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The story goes something like this: She’s the youngest daughter of a poor, starving family, and he’s a prince whose kingdom is under a terrible curse. Though she doesn’t realize it, her love is the only thing that can save his kingdom. This could be the plot of a children’s fairy tale—or the premise of Sarah J. Maas’s adult book series A Court of Thorns and Roses, which has sparked what some call a literary sexual revolution.
“Romantasy,” the genre blending fantasy with steamy romance, is now the top-selling book category according to market research firm Circana BookScan. Its popularity is skyrocketing, with 1.9 million copies sold just since January. On BookTok (TikTok’s book-loving community), romance novels are getting a fresh makeover—readers use terms like “spicy” and chili pepper emojis to rate steam levels, while hashtags celebrate tropes like “friends-to-lovers” and “marriage of convenience.” It’s quite the turnaround for a genre once dismissed as frivolous.
“A seed was planted for this craze about 20 years ago with Twilight,” says New York Public Library librarian Anne Royer. “Romance wasn’t the main focus in those or The Hunger Games, but millennials grew up on those stories. Now they want similar escapism—just with more adult content.” She notes that Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) was the library’s third most-borrowed book last year.
It’s further proof that “sex sells,” but for many women—especially moms—these books offer more than titillation. They’re a way to reconnect with themselves and escape daily stresses.
“There is so much sex in this book,” laughs Mel Robbins, author of Let Them and a mother of three, who listened to ACOTAR as an audiobook. “You actually blush. But what’s amazing is how immersive it is—I’d be doing dishes with my earbuds in, and suddenly I wasn’t in my kitchen; I was flying through the skies of Prythian with Rhysand.”
Royer agrees: “A well-written sex scene isn’t just arousing—it releases endorphins and can help you explore your own desires.”
That’s exactly what happened to Caroline, a mom who reluctantly picked up ACOTAR*. “The first book was so bad it took me a year to finish,” she admits, laughing. “But the second one hooked me.” Now, she’s devoured 32 books in five months, using them as an escape from motherhood’s toughest moments. “After weaning, I had terrible insomnia and anxiety,” she says. “Reading has always helped me cope, but these books transport you—whether through steamy scenes or just the story itself. They give you little bursts of oxytocin. Right now, they’re also a refuge from our exhausting political reality.”
Another sign of romantasy’s boom? Independent bookstores dedicated entirely to romance are popping up nationwide, like NYC’s The Ripped Bodice and Dallas-Fort Worth’s The Plot Twist.
“A lot of people didn’t know they were into things like… hot fairies,” Royer says with a smile. “Now? Epiphanies everywhere.”
(*Names changed for privacy.)
Popular Romantasy Picks:
– Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses (Box Set) – ~~$95~~ $34
– Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing – ~~$30~~ $17
– Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent & the Wings of Night – ~~$30~~ $14
– Sarah A. Parker, When the Moon Hatched – ~~$22~~ $13