I’ve become obsessed with the romantic fantasy genre.

And, it seems, many others have too.

From kings and queens to dying kingdoms, magic, lovers (forbidden and enemies to lovers- are tops)-you can bet that I love it all.

So I bring you the list of my top 4 romantic fantasy books of 2023, plus a bonus one!

These books are listed in no particular order, save for the bonus at the bottom.

THE EVER KING

They stole his crown. So, he stole their daughter…

For years Erik, the scarred king of the Ever Kingdom, has thought of nothing but vengeance against the man who killed his father and trapped him beneath the waves, making him a prisoner in his own realm.

Until his enemy’s daughter unintentionally breaks the chains on the Ever, and Erik makes her the unwitting pawn in his vicious game of revenge.

She’s innocent. He’s vicious. But he will take back what he lost, no matter the price.

Unless she steals his heart first.

Divine Rivals

When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever.

After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.

To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanish—into the hands of Roman Kitt, her cold and handsome rival at the paper. When he anonymously writes Iris back, the two of them forge a connection that will follow Iris all the way to the front lines of battle: for her brother, the fate of mankind, and love.

A Court This Cruel and Lovely

For years, when I fell asleep, I dreamed of a man with blazing green eyes and a cruel smile.

The day I meet him, the ruthless mercenary leaves me for dead.

Just hours after humans are born, the gods take what little power we have. In return, they protect our borders from the vicious, merciless fae.

The humans who manage to keep their power are known as the corrupt.
And they are burned.

When my forbidden power is discovered, I’m forced to flee my tiny village and the life I adore.

To survive, I make a desperate bargain with the mercenary who abandoned me at my weakest.

Our deal is simple: I’ll help him and his mysterious friends sneak into the city. And he’ll help me learn to wield the strange, dark power I’ve always kept hidden. The power that may just be the key to my survival.

But the ruthless mercenary is hiding secrets of his own. Secrets that threaten the safety of everyone I love. Secrets that could tear this kingdom—and perhaps even this world—apart.

Curse of the Thorn King

Killing a fae king is hard. Doing so politely is even harder.

Briannis Iavi – well-bred lady and accidental assassin – is so close to securing the life of her dreams. All she needs to do is complete one last job: make her way into fae territory, sneak into the enchanted halls of Rosethorn Keep, and kill the king of Faerie.

But her plan goes disastrously wrong, and Briannis finds herself a captive at her target’s mercy instead.

Cursed to a life of loneliness and slow decay, the monstrous fae king seems hell-bent on revenge – and if he can’t hurt the human rulers who sent her, he’ll amuse himself with her instead. Unable to escape his sentient castle or to disobey his commands, Briannis has no choice but to fall back on her sharpest weapon: her wits.

Tricking fae is a dangerous game, however. And miles away from the respectable life she thought she knew, even her knives and poisons may not be enough to protect her heart …

BONUS BOOK!

A Kingdom of Frost and Malice

Blood slave to courtier of the Winter fae . . . You’d think I’d moved up.

I’m not so sure.

The auction block awaits and a vicious vampire prince wants me and what flows through my veins.

So I make a run for it, only to end up falling at the feet of a fae warden. Technically, Roar, the Warden of the West should return me to the vampire court, but he has other ideas.

He needs a fake fiancée.

The deal: if I play his dutiful partner at the Winter Court, and help him trick the cold King of Winter, Roar will hide me from the blood-suckers intent on draining the life from me.

I agree, and for a while, it seems like nothing can go wrong.

That is, until Vale, Warden Roar’s nemesis, sets his sights on me.

A part of me likes the warrior prince’s attentions. Luckily, the more sane part knows Prince Vale is not a fae to mess with.

Besides, I can’t dissolve my contract with Warden Roar.  To do so would bring down the ire of the king and ruin my chances of earning my freedom. So I do my best to keep Roar and Vale from each other’s throats, all the while convincing the Winter Court of my love for Roar.

It’s official: I’m a part of the deadly game of noble houses, and losing could cost me everything.