Standalone fantasy romance books aren’t as rare as book social media will have you believe. Not every fantasy love story needs an epic war background or 10 sequels. In fact, I often prefer standalones because they provide such an amazing, bite-sized world and a complete story in such a small number of pages.
Below you’ll find the best of the best standalone romantasy and my personal favorites. I hope you find something you’ll love!
The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
| Series Length | Standalone |
| Heat Level | Not spicy, but so romantic and swoony |
| Tropes to Expect | Time loop, fated lovers, forbidden romance, lady knight, scholar hero (with glasses!) |
The Everlasting is the best romantic fantasy book on this list. You just won’t know what hit you when you start reading, and it’s definitely one of my favorite books ever, so much so that I’m still unable to competently talk about it without feeling like just forcing someone to read it wouldn’t do a much better job.
The Everlasting is a story about Owen Mallory, a historian who has always been obsessed with the legend of Una Everlasting, his nation’s greatest myth, and one often used to spur on more wars. One day, he gets a book that appears to be a diary of Una’s companion, and he’s so excited to have it — until it’s taken from him, and all of the clues lead him to a powerful politician, who throws him into time and space, and straight into Una’s arms.
Again, just read it. You won’t regret it. It’s so powerful and so tender, and so unique. Read my full review of Everlasting here!
Asunder by Kerstin Hall
| Series Length | Standalone (for now!) |
| Heat Level | Not spicy, very slow burn |
| Tropes to Expect | Sharing consciousness (with the hero), slow burn, friends to lovers, journey/road trip, very Ghibli-like |
Okay, so Asunder isn’t strictly categorized as romantasy, but it’s a fantasy book, and it has a beautiful, epic romance, so I say it meets the criteria. And it’s one of my favorite books ever! So, let me introduce you to the masterpiece that is Asunder.
We follow Karys Eska, a deathspeaker (she can talk to ghosts of people who died recently and sense all magic), who has been sent to inspect a possible death site by her city’s crime boss (of sorts). But instead of a routine job, she stumbles upon dangerous creatures created by old gods and a dying man named Ferain.
Now, Karys desperately wants to escape, but she also needs money (for reasons you’ll find out later), and because of this, she makes a deal with Ferain: she’ll save him but he needs to pay her for it. The saving doesn’t go as smoothly as they expect — instead of it being a simple process, Ferain ends up locked as her shadow, and they have to find a way to release him, which includes a dangerous journey across warring countries, old, cunning gods, crime lords, skin-walkers, and so much more.
All of this is set in a beautiful, lush world. It’s both modern (at times futuristic) and old-fashioned, filled with the kind of magic I guarantee you haven’t seen before. And it’s dark, true — a lot of it is almost horror-ish, with demonic gods, creatures that kill by turning you inside out, and more — but Asunder also has a Ghibli-esque vibe. Like, one mode of transport is a gigantic spider that has a five-star hotel inside itself. Or a train that is covered in moss and wildlife.
And the prose is so wonderful, so easy to read, but very cinematic and descriptive. There are lovely side-characters you’ll adore, a found family aspect, and the whole book feels both cozy and keeps you on edge. The romance is slow-burn — Ferain and Karys don’t trust each other easily (even though they’re essentially sharing a body), but they end up so deeply in love by the end.
Fair warning: this is a duology, and part two is not out yet. So, read it and then tell more people to read it so part two can come out sooner! Plus, this author is so awesome; like, currently, she’s writing the script for a cozy video game named Dressmaker, so check that out as well if it’s something you think you’d like. Read my full review of Asunder here!
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
| Series Length | Standalone |
| Heat Level | Not spicy at all |
| Tropes to Expect | Rumplestilskin inspired, fae, fire demons, enemies to lovers, girls getting what they deserve through hard work! |
Spinning Silver is, again, technically not a romantasy in the truest sense, but it is a fantasy book with excellent writing, plotting, characters and world-building that also features a romance.
It basically tells a story of three women — Miryem, Irina and Wanda. Miryem is the daughter of a lender who is a terrible debt collector, so she takes things into her own hands and she does the job so well she captures the attention of a fae lord. Irina is a noble whose father wants her to marry a tzar, but the tzar is not what he appears to be. And finally, Wanda is a poor maidservant with two brothers and an abusive father who really wants to get out of her bad situation.
Read it, love it, remember it forever — it’s a really good book and one of my personal favorites. Read my full review of Spinning Silver here!
