Romantic fantasy

Romantic fantasy, in recent years known by the portmanteau "romantasy", is a subgenre of fantasy fiction that combines fantasy and romance, bringing to fantasy many of the elements and conventions of the romance genre. One of the key features of romantic fantasy involves the focus on relationships: social, political, and romantic.

Romantic fantasy has been published by both fantasy lines and romance lines. It can be defined as a fantasy where the plot is so dependent on the romance that it would fall apart without it. As a result of the financial success of authors such as Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros in the 2010s, publishers created imprints to focus on this subgenre. Some publishers distinguish between "romantic fantasy" where the fantasy elements are the most important and "fantasy romance" where the romance is the most important. Others say that "the borderline between fantasy romance and romantic fantasy has essentially ceased to exist, or if it's still there, it's moving back and forth constantly". Game historian Stu Horvath noted, "the heroes and heroines of romantic fantasy seek social connection and emotional wealth. Instead of carrying on by themselves, they find belonging in a community and a purpose larger than themselves. Magic and psychic abilities are often in-born talents; intelligent animals speak; and societies are egalitarian."

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