Best Romantasy Books 2026: 10 Most-Rated New Releases So Far

The best romantasy books 2026 has produced so far, measured by how many Goodreads readers rated them, are led by Rites of the Starling, then Starside and Broken Dove. This list ranks only books first published in 2026, sorted by Goodreads ratings count on October 9, 2026, with series position, release date and how the publisher or a reviewer describes the heat.

TL;DR: Rites of the Starling (Shield of Sparrows #2) is far ahead with about 220,000 Goodreads ratings. Starside and This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me are the biggest new series starters, both out March 31. The Knave and the Moon (September 1) is the newest book in the top 5. ACOTAR 6 arrives October 27, too late for this ranking.

Best romantasy books 2026 (quick answer)

Image: FaeShelf table built from Goodreads book pages, checked October 9, 2026

Ratings counts are a snapshot of the best romantasy books 2026 has released so far; they grow every day. Read the ranking as "what the most readers picked up", not as a quality score.

Key Takeaways

• Sequels dominate. Seven of the top 10 are book 2 or later; read the first book before you jump in.
• Biggest series starters: Starside (about 97,000 ratings) and This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me (about 54,000, and the highest average of the two at 4.40).
• Highest average in the top 10: Rites of the Starling at 4.43.
• Still to come in 2026: ACOTAR 6 on October 27, per Sarah J. Maas's site.

Overview: how we ranked the best romantasy books of 2026

There is no single official list of the year's best romantasy, and the New York Times and USA Today list pages did not load for us. So we used a number anyone can check. We started from the Goodreads reader list "Romantasy TBR 2026", kept every book whose Goodreads page shows a first-publication date in 2026, and sorted by ratings count on October 9, 2026.

That method has limits, and we would rather say them up front. A ratings count rewards sequels to big series, books released early in the year, and books with big marketing pushes. It says nothing about spice. Where a publisher or a review describes the heat, we quote it; where nobody does, we leave it out. We also dropped books on that list that were first published before 2026, such as Quicksilver (2024) and Shield of Sparrows (2025), even though readers are still adding them in 2026.

If you are new to the genre and want the classics first, our romantasy series guide covers reading order and finished series.

Analysis: the best romantasy books 2026 ranked, 1 to 5

1. Rites of the Starling by Devney Perry (Shield of Sparrows #2). First published April 7, 2026 (468 pages). Goodreads average 4.43 from about 220,000 ratings. The publisher blurb opens with "calandra's five kingdoms are on the verge of destruction" and "the crux migration is coming", and the heroine is "kidnapped by a powerful priest". Read Shield of Sparrows first. One reader in a July 2026 r/fantasyromance thread on the year's best books wrote that they were "actually blown away after not really loving Shield of Sparrow book #1."

Cover image: Entangled: Red Tower Books, via Open Library

2. Starside by Alex Aster (Starside #1). First published March 31, 2026 (512 pages); 4.29 from about 97,000 ratings. The blurb calls it "her first adult romantasy", after her Lightlark books. Every fifty years, "fifty challengers are allowed to journey across starside on a deadly quest", and the heroine, Aris, is not after the magic: "she's going to kill them", meaning the gods. A new series, so this is the place to start.

3. Broken Dove by Dani Francis (Silver Elite #2). First published May 12, 2026 (608 pages); 4.14 from about 61,000 ratings. It is the "sequel to the new york times bestselling dystopian romance silver elite", picking up "after blowing her cover as a double agent". Note the setting: dystopian, not secondary-world fantasy.

4. The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig (The Stonewater Kingdom #2). First published September 1, 2026; 4.24 from about 56,000 ratings after barely five weeks. Orbit's page lists 368 pages, calls it an "instant #1 new york times bestseller!" and bills Gillig as "the queen of gothic romantasy". Read The Knight and the Moth first.

Cover image: Orbit, via Open Library

5. This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews (Maggie the Undying #1). First published March 31, 2026 (470 pages); 4.40 from about 54,000 ratings. The blurb pitches it as "outlander meets game of thrones": Maggie wakes up inside a dark fantasy series she has reread for years, armed with "her encyclopedic knowledge of the plot", and "she quickly discovers she cannot be killed". Tor publishes the UK edition.

It was the top-voted answer in that July thread:

The comment reads: "{This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews} and I've already reread it once and likely will again before the end of the year." On heat, another commenter in the same thread called it "very low spice but great world building and found family."

Cover image: Tor, via Open Library

GODEEPER: Rites of the Starling and Starside both lean on deadly competitions. If that is your favourite part, these picks are built around trials and dragons. Books Like Fourth Wing: 9 Picks Sorted by What You Loved →

Best romantasy books 2026, ranked 6 to 10

6. Light Wielder by Rachel Schneider (Fire & Metal #2). First published June 9, 2026; 3.83 from about 53,000 ratings. The "sequel to the breakout hit metal slinger", with a heroine "suppressing the matching bond" with the love interest. Start with Metal Slinger.

7. The Poet Empress by Shen Tao. First published January 20, 2026; 4.38 from about 47,000 ratings. A debut ("debut author shen tao") with no series listed on Goodreads, pitched as "perfect for fans of the serpent & the wings of night". The earliest release in the top 10.

