Discover some of the best historical fantasy (and romantic fantasy) books in our specially curated list, where history is more than just dates and battles, it's realms of whispered magic, epic adventures, legends half-forgotten.
Here you'll find stories that combine richly drawn historical settings with intricate magic systems and, in some cases, truly unforgettable love stories. Stories that promise high stakes, immersive worlds and beautiful story-telling. Stories you won't be able to put down.
Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibañez
Are you in need of a twisty, lush and achingly romantic magical standalone set in Renaissance Italy? If so, Isabel Ibañez’s adult fantasy debut, Graceless Heart, is for you.
In 15th-century Volterra, sculptress Ravenna Maffei enters a competition hosted by a secretive, immortal. Desperate to win so she can save her brother, Ravenna reveals a rare magical talent – a dangerous act in a city where magic is forbidden. Her revelation makes her a target, and she is kidnapped by the Luni family and taken to Florence.
There, Ravenna is forced into an impossible task where failure means certain death at the hands of Saturnino dei Luni, the family's enigmatic and merciless heir. But under his cold reserve hides a vulnerability that draws her closer than she ever intended. The choices she makes will determine the fate of not just her own life, but the fragile balance of magic and power that could unravel Florence itself.
Tropes you can expect to find:
- enemies-to-lovers
- slow-burn
- magic vs religion
- political intrigue
As alliances shift and war brews on the horizon, Ravenna must navigate the treacherous line between survival and betrayal, between love and duty.
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Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris
In Belle Époque Paris, a monster is murdering powerful men. Drawing characters from the world of Dracula and Sherlock Holmes, Strange Beasts is a perfect mix of historical fantasy, gothic horror and murder mystery.
A monster is murdering powerful men. Stopping it may be a woman’s job.
When the Gendarmes ask the Royal Society for the Study of Abnormal Phenomena for help, they don’t expect them to send Samantha Harker, a researcher, more used to papercuts than knife fights. Daughter of Dracula’s killer, Sam can see into the minds of monsters, a perilous power, one that could help her crack this case ─ or have her thrown into an asylum.
Dr Helena Moriarty is Sam’s reluctant partner, the Society’s finest agent who has forged a formidable path in her notorious father’s shadow.
From Paris’ glittering opera house to its darkest catacombs, the investigation pits Sam and Hel against magic, monsters, and men. And beneath their tenuous partnership, something else is growing . . .
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The Wondrous Life and Loves of Nella Carter by Brionni Nwosu
Desperate to get your heart torn out? This tale of love and loss will do the job!
The bargain: the chance at immortal life if you prove that Death is mistaken.
The price: fail to satisfy him and surrender yourself - and the entire human race - to him forever.
Nella takes the challenge and will inspire and entertain Death’s fascination by never stopping to travel and write. Nella will experience joy and loss, passion and pain; she will find love in its many forms with friends, partners and lovers.
All the while, Death is watching - and waiting for her to surrender.
Nella is almost ready to concede to Death when she meets a handsome professor. Tired of deception, desperate for a real connection, Nella begins to tell him her story - centred on her greatest romances over the centuries.
Nella's own story might be the greatest love story of them all, but the question is - are you ready to read it?
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This Monster of Mine by Shalini Abeysekara
This Monster of Mine, a dazzling Ancient Rome-inspired romantasy, is a bloodbath of manipulation, deception, and forbidden love.
Eighteen-year-old Sarai doesn't know why someone tried to kill her four years ago, but she does know that her case was closed without justice. Hellbent on vengeance, she returns to the scene of the crime as a Petitor, a prosecutor who can magically detect lies, and is assigned to work with Tetrarch Kadra. Ice-cold and perennially sadistic, Kadra is the most vicious of the four judges who rule the land - and the prime suspect in a string of deaths identical to Sarai's attempted murder.
Certain of his guilt, Sarai begins a double life: solving cases with Kadra by day and plotting his ruin by night. But Kadra is charming and there's something alluring about the wrath he wields against the city's corruption. So when the evidence she finds embroils her in a deadly political battle, Sarai must also fight against her attraction to Kadra - because despite his growing hold on her heart, his voice matches the only memory she has of her assailant . . .
