Goodreads Choice Awards 2024: Best Romantasy of the Year

It’s time to vote for the Best Romantasy in the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards! This category for the best books of the year voted by readers is back again this year and I couldn’t be happier for it. I’ve got the entire list of 20 nominees up for Best Romantasy in the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards below.

Since a new book in Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing series wasn’t released this year, it’s anyone’s game to head off Sarah J. Maas for best romantasy of the year. Which book will get your vote? Share in the comments below!

For the nominees for this year’s best romance, check out my post on the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards Nominees for Best Romance!

2024 Goodreads Choice Awards: Best Romantasy Nominees

House of Flame and Shadow
by Sarah J. Maas

Bryce Quinlan never expected to see a world other than Midgard, but now that she has, all she wants is to get back. Everything she loves is in Midgard: her family, her friends, her mate.

Stranded in a strange new world, she’s going to need all her wits about her to get home again. And that’s no easy feat when she has no idea who to trust.

Hunt Athalar has found himself in some deep holes in his life, but this one might be the deepest of all.

After a few brief months with everything he ever wanted, he’s in the Asteri’s dungeons again, stripped of his freedom and without a clue as to Bryce’s fate.

He’s desperate to help her, but until he can escape the Asteri’s leash, his hands are quite literally tied.

Related: Crescent City Series Order

The Games Gods Play
by Abigail Owen

The gods love to play with us mere mortals. And every hundred years, we let them…

I have never been favored by the gods. Far from it, thanks to Zeus. Living as a cursed office clerk for the Order of Thieves, I just keep my head down and hope the capricious beings who rule from Olympus won’t notice me. Not an easy feat, given San Francisco is Zeus’ patron city, but I make do. I survive. Until the night I tangle with a different god. The worst god. Hades.

For the first time ever, the ruthless, mercurial King of the Underworld has entered the Crucible—the deadly contest the gods hold to determine a new ruler to sit on the throne of Olympus. But instead of fighting their own battles, the gods name mortals to compete in their stead.

So why in the Underworld did Hades choose me—a sarcastic nobody with a curse on her shoulders—as his champion? And why does my heart trip every time he says I’m his?

I don’t know if I’m a pawn, bait, or something else entirely to this dangerously tempting god. How can I, when he has more secrets than stars in the sky? Because Hades is playing by his own rules…and Death will win at any cost.

My Book Review of The Games Gods Play

My Interview With Abigail Owens About The Games Gods Play.

Born of Blood and Ash
by Jennifer L. Armentrout

While Sera is finally free of Kolis and back with those she loves, not everything is calm. Memories of all she’s endured still haunt her, but Sera finally has hope for a future with the other half of her heart and soul. Nyktos desires, loves, and accepts every part of her—even the monstrous bits she still battles.

More than ever, Sera and Ash have everything under the realms to fight for, and Nyktos has no doubt Sera is fit to be the Queen of the Gods. But she must find that faith within herself if they hope to convince the other Courts to support them against Kolis and make Iliseeum and the mortal realm better, safer places for all.

But as Sera begins to piece together the importance of her bloodline and the true meaning behind the foreboding prophecy, it becomes clear that everything that has happened and is yet to come is much bigger than Kolis and his dark obsessions.

They cannot help but wonder exactly how much influence the Fates have had and what their ultimate goal is. What Sera does know for sure is that they can trust very few—including her.

A battle between the gods is brewing, and heartbreaking losses are imminent with the true Primal of Death strengthening. With a family of the heart willing to battle by their side, can Sera and Nyktos stop Kolis before he destroys the realms, or will it all disappear in a fiery inferno of blood and ash?

Related: Flesh and Fire Series Order

Gold
by Raven Kennedy

“Find me in another life. Find me in them all.”

Every end is also a beginning. I thought I was going to die, and would have if it weren’t for Slade. The only way he could save me was to open a rip between worlds. The only way for me to save myself was to go through it.

Sometimes, fleeing one dangerous place just brings you to another. Annwyn. The realm of the fae. There is magic and beauty here, though around every corner, threats lurk. But I’m a threat too.

I’m not a girl in a gilded cage anymore, and no one is going to stop me from finding my way back to Slade. But returning home means facing danger and secrets. So I have to burn bright enough to light my own way… Or else I might be swallowed by the dark.

Relate: The Plated Prisoner Series in Order

A Touch of Chaos
by Scarlett St. Claire

The gods are at war, the Titans have been released, and Hades and Persephone must fight tooth and nail for their happy ending. 

Persephone, Goddess of Spring, never guessed that a chance encounter with Hades, God of the Underworld, would change her life forever—but he did. Now embroiled in a fight for humanity and battles between the gods, Persephone and Hades have entered a world they never thought they would see. To end the chaos, Persephone must draw upon her darkness and embrace who she’s become—goddess, wife, queen of the Underworld. 

