If your fantasy romance TBR is starting to feel like the same few books over and over again, this episode is for you. In this episode of Reading Under the Covers, a romance novel podcast, Francesca shares five fantasy romances that helped pull her out of a reading rut and gave her some standout picks for the Romanceopoly 2026 reading challenge - Fantasy Theory prompts. Expect slow burns, fae, magical castles, epic fantasy vibes, sea gods, arranged marriage drama, hidden identities, and a few unexpectedly emotional moments along the way.

These are not all identical reads, and that is part of the fun. Some delivered richer worldbuilding, some worked better as palate cleansers, and all of them offered something different for fantasy romance readers looking beyond the usual viral picks.

In This Episode

Francesca talks about:

1. the fantasy romances that helped revive her reading mood in early 2026
2. how each book fits into the Romanceopoly 2026 reading challenge
3. which books work best for readers who want slow burn romance, epic fantasy, or lighter worldbuilding
4. standout five-star reads and a favorite surprise of the year so far
5. why some “romantasy” titles may actually be better framed as epic fantasy with romance

Books Mentioned

1. Silver and Blood by Jessie Mihalik: https://rstyle.me/+egR2ElhBAtPG1k81rkgwFA

2. Crown of War and Shadow by J.R. Ward: https://rstyle.me/+V-ISGtxmrBvkrtFAGN4Gsw

3. Fated to the Frost King by Robin D. Mahle and Elle Madison: https://rstyle.me/+ODY3llanQwR4L7jnbwlZGQ

4. The Trident and the Pearl by Sarah K.L. Wilson: https://rstyle.me/+IYyBZyqLMbEq6qvBzKI0UA

5. The Second Death of Locke by V.L. Bovalino: https://rstyle.me/+2rSFZTHKMQ953m0_-gOhCQ

Fantasy romance does not have to mean only the biggest names making the rounds online. This episode is a reminder that there are plenty of underrated or less-hyped books that can still deliver on romance, magic, worldbuilding, and fit your reading challenges in really satisfying ways.

It is also a good episode for readers trying to get out of a reading slump, especially if you want books that range from immersive and emotionally intense to quick and easy palate cleansers.

Mentioned in the Episode

1. Francesca’s J.R. Ward interview: https://www.underthecoversbookblog.com/jr-ward-interview/
2. the January wrap-up podcast episode with the conspiracy theory discussion: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3N8Ui4H5dbNgJEPuvofnrU?si=lcbvO7nOSNaA8uIe52gnYA
3. Romanceopoly 2026 reading challenge: https://www.underthecoversbookblog.com/reading-challenge/

Which fantasy romances have fixed your TBR lately? And if you are doing Romanceopoly, what have been your best Fantasy Theory reads so far?

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it is.

So good.

It is going to be my first five star read of the year

Welcome to Reading Under the covers a Romance novel podcast,

where we chat fangirl and maybe even swoon over our latest reads.

I'm Francesca from Under the Covers book blog, and

listen.

If your fantasy romance, TBR is just the same five authors on TikTok,

just on repeat, that we're gonna talk about five books here today.

That really took me out of my reading rut.

and that you need to add to your TBR.

They're obsessive romantic and also pulled double duty because I used them

for my romanceopoly reading challenge.

Now I have a confession to make.

I had this plan of filming this reading vlog and give you guys instant

reactions of when I finished reading the books and maybe updates as I was

reading them, and that was all great.

But then February happened and February went completely off the rails for me

with wanting to create content energy, just not even wanting to read that much.

Actually.

In fact, I just spent a lot of times with cozy games but that

also means that my original idea for this video kind of fell apart.

And I don't have some of that footage that I was planning to show to you

guys of those first real impressions.

But we're still gonna make that work.

Now, to be completely honest with you guys, these are not

like all, all time favorites.

Some are really, really good and maybe they can get close to top favorites

of 2026, but others I would probably look at them for specific moods.

So I'm gonna tell you what those are.

And if you're doing Romanceopoly as well, I'm gonna tell you what you can

use them for the 2026 Reading Challenge.

The first one that we're gonna start with is Silver and Blood by Jessie Mihalik.

