Whether it’s fantastical worlds filled with gorgeous Fae or a war college of lethal dragon riders, book lovers can’t seem to stop sinking their canines into one of the most popular subgenres to date, romantasy. Following any popular book phenomenon, there are not only more wonderful stories for readers to enjoy, but the detrimental consequences of publishers trying to suck as much profit from this new subgenre as possible. Everyone’s trying to get their share of romantasy before, or if ever, it bleeds out in the future.

Recently, romantasy has been coined as a new subgenre of fiction, a hybrid fusion of romance and fantasy. It might come as a surprise to many, but this term has actually been around since 2008, having first been posted on Urban Dictionary. Ella Creamer explains that a romantasy novel is typically set in a magical world filled with mythical creatures, romance drives the plotline, and popular tropes like enemies-to-lovers or fated mates can be featured. More often than not, these novels also contain explicit sex scenes called “spice.” Female protagonists are no longer damsels in distress, but fearless women who can hold their own. And, most importantly, we’re seeing an increase in BIPOC and queer representation as they too are main characters fighting bravely to save their fictional worlds (Creamer).

Thanks to the explosion of BookTok and Bookstagram, romantasy has finally earned its elite status in the publishing world and is one of the hottest genres to date. In the last year and a half alone, romantasy has skyrocketed in popularity, some of the most successful novels being A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout, and Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, but many more are making a name for themselves.  

Publishers interested in expanding their efforts into romantasy have an immense demand to fill in order to satisfy such enthusiastic readers and fandoms. Tension is already on the rise as more and more publishing houses are preoccupying themselves with printing bestsellers. This issue is concerning as it can inevitably result in extreme publishing and the negative impacts it has on the book industry in the long term. A recent example of this occurred a year ago following the most anticipated release of the year Iron Flame, the sequel to Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.

In November of last year, Red Tower Books, the newest imprint of Entangled Publishing, managed to ship the first edition copies of Iron Flame in a record time of six months after Fourth Wing’s May launch. However, excited readers were disappointed at the horrendous state their books were in. Besides typos, missing pages, upside down spines/pages/endpapers, and the wrong title printed underneath the dust jacket, the black sprayed edges were also bleeding through, leaving customers with ink-stained hands. Many readers also commented on how their preorders didn’t arrive in time for the release. Red Tower Books released a statement saying such errors were “common” in the industry and would do their best to fix the issue (Grindell). This widespread outrage is a problematic one for the industry as it’s a clear example of extreme publishing at its worst.

Jessica Karl emphasizes that book publishing is becoming akin to “fast fashion,” because of TikTok’s hypnotizing influence on readers despite some ethical errors with how these books are being produced and handled. Billions of views on BookTok were seen about Yarros, Fourth Wing, and Iron Flame, pushing readers to buy into the hype of these books without even knowing what they’re about (Karl). This craze is pushing publishers in the US and UK to be more in tune with BookTok in order to make a profit, but many are struggling to keep up with viral trends (Cugini). Overwhelmed with so many romantasy opportunities, these publishers may fall into the same predicament of extreme publishing as Red Tower Books.

In essence, romantasy is a popular subgenre with an ever-growing, passionate readership. Although this bookish phenomenon is taking over the industry at electrifying speed, publishing houses are ready at the helm in shipping out the next bestsellers. On the surface, it’s a thrilling prospect for book lovers alike; however, if this new subgenre is to last a lifetime, it needs to be properly cared for and approached with grace.

Written by Dulce Nunez.