Latest news with #romantasy
Vogue
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue
Romance Books are So Back—And Moms are Obsessed
The story goes a bit like this: She's the youngest daughter of a starving family, he's a prince whose kingdom is suffering from a curse. Though she doesn't know it, her love is the only thing that can save his kingdom from ruin. It could be the plot of a children's fairytale—or the plot of Sarah J Maas's for-adults book series A Court of Thorns and Roses, which has been credited with starting a bookbound sexual revolution. 'Romantasy,' the literary genre that fuses fantasy stories with adult-only romance plots, is the leading book genre according to market research company Circana BookScan. It's also growing by leaps and bounds, with 1.9 million books sold since January 1 alone. Hop on BookTok (the TikTok community dedicated to reading books) and you'll find romance books rebranded: Words like 'spicy' and chili pepper emojis are common positive reactions to a story, and there are hashtags dedicated to tropes like 'friends-to-lovers' and 'marriage of convenience.' It's a pretty good glow-up for the once-maligned romance book category. 'A seed was planted for the craze about 20 years ago or so with the Twilight series,' says New York Public Library librarian Anne Royer. 'Romance wasn't the main plot in that or The Hunger Games, but these are the books millennials were raised on. It makes sense that they want a similar story but with more adult content now that they are adults.' She adds that Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) was the third most checked out book from the library last year. It's just another industry proving the common saying of 'sex sells' true. But for a lot of women—especially mothers—diving into the genre is helping them reconnect with themselves and escape the everyday. 'There is so much sex in this book,' says Let Them author and mother-of-three Mel Robbins, who listened to ACOTAR as an audiobook. 'You literally blush. And what's so cool about dramatic audio is that I would have my earbuds in all day long. I would be washing dishes, but I'm not in my kitchen with my hands in my soapy water, I'm literally flying with Rhysand through the skies of Prythian.'
ABC News
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Romantasy isn't just hot, it's shaping modern day fairy tales
Some describe it as a full-blown escape. For others, they'll jokingly tell you it's cheaper than therapy. For millions of devoted readers, romantasy is a world unto itself and a way of life. Romantasy-themed balls and book clubs, romantasy sweatshirts and tote bags, flowing romantasy-inspired gowns and even romantasy-inspired tattoos are a small part of a growing community. Its home is predominantly on social media, courtesy of TikTok hashtag #BookTok, where impassioned fans rave about their favourite romantasy characters with videos that achieve viewing numbers in the millions. It's where devotees whipped themselves into a frenzy over the long-awaited release of Onyx Storm earlier this year, the third book in the Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros. The latest misadventures of Xaden and Violet sold 2.7 million copies in its first few weeks of release and is now the fastest-selling adult novel in 20 years. And fellow romantasy author Sarah J Maas, who wrote the A Court of Thorns and Roses series, was the highest-grossing author in 2024, contributing $16 million to the Australian publishing industry according to her publisher Bloomsbury. But what is romantasy and why does it attract such a loyal fanbase? And is it just about the sex lives of elves and fairies? Or something more? Romantasy is a portmanteau of romance and fantasy or, as romance author and academic Jodi McAlister likes to describe it, "a collision of these two genres". "A romance novel only has two rules. It has to have a central love plot, and it has to have a happy ending," she explains. "In romantasy, we are thrown into a fantasy world. It's [the fictional kingdoms of] Navarre in Fourth Wing or Prythian in A Court of Thorns and Roses." While the often-explicit sex scenes make it seem like these books are preoccupied by impressive wingspans and skilled swordplay, complex world-building sits at the heart of romantasy. Much like Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, romantasy features fantasy worlds with sophisticated political systems and unique cultures. Referred to as "secondary world fantasy", it's what makes it so