A Court of Thorns and Roses was one of the first romantasy book series to break out and attain widespread popularity. It follows Feyre Archeron, a 19-year-old human woman who kills a deer while hunting. The deer turns out to be a magical creature, and as punishment she is taken captive by Tamlin, a powerful faerie lord. Although she hates the experience at first, Feyre eventually develops feelings for Tamlin, and becomes involved with saving the faerie lands from a mysterious curse.

A Court of Thorns and Roses is praised for its character development, its dense world-building, and its accessibility. There are currently five books published, with three more planned before the series is over.

At one point, Hulu was going to adapt A Court of Thorns and Roses for TV, but those plans fell through. This is a foundational series in the genre, so hopefully it gets revived. In the meantime, the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas is also an excellent contender for adaptation.

Credit: Orbit

This duology is a lesser known romantasty work that follows Elspeth Spindle, a young woman who shares her mind with a mysterious entity known as the Nightmare. She teams up with Ravyn Yew, the king’s outlaw nephew, to collect magical artifacts in an attempt to lift a curse that lays over the kingdom where they both live.

The Shepherd King Duology consists of two books: One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns. This series has a unique magic system that is based on tarot. It may interest fans of Brandon Sanderon, who is known for his intricate magic systems, as well as standard romantasy fans.

No one is making an adaptation of this series yet, but if the romantasy wave continues, it feels inevitable.

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The Crowns of Nyaxia borrows a bit from the horror genre as it turns the spotlight on vampires. There are five books in the series published so far, with six planned. Those six books are divided into three duologies. The first two books follow Oraya, an adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king, who must participate in a deadly tournament. The second duology follows Mische, a vampire who was turned against her will. She must descend into the underworld to resurrect the god of death.

Every book in the series contains convincing romance, exciting action sequences, and dense lore. If anything, the lore may be a little too complicated, but that’s something that could be smoothed over in a potential TV adaptation.

Carissa Broadbent has also written The War of Lost Hearts Trilogy, another excellent candidate for adaptation.

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The Blood and Ash series follows Poppy, an isolated young woman chosen by the gods to live a life of service. Her world changes when she meets Hawke, a dashing royal guard who enters her life under false pretenses. Without giving away too much, it ends up that Hawke belongs to a faction hated by Poppy and her people, which puts the two at odds. Some of the most popular parts of these books involve the tension between the two of them that slowly evolves into affection.

In other words, Blood and Ash employs the “enemies to lovers” trope, which is very popular in romantasy. Sony has secured the rights to turn Blood and Ash into a TV series, although we haven’t seen much movement yet. As for the books, there are six already published with a seventh on the way.

Credit: Wednesday Books

The Letters of Enchantment series consists of two books: Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows, both of which are already complete. The books follow Iris Winnow, a young newspaper reporter locked into a rivalry with the cold, handsome Roman Kitt, who works at the same paper. Unbeknownst to either of them (at least at first), they are communicating with each other anonymously through magical typewriters. Slowly, their rivalry turns to love.

The Letters of Enchantment books are set during an alternate version of history inspired by World War I, which gives them a slightly different feel than a lot of romantasy books, even though many of the usual tropes are still present. Paramount Pictures has optioned the right to turn these books into a movie series.

Credit: Del Rey

The Bridge Kingdom has a premise that hooks you right from the start: Lara is a warrior who is sent to the rival Bridge Kingdom to marry its king, Aren, as a gesture of peace. However, her true mission is to infiltrate the Bridge Kingdom and bring it down from the inside. But once she’s there, she finds herself falling for Aren, and faces a choice about whether to follow those feelings or to stay true to her family back home.

There are six books total in The Bridge Kingdom series. It has everything a good romantasy needs: interesting characters, enemies who become lovers, passion, conflict, and spicy scenes. Red Sage Studios has acquired the film rights, so we may see this series up on the screen at some point.