Once, Persephone made bargains to save those she loves. Now, she will go to war for them.

Related: Hades x Persephone Series Order

A Fate Inked in Blood
by Danielle L. Jensen

Bound in an unwanted marriage, Freya spends her days gutting fish, but dreams of becoming a warrior. And of putting an axe in her boorish husband’s back.

Freya’s dreams abruptly become reality when her husband betrays her to the region’s jarl, landing her in a fight to the death against his son, Bjorn. To survive, Freya is forced to reveal her deepest secret: She possesses a drop of a goddess’s blood, which makes her a shield maiden with magic capable of repelling any attack. It was foretold such a magic would unite the fractured nation of Skaland beneath the one who controls the shield maiden’s fate.

Believing he’s destined to rule Skaland as king, the fanatical jarl binds Freya with a blood oath and orders Bjorn to protect her from their enemies. Desperate to prove her strength, Freya must train to fight and learn to control her magic, all while facing perilous tests set by the gods. The greatest test of all, however, may be resisting her forbidden attraction to Bjorn. If Freya succumbs to her lust for the charming and fierce warrior, she risks not only her own destiny but the fate of all the people she swore to protect.

Related: Danielle L. Jensen Books in Order

When the Moon Hatched
by Sarah A. Parker

The Creators did not expect their beloved dragons to sail skyward upon their end. To curl into balls just beyond gravity’s grip, littering the sky with tombstones. With moons. They certainly did not expect them to FALL.

As an assassin for the rebellion group Fíur du Ath, Raeve’s job is to complete orders and never get caught. When a rival bounty hunter turns her world upside down, blood spills, hearts break, and Raeve finds herself imprisoned by the Guild of Nobles—a group of powerful fae who turn her into a political statement.

Crushed by the loss of his great love, Kaan Vaegor took the head of a king and donned his melted crown. Now on a tireless quest to quell the never-ebbing ache in his chest, he is lured by a clue into the capitol’s high-security prison where he stumbles upon the imprisoned Raeve …

Echoes of the past race between them. There’s more to their story than meets the eye, but some truths are too poisonous to swallow.

Restless Stars
by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti

Orphans. Changelings. Princesses. Queens. We are all and nothing now, our fate weighed on the scales of the stars and counterbalanced by the forces that oppose us.

The shadow of the false king spreads as thick as oil across the kingdom we were born to rule, and none remain untouched by its darkness. Our crowns lay within reach if only we can claim them. All souls are at risk now and when the final battle dawns, a new regime will rise.

The time for the true reckoning is upon us and we have proven ourselves as savage as our father, as brutal as our mother, and as wild as the Elements which roar through our veins. We can only hope it is enough.

When the last sword strikes the final death in this game of fate and fortune, only one side will be victorious. The Starfall Legion charges at first light. And our destiny rides upon our shoulders as we rush into the end. All hail the True Queens. May our rule last longer than this night.

Related: Zodiac Academy Series Order

A Dark and Drowning Tide
by Allison Saft

Lorelei Kaskel, a folklorist with a quick temper and an even quicker wit, is on an expedition with six eccentric nobles in search of a fabled spring. The magical spring promises untold power, which the king wants to harness in order to secure his reign over the embattled country of Brunnestaad. Lorelei is determined to use this opportunity to prove herself and make her wildest, most impossible dream come true: to become a naturalist, able to travel freely to lands she’s only read about.

The expedition gets off to a harrowing start when its leader—Lorelei’s beloved mentor—is murdered in her quarters aboard their ship. The suspects are the five remaining expedition mates, each with their own motive. The only person Lorelei knows must be innocent is her longtime academic rival, the insufferably gallant and maddeningly beautiful Sylvia von Wolff. Now in charge of the expedition, Lorelei must find the spring before the murderer strikes again—and a coup begins in earnest.

But there are other dangers lurking in the dark: forests that rearrange themselves at night, rivers with slumbering dragons hiding beneath the water, and shapeshifting beasts out for blood.

As Lorelei and Sylvia grudgingly work together to uncover the truth—and resist their growing feelings for each other—they discover that their leader had secrets of her own. Secrets that make Lorelei question whether justice is worth pursuing, and if this kingdom is worth saving at all.

Quicksilver
by Callie Hart

Do not touch the sword. Do not turn the key. Do not open the gate.

Twenty-four-year-old Saeris Fane is good at keeping secrets. No one knows about the strange powers she possesses, or the fact that she has been picking pockets and stealing from the Undying Queen’s reservoirs for as long as she can remember. In the land of the unforgiving desert, there isn’t much a girl wouldn’t do for a glass of water. But a secret is like a knot. Sooner or later, it is bound to come undone.