With decadent world-building, lush storytelling and a deliciously dark slow-burn romance, This Monster of Mine will linger long after the final pages..
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Sister Wake by Dave Rudden
Sister Wake is the first in a high fantasy trilogy, an unputdownable epic inspired by Ireland’s history of rebellion and fight for independence.
For three hundred years the wild island of Croí has been subject to the Empire of the Answering. Clans have been subjugated, their language outlawed, their religion reduced to the whisper of fugitive priests. Until Croí's prayers are answered. The Gods return. Feral and majestic, they stride the land as colossi, throwing the Empire into chaos.
The dispossessed and the vengeful struggle for power. A ruthless priestess rallies the faithful, offering a simple choice - believe, or die - even as the empire's Queen makes the first moves in a long and dangerous game. But for all their machinations, one woman will decide the fate of them all . . . Sister Wake, unwilling saint of the Goddess of Death.
With the help of their newly arisen gods, Croí is finally about to fight back against the Empire of the Answering - but are the gods on their side, after all?
Exquisite and expansive world-building, leap off the page characters and a pacey, action-packed plot, Dave Rudden is a hugely exciting new voice in the genre. Sister Wake is not to be missed.
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A Remedy for Fate by M. A. Kuzniar
Desperately yearning for your next ‘larger-than-life’, fairy-tale inspired fantasy – full of whimsy, romance, and a careful sprinkling of something darker? Step into Baroque Prague with A Remedy for Fate.
Prague, 1769. In the Magic Quarter of the jewel-box city of Prague, Thea runs Stiltskin's Apothecary. There, she brews potions to chase away nightmares and soothe heartache - and strikes bargains to change her customers' fates. The only fate she cannot change? Her own.
Seven years ago, Thea bargained away her heart and her memories to the apothecary's owner, the cold, yet enigmatic Jasper, for reasons she cannot remember, and a reward she cannot recall. Then one day a stranger arrives with an unusual request. One that will upturn Thea's entire existence - and offer her a precious chance to recover her heart . . .
Rumpelstilskin-meets-Faust in this, M.A. Kuzniar’s magical, larger-than-life historical fantasy.
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The Once and Future Queen by Paula Lafferty
Camelot-meets-Outlander in this sweeping historical fantasy filled to the brim with romance.
Meet Vera. After the sudden death of her boyfriend, Vera is content to fade into the background, washing sheets and cleaning bathrooms in a Glastonbury hotel. But when a mysterious guest reveals himself as Merlin and whisks her back to seventh-century Camelot, everything changes. He insists she's not just Vera, she's Guinevere, and only she can undo the curse draining the kingdom's magic and save Camelot.
There's just one problem: Vera remembers nothing of her past life. And with Camelot teetering on the edge of collapse, time is running out.
The Once and Future Queen will effortlessly draw you into the vivid world of 7th Century Camelot, where you'll be enchanted by a world of magic and familiar characters from Arthurian legend, as a modern-day Guinevere finds herself thrown into an epic journey.
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Written on the Dark by Guy Gavriel Kay
Guy Gavriel Kay’s Written on the Dark is a must-read for those searching for an epic fantasy that blends sweeping history with lyrical storytelling.
Thierry Villar is a notorious tavern poet, more at home among rogues and shadows than in the halls of power. But when a bitterly cold night in his beloved city of Orane pulls him into the deadly games of kings, assassins, and armies, Thierry finds himself caught in a struggle that could tear his country apart.
As war looms and rival factions vie for control, Thierry must rely on his wit and charm to survive. Along the way, he encounters his poetic equal in an aristocratic woman, and a young woman driven by voices to heal the ailing king and rally his forces. Together, they form part of a vivid tapestry of characters whose lives intertwine against the backdrop of ambition, art, and memory.
