10 best fantasy books with romance subplots
Isn't love the most powerful sorcery of all?
Thaumaturgy, sorcery, and necromancy aren’t the only kinds of magic in fantasy. Sometimes the most powerful of all the arcane arts is the power of love. If you’re looking for fantasy stories with a little hint of romance, then you’ve opened the right spellbook. These are the 10 best fantasy books with romantic subplots (that don’t bog down the main plot).
The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
Sibling relationships are complicated. Don’t panic, that’s not the romantic relationship in question here (see George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire if you’re into that sorta thing). In the case of Tasha Suri’s The Jasmine Throne, the strain in the relationship between the royal siblings in this novel stems from the fact that Princess Malini’s brother has taken despotic control over the India-inspired empire where the story takes place. He’s locked his sister away in a faraway temple to solidify his rule. Lucky for Malini, a maidservant at the temple named Priya, who secretly possesses forbidden magical powers, is ready to use those powers to help Malini overthrow her tyrant bro, liberate the nation, and kiss Malini a little bit in the process. Well, more than a little bit.
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
Inspired by the rise of the Ming Dynasty in imperial China, Shelley Parker-Chan’s She Who Became the Sun tells the story of Zhu Chongba, a young woman who takes her dead brother’s identity to receive his destined greatness. After joining the imperial army disguised as a man, she rises through the ranks from lowly peasant soldier to decorated general. Being a general comes with perks, as she can now date Ma Xiuying, a noblewoman with a tender heart. The relationship gets into hot water as Zhu Chongba bathes in the hot blood of her political rivals (much to Ma Xiuying’s chagrin). Their relationship settles as she consolidates power and solidifies her rule over the nation. Every relationship has its challenges, you know?
The Celestial Kingdom duology by Sue Lynn Tan
Contrary to popular belief, having a goddess for a mother doesn’t necessarily guarantee easy living. In Sue Lynn Tan’s Daughter of the Moon Goddess, the titular divine nepobaby discovered that the hard way the day she was born. Her mother lives in exile on the moon for drinking a magic elixir intended to grant godhood to another and was forbidden to have any companions in her banishment. After the ruling Celestial Emperor discovers that her mother gave birth, Xingyin is forced to flee the safety of the moon and wander the Celestial Kingdom. The transition is hard for a homeschooled daughter of a goddess. Thankfully, she gets a little help from a kindly Crown Prince and a grizzled warrior, forming a love triangle, the angles of which get smoothed in the second book of the duology, Heart of the Sun Warrior.
Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey
Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Dart takes place in a land settled by rebellious angels, who choose to deny God and spread a message of freedom and love. Their mortal descendants became the inheritors of the realm, whose divine legacy has slowly become corrupted by political intrigue. The story centers around Phèdre nó Delaunay, a young woman sold into servitude by her parents. Lucky for Phèdre, she’s been marked by the angel Kushiel and can experience pain as pleasure. She’s purchased by a nobleman and trained to become a courtesan and spy to gather intelligence for the powers that be. Phèdre’s life is further complicated by her love for Joscelin, a celibate warrior sworn to protect her. Something tells me he’s going to make an exception on the “no sex” thing.
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
The world of Samantha Shannon’s The Priory of the Orange Tree is divided into two kingdoms—the dragon-hating West and the dragon-loving East. The West is ruled by Queen Sabran, who inherits the familial duty of preventing the return of a dangerous dragon called The Nameless One. Lucky for Sabran, she has a maidservant named Ead who is secretly a powerful mage trained to protect her. Meanwhile, a dragon rider from the East named Tané is exiled from her nation for committing a social taboo and goes on a path of redemption that may or may not involve lending a hand to Sabran to defeat the dragon god. And the romance? A slow spark between Sabran and Ead that eventually burns bright as dragon fire.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus revolves around a mysterious big top circus that only appears at night, where two rival magicians compete to put on the best showstopping magic act. Trained in the magical arts since birth, the two magicians’ rivalry soon evolves into a full-blown love affair as the pair discover more about the other’s identity. It’s a unique spin on the enemies-to-lovers trope, where two rivals slowly fall for one another due to their mutual respect for the others’ craft, even if they are doomed to fight in a magical battle to the death. They’ll figure it out.
Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare
Beginning with Clockwork Angel, Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices trilogy takes place in a steampunk fantasy world inspired by Victorian London. It centers around a young woman named Tessa Gray who is kidnapped by a pair of warlocks and forced to develop her nascent shapeshifting powers. She’s rescued by a covert group of demon slayers called The Shadowhunters and, using her new powers, strikes back against the dark order that imprisoned her. In the process, she forms a sticky love triangle with fellow Shadowhunters Will Herondale and Jem Carstairs, an entanglement slowly untied throughout the two sequel novels.
Legacy of Orïsha by Tomi Adeyemi
Set in a world inspired by West Africa, the first book of Tomi Adeyemi’s Legacy of Orïsha series, Children of Blood and Bone, centers around the conflict between two separate peoples—the magical divîners and the non-magical kosidán. Jealous of the divîners’ power, a tyrannical king discovers a way to switch off their power, allowing the kosidán to subjugate and oppress them. After inadvertently saving a fleeing kosidán princess, a young divîner named Zélie teams up with the royal runaway and plots to overthrow the king and restore magic to the world. Things get more complicated when the king’s son, Prince Inan, is on a Prince Zuko-style quest to hunt down Zélie for his father’s approval and ends up falling hopelessly in love with her in the process.
The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden
Beginning with The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden’s The Winternight Trilogy is a historical fantasy series set in medieval Russia. It focuses on a young girl named Vasilisa who can see the other side. In this world, the other side is inhabited by more than just spooky ghosts, but all manner of fae and forest spirits. One of the spirits she can see is the frost demon king Morozko, who just so happens to be very easy on the eyes. While Morozko is the literal embodiment of winter and death, his chilly heart warms to Vasilisa, and he helps her face down a powerful dark spirit who threatens to throw the realm out of balance—now that’s a keeper.
Sabriel by Garth Nix
The first of Garth Nix’s The Old Kingdom series, Sabriel follows the adventures of the titular daughter of a necromancer tasked with rescuing her father from an evil sorcerer that holds him prisoner in the land of the dead. Using her talent for death magic, Sabriel must journey across the realm of death to bring her father home. Things get necromantic when Sabriel uses her abilities to restore life to a cursed wooden carving on a boat that was once a flesh and blood prince. Throughout their perilous journey, Sabriel and Prince Touchstone begin to bond with each other, and their relationship soon blossoms into a full-blown romance. It’s hardly surprising—when you’re steeped in death, you do what you gotta do to feel alive.
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