When Saeris comes face-to-face with Death himself, she inadvertently reopens a gateway between realms and is transported to a land of ice and snow. The Fae have always been the stuff of myth, of legend, of nightmares…but it turns out they’re real, and Saeris has landed right in the middle of a centuries-long conflict that might just get her killed.

The first of her kind to tread the frozen mountains of Yvelia in over a thousand years, Saeris mistakenly binds herself to Kingfisher, a handsome Fae warrior, who has secrets and nefarious agendas of his own. He will use her Alchemist’s magic to protect his people, no matter what it costs him… or her. Death has a name. It is Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate. His past is murky. His attitude stinks. And he’s the only way Saeris is going to make it home.

Be careful of the deals you make, dear child. The devil is in the details…

Phantasma
by Kaylie Smith

Welcome to Phantasma. There are only two rules to the game. Stay alive. And don’t fall in love.

When Ophelia’s sister disappears, there is only one way to save her. Ophelia must enter Phantasma, a deadly contest inside a haunted mansion, and claim its prize—a single wish.

Phantasma is a maze of twisting corridors and lavish ballrooms, of demons and temptations. Ophelia will face nine challenges, each more dangerous than the last. There can only be one winner, and the other contestants will stop at nothing to eliminate their rivals.

Every day the house creates new monsters. But just as Ophelia’s fears threaten to overwhelm her, a mysterious stranger offers her a bargain. Charming, arrogant and infuriatingly attractive, Blackwell claims he can guide her through the lethal trials ahead. All he asks in return is ten years of her life.

Ophelia knows she shouldn’t trust him. Blackwell doesn’t seem dangerous, but appearances can be deceptive. Worse still, she feels a dark and irresistible attraction drawing them closer and closer.

Her life is on the line. But in Phantasma, the only thing deadlier than losing the game is losing your heart…

Apprentice to the Villain
by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

NOTICE TO STAFF: There has been a disturbing increase in cheeriness, sprightly behavior, and overall optimism of late. Please resume your former dark, ominous terrors at your earliest convenience. —Mgmt

Evie Sage has never been happier to be the assistant to The Villain. Who would have thought that working for an outrageously handsome (shhh, bad for his brand) evil overlord would be so rewarding? Still, the business of being bad is demanding, the forces of good are annoyingly persistent, and said forbidding boss is somewhat…er, out-of-evil-office.

But Rennedawn is in grave trouble, and all signs—Kingsley’s included—point to catastrophe. Something peculiar is happening with the kingdom’s magic, and it’s made The Villain’s manor vulnerable to their enemies…including their nemesis, the king.

Now it’s time for Evie to face her greatest challenge: protecting The Villain’s lair, all of his nefarious works, and maybe (provided no one finds out) the entire kingdom. No pressure, Evie.

It’s time to step out of her comfort zone and learn new skills. Like treason. Dagger work. Conspiring with the enemy. It’s all so…so…delightfully fun.

But what happens when the assistant to The Villain is ready to become his apprentice?

A Crown This Cold and Heavy
by Stacia Stark

The unimaginable has happened, And none of our lives will ever be the same. Surrounded by enemies, I’ve never been further from my crown… Or closer to death.

Amidst a betrayal we couldn’t have anticipated, I’ll do whatever it takes to find my way back to Lorian – before his fury lays waste to this continent. Alliances are being forged and broken, our enemies are unifying, and Regner’s spiders are closer than ever before.

We have only one chance to prevent him from attaining god-like powers and enslaving every human, fae, and hybrid across the four kingdoms.

Meanwhile, the human king believes I’m trapped here, yearning for my death, and waiting for Lorian to save me. But Regner hasn’t yet realized that I’ll stop at nothing to free my people. And he’s the one who should be afraid of me.

Fate of the Sun King
by Nisha J. Tuli

With the Heart Crown now in her possession, Lor must navigate the dangers of being an heir on the run, knowing more than one power-hungry ruler is after her blood. When she returns to Aphelion to unlock her magic and recover her family’s legacy, it becomes clearer than ever that all that’s gold doesn’t sparkle. No stranger to battles, she continues to fight her attraction to the Aurora Prince, understanding this might be the one she finally loses.

As the past mixes with the present, Lor uncovers the truth about the Artefacts and their role in shaping her destiny. Now, her future hangs in the balance, leaving her closer than ever to getting everything she’s ever wanted… or losing it all forever.

The Spellshop
by Sarah Beth Durst

Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people. Thankfully, as librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she hasn’t had to.

She and her assistant, Caz, a magically sentient spider plant, have spent the last eleven years sequestered among the empire’s most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city’s elite. But when a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames, she and Caz save as many books as they can carry and flee to a faraway island Kiela was sure she’d never return to: her childhood home.