Sweeping yet intimate, Written on the Dark is a masterful tale of power, beauty, and the human need to leave something behind. It’s an unforgettable addition to the canon of epic fantasy—perfect for readers who crave stories that are as rich in emotion as they are in grandeur.
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The Weaver Bride by Lydia Gregovic
Dear Hodderscape reader, what would you get if you mixed Bridgerton with The Selection? Well, none other than The Weaver Bride! A luscious romantic fantasy about a witch who must navigate a ruthless marriage competition.
Lovett Tamerlane is a silkwitch, her rare magic harnessed only through marriage to a Weaver. But finding a Weaver husband requires status, refinement, and money, all of which Lovett lacks. Her only saving grace is her secret ability: to open any door.
But when Lovett opens the wrong one, she finds herself face to face with Eliot Lear, the notorious son of a prominent Weaver. Eliot offers her a life-altering opportunity: entrance to the Vainglory, a competition with the ultimate prize - marriage to Noé Alaire, heir to generations of Weaver wealth.
Last year, Eliot's sister won the Vainglory - and died. Now Lovett must solve the mystery of her death. If she does, Eliot will ensure she has her pick of Weaver suitors, regardless of who wins the competition. Yet unravelling the murder proves far more complicated than either of them anticipated. And Lovett should know better than to take a Weaver at his word. After all . . . what is love without betrayal?
Feast your eyes on these delicious tropes:
- reluctant allies to lovers 🫱+🫲 =💏
- competition to marry the heir 🤼💍
- murder mystery 🩸🗡️
- political intrigue ⚖️
- magical powers ✨
The Weaver Bride is an unputdownable romantasy steeped in a lush magical world - we're ready to welcome you here.
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Pantomime by L.R. Lam
Looking for your next tour-de-force, gaslamp fantasy to keep the candle burning? L.R. Lam’s award-winning Micah Grey trilogy is perfect for you.
In a land of lost wonders, the past is stirring once more . . .
When Micah runs away from a debutante's life at home and joins the circus, he harbours two secrets. One: he was born between male and female. And two: he may have powers last seen in mysterious beings from an almost-forgotten age.
As Micah discovers the joy of flight as an aerialist, courting his trapeze partner, Aenea, and confiding in the mysterious white clown, Drystan, he finally feels free. But the circus has a dark side, and Micah's past isn't done with him.
Meanwhile, the strange 'ghost' of a woman with damselfly wings whispers to Micah that only he can help magic return to the realm, and he fears she may be right . . .
Inspired by Victorian Scotland, this is a gorgeous and inventive fantasy from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Dragonfall.
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The Book of Gold by Ruth Frances Long
Are you ready for a heist for the ages? If you are searching for a historical fantasy with high-stakes and plenty of action, then look no further than The Book of Gold. Set in an alternate Renaissance world where gods inhabit the bodies of their chosen ones, this is the first book of the exhilarating Feral Gods trilogy.
There's only one thing notorious thief Lyta loves more than a big score: her little brother, Kit. But when Kit is arrested for producing seditious pamphlets, he stands to lose not only his printing press, but possibly his life. In exchange for her brother's freedom, Lyta strikes a daring bargain with the king. She will steal the infamous Book of Gold: a mysterious manuscript reputed to be hiding vast magical power within..
This compelling adventure is packed with rich worldbuilding, memorable characters and a delightful second-chance romance.
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This Ravenous Fate by Hayley Dennings
A darkly twisted historical fantasy set in a 1920s Harlem, This Ravenous Fate is an enemies-to-lovers sapphic love story that transcends death itself.
The Saint family has reigned over the city for years, protecting its inhabitants from the reapers - once-human vampires - but reluctant heir Elise Saint faces a chilling threat: the Harlem reapers want her dead.
Once close friends, now bitter enemies, Elise and newly turned reaper, Layla must work together when reapers are inexplicably turning part-human, leaving grisly murders in their wake. Elise and Layla explore the city’s underbelly, confronting their feelings for one another and uncovering sinister truths that threaten both reapers and humans alike.