'Romantasy', anatomy of a trendy genre at the Book Fair

Just a year ago, the Madrid Book Fair hosted a talk to explain what romantasy was, that literary hybrid that fuses fantasy and romance , which was then still unknown here. Today, that same genre tops the best-seller lists, dominates the new releases tables in bookstores, and has conquered the Retiro Park . In this 2025 edition, the competition raises a debate resulting from its success: Is it possible to be a fantasy author—with or without romance—and escape that label? With this leap, coupled with the fan phenomenon that accompanies every signing at the Retiro Park (and even beyond), the literary competition confirms a boom in Spain that even seems to eclipse the genres it unites.

Lauren Roberts , author of the 'Powerless' series, has been one of the most anticipated writers at the fair (Alfaguara has just published the sequel, 'Fearless'). She sold out the 750 tickets available for her presentation and signing sessions last weekend in just five minutes . And Callie Hart , known for her dark romance novels like 'Quicksilver' (Faeris), illustrates the extent to which romance has spilled over into the Fair itself. The British author will not be signing inside the Retiro Park. For safety and capacity reasons , her publisher decided to move the signings outside the official venue. "I'm impressed by everyone's enthusiasm. It means so much to me!" Hart told ABC shortly before her Spanish debut on June 7. It's also the first time for Elisa Kova , who is coming to the fair with her latest release, 'Arcana Academy' (Umbriel). "There's a genuine passion for stories here that's contagious. "I always leave feeling inspired," says the author, referring to the Spanish fans she is meeting this weekend at the Retiro Park.

Nova also explains why, despite the fact that romance has always existed, this subgenre is now on the lips of many: "Having a specific label in the cultural zeitgeist helped crystallize what many readers have always yearned for: emotional and immersive stories with epic plots and deep, meaningful romantic arcs." You only have to look at phenomena like Rebeca Yarros's 'Alas de sangre' to see why she's right. "Romantasy took a while to enter Spain. In other countries like the United Kingdom or the US, it has been an established genre for years," says Beatriz Blanco, who, together with Natalia Martín, and under the pseudonym of the Greenwood Sisters , have just published 'El mar de los ocultos' (Planeta), the second stand-alone novel in a series based on different mythologies. Martín believes that the fact that many of the "booms" come from those regions has somewhat hindered the takeoff of "made in Spain" romance novels. "It took a while to get going, and it's still hard to get readers interested in these novels, because in the end, you see our title and you see another one with marketing done abroad, and it's inevitable. People go for that one because, in the end, it's the one they've seen on social media."

The Greenwood Sisters will also be signing books at the Fair on June 8 and 14. "We're incredibly excited. Since 'The Land of the Golden Ones' came out, we've seen that, at every signing, the lines have gotten longer and longer... We couldn't believe it," says Blanco. They both love the genre and champion it, but they're not unaware of the prejudice surrounding it due to the fact that it's mostly written by women : "I get the feeling it's very cheapened. In our case, the novel is categorized as a young adult novel. And young people can read it too, of course, but we did believe it should be categorized as something a little more adult. Because it's written by women, it's left in that section, a little more 'light,' " affirms Martín. This double standard is nothing new. "What happened with 'The Hunger Games' was a scandal," confirms Blanco. "It's a brutal dystopia, with tremendous social criticism, but because it was written by Suzanne Collins, it was placed in the romance section." George RR Martin writes great books and we love them, mind you, but his stories have dragons, fantasy and sex, and his is not romance.

"The reality is that (male) fantasy authors aren't imposed with this label, while female authors have to claim that their works don't fall into this category," assert Iria G. Parente and Selene M. Pascual . The latter is a speaker at the roundtable discussion mentioned at the beginning of the report. Titled "Women Fantasy Authors Without 'Romantasy,'" it takes place this June 7th at the LitCon literary event within the Fair. Also Spanish and also joint authors, Iria and Selene have written works where romance plays a central role, such as "Paper Petals," but their current trilogy, "Time Keeper" (of which Molino is now publishing the second installment, "The Echo of Destiny"), moves more in the realm of political fantasy and social reflection. "Even so," they continue, "there are those who refer to the first novel in the trilogy as a 'romance', and we believe this may be detrimental to the work: when a story is labeled with a tag, the reading public assumes they'll find a large dose of romance, and that makes many people feel cheated by not seeing what they expect," they assert.

For them, this creates a double problem: "On the one hand, it responds to deeply patriarchal gender roles based on the mistaken idea that, because we are women, all we are interested in writing is romance, and on the other hand, the overuse of the label completely loses its potential meaning, so we are very careful when using it," they warn.

Hashtags are the language of social media, where the BookTok hashtag has become the world's largest reading community and has revealed a new way of experiencing literature. And even writing it. Because one of the great characteristics of this phenomenon is that both followers and authors give each other feedback . "Readers' reactions inspire me. Seeing what resonated (or didn't) in my stories helps me grow as an author and as a person. While I always seek to be true to the story and characters, I also write with my readers in mind. It's a balance: creating what's best for the narrative while also honoring what my audience loves most. Sometimes I hit the mark, sometimes I don't, but I'm always grateful for the readers who take a chance on my books," acknowledges Kova, who is also participating in LitCon on June 8.

Tags also define the plot. Stories are structured around narrative tropes that are recognizable at first glance in a reel or post: 'slow burn' (the antithesis of instant love at first sight), 'enemy to lovers' (from hate to love), forced proximity... these are tropes that usually accompany the novel's title. "We're in an age of immediacy ; you're straight to the point. You select very carefully what you want to read. It's not like when we used to go to bookstores to see what you could find. Now you go straight to what you want. You have just enough time to read and you know what you specifically want to read about," says Natalia Martín.

The darkest of all these clichés is the 'dark romance,' which explores the raw side of relationships, where violence isn't excluded. Hart is one of the most notable authors in this subgenre. "I like to read and write stories with a more adventurous tone, where characters face complicated moral dilemmas or difficult situations that test their character. The 'dark romance' works so well as a genre because I think a lot of people want to read about chemistry and an intense connection between two characters, but they're also looking for a plot that challenges the norm in romance," says the author, who will be the executive producer of the film based on 'Quicksilver' that Netflix is ​​preparing.

If there's one thing many current readers are clearly seeking, it's desire. Eroticism. Sex. " 'Fifty Shades of Grey' marked a before and after. It brought back the erotic novels that we previously seemed to have to hide. It broke that stigma a little, and we were able to say again: 'Hey, I'm going to read whatever I want.' And it's true that fantasy and romance have always been two genres on the rise, but in parallel. Until they coincided at one point, and we have fantasy with that touch of romance and eroticism that you can't lose. I think that was very innovative, and that's what's so engaging," concludes Beatriz Blanco.