Romantasy readers, this summer is loaded. Three of the biggest names in the genre are dropping new books between June and August. The Empyrean novella lands September 29. ACOTAR Book 6 hits October 27. Which means summer is your window. Not just to read the new releases on shelves now, but to catch up on every series you've been meaning to start before the fall takes over your TBR entirely.
Here's how I'd structure your summer reading: half new releases, half catch-up. The new books are the events. The catch-up reads are the ones that mean you can actually participate in the conversation when the big fall titans drop. Both matter.
This is the romantasy edit for the season. (If you want romance, book club fiction, thrillers, or literary picks too, that's all in my Best Beach Reads of Summer 2026 post. This one is romantasy and fantasy only.)
The Three Big New Romantasy Releases of Summer 2026
These are the books shaping the summer conversation. Mark your calendars. You don't want to be the friend hearing the spoilers second-hand.
1. The Lion & the Deathless Dark by Carissa Broadbent
Releasing August 4
The Lion & the Deathless Dark by Carissa Broadbent Book Cover
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ · Vampires · Enemies-to-lovers · Bounty hunter / sword of the goddess
Broadbent returns to the Crowns of Nyaxia universe with the first book of the Bloodborn Duet, set in a world after ten years of war between humans and vampires under an eternal night.
Kyrene is a bounty hunter wielding a blessed sword from the goddess of justice. Without giving away what kind of vampire she ends up tangled with, this is Broadbent in classic form: slow burn, world-deep, prose-rich, exactly what her readers come for.
If you've read the Crowns of Nyaxia series, you don't need me to sell you on this. You're already preordered. If you haven't, summer is exactly the moment to catch up on the four existing books so you can dive in on release day with everyone else.
Where it fits: Book 5 of Crowns of Nyaxia (after The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk), but also the start of a new duet. Read the previous four first if you can. The world is rich and the payoffs depend on knowing it.
📚 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
2. Prince of Swords by Elise Kova
Releasing July 21
Prince of Swords by Elise Kova Book Cover
🌶️🌶️🌶️ · Tarot magic · Forbidden romance · Magical academy · Hunted heroine
The sequel to Arcana Academy, and the Kova release her fans have been counting down to since A Deal with the Elf King. Clara is Oricalis's most-wanted fugitive, and not even her tarot magic can keep her hidden much longer. As she's pulled deeper into the orbit of the secretive Worldkeepers (and ever further into the gravity of Prince Kaelis), she has to decide who to trust as the secrets behind Arcana Academy, the crown, and her own heart start surfacing.
Kova writes the kind of slow-burn romantasy that readers yell about: big feelings, intricate magic systems, slow-burn romance you can sink into for hours. Arcana Academy (book 1) was a 2025 hit, and the wait between books has been brutal. This is your July read.
Where it fits: Book 2 of the Arcana Academy series (3 expected). Read Arcana Academy first.
📚 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
3. Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst
Releasing July 28
Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst Book Cover
🌶️🌶️ · Cozy fantasy · Fake dating · Sea serpent companion · Standalone-friendly
The third Spellshop novel and the cozy romantasy pick of the summer. Marin is a supply runner with her own boat and a sea serpent companion named Vermilion, sailing between islands in the same world that gave us Kiela and her flying cat. The New York Times named Sea of Charms one of "The Novels Everyone Will Be Talking About in 2026," and the fake-dating-on-a-magical-supply-boat premise is exactly the cozy summer escape this genre does best.
I am listening to an ALC of this one now and it's everything I hoped it would be. If your idea of summer romantasy is more "porch swing with iced coffee" than "dark woods and blood pacts," Durst is your author. The Spellshop series can be read in any order, but if you're starting fresh, begin with The Spellshop (book 1). It's the romantasy equivalent of a Ghibli film.
Where it fits: Book 3 of the Spellshop series. Standalone-friendly, but the world is richer if you start at book 1.
Check out our review of Book 2 The Enchanted Greenhouse.
