Why Are Romantasy Books So Bad Right Now?

Open BookTok or BookTube right now and you’ll see the same debate echoing across your FYP: are romantasy books starting to feel like reheated leftovers? That sounds harsh, but let’s be real. Between the recycled names, half-baked worldbuilding, and action scenes that read like a Tumblr gifset, a lot of recent romantasy releases feel… cookie-cutter. Too familiar.

This isn’t the first time a subgenre got stuck in a rinse-and-repeat cycle. Remember the late 2000s era of urban fantasy heroines? Leather pants, snarky one-liners, and at least three brooding love interests. We loved it, until we got tired of the same ol’ same old. And then the genre had to evolve or die. And it did. UF matured. The heroines grew up. The plots deepened. And the books that stuck around are the ones that had substance underneath the sass.

So maybe what we’re seeing now isn’t a crisis. Maybe it’s a sign of growth. Or at least, a turning point.

Today, for our Genre 101 discussion, we are chatting about the current state of romantasy reads.

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The Romantasy BookTok Discourse, Summed Up

Let’s talk about what readers are actually saying. Scroll through BookTok and you’ll find:

• “Why do all the male leads sound the same?”
• “Are we ever going to get more original titles and not the A [word] so [word] and [word]?”
• “How many winged fae warriors do we need?”
• “I finished this book and couldn’t tell you a single thing about the world.”

It’s not just snobbery, it’s reader fatigue. A sense that the genre’s emotional core is getting lost in the noise of tropes and algorithms.

But tropes aren’t the enemy. They’re tools. The problem is when the story stops at the trope. When depth is sacrificed for hype. When it feels like a book was written to trend rather than to last.

There’s a difference between a story that uses tropes to explore character and one that uses them like Mad Libs. Readers can feel when a book is playing it safe. When it’s made to go viral instead of to make you feel something.

And sadly, yes, a lot of authors are doing this the wrong way. Maybe in an attempt of getting books out quickly, that hit the trends that are selling right now.

Why Readers Are Feeling the Burnout

Here’s the thing: we’ve trained ourselves (and publishers) to chase the quick hit. Algorithms reward sameness. Covers start to blur together. The next romantasy gets compared to the last five before it even releases.

Somewhere along the way, it stopped being about story and started being about aesthetics. A hot villain, a quote that’ll pop on TikTok, a fantasy map that never gets used. The packaging is pristine. The content? Sometimes not so much.

But let’s not pretend this is a new issue. Publishing has always jumped on hot trends and squeezed them dry. We’ve just never had a platform like TikTok to speedrun that process. The speed is what’s different. Trends that used to take years now peak and crash in months.

Add in pandemic-era reading habits, when many of us reached for comfort, escapism, or sheer distraction and it makes sense why certain books exploded. They were exactly what we needed then. The question is: are they still what we need now?

Maybe the burnout isn’t just about bad books. Maybe it’s about the pressure to consume fast and react faster. We’re not just reading anymore, we’re performing our reading. Ranking our favorites. Jumping to preorders. Feeling FOMO when we’re not on the hype train.

Do All the Covers Look the Same, Too?

Let’s talk about the elephant in the bookstore: the covers. There’s been a whole sub-discourse on BookTok about how romantasy covers are just not that pretty. And while I wouldn’t go that far, some are genuinely stunning, I get where the critique is coming from.

There’s a glossy sameness to many of them. Ornamental fonts. Dagger-rose-crown motifs. A pop of red or gold. They’re not necessarily ugly, but they do blur together on the shelves.

And if you’ve got deja vu flipping through romantasy titles, there’s precedent. Remember post-Fifty Shades publishing? Suddenly every erotic romance had an object on the cover: a watch, a tie, a flower. It was copy-paste minimalism designed to signal a vibe. Which itself was inspired by Twilight, the OG fanfic origin story. Apple in hands, remember?

What we’re seeing now is a similar moment in romantasy. Covers trying to straddle the line between dark, dreamy, and commercial. And when dozens of books are trying to hit the same aesthetic sweet spot, visual fatigue is inevitable.

So while not all the new romantasy covers are bad, the trend toward uniformity might be making it harder for truly original stories to stand out. And if we’re talking about depth, we can’t ignore how packaging influences perception. A bold, unexpected cover makes us stop. A familiar one might make us assume we’ve read this book already, even if we haven’t.

But Is It All Bad?

Not even a little. Predictable doesn’t mean bad. Tropes are beloved for a reason. There’s comfort in knowing you’re getting enemies-to-lovers, a chosen one arc, a slow-burn that finally delivers in book three.

And for newer readers, especially those just getting into fantasy romance, these familiar beats are helpful. They’re a gateway. A map. A soft entry into a genre that can be intimidating. Sometimes, a book that’s light on lore and heavy on vibes is exactly what someone needs to fall in love with reading again.

But the worry is that too much of the same discourages growth, both for readers and for authors. When you’ve read five romantasy books this year and they all feel like they were generated from the same Pinterest board, it’s harder to feel wonder. And wonder is the whole point.

Depth doesn’t mean dense. Complex doesn’t mean confusing. But it does mean taking the time to build a world that breathes, to write characters who contradict themselves, to let the romance be one part of a story instead of the whole.

How to Find (and Recommend) Romantasy with Depth

So what do we do? Here’s where reader and creator choices matter.

• Start with why a book is being hyped. Is it just spice and vibes, or is there actual story there?
• Read sample chapters. Is the prose doing anything interesting?
• Pay attention to worldbuilding. Does the setting feel lived-in or just described? Show vs tell, people!
• Look for complexity in side characters, magic systems, and conflict stakes.

And if you’ve found something layered lately? Recommend it loudly. Don’t just go viral for a thirst trap edit of the male lead. Tell us about the political system. The emotional stakes. The friendships. The grief. The questions the book actually asks.

A few recs we’ve loved lately for their complexity (and yes, still swoony romance):

The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig

This gothic, mist-drenched romantasy delivers both atmosphere and emotional depth. Sybil, a dream-divining prophetess, is forced to team up with a brooding, heretical knight to uncover a divine mystery. Their chemistry is chef’s kiss. It’s slow-burn, character-driven, and anchored in lore that feels uniquely lived-in.

Grab The Knight and the Moth on Amazon

In the Veins of the Drowning by Kalie Cassidy

A lyrical, siren romantasy with bite. Imogen is hiding her monstrous nature in a kingdom that wants her dead, until she’s bonded to a broody king and thrown into a blood-soaked quest. With vivid writing, emotional tension, and high stakes, this one reads like a dark fairytale with teeth.

Grab In the Veins of the Drowning on Amazon

Let’s normalize celebrating depth as much as we celebrate spice. Because those stories stick with you longer. They’re the ones you reread. Annotate. Push into your best friend’s hands with a whisper: this one will wreck you.

So Let’s Talk: What Kind of Reader Are You Right Now?

This isn’t about shaming your TBR or your choices. Sometimes, you just want the book equivalent of takeout: quick, satisfying, easy to devour. Other times, you want to cook from scratch, simmer something rich and layered.

There’s room for both. But if you’ve been feeling let down by your romantasy reads lately, it’s worth asking: is it the genre or just the part of the cycle we’re in?

So, let’s talk:

• Are the romantasy books you’re reading feeling less layered?
• Do you make a conscious effort to pick more complex stories?
• Or are you perfectly happy vibing with predictable, trope-heavy reads right now?

Either way, there’s no wrong answer. But the conversation? That’s what keeps the genre alive.

Want to explore more books in this genre? Check out our full fantasy romance archives for even more books to add to your TBR.

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