distinct from romance stories. But according to Dr McAlister, romantasy is not a new phenomenon. "We only have to look back as far as Twilight to see it, but it goes back so much longer than that." It's this secondary world fantasy that drew Sabine Paglialonga to romantasy stories. "I love getting completely swept up in a place that feels so real that I'm still thinking about it while I do the dishes or in the middle of work meetings," says the romantasy influencer who is known as @spellboundpagess online. "It's a world that cannot exist in our reality, but we so desperately want it to be real", says Alexandra Squires, who runs romantasy-inspired social media account @readingandrapture. "It sparks a feeling in me that reminds me of being a kid where you would imagine something into existence and have the most fun with it. "We lose that as we get older so to be able to read something as an adult, which has those adult themes too … but which also sparks a childlike sense of joy and wonder? That is so special for me." Fantasy and romance are a "natural marriage" that raises the stakes of the other, according to Dr McAlister. "The romance genre is necessarily quite intimate because you focus on a central couple or a central throuple, but at the core of the romance is the relationship. But put that in a fantasy realm and you can crank the stakes up to 100 because now we're in the realms of life or death. The reverse can be said for fantasy, which is often so expansive and complex it obscures the human element. "It can get so big, so political, so concerned with the machinations of power and geopolitical intrigue, that you forget about the people at the heart of it. And no one cares about the people at the heart of it until they care about the people. "Romance is a really good way to do that." Steamy, graphic sex dominates much of romantasy fiction, often referred to by fans in online discussions as a novel's 'spice' rating. One chilli pepper signifies low-level sex, while three chilli peppers (or more) often means abundant explicit sex. Female protagonists are vocal and enthusiastic participants when it comes to steamier scenes, but according to Dr McAlister, this centring of women's pleasure is "not new". "Sex has been in romance forever so romantasy is not newly explicit," she says. "Romance is a genre that's by women for women, so women's lives and pleasures have been centred in romance for a long time. As we've moved into the 21st century, this has really started to come to the fore with sex." Tattoos as a declaration of love and loyalty however feels entirely contemporary. Main male characters (MMC) are usually described as being swathed in large, inked markings that often cover their torsos and creep up their necks. They signify loyalty to a people or unbreakable mateship and fated love. "Tattoos and the idea of magical marking is interesting … If you know someone is your mate because it's written on their body, that kind of bone-deep certainty is something I think people crave a lot in their real life," says Dr McAlister. Our romantasy influencers are unequivocal about their love for the genre. For Alexandra, it's escapism in its "most pure form". Sabine enjoys romantasy because "real life doesn't cut it". "While contemporary or urban fiction is great and all, it doesn't take me far enough. I want a full-blown escape. "Send me to live with the Fae, teach me healing magic, and throw in a dangerously attractive, brooding ancient MMC who falls hopelessly in love with a seemingly ordinary female lead. Bonus points if he's ready to burn the world down for her. "It's the ultimate fantasy."
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Romantasy festival A Million Lives slammed by authors and attendees: 'Fyre Fest of books'
Authors and attendees say they were duped over the weekend after promised romantasy book event A Million Lives broke their hearts. "It felt like Fyre Fest of book festivals," Kait Disney-Leugers, who's written several books including Love Across the Tabletop, said on TikTok. "We were told there's been over 600 tickets sold. I did not see those people. There were more authors at their booths than there were attendees, and I'm not exaggerating. It was that bad." She noted that "at every point of the last two days, everything was f---ed up, not delivered on, or just half-assed. There was no water there, even in the vending machine at the top of the stairs. Because, by the way, we were in the basement exhibit hall. Had no water. There was no swag bags