📚 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
The Catch-Up Reads: What to Finish Before Fall
Here's where summer reading actually gets strategic. Five series have new books or major events landing in fall 2026, and if you haven't read them yet (or you stalled mid-series), summer is your runway. Below are the catch-up priorities, ranked by when you need to be caught up.
The Empyrean Series by Rebecca Yarros
Fall event: Novella drops September 29, 2026 (untitled at draft time). ACOTAR 6 lands October 27.
This is the catch-up that matters most. If you read Fourth Wing and Iron Flame but stalled at Onyx Storm, finish it this summer. The novella will assume you've read all three. Onyx Storm dropped in early 2025 and the Empyrean fandom has spent a year theory-crafting the cliffhanger ending. If you want to actually understand the conversation when the novella lands, the time is now.
If you haven't started Empyrean at all, you have time. Three books over three months is a manageable summer pace.
Read in this order:
- Fourth Wing
- Iron Flame
- Onyx Storm
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros Book Cover
Fourth Wing: Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros Book Cover
Iron Flame: Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros Book Cover
Onyx Storm: Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
📖 Full Empyrean Reading Order and Recap Guide →
📖 Onyx Storm Ending Explained →
A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR): Sarah J. Maas
Fall event: ACOTAR Book 6 releases October 27, 2026. This is THE event of the romantasy year. Most of what we know came from Sarah's Call Her Daddy interview. Here's everything she said.
You have five months to catch up. If you've never read ACOTAR, you can do it: five books over twenty-two weeks is roughly one book every four weeks. If you stalled at A Court of Silver Flames, summer is when you finish.
The October release will be the cultural moment of the romantasy calendar. Bookstagram will be screaming, every romantasy creator will be doing a recap reel, and the spoilers will be unavoidable within 48 hours of release day. If you want to enter the conversation on time, summer is the runway.
Read in this order:
- A Court of Thorns and Roses
- A Court of Mist and Fury
- A Court of Wings and Ruin
- A Court of Frost and Starlight (novella, short)
- A Court of Silver Flames
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas Book Cover
Start here: A Court of Thorns and Roses (Book 1). Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Fall event: No new ToG book imminent, but ACOTAR 6 is rumored to have crossover hints. The Cosmere-like interconnection of Maas's universes means ToG context can deepen ACOTAR 6.
If you've never read Throne of Glass and you're an ACOTAR reader, this is your aspirational summer read. It's an eight-book series. It's a commitment. But it's also widely considered Maas's most ambitious work, and the payoff is real.
Where to start: Either The Assassin's Blade (the prequel novellas, chronological) or Throne of Glass (book 1, publication order). Both are valid entry points and the romantasy community is split. If you have the time, do Assassin's Blade first.
Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas
Fall event: Book 4 expected eventually (no confirmed date as of May 2026), and ACOTAR 6 will likely deepen the multiverse crossover.
Three books, modern-fantasy setting, the closest Maas comes to "urban fantasy," and the books most fans say have the strongest pacing of her three universes. If you bounced off House of Earth and Blood in the first 100 pages, push through. The second half is where the series fully ignites.
Read in this order:
- House of Earth and Blood
- House of Sky and Breath
- House of Flame and Shadow
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas Book Cover
Start here: House of Earth and Blood (Book 1). Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
The Hand and the Heart by V.L. Bovalino
Fall event: The Hand and the Heart 2 lands tentatively September 2026, per V.L. Bovalino's published Q&A.
The romantasy that's been quietly building since its September 2025 release, and the one with a sequel coming this fall you'll want to be caught up for. The Second Death of Locke (book 1) is a devastatingly romantic epic fantasy about Grey Flynn, a knight bound by blood and magic to her mage Kier, and the secret she's been hiding that could unmake all magic if she ever lets him in on it. Devoted knight/mage dynamic, yearning, forced proximity, Arthurian themes of devotion and betrayal. Tasha Suri, Hannah Whitten, and Olivie Blake all blurbed it. People magazine called it "absolute perfection. Get ready to have your heart broken."
