Welcome to my small corner where the romances are questionable and the list of books we need to read grow ever longer.
Hi, my name is Samantha, and welcome to my Romantasy blog!
Today I will be covering who I am and what this blog is about, as well as its scope.
I started my reading journey about three years ago. I originally read a lot of mystery thriller books, which at the time was my favorite genre. But then I picked up my first fantasy book, A Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. This series changed me with its fantastic world-building and romance. I never looked back; from then on, I picked up as many romantasy books as I could get my hands on.
I read all the most popular romantasy books: ACOTAR, Fourth Wing, The Bridge Kingdom, and The Serpent and the Wings of Night. I quickly discovered I was not one for much spice in books; however, I do understand the appeal. Many of my recommendations in this blog will more than likely lean toward books that do not have much spice. (If you’re a new reader confused by what spice is, don’t worry; I will explain that in my first post!)
Then I started getting into more niche books until I walked into Barnes & Noble and felt like I had read the whole genre. I have read close to 400 books since I started my reading journey.
I still read a mix of genres, but my favorite by far is romantasy.
This is my Goodreads and Fable. I write my reviews on Fable. Quick note on my rating system: I usually do not rate books lower than 3 stars, and I do use a quarter-star rating scale. 5-star books to me are absolute perfection, meaning I did not find fault in anything with the book, or it had immaculate vibes. If you know, you know.
Now, I want to start a blog on romantasy because of how much I like the genre and how many books I have read. I will be posting once a week for eight weeks, with each post covering a different topic related to romantasy.
The blog will start with what romantasy is and where to start in the genre. I remember when I first started, I was overwhelmed by all the recommendations. I was getting books that were recommended by different tropes, by the amount of worldbuilding, and the amount of romance/spice when I did not even know what I liked or what any of that meant.
I also struggled at first to find the people I wanted to follow to curate my recommendations to what I liked. So, my blog will help with that!
I will also cover the top 10 best romantasy books (according to me) based on all that I have read, without spoilers.
I will then move into more serious topics I would like to address within the romantasy genre that can be helpful to both new readers and people looking for more unique recommendations.
Such as the overrepresentation of straight white romance. I will give recommendations of queer romantasy and books written by minority authors that I have read. I firmly believe reading should be a safe space for everyone, and no matter what you are reading, as long as you are reading, it still has value.
I will be discussing the dilemma of book boyfriends within the romantasy genre, as most are walking red flags. And I will write about my personal favorites and why, without spoilers, of course!
In addition, this would not be a romantasy blog if one of my posts did not cover the enemies-to-lovers trope. I will be going in depth on what the trope is, why readers are so tired of it, and determining its accuracy in the books I recommend that are deemed as “enemies to lovers”.
Finally, I will be covering the new ACOTAR book, A Court of Splintered Harmony, coming out October 27. This is huge for romantasy readers, as we have all been waiting for so long for the next book. As someone who has read all three series by Sarah J Maas, I feel knowledgeable enough to discuss the upcoming book in detail and my personal theories.
As well as give my preferred reading order of the series, and I will do a quick recap of the ACOTAR books to prepare fans for what is to come! Because I remember very little myself. I will do my best to organize the post so the non-spoiler is at the top, but I will be covering spoilers for the series, so be warned!
I want to state that this blog is a safe space; welcome to all readers. All of these posts are my personal opinions based on experience and preference. Just because I like something does not mean other readers will. I have a very specific taste in books, and I rarely give out five stars.
The next entry will focus on what romantasy is, cover the elements that make up romantasy books, discuss the romance versus fantasy spectrum, and give recommendations of books in the genre that are easy to get into, as well as some creators to follow.
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