I’ve been a fantasy romance reader since I first began reading fairy tales as a kid. I love submerging myself in fantastical worlds, but I’m also a sucker for a good love story, too. As the popularity of the fantasy romance and romantasy subgenres has grown, it’s given me much to think about in terms of what makes them so special.
Fellow Book Rioter Lyndsie Manusos digs into the distinction between the two, stating that while happily-ever-afters (HEAs) are requirements for romantasy, they’re not for fantasy romance. Romantasies are more romance-focused, and fantasy romances are more fantasy-forward. Fantasy romance doesn’t have to have a HEA, but often does.
As for what makes a fantasy an epic fantasy, you can check out this primer on the many subgenres in fantasy. Epic fantasies take place in another world and often have an epic event to get the story rolling and another to resolve the conflicts.
So, with this in mind, I’ve gathered together a collection of epic fantasy romance nov...
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