The series is structured as interconnected standalones in the same world, so book 2 in September will be readable on its own, but the fandom will be deep in book 1 callbacks by then. Catch up now.
The Second Death of Locke by V.L. Bovalino Book Cover
📚 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
If you've already read Locke and need your next yearning fix: One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig (dark fantasy + cursed-pair yearning), The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten (court politics + devotion-and-betrayal, plus Whitten blurbed Locke), or The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake (dark academia ensemble chemistry, plus Blake blurbed Locke: "this is how you do chemistry").
When the Moon Hatched series by Sarah A. Parker
Fall event: Book 3 anticipated late 2026 (no confirmed date as of draft).
If you devoured When the Moon Hatched and To Bleed a Crystal Bloom and the rest of Parker's catalog is on your TBR, summer is when. The fandom is one of the most active in romantasy right now, and book 3 is going to drop into a hot moment.
When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker Book Cover
📚 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
📖 When the Moon Hatched Recap →
Shield of Sparrows series by Devney Perry
Fall event: Book 3 anticipated late 2026 (no confirmed date as of now).
The romantasy series that landed hardest in early 2026. Shield of Sparrows (book 1) and Rites of the Starling (book 2) both hit the New York Times bestseller list, and the cliffhanger at the end of book 2 has the fandom counting down to book 3. If you're a romance reader who wants fantasy stakes without losing the swoony center, Devney Perry is writing right at the romance/fantasy seam. Catch up on both this summer so you're ready when book 3 drops.
Read in this order:
- Shield of Sparrows (book 1)
- Rites of the Starling (book 2)
Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry Book Cover
Shield of Sparrows: Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
Rites of the Starling by Devney Perry Book Cover
Rites of the Starling: Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
📖 Rites of the Starling Spoilers →
The "Catch Up on the Standalones" Tier
Not every romantasy reader is series-deep. If you're more of a standalone reader (or you want to dip into the genre without committing to ten books), these are the romantasy standalones from the last two years that everyone's still talking about. Catch up on these and you'll know exactly which fandom you want to commit to.
Alchemised by SenLinYu
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ · Dark academia · Slow burn · Fantasy thriller
The romantasy that turned its entire fandom into a chapter-by-chapter analysis cult. Dense, dark, and built for re-reads. If you missed the Alchemised moment, this is your summer read.
Alchemised by SenLinYu Book Cover
📚 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
📖 Alchemised Chapter-by-Chapter Recap →
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
🌶️🌶️🌶️ · Sapphic vampire romantasy · Multi-timeline (1532, 1827, 2019) · Gothic literary
The romantasy that swept 2025 and is still echoing into 2026. Schwab's first true standalone since Addie LaRue, and the book that won the 2025 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fantasy. Three sapphic vampires across five hundred years, bound by hunger and lineage and the kind of love that turns into the kind of haunting. NPR called it "perfect, five stars." If you've been waiting for a gothic vampire romantasy that takes itself seriously without losing the seduction, this is the book.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab Book Cover
📚 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
🌶️🌶️ · Historical fantasy romance · Spanish Inquisition · Slow burn · Immortal/mortal pairing
Bardugo's first true standalone outside the Grishaverse. Sixteenth-century Madrid, Spanish Inquisition stakes, a scullion with secret magic and Jewish heritage, and an embittered immortal familiar named Guillén Santángel whose chemistry with her slow-burns the whole book. Booklist's starred review called it "a romance with maddening chemistry, an artfully built world, and side characters with their own deep backstories." More historical fantasy than pure romantasy, but the romance is the engine. The lighter standalone pick if you want range.