for people who paid to go to this. No badges, wristbands." Her reference to the disastrous 2017 Fyre Festival, where what was touted as a luxe experience ended up being full of cheese sandwiches, FEMA tents, and, yep, no water, was not a compliment. And Disney-Leugers was far from the only one with a complaint. The official description of the May 2-3 event in Baltimore from company Archer Management was hyped as "the perfect event to make more bookish friends! This event will include a vendor hall, panels, a content creation room, fandom cosplay meet ups, a cosplay competition and a ball." Tickets cost from $50 to $250 for one that included a Lavender Romance Ball. Author Stephanie Combs shared footage of her and friends dressed up and excitedly heading to the fancy fete, only to be disappointed at what looked like a minuscule number of people there. "When you gotta laugh so you don't cry," Combs captioned her post. "A million lives or a million lies? I was an attending least we looked fantastic." TikToker Azthia Bookwyrm told PEOPLE she accepted an invitation to cover the event as an influencer. But when she arrived, she found she'd been moved from the Hilton Inn near the venue to a Days Inn. She said more authors were there than readers and that the whole thing was a "huge financial loss." In fact, there were so many people upset with what they got for their money, that the company publicly apologized for the ball, the day after it took place. Over the next few days, Archer's Instagram offered additional words of regret. In one, the post read, "I wholeheartedly apologize for how the event turned out this weekend. We are currently processing refunds as fast as we can." The company projected that all refunds would be made by May 31. "We take full responsibility for the way that AML was handled," another noted. "We are doing refunds for every attendee, author, and vendor. We are also canceling all of our future events and will be processing refunds for those as well."Finally, the company listed some of the authors and vendors who participated and asked people to support them "after our mistakes this past weekend." Many of the commenters were supportive, crediting Archer Management with owning up to their error, although some still had questions. "I thought it was a good first go. The question is, what really went wrong?" Instagram's jzimansky asked. "Can we get an actual explanation? I don't necessarily care about a refund. I just want to know what really went wrong." Others commented, "Thank you for making this right for all of us" and "We all make mistakes, and it sounds like you're really trying to do the right thing. That's all we can do when we mess up!" But that didn't cut it for Rocky Road Publishing LLC: "Events like this that are not organized correctly make us rethink about wanting to attend as an author, publishing company, or just an attendee. I'm glad you are making it right, but it's still unacceptable it happened in the first place." In addition to Fyre Fest, the A Million Lives event's implosion is reminiscent of several other spectacular failures, including the September 2024 unauthorized "Bridgerton ball," which saw fans of the Netflix show outraged by the quality of a Detroit experience for which they paid $150 to $1,000, depending on the package purchased. The similarly unofficial Willy Wonka experience in Glasgow, Scotland, made headlines in March 2024. Despite the original debacle, Fyre Festival 2 was scheduled this year for May 30 to June 2 on Isla Mujeres in Mexico and eventually relocated to Playa del Carmen. Then, in April, the festival was postponed indefinitely, and founder Billy McFarland, the subject of two documentaries, put the Fyre Festival brand up for sale. "This brand is bigger than any one person and bigger than what I'm able to lead on my own. It's a movement. And it deserves a team with the scale, experience, and infrastructure to realize its potential," the convicted felon said in a statement posted on the "Own Fyre" website. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Book festival SLAMMED as 'new Fyre Fest' after authors and attendees lose out on hundreds of dollars