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
| Series Length | Can be read as standalone, companion novel is about another character |
| Heat Level | Very spicy (learn about knotting first!) |
| Tropes to Expect | Arranged marriage, forced proximity, enemies to lovers, fated mates, werewolf/vampire |
If you were a Twilight girlie ever in your life, or if you liked Vampire Diaries, Bride is definitely for you. It’s pretty romance focused, but it does have a plot on the side. And, it can be read as a standalone, which is always a bonus.
This story follows Misery, a vampire who, as a child, has been sent to humans as collateral in a political deal. Now, her father is asking her to become a collateral once again via a political marriage to a werewolf and she refuses to — until she hears her groom’s name. So, she agrees to go into the dangerous world of werewolves, and finds something really unexpected there.
I really loved how fun and self-aware this book was. It reminded me of my favorite fanfics in the best way possible. It’s a quick read too. You follow mostly Misery’s POV, but there are snippets of Lowe’s thoughts at the beginning of each chapter.
Read my full review of Bride here! (And if you’re curious about its companion, Mate, I have a review of it here).
One for My Enemy by Olivie Blake
| Series Length | Standalone |
| Heat Level | Low to no spice — the romance is more tension and longing than anything explicit |
| Tropes to Expect | Star-crossed lovers, enemies to lovers, forbidden romance, rival families, slow burn, Romeo and Juliet retelling |
While I personally didn’t love this book (find out why here), many people did and I feel like it’s a unique, underrated romantasy book. One for My Enemy follows two families of witches in New York as they fight for their position in the world of magic-infused drug dealing.
It’s based on Romeo and Juliette, so the romances in this one are tragic, sad and forbidden. And yes, there are multiple. It’s a beautifully written book, though I found it a bit too much at times.
However, it might just work for you because it’s really atmospheric and perfect if you already love Olivie Blake’s writing.
The Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
| Series Length | Standalone |
| Heat Level | No spice but lots of romance |
| Tropes to Expect | Boss/employee romance (but not weird), small town secrets, sentient house, found family |
This is another Alix E. Harrow book, and another one of my favorites. In this, you follow a poor, disillusioned girl named Opal, who struggles to care for her asthmatic teenage brother in a town where air is heavily polluted and bad for him. To collect more money, she agrees to work at the Starling House, a mysterious, supposedly haunted place with an even more mysterious (but handsome) owner.
This throws Opal straight into decades-long mystery and brings new dangers into her life, but she also finds comfort and friendship with her new boss (who is so smitten he allows her to steal from him).
A very charming book, with amazing themes and a cast of characters you won’t soon forget. I have a full review of Starling House here if you want more info.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
| Series Length | Standalone |
| Heat Level | There is spice, but in romantic scenes it’s more ephemeral than explicit |
| Tropes to Expect | Immortal, philosophical, god of death, star-crossed lovers |
This book is one that people either love or hate, and I’m in the former camp. I loved it so much that it made me cry quite a lot, and I own a beautiful special edition which I’m very proud of. Funnily enough, the romance was my least favorite part, but I adored the discussions of immortality and what it means to be remembered, and all that.
So, this is a story of a girl who makes a pact with a god to get freedom, on the night of her wedding to a man she doesn’t love. The god grants her that wish, but at the cost of everyone, including her beloved father, forgetting her existence. And so she lives her life, with people being unable to remember her, if they look away from her for even a second. That is, until she meets Henry, who for some reason can remember her perfectly.
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
| Series Length | Standalone |
| Heat Level | No spice, this is more YA |
| Tropes to Expect | Gods and mortals, wallflower, Ghibli-like, fated romance |
If you love Ghibli movies, and especially Spirited Away, this is the book for you. In this one, we follow the heroine Mina, as she decides to save her brother’s love from a terrible fate of being the sea god’s bride. She jumps instead of her, and finds herself in an entirely new and strange world. The sea god is trapped in an enchanted sleep, and with the help of a mysterious man named Shin, she sets out to release him so he can end the storms that plague her small village once and for all.
It’s adorable, romantic and very slow burn, so if that’s your cup of tea, I highly recommend it.
Final Words
I hope you managed to find a book to love here (and maybe more)! If not, feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll do my best to give you a recommendation based on your specific needs. If you don’t want to wait for my reply and just want to continue browsing, here are some places where you can find more books to enjoy:
- if you want to see my favorite books of this genre, here are my top fantasy romance reads.
- prefer something more familiar and maybe even set in our own world? try some paranormal romance books.
- like werewolves specifically? you’ll enjoy these werewolf romance books.
- feeling like some practical magic… magic? try these witchy books!
- if you prefer some lower stakes reads, you can check out these awesome cozy fantasy books.
What’s your favorite romantasy standalone? Let me know in the comments below!
