Rise of Romantasy – GUEST POST by K. A. Linde (THE WREN IN THE HOLLY LIBRARY)
Today, we’re thrilled to welcome K. A. Linde to the Hive!
There’s been no escaping Romantasy this year, and so for Women in SFF K. A. Linde joins us to explore the rise of this genre and its popularity. Before we hand you over to Linde, let’s find out more about her own romantasy novel:
Set in an alternate day New York filled with monsters, The Wren in the Holly Library is a dark, spicy romantasy loosely inspired by Beauty and the Beast – perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab and Leigh Bardugo.
She stole from a monster . . . now she must pay the price
Street thief Kierse should have known something wasn’t right. Now she’s trapped in a library — with a monster. She can’t run. She can’t hide. And this man – this being, filled with terrible power and darkness — is well within his rights to kill her.
By trespassing, Kierse has broken the fragile peace treaty between monsters and humans. But instead of killing her, Graves does the unexpected: he offers her a job. A chance to find out who she really is.
Kierse has always known she’s different. That she can do things a little better, a little faster. And there’s that sense she has when danger is only a breath away. But if the old tales are true, there are worse things in the world than monsters.
Like a threat more ancient than legend. Like Graves. Or like Kierse herself . . .
From bestselling author K. A. Linde comes the start of an addictive dark romantasy series where monsters live among humandkind, and ancient secrets threaten to destroy everything . . .
The Wren in the Holly Library is out today – happy publication day! You can order your copy HERE
Rise of Romantasy
by K.A. Linde
In elementary school, I used to brag to other kids that I had read Ella Enchanted a full dozen times. That was not as interesting to other children as you might imagine. Or perhaps you too were an avid reader who also learned that having read your favorite book dozens of times was not the relatable fact you thought it was. But I still remember the way it made me feel to have that singular story about a girl who persevered despite a curse, found her own independence, and love along the way. I still recommend it to this day.
To say that the genre of romantasy is on the rise is only a misnomer in that romantic fantasy has always been in existence. I personally have been reading it my entire life and writing it for nearly a decade. Only the word itself, how we market books, and how we reach readers has changed to keep up with the times.
As it rightly should!
Since we can clearly see that hundreds of thousands of people also want to read romantasy, which is to say—romance as the main plot in a fantasy novel.
My true introduction to romantic fantasy was Jacqueline Carey’s incomparable Kushiel’s Dart, which was originally published in 2001. Phedre is blessed by a goddess to feel pleasure in pain and uses that to spy on her kingdom. And she falls for a celibate warrior priest, who she is absolutely forbidden from being with. Cue the longing.
Another love of mine that was published around the same time is the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning, also published in the early 2000s. Mac leaves her home in the wake of her sister’s unexplained murder in Dublin to solve the mystery and falls in with Barrons, a hot and broody monster. It’s a “grumpy-meets-sunshine” story where she gains power and falls in with the Fae and the world her sister left behind.
While the roots of the genre are deep, the rise of modern romantasy has much of its beginnings in young adult literature, particularly Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass, and then eventually—despite being sold as new adult fantasy—A Court of Thorns and Roses, which ended up being sold in the young adult section. As more books, such as Jennifer L. Armentrout’s From Blood and Ash series took off, it opened the genre in and out of bookstores to allow for these types of stories to move into adult spaces.
Though truthfully, independent authors had already been doing this incredibly well long before traditional publishing caught up. Authors such as Elise Kova’s Air Awakens, Leia Stone’s Fallen Academy, Katee Robert’s Desperate Measures, Laura Thalassa’s Four Horsemen, Emily McIntire’s Hooked, Carissa Broadbent’s Serpents and the Wings of Night, and many more were finding success online long before they began to sell their works in stores.
And then we reach Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Her breakout dragon war school romantasy hit was the book of the year in 2023 and skyrocketed the already successful genre into widespread acclaim. Spending a full 52 weeks on the New York Times list for the first book and every week for Iron Flame as well. It showed the entire world what readers want. Also, what I want. That book was incredible!
So welcome to my favorite genre. It has everything you could want: a fascinating fantasy world, adventure, spicy romance, high stakes, and a happily ever after!
Without further ado, here are just some of my recommendations:
The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde – Set in an alternate day NYC with monsters, a street thief is caught stealing from a monster, who has every right to kill her, but instead offers her a job. This is a forced proximity heist story loosely inspired by Beauty and the Beast and Celtic mythology. Spicy, morally grey goodness.
Born Sinner by S.L. Jennings – A girl who is bred by evil to destroy the world is taken in by a band of demons. They were sent to kill before she can access her powers. Their leader is Legion, a powerful and deadly fallen angel with the power of an actual legion set on stopping her. So begins a monumental enemies-to-lovers tale of a broken girl, her broken demon, and the literal hell they have to wade through.
A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen – Amidst the backdrop of a Norse Viking society, Freya has been told her entire life to never reveal her magic. And the first time she does, she discovers it is because she is a king maker and people only want two things with a king maker: to use them or to kill them. Enter Bjorn, the broody, snarky heir to the throne, who is tasked with protecting her. I’m particularly fond of “only one horse” and “body warmth” scenes.
A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet – Cat is in hiding when Griffin discovers that she can divine the truth. He kidnaps her and travels across the country in the hopes that she can help his new realm. Unfortunately, Cat is as tempestuous as her name and fights him on every turn. Something Griffin doesn’t just like but comes to consider her an equal. Sexy and sassy!
Serpents and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent – In a dark and unrelenting vampire world, Oraya is the human daughter to the king. She enters into a gladiator type competition to win a gift from their goddess and makes the unlikeliest of allies, the enemy to her father’s crown, Raihn. She shouldn’t trust him in this battle to the death, nor should she be foolish enough to give him her heart, but all is fair in love and war.
The Wrath & the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh – A classic retelling of the One Thousand and One Nights, Shazi volunteers to marry the murderous king. He executes his new bride every sunrise and after Shazi’s best friend is killed in this manner, she plots revenge. She tells him a tale every night to stay alive long enough to exact her revenge, but the king is not all that he seems. This is a young adult story, but still a fantastic romance!
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross – Another young adult novel that had me utterly swooning. Rival journalists, Iris and Roman, are competing for a position at a newspaper when the war reaches their city and they become wartime journalists reporting on a god’s war. Amidst this, they have magically connected typewriters where unbeknownst to them, they share their secrets and fall in love. It’s the Lake House meets a mythical Atonement.
The Wren in the Holly Library is out today – happy publication day! You can order your copy HERE
K.A. Linde is the USA Today bestselling author of the Avoiding Series, Wrights, and more than thirty other novels. She has a Masters degree in political science from the University of Georgia, was the head campaign worker for the 2012 presidential campaign at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and served as the head coach of the Duke University dance team. She loves reading fantasy novels, traveling to far-off destinations, and dancing in her spare time.
She currently lives in Lubbock, Texas, with her husband, son, and super-adorable puppy.
Visit her online at www.kalinde.com and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @authorkalinde.