A new book festival is joining the likes of the failed Glasgow Willy Wonka experience, controversial Eras Tour event, and the infamous Fyre Fest after romance authors lost money and attendees complained bitterly all over social media. A Million Lives Book Festival, a romantic fantasy book convention held at the Baltimore Convention Center over the weekend is getting slammed online for not delivering what it promised - it has since been nicknamed 'A Million Little Lies.' The festival was marketed as a convention for readers of 'romantasy,' which is one of the most popular genres on BookTok, where book lovers talk about their favorite books on TikTok. West Virginia-based author Grace Willows organized the event through her company Archer Management. It was described as 'the perfect event to make more bookish friends,' including a 'vendor hall, panels, a content creation room, fandom cosplay meet ups, a cosplay competition and a ball.' Ticket prices ranged from $50 to $250. According to Archer Management, the company is 'here to host events to help build the bookish community' and supports 'traditionally and independently published authors.' Grace's biography explains that books are her 'therapy' and have helped her meet 'so many amazing people in the bookish community.' She 'started this company' to share her love of reading 'with others and make them affordable so that anyone can attend.' However, after the event, attendees flocked to social media to complain bitterly. Many of the authors said that while they were promised up to 1,000 attendees, there were very few people (according to Reddit, about 50 to 60), and they still had to pay for their own tables to sell books. 'I barely made enough to cover my f***ing parking for two days,' author Kait Disney-Leugers, who took a day off of work to participate, claimed in a TikTok, before saying that A Million Lives 'felt like the Fyre Fest of book festivals.' Kait has since made a video about the website created to help authors who were at the event raise money to financially recover. Other TikToks, including the viral video shared by author Stephanie Combs, showcased no signage, no amenities, including the promised 'content creation room,' and a barely decorated room where the ball was supposed to be. Instead, women in lavish ball gowns looked downtrodden in a mostly empty conference room. A content creator with the username Azthia Bookwyrm shared a video of what she nicknamed the 'A Million Let Downs Book Festival,' showcasing the vendor hall devoid of guests and $10 wine in plastic cups at the at the empty fantasy ball. 'Those poor introverts finally decided to leave their houses, and this is what happens. They're never leaving their houses again,' one commenter quipped. One attendee on Reddit explained that they enjoyed meeting the authors and networking. However, they had to walk for miles to attend all of the events. When it came to the ball, they said 'the cleaning company came 15 minutes beforehand and couldn't be bothered to set up correctly.' They also explained that the music went wrong because 'the DJ was hospitalized beforehand and couldn't find a replacement,' which is why a Bluetooth speaker was used instead, which they found unacceptable for $250 VIP tickets, along with a $600 hotel, as well as $70 parking. 'Yikes. This sounds like a bookish Fyre Festival,' one commenter responded. Another confirmed, 'I was one of the signing authors there. And yes, most (if not all) you're hearing is true.' Fantasy, mystery, and romance author Hope Davis created a viral Instagram thread about her experience, writing that 'authors were charged a $150 table fee and told at some point 500-600 tickets were sold. Only about 50 people showed up.' Other TikToks, including the viral video shared by author Stephanie Combs, showcased no signage, no amenities, and a barely decorated room where the ball was supposed to be @stephdevourerofbooks When you gotta laugh so you don't cry. 😂😭 a million lives or a million lies? 😬🫣 I was an attending author…at least we looked fantastic. @Valerie Rivers @Author Sarah Zane🏳️🌈 #baltimore #amillionlivesbookfestival #amillionlies #bookball ♬ origineel geluid - Tik Toker Hope also said that there were no promised swag bags, no decorations at the ball, and no official schedule of the panels. 'I took a huge loss on the weekend but at least I sold SOMETHING. I sent most of the 100 books I ordered for this event but I can't imagine what some authors are going through right now trying to ship books back or return them because they can't take them with them,' she said. Grace later took to TikTok to apologize and promised a refund to people who asked for their money back. 'I do understand that the ball tonight was not up to standards. There were a lot of issues getting set up, and it was not set up well,' she said in the video. Grace then turned off comments.
