MOOD READER's GUIDE TO
ROMANTIC FANTASY READING 2022
Sometimes we all just want to match our next read to our moods, don't we? But it can be hard to find the right book for the right mood. This list, attempts to help with that! Browse by mood for some of our favorite mood books of this year!
Mood: Empower Me to Face My Own Demons
Seven Ways to Kill a King
Melissa Wright
Tasting Notes: Sweet, Stabby, Adventure
Vowed to enact retribution and rescue her sister with no more than her wits and a sword--and the last of her queensguard--this sweet and slightly stabby YA fantasy is perfect for fans of Shielded and The Princess Will Save You.
Ideal Reader: loves a good revenge princess, sweet romance, and royal intrigue.
Angels of Ashes and Ivory
Raye Wagner
Tasting Notes: Swoon-worthy, Thrilling, Triumph
Angels sharpening their blades. A mortal world plagued by demons. And one young woman torn between them.
Ideal Reader: Readers who want a standalone coming of age romantic fantasy with a threatened apocalypse, slow-build romance, and a hard-earned happy ending.
Curse Painter
Jordan Rivet
Tasting Notes: Magical, page-turning, heartfelt
In a world where art is magic, Briar can curse with the flick of a paintbrush, but she doesn't want to hurt people anymore. She has fled her family's deadly curse business to start a new life peddling nonlethal jinxes and petty revenge. Her destructive powers catch the eye of a charismatic young outlaw called Archer, who hires her to help him save a kidnapped friend from a ruthless baron.
Ideal Reader: If you love unique magic systems, classic fantasy adventures, and fast-talking heroes, this reimagining of Robin Hood is for you!
DAUGHTER OF THIEVES
LICHELLE SLATER
Tasting Notes: Twists and turns, adventure, and self-discovery
A street rat. A magic lamp. An obnoxiously handsome prince.
This gender-swapped retelling of Aladdin will take you to a whole new world where nothing is easy.
Ideal Reader: will love slow burn, hate-to-love romances with a feisty heroine and magic.
Mood: Book Boyfriend In A Box
Heart of the Raven Prince
Tessonja Odette
Tasting Notes: Comfort. Humor. Heartwarming.
To escape her scheming stepmother, half-fae Ember enters a bargain with the arrogant Prince Franco. If she'll pose as his fake fiancee until the full moon ball, he'll award her with the freedom she craves. All she has to do is wear the glamour, pretend to court the prince...and not fall in love.
Ideal Reader: likes ACOTAR , Bridgerton, and fake-dating, enemies-to-lovers Cinderella retellings.
Enchanting the Dragon Lord
Alisha Klapheke
Tasting Notes: Fun, Steamy-Sweet, Bantery
Have you ever wished for a powerful dragon elf prince of your very own? Of course, you have. He might be a little fiery, but he’s a softie on the inside and he’s waiting inside Enchanting the Dragon Lord, a standalone fantasy romance.
Ideal Reader: Perfect for fantasy readers who long for a kiss of flame and have no patience for doorstoppers.
A Cursed Kiss
Jenny Hickman
Tasting Notes: Dark, twisty, seductive
A woman desperate to resurrect her sister and a man desperate to break his curse embark on a journey that promises life… but ends in death.
Ideal Reader: Fans of enemies-to-lovers, only one bed, forced proximity, and morally gray fae males with green eyes and wicked mouths.
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No Man Can Tame
Miranda Honfleur
Tasting Notes: Slow-burn. Emotional. Passionate.
A rebellious human princess and a dutiful dark-elf prince are wed for the sake of their nations. Nobody told her how to navigate claws, fangs, and... oh yeah, the small matter of sleeping with a complete stranger...
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edgewood
Ideal Reader: Readers of contemporary fantasy who swoon over tall, dark, brooding boys
Kristen Ciccarelli
Tasting Notes: Whimsical, Romantic, Haunting
Ideal Reader: You love a kindboy monster hero, Beauty and the Beast, and a guaranteed Happily Ever After?
When up-and-coming folk singer Emeline Lark discovers her grandfather has been taken by the Wood King, she must brave the horrors of the woods to get him back. But the Wood King will only let her grandfather go if Emeline takes his place as a singer in his nightmarish court. If she wants to escape the court and its curse, she'll have to accept the help of the king's brooding henchmen, a young man named Hawthorne, who is definitely keeping secrets and may or may not have plans to betray her...