Silver and blood is great if you like a beauty and the beast vibe with

forced proximity and it's set in a magical castle and it's basically

about this untrained mage heroine.

Who goes hunting A monster in the woods only to be saved by a grumpy,

scarred and suspiciously powerful man.

Who locks her way in this magical castle for her own good.

And like she's able to ask things of this castle and all of these things.

And as she's discovering her powers and discovering who she really

is and who he really is, and is just lots of hitting identities.

Plus it is a fae romance.

And I do have some footage of my initial reactions when I was reading this.

So let's go see what I had to say.

All right, so I'm gonna be starting one of my most anticipated

fantasy romance reads of the year.

I actually got this book back in I think October.

I talked about it in my full witch core curriculum.

I didn't read it, so I am super excited to get to it is

by one of my favorite authors.

If you have not been reading her absolute must,

it is Silver and Blood by Jessie Mihalik, and we're gonna dive into this one.

It's fae, it's court politics, it's all kinds of stuff, so I

am really excited to dive in.

Okay.

Quick update, like mid reading.

I haven't been able to put this book down.

It is so, so good.

Just breezing right through it.

It is amazing, like the story, the pacing the characters, it is just everything

that I would want in a fantasy romance, which is not like your typical romantasy,

so I definitely think that I'm really going to love it and it might end up

being my first five star read of the year.

Yay.

I have now finished reading Silver and Blood by Jessie Mihalik, and it is.

So good.

It is going to be my first five star read of the year and I find it funny

because it's not necessarily like super innovative, although I did

find like the magic system was really interesting and maybe something that

little details I haven't seen before.

But in terms of like.

The politics and the royalty and all of those things.

I don't think it was like super, super unique, but just the way

that those known elements are laid out in the types of characters and

relationships that we are seeing.

I feel like it was just all done in package, in the way that works for me when

it comes to romantasy, which normally I feel like it doesn't really have that.

When I read normal, I, let's call it normal, romantasy, but I feel like

it is more character development, a little bit more slow burn.

There's.

You know, kind of like you're really earning them being together and I

just thoroughly really enjoyed it.

I feel like just in general, Jessie Mihalik's writing, it just jives with me.

It gives me all of that development of the story and the world building and

it's just giving us enough where we know that there's going to be more coming

in the second book and yes, it does.

And in a cliffhanger.

So, um.

It's not like, I mean I guess for me it wasn't like super, super like

heavy cliffhanger, but it is there.

So obviously it does leave you hanging for what's gonna happen in the next book.

And I am just personally so excited for it.

I can't wait.

I don't know when it's coming out.

It better come out soon 'cause I wanna read it.

But more of that is just because I really think that Jessie

Mihalik's writing is just so good.

I feel like if you are really into like the.

Old school paranormal romance or the old school urban fantasy

with some romance, you're really gonna gravitate to her writing.

And also like just these two characters in general.

I really love the characters.

We do have a heroine who doesn't really know much about herself even so she

is coming into her own, a little bit of like secret identities or whatever.

So I definitely highly recommend this, and if you have not read,

Jessie Mihalik in general.

You are missing out.

If you wanna try something new, definitely go for more of the Polaris Rising.

I think that's a great starting and in fact that would also work for Nexus

Hall 'cause it is a space opera romance.

She is amazing and I feel like she's so underrated.

Like I don't see so many people talk about her.

I know that most of what she's written before is like sci-fi,

space opera type romances.

And I'm excited that I now have this fantasy romance that I can shout from the

rooftop and tell you guys all to read it.

All right, so five star Read Silver and Blood by Jessie Mihalik.

Highly recommend.

And now we're gonna look at Romanceopoly and the prompts so that

you know what, you can use this for.

I'm only gonna look at fantasy theory prompts 'cause that is

the department that we're working with here with the books today.

So for Silver and Blood by Jessie Mihalik, you definitely can use this

for Crown Spire Tower because it is a

romantasy book with royalty.

Now you also can use this for Rune Hall because it is a fantasy romance

technically with a unique magic system.

There are some unique elements to the magic system in here

and it is for sure a slow burn.

So definitely can work for that.

And also can work for Thorn Court because that is to read a romance featuring fae.

