Fallen out of love with Romantasy

[CoubousAndTourmaIet]

Does anyone else feel they've reached saturation point with romantasy?

Having been an avid fantasy reader when I was young, I moved away from the genre for many years. I came back to it during the pandemic, when I seemed to need escapism. I started with Throne of Glass and the Grishaverse then ACOTAR and it went from there. I've read hundreds and some of them I did enjoy (notably Samantha Shannon).

Now, I'm suddenly having a lot of DNF's and they're all starting to feel a bit samey; pretty dresses, enemies to lovers, marrying princes and lots of kissing. Stephanie Garber was the final straw.

So, I'm looking for recommendations for recent fantasy series with relatable females please. I've done all the old ones - Tolkien, Ursula Le Guin, the three Terry's (Brooks, Goodkind & Pratchett), Anne McCaffrey, Katherine Kerr, Robin Hobb etc. But there must be plenty of modern writers that have slipped under my radar and this is what I'm looking for.

I know there are more recent male authors - Brandon Sanderson, Jay Kristoff, John Gwynne to name but three, but I don't know what sort of female characters they create... Don't want glamour or sexism cause I'm an old thing of 61.

Grateful for any recommendations. Thank you.

Was that the Mark Lawrence Library series. I am on the final book, I'm being a martyr and trudging through it but I won't bother with anything else of his. I just need to know what happens in the end

No. It was Prince of Thorns. It's an easy read but just not my thing.
If you've got as the final book in the library trilogy, then you may as well continue, but I think for me, all the ML will go onto my ever increasing DNF pile.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I think most of what’s been recommended falls into the traditional swords and sorcery or contemporary/urban fantasy but not violent bracket, so Mark Lawrence was possibly the outlier.

You've been given loads of recommendations that aren't dystopian/post apocalyptic.

Try Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

Assassins Apprentice by Robin Hobb

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie

Yes I have. I do know that. A lot of which I've already read, including all the Robin Hobb books, as I did mention in my original post.

Isn't that Joe Abercrombie trilogy post apocalyptic? Everything I've read about it would suggest that it is. But I'll have another look at it. Thanks.

Mark Lawrence is a bit hit and miss. I loved his Red Sister trilogy, and the Library series, but Girl and the Mountain /Stars books are awful. I have the third book on my Kindle waiting to read, but I only bought it as it was 99p and the second book referenced characters I like in the Red Sister books, so I want to finish it.

Love Brandon Sanderson. Just a note that if you don’t like guns, the 2nd set of books the Mistborn series (starting with Alloy of Law) has a western style, so shooting and blowing things up alongside the major. But it’s still about the characters rather than the action. The first trilogy is more magic based.

If you like Naomi Novak, the Scholomance trilogy is great.

I have read so many that people have mentioned - no wonder my Kindle is bursting at the seems.

How do you feel about sassy demons? The Imp series by Debra Dunbar is good, and Sam is a very strong character. Romance is involved, but it’s on her terms.

The Rook and Rose trilogy by M.A.Carrick has a good female lead, set in a Venetian style location. Swashbuckling, deception and a tarot magic-ish system.

The London Charismatics by Jacquelyn Benson has a female lead who can sense the future (other characters also have powers) and is set during the outbreak of WWI.

Finally, not a female pov but with a strong female character is the Bone Ships trilogy by RJ Barker. Pirate style.

The Lois McMaster Bujold Chalion Trilogy that many have recommended seems to be difficult to get hold of and would cost around £50 in paperback, so I'd need to be sure.

Some of the Abercrombie reviews mention radiation sickness and contamination so I just don't think that's my thing.

Sorry if it seems I'm being nitpicky but I'm autistic so things make me anxious.

I will keep checking out all the other recommendations, so thank you for all the suggestions so far.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet it would appear the Abercrombie Shattered Sea Trilogy is post apocalyptic. While since I’ve read and obvs because it didn’t bother me those elements didn’t register. The new one I mentioned The Demons definitely isn’t as it’s an alternate medieval world. Plus I think the others are just lots of battles medieval esque.