Mood: Hits Me Where It Hurts
HEART OF SHADOW
sarah k. l. wilson
Tasting Notes: Intense, Breathless, Romantic
When a magical plague sweeps through her world Ilsaletta is forced to become a monster hunter. But don't worry, she has the help of a shadow guardian, a magic sword and a beautiful duke.
Ideal Reader: someone who likes their fairytales with a twist, a lot of adventure, some riddles to solve and heavy on the sweet romance.
Blade & Rose
Miranda Honfleur
Tasting Notes: Heart-wrenching. Heart-warming. Dramaaaaaaaaa.
A mage and a knight from enemy factions are thrown together on a mission, in a kingdom at war. Sparks fly...except he's taken an oath of celibacy and can't imagine a life outside his order. Will he break his oath or break her heart?
Ideal Reader: You want your heart wrenched and warmed in the same series, but with a guaranteed Happily Ever After?
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IDENTITY REVEALED
Jessica M. Butler
Tasting Notes: Vivid, Nuanced, Gripping
The fate of the world rests on Amelia's shoulders, but she never expected to be married to her worst enemy on top of that. Cursed and isolated, she has to find a way to fulfill the prophecy and save her people while defeating her shapeshifting warlord of a husband and his charismatic brothers. Problem is, if she kills even one person (including him), the curse will destroy her.
Ideal Reader: Readers who love rich worldbuilding, found families, slow burn romance, dangerous shifters, charming brothers, and portals to other worlds
Mood: Sweep Me Away To a World So Complex That I Forget This One
Eirwen
Jesikah Sundin
Tasting Notes: Immersive. Sensorial. Empowering
Hidden in the dwarven mine camps since infancy, an elven princess with a heart of stone finds herself at the center of war. She must choose between the kingdom she was destined to save or the prince who wakes her heart to life. Eirwen is a gritty young adult epic fantasy spin on the romantic tale of Snow White, blending 1930s-1940s dystopian aesthetics and World War II technology with faerie magic.
Ideal Reader: Guaranteed to please readers who love angsty, enemies-to-lovers slow-burn fated romances, twisted faerie tales, and strong found family themes.
Between Ink and Shadows
Melissa Wright
Tasting Notes: Elegant, Mysterious, Dark
An epic fantasy with regency flair, an improper and slightly stabby heroine with a penchant for trouble, clean, slow burn romance, and a dark and twisty plot that pits magic against kings, love against power, and a gothic underworld against a kingdom desperate to survive.
Ideal Reader: loves Silas from Sorcery of Thorns, the dark magic of The Shadows Between Us, and a clean slow burn romance.
Duel of Fire
Jordan Rivet
Tasting Notes: Immersive, engaging, action-packed
Competitive duelist Dara is good with a sword, but she can’t figure out how to charm the spectators like a true champion. When she's asked to train with Prince Siv, the heir to the throne, she faces her most difficult opponent yet. Handsome, charismatic, and utterly infuriating, he refuses to take the sport—or her—seriously.
Ideal Reader: will love banter, sword-fighting, and immersive fantasy worlds!
The Fair Isle Trilogy: Complete Series Collection
Tessonja Odette
Tasting Notes: Epic. Adventurous. Dark.
If Evie doesn't lose her heart first, the cruel fae king she's been forced to marry certainly will. She'll carve it out with an iron blade if she must...
Ideal Reader: likes ACOTAR, The Cruel Prince, and epic enemies-to-lovers fae fantasy.
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THE FATE OF CROWNS
Rebecca L. Garcia
Tasting Notes: Epic worldbuilding, Love Triangle, Magical
Become immersed in a world where danger lurks around every corner, man-eating mercreatures drag ships to the depths, politics can turn deadly, and betrayal lies in love and friendship.
Ideal Reader: The Cruel Prince meets Throne of Glass in this gripping YA Fantasy with a princess, a deadly king, and choices that will shape her future forever.
The Gods of Men
Barbara Kloss
Tasting Notes: Intense, Engrossing, Addictive
"The Gods of Men is a solid, engaging story with strong world-building and history, an interesting magic system ... and a magnetic relationship that binds it all together."
~ Fantasy Book Review
Ideal Reader: Those who love fast-paced fantasy with a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance.
