3 Romantasy Novels You Won't Want to Put Down

by MK French

Who says Halloween has to be all about horror and evil? If you like a little romance with your dark fantasy, you will want to check out these books.

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Hollow by Karina Halle

October 2025; Ace; 978-0593952344
audio, ebook, print (368 pages); romantasy

Kat Van Tassel was meant to marry her best friend, Brom Bones, but he vanished from Sleepy Hollow years ago. Kat enrolled in Sleepy Hollow Institute, a shadowy university for advanced witchcraft run by her powerful family. The new teacher, Ichabod Crane, delves into dark magic, and Kat is drawn to him. When Brom returns with amnesia, the trio confronts gruesome murders attributed to a vengeful spirit, The Headless Horseman, while navigating their tangled relationships.

This is the first half of a duology. This version of Kat isn't an innocent ingenue, since witches here are meant to explore their sexuality; it's simply another energy to potentially manipulate. The town of Sleepy Hollow holds ordinary people as well as witches, and the Institute teaches magic as well as ordinary subjects. Their motto is creepy, as are the Van Tassels that run it. Tests for aptitude are given on campus; everything they learn there is forgotten once off campus. Kat only remembers her classes with Ichabod Crane. The two are attracted to each other, and the fact that he's her teacher isn't as icky as it otherwise might feel. As much as he's sexually dominant and she's more submissive, they're on equal footing when dealing with the strange haunting on campus grounds and the ignorance regarding the Headless Horseman. They both have a history with Brom, and emotionally are tangled up in each other. It's a darker and sexier version of the tale, with a darker purpose lurking behind the Horseman and the Van Tassel family.

I read the book very quickly, drawn into the story and emotions of the characters. We have flashback chapters and what amounts to three different openings, but I grew attached enough to Kat that it didn't bother me much. I look forward to seeing how the next book brings the trio even closer together and the underlying secrets being revealed. 

Buy Hollow at Amazon

Higher Magic by Courtney Floyd

October 2025; MIRA; 978-0778387640
audio, ebook, print (432 pages); romantasy

Dorothe Bartleby has one more chance to take the Magic program's qualifying exam. She had frozen the last time, and is afraid of getting kicked out of graduate school. Her advisor wants her to reframe her entire thesis using Digimancy, mixing magic and technology. This doesn't work for her, instead creating a talking skull named Anne that narrates all of her interior thoughts. She recruits another mage candidate named James to help her, but because of Anne, they discover that all students with disability accommodations are disappearing from campus. When the administration fails to act, Bartleby must learn to trust her own knowledge and skills. Otherwise, she risks losing both the missing students and her future as a mage.

I love the idea that our world is the consensus reality, and that magic changes it in some way, large or small. The different styles of magic are approaches to do this, and digimancy is a relatively new one, incorporating electronic devices and computers with magic. Being in college helps to shape spell repositories, the higher magics, but failing mage exams means that there will be no further access. This explains Bartleby's panic because there are only two attempts to pass the exam. She has anxiety enough to start with, but she was prophesied to have digimancy be part of her failure in life, and she's being directed to add it to her thesis. This means learning new magic, entirely redoing her thesis, and teaching an entry-level course on spell writing. On top of this, students asking for accommodations are literally disappearing, while some professors say accommodations shouldn't exist in magic, since the students should be able to rewrite reality to suit themselves. 

The academic setting lets us learn more about the way magic is built and used in this world. It's another subject to learn and try to apply to the real world, with the same dismal job prospects after graduation as every other academic field. In the midst of this, Bartleby uncovers a conspiracy and, with the help of fellow students and academics, works to solve it despite warnings to stop. She can't let her undergraduate students remain missing, and feels a responsibility to correct what she can; as a first-generation mage candidate, she knows exactly what access to magic means, and what life without it is like. Her own prophecy hangs over her, and the portents increase her anxiety and panic attacks. She's a great character, and I connected with her right away. I enjoyed the friendships she had, the developing romance, and the use of magic to both solve and create new problems. I fell headlong into this world over the course of the book, and it kept me there until the very last page.

Buy Higher Magic at Amazon

The Mist Thief by LJ Andrews

October 2025; Ace; 978-0593955086
audio, ebook, print (528 pages); romantasy

Skadi attempted to kill her husband-to-be, but lost the battle and was claimed as his prize. The king of the shadow elven declares her marriage to Jonas, a prince in the fae realms, as a way to unite their kingdoms against the light elves. Though it's a political game, Skadi begins to develop feelings. When new threats arise, Skadi must decide to either love her enemy or keep him alive by betraying him to another.

This is the third book in the Ever Seas trilogy. I had missed the second book, but this one doesn't rely on reading that or the first book to understand it. There's also a very quick rundown of the two books before this story starts to get you up to speed. Skadi controls the mist, and it's a potentially dangerous skill to have. Because it's believed that elven can't harm kin, she's being married off to Jonas. She figures it's out of hate, and so she can't harm his people any longer since her kingdom lost. To be fair to Jonas, he didn't realize how terrible the elven marriage contract would be for Skadi until it was read aloud. It sets up an enemies-to-lovers dynamic with an arranged marriage to save their countries. Over time, they get to know each other, and Skadi enjoys being with his family and country. There are complications from her former betrothed, and she must choose where she belongs. 

It's clear to the reader where Skadi should be and who she should choose. It's not exactly subtle because Jonas takes the time to earn her trust, figure out who she is, and doesn't see her talent as a weapon. The elven have emotionally beaten her down, and have a distinctly treacherous plan that they hide behind etiquette. Skadi and Jonas get their happily ever after in this story, with the full support of many clans and royal houses. It's an interesting battle, and one where justice is served before the hook for the fourth book is placed.

Buy The Mist Thief at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever. 

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