CBC
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
These authors were sold a romantasy convention. Instead, they got the Fyre Festival of the book world
Imagine getting dressed up in your finest for a fantasy-themed ball, only to find yourself standing on the concrete floor of a massive, nearly empty convention hall, decorated only with a few rose petals. Welcome to A Million Lives Book Festival. What was billed as a romantasy BookTok convention for indie authors and book fans is now being compared to infamous event flops like Fyre Festival and DashCon, after a flood of social media posts from attendees painted a picture of a confusing and disappointing event. Some authors say they're out thousands of dollars after carting books and merchandise to Baltimore, Md., for the event, which was held May 2 to 3 at the Baltimore Convention Center, and not being able to recoup the costs. Pitched as "the perfect event to make more bookish friends" on organizer Archer Management's website, the festival was supposed to include a vendor hall, panels, a content creation room, cosplay meetups and a competition, as well as a fantasy ball for those who bought VIP tickets at $250 US each. But although numerous authors say they were told 500 tickets were sold, they reported being greeted with fewer guests than authors, and a barren convention hall instead of the promised ball. Perci Jay, who writes romance and fantasy books, called it "the Willy Wonka experience but with books," in a TikTok, referring to the 2024 Glasgow event that caused a stir after its real-life warehouse location failed to live up to the AI images used to advertise it. "I flew out for this," the author, who is from Texas, said. "I planned my pregnancy around this event like a clown." Organizer apologizes for event's issues Grace Willows, the organizer behind Archer Management, posted a video statement through her event planning company's TikTok page on the weekend, apologizing for the ball being "not set up to standards." "If you would like a refund, please contact me and I will issue you a refund immediately," she said. Archer Management, also known as Archer Fantasy Events, has since apologized for the entire event and stated that refunds are being processed automatically. After confirming receipt of CBC News's request for comment, Archer shared a new statement on TikTok on Tuesday evening. It has not responded to further requests for comment. "We take full responsibility for the way that AML was handled," the latest statement reads, with a remix of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit playing in the background. "We are doing refunds for every attendee, author and vendor. We are also canceling all of our future events and will be processing refunds for those as well." Inside the Fyre Fest of romantasy Across numerous TikTok posts, authors and attendees allege that the event had problems from the beginning. Issues ranged from panels starting late to authors not being given badges and the promised swag bags not being delivered. One panel on audiobooks took place with panelists and attendees all seated on the carpet — there were no chairs designated for the panel, narrator Carmen Seantel said in a TikTok post. More than 100 authors, vendors and audiobook narrators were listed as attending on Archer Management's website. Authors paid a $150 US table fee, while tickets for attendees ranged from $50 US to $250 US, with only the priciest tier providing entrance to the fantasy ball. Only around 30 people came through the vendor hall on the first day, Jay said in her TikTok. And while the first day was exclusive to VIP ticket holders, the second day wasn't much busier, according to Jay, who estimates around 80 guests showed up. The promised "content creation room" was an empty conference room, and closed on Saturday. But the biggest disappointment for attendees was the fantasy ball. A largely empty, grey room Attendees found themselves stranded in a massive, grey room, barren except for a few long tables with fake rose petals scattered on top. There was a cash bar, a small table with desserts and a single Bluetooth speaker propped on a chair to play music — far from the opulence that the price tag promised. "People showed up, dressed to impress, tried to make the best of it," author Stephanie Combs said in a TikTok post, adding that she felt bad for people who had flown in. One influencer invited to the event, Azthia Bookwyrm, said on TikTok that she had travelled from Spain to attend. For author Kalista Neith, the ball was the last straw. In a series of TikToks, she said she had been invited 18 months ago as a featured author for the event. The organizer had promised to put these authors up at a nearby Hilton hotel, but Neith said this was changed just days before the event to the Days Inn across the street. Indie authors expect some business risk when attending in-person conventions, Neith said on TikTok. It was only after the ball that she felt compelled to share her experience online, and apologize to those who bought tickets to the event after she had advertised that she would be there. "For my readers to spend money on an event and this ball, and having to walk into that, that is unacceptable," she said. "As an author, all we have is the readers' trust." 'We did not sell much of anything' The popularity of the "romantasy" sub-genre, along with online communities like BookTok, has meant more of these conventions cropping up to provide opportunities for indie authors to meet their peers and readers in person. But authors have to print their own books in the hopes that they'll make enough sales to make it worth it. "When you are an indie author, you pay for everything yourself upfront, and only if you do events like this can you finally recoup the cost," Jay said. "People are thousands of dollars in debt because of the lies and the false promises and the mismanagement." Sales were minimal for authors like Caitlin Burkhart, who publishes under the name C.A. Burkhart. "We did bring physical copies to this event, and we did not sell much of anything, really," she said on TikTok. Only days earlier, she had been excitedly posting the times she would be signing books during the event. But the festival kept at least one promise: fostering friendships. Authors have since banded together to boost the work of their peers who'd tabled the event. "I just wish it was a meet-up and not a paid thing that we all lost money on," Burkhart said.
