Romantasy's Mainstream Moment
Working Title: Sarah J. Maas's new release is dominating the news cycle--and that's great news for all romantasy writers!
If you were still questioning the long-lasting appeal of romantasy as a genre, the media blitz around the release of Sarah J. Maas’s third installment of the Crescent City series should lay any lingering doubt to rest.
Romatnasy is everywhere. This week Maas had a ten minute feature on the Today show to coincide with the release date of House of Flame and Shadow. PBS Newshour had a seven minute feature focusing on romantasy. People, Entertainment Weekly, E!, HuffPost, The Guardian, and Time all ran articles focusing on Maas’s massive success (what a terrible pun) and her role as a driving force behind the growing popularity of this genre.
I haven’t even begun to mention how BookTok and Bookstagram are exploding. I don’t like making reels on IG, and even I did an unboxing post for HoFaS.
Overall, its been a love fest. Here are my three take-aways from this week’s coverage.
Romantasy Is Profitable
I was amused to see traditional media’s astonishment at the commercial success of romantasy. Are they not paying attention? Maas has sold 38 million books since her first novel was released in 2012. Yarros sold 6 million copes of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame in 2023 alone. That doesn’t even account for library borrows for people who love these books but can’t afford to purchase them.
What do you all think we’re reading when we’re not listening to Taylor Swift? Women want to support other women. Furthermore, we are a major economic power, and we want to consume media that reflects our experiences. Why is that such a novel notion?
PBS New Hour and The Guardian both noted the viral success of romantasy can be attributed to TikTok, cementing a trend whose roots started in the pandemic. While I don’t have the data to back it up, as a long time bookstagram account follower, I have noted more and more romantasy titles in my feed. However, that could also be the algorithm at work.
Readers need Romantasy’s Brand of Escapism
Though romance books have been lambasted in the past as “trashy” or “second-rate literature”, this genre has always provided a reprieve from the demands of everyday life. As Leah Koch, owner of the Ripped Bodice bookstore noted, “fantasy romance is the ultimate in escapism”. Considering the current political climate the world over, is it any wonder that we need something that promises you can face the worst, survive, and still have a happily-ever-ever?
I know that is it’s huge appeal for me. Take my money.
Some readers also turn to romantasy to delve into worlds where women are allowed to be bold, intellectual, and physically powerful. Christina Clark-Brown, one of the influencers I follow on IG @ninas_nook, pointed out, “There is no damsel who needs saving but rather women are allowed to be powerful, go on epic quests, and find love with a partner who is an equal to them in every way.”
That escapism also comes to the real world. Though some folks thought it funny to see readers wearing pointed fae-ears at the House of Flame and Shadow release, I love it. There is so much hatred, death, and destruction in the world. If you can find solace in the pages of a book or a fandom, why not?
Traditional Media is Defending the Spice 🌶️
As a former librarian, I know that romance books move off the shelf a lot faster than Shakespeare. Amazon’s sales numbers show the same is true on their platform. Why? It probably has something to do with the explicit sex.
This seems to come as a surprise for some folks, as these articles had to defend its inclusion in the narrative.
All I gotta say is IT’S ABOUT TIME.
There is absolutely nothing wrong, shameful, or sinful in the act of reading or writing about sex.
I will go so far to say some books need those sex scenes. They can even turn a story into a novel by providing interiority to the characters and adding to their internal arcs of growth.
Entertainment Weekly went as far as to run the headline “Smut is not a dirty word: Author Sarah J. Maas (and romantasy at large) deserves more respect.” YES. Journalist Maureen Lee Lenker even posed the question, “Why should something that taps into our most visceral, naked emotions be considered lesser? What’s wrong with including scenes of intimacy and physical connection that aren’t a regurgitation of the rape tropes we so often find in male-penned fantasy?”
This article goes on to note, “(Sex scenes) offer examples of sex positivity, model consent, and generally provide a window through which readers can better understand and communicate their sexuality and desires.” As the mom of a 16 and 19 year-old-daughters, I couldn’t agree more. Yes, its titillating. But it is also providing valuable lessons in a way that engages my girls rather than having them roll their eyes at me.
Hopefully, the days of belittling romance are in the past.
Now, that doesn’t mean those who write romance are still comfortable with questions like, “Did you model that scene on you and your husband?” Someone had the gall to ask this of Sarah J. Maas. Her response was a desire to run into traffic.
Thank goodness she did not.
I am reworking my romantasy novel to include more spice, since I did not want my Grandmother reading sex scenes I wrote.
There’s no shame, but also—who enquires about what a writer does in their own bedroom during their free time? There must be a happy medium between being sex positive and polite.
CONGRATULATIONS to Sarah B. of Mokena, IL, winner of the Blueprint for a Book package at Book Bound Coaching! I’m looking forward to working with you. To those who entered but didn’t win…you should receive a little something special in your inbox next week.
Nice article, Ivy. I read my first Sarah Maas book in January because my client is writing romantasy. I loved it! Strong women characters who can hold their own...but there was still some women backstabber tropes. Though there will always be bad actors, even if I don’t want to believe it of other women.
This article was really fun to write. If you found it helpful, all the better!
Which book did you read?