and beautiful best friend, to be chosen.

But as the dreaded day approaches, Agnieszka’s fears shift. When the Dragon arrives, it is not Kasia he takes—it is Agnieszka herself, changing everything she thought she knew.

Tisaanah, ripped from her homeland as a child, survives with her magic and sharp wit. Desperate to save her best friend, she seeks refuge with the Orders, a powerful magical organization, but must first apprentice under Maxantarius, a reclusive fire wielder who distrusts the Orders.

As war looms, Tisaanah must prove her worth while navigating the cryptic intentions of the Orders and her growing feelings for Max. Haunted by his bloody past, Max holds the key to Tisaanah’s future, but she will risk everything, even her heart, to save those she left behind.

Halla is a housekeeper who has suddenly inherited her great-uncle’s estate… and, unfortunately, his relatives. Sarkis is an immortal swordsman trapped in a prison of enchanted steel. When Halla draws the sword that imprisons him, Sarkis finds himself attempting to defend his new wielder against everything from bandits and roving inquisitors to her own in-laws… and the sword itself may prove to be the greatest threat of all.

Brishen Khaskem, the Kai kingdom’s spare prince, is content with his unimportant role until duty calls for a political marriage to a Gauri woman. His bride, Ildiko, the niece of the Gauri king, has always known her only value lies in a strategic marriage.

Horrified by their union to a man from an unfamiliar, inhuman race, Ildiko must leave behind her old life. Despite their differences, Brishen and Ildiko discover a deep bond, but as their love grows, outside forces threaten to tear them apart for their kingdoms’ gain.

In the first book of the Kushiel’s Legacy series, readers enter a world of intrigue, sacrifice, and betrayal. Phédre nó Delaunay, born with a scarlet mote in her left eye, is sold into indentured servitude as a child. Purchased by a mysterious nobleman, she is trained in history, politics, and the arts of pleasure, becoming a skilled courtesan and spy.

When she uncovers a plot threatening her homeland, Terre d’Ange, Phédre finds herself betrayed and captured in the brutal north. Accompanied by a disdainful warrior-priest, she must escape and warn her people, setting off on a perilous journey.

Elspeth Spindle needs a monster to survive in her mist-locked kingdom. She possesses the Nightmare, an ancient spirit trapped in her mind that protects her and keeps her secrets. When she encounters a mysterious highwayman, her life shifts dramatically, pulling her into a world of shadows and deception.

Together, they embark on a perilous quest to gather twelve Providence Cards to cure the kingdom’s dark magic. As their attraction grows, Elspeth must confront her deepest fear: the Nightmare’s grip on her mind may be tightening, and she might not be able to resist him.

In Deathless, Catherynne Valente reimagines the legend of Koschei the Deathless, a menacing figure in Russian folklore, bringing his story into the modern era against the backdrop of twentieth-century Russian history. The novel follows the journey of Marya Morevna, who evolves from a clever child of the revolution to Koschei’s beautiful bride and ultimately his downfall.

Filled with Stalinist house elves, magical quests, and intricate games of power and desire, Deathless blends magical and historical elements, exploring themes of revolution, love, and death in a captivating new light.