It is a fae Romance.

And then for Nexus Hall, now this would be a little bit of a stretch, but technically

there is a part of the story where they are moving between kind of realms.

So there is sort of a portal in there.

So little bit of a stretch is not quite what portal fantasy, I would

say, you know, in general would be.

If you really needed to stretch it, you can do that.

And for Battle and Bond Academy, I mean, the hero is not a warrior or

a warlord, but he is a protector.

So I would say that's another bit of a stretch.

But you technically could use this as well for that.

So I mean, all things considered, you can read one book for Romanceopoly for

fantasy theory, and you can hit all five prompts if push comes to shove.

So, you can't go wrong with that.

Right.

Now let's continue on to my reading vlog that went off the rails, but we did get

into the second book that I read that was Crown of War Shadow by JR Ward.

Now this is a book that I was super, super, highly excited for.

I was anticipating this because JR Ward is one of my favorite authors.

And this was something new from her because we really haven't seen her

write Proper Fantasy Romance before.

So.

I was excited to read this.

I do have actually an interview with JR Ward here on the channel

if you wanna check it out and hear us talk about this more.

So I will leave that link for you guys to check it out.

This is basically high stakes survival, but it's also a bit medieval meets

Indiana Jones that's kind of the vibe

and also we follow this outcast heroine who is basically cursed or so she things

with these powers mystical powers who is at risk of getting killed, and she

has to make a deal with a mercenary,

very brooding and scarred mercenary.

In order to get safe passage with his help to deliver a crown which

hopefully will help her lands, get protection from these demons that

are crossing over into their realm.

And so they go on this almost like a journey, a road trip together, A road trip

on horses, of course, through these really dangerous landscapes, and they have to

battle all these creatures and hopefully enlist some help to get rid of the demons.

But yeah, let's dive into my thoughts on reading Crown of

War and Shadow by JR Ward.

So we are starting two more books 'cause.

I couldn't start one apparently.

So one, I am starting digitally.

It's an arc of King of Ravens by Clare Sager.

I started reading Clare Sager in 20 end of 2024.

So I've read a couple of books by her.

I really enjoy her writing.

So far King of Ravens is starting off a little bit.

Could be triggering.

So a bit better checked like trigger warning, especially around illness.

Definitely a little bit slower paced to get into.

However, I am 8% in, so we are now starting to really see the fae world and

how that's gonna start coming into play,

which I have found so far really fascinating, because there's like

a bargain that the parents of our heroine made before she was even born.

So basically they didn't even know that they were pregnant.

The father was out at sea and.

He made this bargain to basically survive a horrible storm out at sea and

he had to give his firstborn daughter, and there she was born and they've

been trying to kind of hide her, but.

You know, it's caught up to them.

So that's basically where we're at.

And I am excited to now start coming into this and seeing what really develops

with the fae element of the story.

So, so far I am enjoying it.

It's a little bit slower.

And another one that I also will say it's a little bit slow to

start is crown of war and shadow.

By JR Ward.

So this one is JR Ward.

I think it's her first fantasy romance.

Don't quote me in it, but I think it is her first one.

I love her Black Dagger Brotherhood series, so I definitely wanted to make

sure that I read her fantasy romance.

I have also really enjoyed her contemporary romances

and her urban fantasy.

There's.

Lots of videos here on the channel with all of the J R Ward things,

so definitely check those out.

I will leave those link down below.

I am on page 50, which is chapter, I'm gonna start chapter 10 now.

So, so far, again, it's a little bit slow to start it.

You know, it kind of gives me vibes of the scribe virgin in the

Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

So like, the heroine kind of reminds me of the scribe virgin almost.

Like if that was her origin story for some reason, like,

that's all I can think about.

So, so far I am enjoying it.

It is.

A a little bit slower pace and a little bit slower to get into, which I fully

expected just because it's a brand new world and all of these things.

So hopefully it gets way more interested.

But I will keep you posted on both of those.

And yeah, I'm just really excited to dive into these.

Guys, I just finished Crown of War Shadow by JR Ward and its.

So good.