Obviously entirely your choice but they're about £5 each as an ebook and there's nothing about radiation sickness or radioactivity in any of the Chalion books.

The reviewers may be thinking of the Vorkosigan books where a character gets a mortgage on some "farmland" which he doesn't mention is radioactive. But they don't actually go there or encounter any of the impacts until a novella more than a dozen (amazing) books later. Still, if that's a sensitive point for you you could avoid entirely by sticking to the fantasy rather than sci fi.

Hmm, I sympathise. DD got me into ACOTAR a couple of years ago which I thoroughly enjoyed. I then went on to burn through Fourth Wing etc. But nothing else has even come close.

I never DNF. Never. I'm an ex librarian and books are my chosen religion. DNFing is sacrilegious to me! But, for the love of God, 'The Crown of Gilded Bones' the 3rd book of the 'From Blood & Ash' series by Jennifer L. Armentrout fucking broke me. The first 125 pages was basically the FMC being fingered in the shower by her growling Fae Prince. Then the relentless drip drip of ever more semi Gods, demi Gods, eenie meanie miney mo Gods (some sleeping, some half sleeping, some woke up then went back to sleep - can't blame them). And the constant blood giving, blood draining , blood denying, depending on whether there was an R in the month.

It was incomprehensible. And I say that as someone who has read Ulysses and The Silmarillion.

I am very over romantasy too and always up for some suggestions. Fourth Wing was the killer for me, Im so over teenagers finding their power/love. The Kusiel series byJacqueline Carey may work, but it's not for everyone as has a hardcore S&M subplot.
I've gone over to scifi again while the romantasy rages on. Becky Chambers, Ann Leckie and Martha Wells all have excellent female fronted stories and are light on the guns and science. John Scalzis work is great fun, I enjoyed Starter Villian.
Im interested to see the Brandon Sanderson love, I've been avoiding his work as they were the cool new thing (and I am contrary). I might give it ago.

Thank you @Pashazade and @sakura06 !
I managed to get hold of the Hannah Kaner trilogy, individually from Ebay, in hardback. I'm just finishing the first book and loving it! It's definitely my sort of fantasy.
When I properly get back into my groove with reading, I might go back and look at some of the others recommended here. But Godkiller is probably the most enjoyable book I've read in quite a while, and I'm going to savour Sunbringer and Faithbreaker. Thanks.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet oh fab always nice when a recommendation hits the mark, I found the rest of the series excellent too, just a bit different!

@CoubousAndTourmaIet
I saved this thread ages ago and now I need it as I have to delete Social media as the news is just so depressing

soooooo what were everyone’s top books of 2025?

I like -
robin hobb & Joan Aiken & G Nix & Robin McKinley.

strong female lead
lovely narrative and not loads and loads of descriptions about plants / social
structures
bonus bit of sex
not too depressing (why do series always seem to head in a downward spiral the more popular they get?)

happy reading in 2026 !

@Feelinguselesssigh
Perhaps we should start a Fantasy/Romantasy discussion thread for this year...?

I think aside from the Hannah Kaner ones mentioned above, my favourites of last year were the two Melissa Caruso trilogies. They're a bit different, Slightly gothic with a bit of a steampunk element. I hadn't expected to enjoy them nearly as much as I did.

My biggest disappointment of the year was The Nightshade Crown series by Hannah Whitten. I'd loved her first two books but those three were a big letdown.

If anyone is interested in discussion of the genre or offering recommendations, new thread is here:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/what_were_reading/5470246-fantasy-and-romantasy-2026

Darker shade of magic, by VE Schwab?

Still Romantasy, but a bit grittier, various ‘Londons’ with varying degrees of magic in each.

Lila reminds me a bit of Vin from Mistborn.