Over the course of this decade, the subgenre of “romantasy” has soared in popularity. Specifically on BookTok, novels that fall under the fantasy-romance hybrid category are pushed to the forefront of viewers’ feeds and social media doomscrolling. Despite the mainstream quality of romantasy, the style itself is uniquely beloved by indie writers and young artists.
For example, A Court of Thorns and Roses—a romantasy classic—was first outlined and shared through blog posts by Sarah J. Maas when she was sixteen years old. One of the newer trending romantasy novels, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, was published by Entangled Publishing’s Red Tower Books, an indie imprint. New and indie creators alike are drawn to this dynamic subgenre because they aren’t restricted to traditional publishing trends or “watered-down” content, but rather, they can take advantage of the freedom to explore specialized tropes and elements to both subvert and promote the fantasy and romance genres.
Red Tower Books, in particular, became the face of romantasy publishing after the immense success of Fourth Wing. Their mission of rapid release, high-quality novels has gifted their voracious readership tons upon tons of magically spicy stories. One that specifically caught my attention was Devney Perry’s Shield of Sparrows, and after diving into the novel, I have some points to add to the subgenre’s discourse.
With all that to say, I have a love-hate relationship with romantasy.
Do I think the subgenre does the fantasy tradition a disservice by prioritizing smut and shallow characters over immersive, complex worlds written with masterful prose? Yes, most of the time. I won’t completely avoid romantasy because it works for readers looking for those sorts of plots. In addition, I appreciate its prioritization of powerful female protagonists, granting a voice to perspectives that are not stereotypically amplified in fantasy. So, when I’m looking for an easy, whimsical read with binge-worthy chemistry, I’ll gladly pick up a romantasy novel.
Shield of Sparrows is everything I want out of a romance—high stakes, slow-burn, forbidden attraction, and good old-fashioned forced proximity. The tension between Odessa and Ransom had my eyes glued to every word printed on each page, waiting to see their next moves.
Alongside my main purpose of reading romantasy for the romance, I notice how the female protagonist is portrayed in her relationship with the love interest. Odessa stood firmly on her own without the crutch of Ransom, despite her character’s situation being the result of her arranged marriage. Her dedication to uncovering ancient magic intertwined in the world around her gives her a purpose outside of the romance with her husband.
The fantasy elements were as expected of romantasy: weak and predictable. It was essentially all background noise for the main romantic event of Odessa and Ransom. The most significant aspect of the magic system is how it interacts with the main characters’ relationship, as Odessa’s mysterious condition and Ransom’s mystical disease add layers to their connection while drawing parallels to the novel’s world-building.
Again, romantasy’s formulaic nature and reliance on established narrative models certainly do not work for me as a reader, thus making me feel bored with every plot twist that Perry threw at us. This, combined with the lack of original magic systems, embodies why I never reach for this subgenre outside of wanting to read an intriguing romance.
If you love romantasy, or just the romance genre in general, I highly recommend Shield of Sparrows, especially because its sequel novel, Rites of the Starling, was released last month for a smooth sailing of binge reading. It is a classic example of the subgenre while adding more depth and purpose to the female protagonist. But if you love fantasy, I would hesitate with this novel exactly for its unoriginal narrative and stakes that are signature for romance. This, my friends, is why I say I have a love-hate relationship with romantasy.
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Image taken from Amazon
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