I first, I struggled with like reading the first 50 pages and I found it really

boring and tedious and so I actually recorded our January wrap up over for the

podcast, so you can go and check that out.

I'll leave the link in there and I had this conspiracy theory and

I talked that over with Jen and Angela on that podcast episode.

And so after that I decided to restart this book, so I went back.

I actually was doing the eARC for it and I was highlighting and taking notes.

I was actually using my new Kobo Libra Colour color, which I

really enjoy the whole experience.

This was the first book that I read on it, and it's so good.

So even going through those first 50 pages again, the second time.

I enjoyed it so much more, and it's not even the conspiracy

theory of it all, which Sure.

I was looking for clues on it.

And again, if you wanna check that out, I will leave a link so you

can go and see my thoughts on that.

But oh my God, this book was so, so good.

It's definitely one of my favorites so far.

Of the year.

I think that JR Ward has created this really amazing world

that I really wanted to be in.

It.

It's kind of like very medieval feeling, but also like it has this

great overarching world that really feels like a deep fantasy romance.

It's definitely a slow burn.

It's definitely you will see an enemies to lovers, even though it doesn't

really feel like an enemies to lovers.

More like maybe, I guess star crossed lovers, if you will.

And it was just such a great storyline.

So yes, the romance is great, but I think the romance is kind of like this side

part to the story almost because the world itself and like what's happening in this

world and all of the battle scenes, like some amazing action battle scenes with.

Different kinds of creatures and animals and stuff like, it was just so good.

It, I, I will have to get my thoughts together and give you

guys a more thoughtful review.

But like, just first impressions finishing this last night.

So amazing, so, so, so amazing.

Definitely highly recommend that you pick it up.

And also for Romanceopoly, it definitely also fit for the crying room because I

teared up and it made me cry two times.

So I mean, JR Ward is really good at doing that, and it's been a

while since she's made me cry.

And this book right here, it did.

For Roman Napoli, you can definitely use this for several things.

I personally use this for crying room because like I mentioned

earlier, it made me cry a couple of times, but obviously that's.

Personal, that might not be the case for you.

So, there are some things that it could fit that would be spoilery,

so I will not mention those.

But it is definitely a slow burn romance, so for sure it will fit for Rune Hall.

And we do have magical creatures.

It's not a fae Romance, but it is demons.

But definitely there are magical creatures.

So Thorn Court could work.

The magical creatures are more like what they're battling and fighting.

And for sure what it's like a hundred percent made for this is battle and Bond

academy because we do have a warrior, assassin and protector all rolled into

one with the hero of the story Merc.

So yeah, I think that Battle and Bond Academy is like the perfect one for it.

But there is something else though that could work, and I'm

not gonna tell you what that is.

But I personally use this for crying rooms.

And we will have to like get back to the King of Ravens in another video.

We'll get back to that book.

But now let's move on to the third book that I wanted to talk about here.

And that is Fated to the Frost King by Robin D. Mahle and Elle Madison.

Now, I listened to this on audiobook and I actually listened to this

for the Frostbitten trials.

This was for my Shimmer Clash option, which was the winter setting, I

didn't know anything about this book.

And.

I feel like it is a very short book so you can breeze right through it.

I think I read it in about three hours at my usual, like three times speed.

So it is a pretty short book.

It was entertaining and obviously there's an arranged marriage.

More like a fated marriage really,

so basically we have a king that is looking for his bride, and there's sort

of a. You know, competition or like all these women are lined up and the Oracle

type is going to determine which one is the one that's fated to be the bride.

And our heroine thinks that she's safe because she is hiding a secret about her

identity and like what she really is.

So it, she's safe.

And actually she turns out to be the bride, the chosen bride

and so it's basically this like forced marriage in a way.

It was interesting as our heroine is now living at the palace and

you know, the wedding is coming up in all these preparations.

The only thing that I will say with this book is that I feel like we

didn't get a lot with the world building like as much as I wanted.

So I wanted this book to go deeper.

I think it probably could have used being a little bit longer and giving

us a little bit more of the world.

Building development it's definitely very character driven story,

but I think that if you're into.

Those kind of stories, especially with the arranged marriages and the court politics

and the royalty and all of those things.

It will definitely work for that.