8. Adversary to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (Assistant to the Villain #4). First published August 4, 2026; 3.72 from about 37,000 ratings. "the fourth book in the bestselling fantasy rom-com series" about "the sunshine assistant to the grumpy evil villain". The comedy pick; read the series in order.

9. Burn of the Everflame by Penn Cole (Kindred's Curse #4). First published September 8, 2026; 4.07 from about 36,000 ratings. At 880 pages in hardcover, it is a big one; start with book 1 of Kindred's Curse.

10. Dawn of the North by Demi Winters (The Ashen #3). First published February 3, 2026 (588 pages); 4.39 from about 30,000 ratings. The blurb calls it the "sizzling third installment of the viking-inspired ashen romantasy" series.

New romantasy series that started in 2026

Most of the best romantasy books 2026 has given us are sequels, so if you want a first book, these 2026 starters are the place to look:

• Starside (Alex Aster) and This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me (Ilona Andrews), both in the top 5.
• Half City by Kate Golden (Harker Academy #1). First published February 17, 2026; 4.05 from about 29,000 ratings, just outside the top 10. Its heroine "also happens to be a demon hunter".
• Weavingshaw by Heba Al-Wasity. First published February 24, 2026, "the first book of an enthralling fantasy romance trilogy" about "a young woman who can see the dead".
• Blood Bound by Ellis Hunter (Cursed Covenant #1). First published April 28, 2026 and pitched as "perfect for fans of fourth wing , throne of glass , and red queen".

Two more 2026 books worth knowing about, with heat described by the source. The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley (Dearly Beloathed #2, July 7, 2026; 4.46, the highest average we found) is the book where, per its blurb, "the slow burn turns steamy". The Wolf and the Crown of Blood by Elizabeth May (The Broken Accords #1, January 27, 2026; Aria, 560 pages) is what Publishers Weekly calls "this deliciously decadent erotic fantasy romance", adding "the result is undeniably spicy". Kerri Maniscalco's Throne of Nightmares (Little, Brown, February 10, 2026, 496 pages) is a "standalone fantasy romance" for readers who want one book and done.

GODEEPER: Several of these heroines fall for something that is not quite human. For demons, minotaurs and worse, ordered by heat: Monster Romance Books: 6 Fantasy Picks, Gentlest to Darkest →

Still coming in 2026

The biggest release of the year has not happened yet. Sarah J. Maas's site lists A Court of Splintered Harmony, ACOTAR 6, as "out oct 27th 2026", and ACOTAR 7 on January 12, 2027. In the Empyrean, the story collection Threshing Day went on sale in the UK on September 29, 2026. We will re-rank the best romantasy books 2026 list after both have had time to collect ratings.

Our take

This take is based only on the Goodreads data, publisher pages, Publishers Weekly review and reader comments cited above. If you want the book most readers picked up this year, it is Rites of the Starling, but only after Shield of Sparrows. If you want to start something new, Starside has the bigger audience and This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me the higher average and the louder reader praise, with low heat in book 1 according to readers. The weakness of this ranking is the metric: a ratings count favours sequels and early releases, so a strong debut from late summer can sit lower than it deserves.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most popular romantasy book of 2026? By Goodreads ratings count on October 9, 2026, it is Rites of the Starling by Devney Perry, the second Shield of Sparrows book, with about 220,000 ratings and a 4.43 average. Starside by Alex Aster is second with about 97,000 ratings, and it starts a new series.

What new romantasy series started in 2026? Starside by Alex Aster (March 31), This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews (March 31), Half City by Kate Golden (February 17), Weavingshaw by Heba Al-Wasity (February 24) and Blood Bound by Ellis Hunter (April 28) all start new series this year.

Is This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me spicy? Readers describe book 1 as low spice. One r/fantasyromance commenter called it "very low spice but great world building and found family". It is a slow burn, so readers who want explicit scenes in the first book should look at other picks on this list instead.

Is The Knave and the Moon a sequel? Yes. It is the second Stonewater Kingdom book, after The Knight and the Moth. Orbit published it on September 1, 2026 at 368 pages, and the publisher's page calls it an instant #1 New York Times bestseller. Read the first book before starting this one.

When is ACOTAR 6 coming out? A Court of Splintered Harmony is out October 27, 2026, according to Sarah J. Maas's website, so it was not out in time for this ranking. ACOTAR 7, A Court of Forgotten Melody, follows on January 12, 2027, less than three months later.

Related Reading

• Romantasy tropes guide: every trope list on FaeShelf, from enemies to lovers to fated mates.
• Books like ACOTAR: fae romantasy to read while you wait for ACOTAR 6.
• Completed romantasy series: finished series, if the sequels above make you wary.

References

• Goodreads: Romantasy TBR 2026 list (candidate pool)
• Goodreads: Rites of the Starling (ratings checked October 9, 2026)
• Goodreads: Starside
• Goodreads: Broken Dove
• Goodreads: The Knave and the Moon
• Goodreads: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me
• Orbit (Hachette): The Knave and the Moon
• Pan Macmillan: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me (UK)
• Little, Brown (Hachette): Throne of Nightmares
• Publishers Weekly: The Wolf and the Crown of Blood
• Sarah J. Maas: official site (ACOTAR 6 and 7 dates)
• Hachette UK: Threshing Day
• r/fantasyromance: the best book you've read from this year