The Lilac Plague
Kristin J. Dawson
Tasting Notes: Noblebright. Layered. Unexpected.
An ancient oath betrayed. A kingdom teetering on the edge of destruction. One young guardian can save her people . . . or doom them.
Ideal Reader: For readers who want fresh magic, class systems, persecuted magic-wielders, and a scholar's daughter's coming of age story in a Balkan-inspired world.
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Dark Shores
Danielle L. Jensen
Tasting Notes: Compelling, Heart-Wrenching, Intricate
Teriana reveals the biggest secret of her people to help her bestie, but swiftly learns she should've kept her mouth shut when an evil senator uses her to begin his conquest of the other half of the world. The only upside is that the young man in command of the Empire's armies is a smoking hot genius with a tortured past. He's her enemy and she hates him, which of course means sparks fly when they are forced into close proximity.
Ideal Reader: You need everything to be epic or it's just not worth your time.
Waters of Salt and Sin
Alisha Klapheke
Tasting Notes: Immersive. Passionate. Fun.
Secret magic. Forbidden love. Legendary treasure. This fantasy is set in a world inspired by the history of Syria, Lebanon, the Mediterranean Sea, Italy, and even has a splash of the Mongols going on. It’s VERY different from your usual medieval fantasy world. Are you prepared for something truly unique?
Ideal Reader: This book is for the reader who is bored to tears of all the medieval epic fantasy and wants something to knock her socks off.
INKED
Rachel Rener
Tasting Notes: Sweet-n-spicy, hilarious, and unconventional
When Zayn, your smoking hot boss, tells you never to touch the cache of deluxe tattoo ink locked away in his office, you listen to him… until the day you don't. Now – through (mostly) no fault of my own – we have to venture into a strange and distant land where a never-ending list of lethal flora, fauna, and fae await us. When you add in my Jewish mother’s string of poorly-timed, hysterical phone calls, there is one thing I’m grateful for: There’s no cell service in the fae realm.
Ideal Reader: A gal who loves steam, humor, and all things that glitter gold ✨
Mood: I'm Sick Of All The Tropes
Blood Oath
Raye Wagner
Tasting Notes: Thrilling, Layered, Unexpected plot
A dragon-shifter bound to serve the king. A young woman tempted to join the rebellion. A secret that will change the empire.
Ideal Reader: Readers who love epic romantic fantasy with unique characters, slow-build romance, and thrilling, unexpected twists.
FLY WITH THE ARROW
sarah k. l. wilson
Tasting Notes: Deep, Dark Humor, Fairytale
Everything is looking like a nice stable life for Izolda until an otherworldly prince takes her as his bride as part of the terms of an ancient agreement. Swept away into a topsy turvy world that defies all her expectations, Izolda will have to learn to set her keen mind and commons sense to her benefit or watch everything she loves perish.
Ideal Reader: someone who likes their fairytales with a twist, a lot of adventure, some riddles to solve and heavy on the sweet romance.
Song of the Dawn
Angela J. Ford
Tasting Notes: Lush. Emotional. Passionate.
When Mila, a budding violinist, goes to work at a remote inn, she falls for the handsome innkeeper. Despite the idyllic location and promise of paradise, everything is not what it seems. Haunted by unsettling vestiges, mysterious disappearances, and the lure of a magical song, Mila takes it upon herself to unravel the secrets of the inn. What she discovers is worse than she imagined…
Ideal Reader: If you enjoy a smoldering romance with lush scenery, quirky side characters and a generous dose of magic, you'll love this book.
Mood: DRAWING HEARTS ON THE STEAMY WINDOW
Gwenevere's Knights
J. Sundin and Claire Luana
Tasting Notes: Adventurous. Immersive. Sensual.
I am Fionnabhair Allan, a warrior princess of Ulster, and I have only one hope of saving my father and sister from the rival clann holding them hostage. Steal a faerie sword from a king. But not just any king—Arthur Pendragon. Gwenevere’s Knights is a Celtic Arthurian Legend fantasy adventure reverse harem tale of betrayal and fated love.
Ideal Reader: For fans of Gweneverian retellings, found family themes, empowering female characters, reverse harem romance, historical medieval fantasy, faerie tale retellings, Celtic and Norse pagan fantasy, and strong male friendships.