And I enjoyed it.

Just, you know, as long as you know you're going in for lighter world building, which

as you can see, the ones that I really enjoyed before, there are a little bit

more in depth with the world building.

So this one felt.

Lighter, but it's also for me, it was also a great palette cleanser from

heavier reads where you really have to dig in like a really juicy world.

So this was very easy to read, very breezy, and it was great on audio as well.

So like I said, this, I listened for the Shimmer Clash for the Frostbitten trials,

but it will also work for Romanceopoly.

For Crown Spire Tower 100% because it's a romantasy with

royalty and an arranged marriage.

I mean arranged forced, call it what you will, but definitely

for Crown Spire Tower.

It works also for Thorn Court

and if you wanted to use it for Shimmer Clash as well, for the Frostbitten

trials, you can totally do that too.

The next book is one that I picked up on a whim.

I actually got this arc and it just looked so interesting and so

reminiscent to some of the original fantasy romances that I love to read.

And that is The Trident and the Pearl by Sarah, KL Wilson.

Now, this was marketed as a debut romantasy.

By this author.

It's not her debut novel, but like a debut in the romantasy genre.

I almost want to say that.

Calling this romantasy kind of does it a disservice, only because it leans

way more epic fantasy than romantasy.

And like in my mind there is a distinction.

I don't want to just lump all of them together as fantasy romances.

So I will say be cautious of that.

'cause like the romantic element of this is a much smaller aspect.

It is.

There it is.

There it is.

Slow burn, whatever you wanna call it.

But just know that that's gonna be a smaller element of this.

And you're in here more for the epic fantasy ride of this story.

It is a pretty chunky one, but so let's get into the premise in this one.

We have a desperate queen here that bargains with the gods

in order to save her kingdom.

Her husband had just died, and in her bargain with the gods, she has to promise

that she's going to marry the first man that walks on her pier and she's thinking

that it's going to be some heroic prince or whatever, and it turns out to be

this injured grumpy fisherman and she has to follow through with it, right?

So they marry and she has to go off with her fisherman and he

actually is no fisherman at all.

And he happens to be the God of the sea in disguise.

And now they're married.

And of course he has his own agenda and his own.

World of issues and all of that is also tied to the gods that she bargained with.

So there's this epic, epic journey.

There is also kind of like epic romance to it as well.

Mythology in here.

Now in terms of the romance.

One thing that I did not love is the fact that there's a lot of miscommunication

in here, and I think that that did pull me out of the story but the

first, like 30, 40% of this book.

I was absolutely loving it.

So I, I'm a big fan of Jacqueline Carey Anne Bishop, like those

kinds of fantasy romance authors.

I was so locked in because it was really reminiscent to reading

one of those epic stories.

Like just everything was just so vivid and just.

Great descriptions and I was so into the world and what was happening in the

mythology and the battles and the danger that was looming and all of the things.

So if you're into those authors, I would definitely suggest

that you check out this book.

But if you're really into more of the lighter.

Fluffier romantasy, like the one that I just talked about fated to the Frost King,

then this might be a little too much.

So definitely know what you're getting into or what mood you're in, but if

you're in the mood for like really an epic ride, this was really, really fun.

I really enjoyed it.

Again, just know that you're gonna get into some miscommunication and there

were some parts where I was really.

I not trusting the process and thinking that, hmm, things that may

not be going in a good direction, and should I be trusting the author?

That was on me and at the end of the day, I really ended up liking this.

So I am just excited overall to continue.

But if you're looking for something that is newer, but it does have those

vibes of the Jacqueline Careys and the, Anne Bishops and the Juliet Marillier.

Then maybe consider picking up the Trident and the pearl again.

I do think using the word romantasy does it a disservice,

but just go into expecting like an epic fantasy with romance.

I hope that clears up the distinction.

I know in my head it's really clear, the distinction, but you know,

words sometimes have different meaning for different people.

Nevertheless, lots of fun.

Now for Romanceopoly, this will work for, uh, definitely for

Crownspire Tower because it does have royalty and an arranged marriage.

So that 100% for Rune Hall as well, it is Slow Burn Romance

and you could also use it for battle and Bond Academy, really, because

we do have warriors and protectors.