Kiela hopes to lay low in the overgrown and rundown cottage her late parents left her and figure out a way to survive without drawing the attention of either the empire or the revolutionaries. Much to her dismay, in addition to a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor, she finds the town neglected and in a state of disrepair.

The empire, for all its magic and power, has been neglecting for years the people who depend on magical intervention to maintain healthy livestock and crops. Not only that, but the very magic that should be helping them has been creating destructive storms that have taken a toll on the island. Due to her past role at the library, Kiela feels partially responsible for this, and now she’s determined to find a way to make things right: by opening the island’s first-ever secret spellshop.

Her plan comes with risks—the consequence of sharing magic with commoners is death. And as Kiela comes to make a place for herself among the kind and quirky townspeople of her former home, she realizes that in order to make a life for herself, she must learn to break down the walls she has built up so high.

A Promise of Peridot
by Kate Golden

Arwen Valondale is sailing for the mysterious Kingdom of Citrine after the battle of Siren’s Bay. Still reeling from the loss of her mother and the shock of her newfound powers, Arwen directs all of her pain and rage toward the man who betrayed her: King Kane Ravenwood.

But Kane’s presence is unavoidable as he leads Arwen and her friends on an expedition to recover the Blade of the Sun—a legendary weapon with the power to kill tyrannical Fae King Lazarus. Their uneasy truce proves difficult to maintain, as Arwen battles her unresolved feelings, and Kane is willing to become darkness itself to protect her.

Arwen knows failure to fulfill the prophecy will seal both her own fate as well as the fates of those she loves most. But as Arwen faces creatures, foes, and magic beyond her wildest imaginings, her resolve is tested in ways she never could have foreseen.

Faebound
by Saara El-Arifi

Yeeran was born on the battlefield, has lived on the battlefield, and one day, she knows, she’ll die on the battlefield.

As a warrior in the elven army, Yeeran has known nothing but violence her whole life. Her sister, Lettle, is trying to make a living as a diviner, seeking prophecies of a better future. When a fatal mistake leads to Yeeran’s exile from the Elven Lands, both sisters are forced into the terrifying wilderness beyond their borders. 

There they encounter the impossible: the fae court. The fae haven’t been seen for a millennium. But now Yeeran and Lettle are thrust into their seductive world, torn among their loyalties to each other, their elven homeland, and their hearts.

The Honey Witch
by Sydney J. Shields

Twenty-one-year-old Marigold Claude has always preferred the company of the spirits of the meadow to any of the suitors who’ve tried to woo her. So when her grandmother whisks her away to the family cottage on the tiny Isle of Innisfree with an offer to train her as the next Honey Witch, she accepts immediately. But her newfound magic and independence come with a price: No one can fall in love with the Honey Witch.
 
When Lottie Burke, a notoriously grumpy skeptic who doesn’t believe in magic, shows up on her doorstep, Marigold can’t resist the challenge to prove to her that magic is real. But soon, Marigold begins to care for Lottie in ways she never expected. And when darker magic awakens and threatens to destroy her home, she must fight for much more than her new home—at the risk of losing her magic and her heart.

Blood of Hercules
by Jasmine Mas

I’m just a girl. And it turns out, I’m Hercules. I’m struggling to survive in a Titan infested world where Spartans, immortals from twelve royal families who have god-like powers and obscene wealth, rule over all. A shy-stammering foster child with nothing, I keep my head down, cover my scars, and focus on excelling in school. At least, I try to. Then it happens.

My blood test reveals I’m part of the powerful elite. I’m one of them. A Spartan.

Forced to attend the Spartan War Academy, I undergo the most harrowing test of all time to see if I have what it takes to be an immortal. There’s just a few problems. Achilles and Patro are my scary mentors. Kharon, the ferryman of death, and Augustus, the son of war, are my terrifying professors. Also, I’m pretty sure either someone’s stalking me everywhere I go, or my sanity’s slipping––I have a bad feeling both are true.

I’m surrounded by Villains and they’re smothering me with their hate, obsession, and dark possessiveness. Too bad for them, they have no clue just who they’re messing with.

The Veiled Kingdom
by Holly Renee

Fleeing my father’s cruelty, the wicked king who robbed me of a future, I face death in the streets, caught between a rebellion and a tyrant’s reign.

Captured by those sworn to kill me, the rebels remain blind to my true identity—the missing daughter of the despised king. Faced with an impossible choice, I stand before them: join the rebels or face their blades.

Yet, Dacre, the son of the ruthless rebellion commander, becomes torn between suspicion and a desire that mirrors my own. He allows no one to touch me, tries to protect me, yet threatens me at every turn.

As secrets are weaved beyond our hidden realm, a fierce battle unfolds within me. As I get closer to the rebels, and their cause, my loyalty to my kingdom clashes with my undeniable devotion to Dacre and the burning connection between us.