This year in literature is proof that we're living in a romance and fantasy heyday. As we hit the halfway mark in 2025, readers are already settled in for wild, heart-tugging rides that open our imaginations and awaken our pining. Which reads count as the top fantasy and romance books of 2025? Here's a peek at our five hand-selected picks.
After settling into the premise of a pawn shop on a Tokyo backstreet where your regrets can be sold, this raved-about book brings you on a whimsical adventure of regret, hope, and stolen choices that must be reclaimed. Without giving away too many spoilers for this whimsical must-read book of the summer, readers will get drawn into a world where the pawn shop's new owner awakens to discover that her shop has been robbed, her father is missing, and a kind stranger is waiting to help. From there, Yambao's surreal version of Tokyo becomes limitless.
Offering an atmosphere that's a little darker around the edges than most in the fantasy-romance genre, The Knight and the Moth focuses on the gothic world of a young prophetess named Sybil Delling who receives visions in her sleep that let her predict terrible things before they happen. She soon attracts the patronage of both lords and peasants, willing to travel across the kingdom to learn their fates. Everything is stirred by the arrival of a mysterious knight named Rodrick who derides her visions. However, both are soon caught up in the mysterious vanishings of other prophetesses from the cloister.
This blockbuster-level "romantasy" novel burns slowly and pays off hugely as readers learn the lore of the gods who sent monsters to the five kingdoms to keep mortals on their knees. However, a princess who is tired of kneeling to the will of men is about to turn the world on its head. When Princess Odessa is shipped to a foreign land with her husband and an overseer named the Guardian as part of her father's political ambitions, she is tasked with learning the underpinnings of the Turan court. What she discovers is that her distracted prince husband doesn't see monsters preying on the kingdom's people in the darkest of ways. Left on her own with only the Guardian to protect her, the princess begins to hear the whispers of destiny. This summer is the perfect time to read Shield of Sparrows now that it's been announced that Amazon MGM Studios is turning it into a feature film.
If you feel like you're always late to the game on addictive series, here's a chance to jump in early on a new series from a bestselling author. A spellbinding read that hinges on a lethal, isolation-worn warrior princess keyed in on ending King Aren, "The Bridge Kingdom" takes readers on a journey through a ravaged world where exploitation is the name of the game for the powerful. However, Princess Laura's obsession with tearing down the kingdom's defenses and bringing its king to his knees soon has her questioning her loyalties and passions. This is one of those reads where the politics and three-dimensional passion draw you in so deep you won't be able to focus on your real life until you're finished.
For those who can't get enough enemies-to-lovers plotlines, "Quicksilver" is pure alchemy. After accidentally opening a gateway between realms while hiding from the consequences of using her secret powers for no good yet again, Saeris Fane now finds herself inadvertently bound to a Kingfisher (dreamy Fae warrior) who rivals her in the secret-keeping department. Unfortunately for her, she has also landed in the midst of a deadly centuries-long conflict. Trickery, foils, and desire now lurk at every turn.
Did we miss some of your favorites? Tell us in the comments below.
Inglenook Lit is an online literary magazine for magic enthusiasts and enchantment seekers
Copyright © 2020-2025
Inglenook Lit LLC