I mean, even our heroine, who is a queen, she is a protector of her people and she's

doing a lot of sacrifices in order to keep them safe and throughout the book as

well, not just the bargain with the gods,

and then the last book for today is one that I just finished reading

recently, that is the second death of Locke by VL Bovalino.

Now, I use this obviously Romanceopoly.

I had picked it out for my March TBR, which was also something that you guys

recommended over on the Discord server.

So I did have a TBR video where I picked books that were

recommended on the Discord server.

However, I also had this on my 26 books that I wanted to read in 2026.

So I had to pick it up and I've basically been hearing about

this book since last year and it just sounded really, really good.

I love the fact that we have a female bodyguard I know that we all really

love a good yearn, and I think that this one really delivers on that.

Basically we're dealing with a female bodyguard and a mage, lots of magical

powers, hidden identities as well, and what I really loved is the fact

that as much as the hero would do anything for her, but our heroine

would burn the world down for him.

So this is another one that if you like, like Epic fantasies, Jacqueline Carey

and Anne Bishop, and the Sarah KL Wilson.

This is definitely one that you should check out.

It's another slow burn romance.

We have great epic battles and great magic system.

It's also kind of a unique magic system, which I really enjoyed.

But it's all more in the setting of war, and as they're moving through

the events in the series as well.

Overall, it was just really interesting.

It kept me hooked.

And it is a pretty chunky book, so that is saying something.

I cannot wait to get to the second book whenever that comes out, which

I believe it will be this year.

I also love stories where it's a childhood crush or childhood best friends.

I mean, our hero and heroine here, they've known each other their whole

lives and they've both harbored feelings for each other, like

they've been each other's crush, and neither of them really acted on it.

And it has this beautiful scene where there is finally someone making a move.

And then the other one's like.

Oh my God, I didn't know that you were attracted or like, this could be a thing.

And like why have we wasted all this time?

And it was just really beautiful and like how much they're really there

for each other and how they help each other, whether it's in the actual

magic and the battles and all of that.

Or you know, actually caring for each other and some bad things happen.

Of course.

And we do have to see that.

Trust and sacrifice tested

We do have politics and all of that as well, this is a great one as well.

If you want more epic stories now for this one, for Romanceopoly, you can use it for

Rune hall because it is definitely a unique magic system

and a slow burn romance, both.

You also have the battle in bond academy, which is what I used it for, and that

is warrior warlord assassin protector, definitely warrior slash protector.

I love that you can use all of these books for multiple prompts.

So even if you just pick up one, you can actually knock off a couple of your

prompts altogether, which basically means that by reading all these five, I have

technically finished the fantasy theory department with all of those prompts.

But I am not going to be reusing books, so unless I get down to crunch time at

the end of the year and I have to fill in some of these, otherwise, I'm gonna try to

read other books, the other books that I had planned out for those other prompts.

So we'll see what happens.

Wish me luck with that.

So there you have it.

Those are five fantasy romances that fixed my TBR so far in 2026.

I definitely enjoyed all of them and I hope that you got

some good recommendations.

Maybe something underrated that you haven't heard about before.

And even with February, just doing the most and just being so chaotic and me not

being able to read as much as I wanted.

In all honesty, March is doing the same thing as well.

I am still making a dent in my romanceopoly books.

And so far I have not found any flops yet.

Now, let me know in the comments which one of these you've read or which ones

you've added to your TBR, and also which books you've read for fantasy

theory that have really been winners and you would recommend to everyone.

So leave those in the comments so we can all share more recommendations.

But also let me know if I'm not alone.

And you also had maybe a little bit less of a stellar month in reading

in February or March so far.

And how are you dealing with that and getting out of your slump?

Also if Crown of War and Shadow by JR Ward caught your eye , I definitely

recommend that you check out my interview with JR Ward because.

In a way, she kind of confirmed my conspiracy theory, and I'm

just gonna take it that way.

But you let me know once you watch that video, what you think that she meant.

If that confirms my theory or I'm still making stuff up.

Otherwise, that is all I have for you guys here today, and I

will see you in the next video.

Bye.