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo Book Cover
📚 Amazon | Bookshop | 🎧 Audible
How to Build Your Summer Romantasy Stack
If you don't read all of this and need a plan, here's the smartest summer build:
The "I want the new releases" stack (3 books):
Sea of Charms (July 28) → Prince of Swords (July 21) → The Lion & the Deathless Dark (Aug 4)
The "I'm catching up before fall" stack (3 books):
Onyx Storm → ACOTAR 1 → ACOTAR 2 (and keep going if you have time)
The "I want one of each" stack (2 books):
The Lion & the Deathless Dark (Aug 4) + Onyx Storm (catch up to be ready for the September novella)
The "I'm new to romantasy and want to know what's good" stack (3 books):
The Spellshop (cozy entry point) → Fourth Wing (mainstream entry point) → A Court of Thorns and Roses (the must-read of the genre)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the biggest romantasy release of summer 2026?
The Lion & the Deathless Dark by Carissa Broadbent, releasing August 4. It's the first book of the Bloodborn Duet and the fifth book in the Crowns of Nyaxia universe, one of the most active fandoms in romantasy right now.
When does ACOTAR 6 release?
Sarah J. Maas's sixth ACOTAR book lands October 27, 2026. Summer is the window to catch up on the previous five books if you haven't already. The conversation around this release will be unavoidable on bookstagram within 48 hours of launch.
When does the Empyrean novella release?
Rebecca Yarros's untitled Empyrean novella drops September 29, 2026, about a month before ACOTAR 6. It assumes you've read Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm, so summer is your runway if you stalled mid-series or haven't started yet.
What's the best romantasy series to start in summer 2026?
If you've never read romantasy, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros is the mainstream entry point. The Empyrean series has three books out now and a novella landing September 29, so summer is the natural runway. If you want something cozier, start with The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst. If you want the genre's biggest series, ACOTAR by Sarah J. Maas is your foundational read.
Is The Lion & the Deathless Dark a standalone?
No. It's the first book of the Bloodborn Duet within the larger Crowns of Nyaxia series. You'll get the most out of it by reading the four previous Crowns of Nyaxia books first.
Do I need to read the Crowns of Nyaxia series in order before The Lion & the Deathless Dark?
To get the most from book 5, yes: read the previous four Crowns of Nyaxia books first. The world, the politics, and the emotional stakes that make the Bloodborn Duet land all depend on context from the earlier entries. If you're brand-new to Broadbent, summer is your runway to catch up before August 4.
What's the difference between romantasy and fantasy romance?
Functionally? Marketing. "Romantasy" is the BookTok-era umbrella term for fantasy books with a central romance and usually a slow-burn build. "Fantasy romance" is the older library category. The romantasy label is what's selling. Yarros, Maas, Broadbent, Kova all sit under it. Whether a book leans more fantasy-with-romance or romance-with-fantasy depends on the author, not the term.
What romantasy releases should book club readers add to their TBR?
Romantasy isn't traditionally book-club territory, but the buddy-read culture in the genre is strong. Sea of Charms is the most book-club-friendly of the summer new releases: cozy, character-driven, with discussion-worthy themes. Alchemised is the romantasy that's most often picked up for online discussion groups because of its density and depth.
How to make this summer count
Romantasy as a genre rewards committed readers: the readers who finish Onyx Storm in time to argue about it on Reddit, who can rank all four Crowns of Nyaxia books before Lion & the Deathless Dark lands in August, who know exactly which Maas universe they want to live in. None of that happens by accident. It happens because someone made a summer reading plan and stuck with it.
This is yours. Pick a new release. Pick a catch-up read. Or both. Build your stack and go.
If you want my picks landing in your inbox every Tuesday (including reading-order reminders before the big fall releases and chapter-by-chapter recaps when the new books drop), subscribe to The Weekly Bookmark. It's free, it's weekly, and it's the only book email I send.
And if you finish your summer stack early, my ACOTAR reading order, Empyrean recap guide, and Alchemised chapter-by-chapter analysis are all waiting. Pour something cold. Get reading.
And if you find a romantasy I missed (or you're stack-deep and need a buddy reader), come tag me @inkandimaginings on Instagram. I want every rec!
