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You may have seen the title of the article and thought to yourself: “Mythromantasy novels? What are those?” This portmanteau caught my eye in a bookish email I received not long ago and I wanted to dissect it a little bit, as well as provide some books that you can read if you’re interested to know more about it. Let’s dive in.
The Popularity of Romantasy
The term “romantasy” caught fire and easily spread around social media and the bookish world last year. Not everyone embraced the term ‘romantasy’ and that’s fine too; why create more terms for things that already have a name, right? Romantic fantasy and fantasy romance already exist and people can easily find the books they want inside those subgenres. I personally believe that it’s not a bad thing to have more terms in the case of literature. If it creates more opportunities for discoverability and gets more people reading, go for it.
Introducing Mythromantasy
I saw this term inside a PR email for the upcoming book The Legend of Meneka — which I’ll be telling you all about in a bit. The book’s publicist described the book as a “sexy and smart mythromantasy that will leave readers thinking, teary-eyed, and with all the feels!” I’m all about the emotions and feels, so that sounds incredible to me. But the portmanteau instantly caught my attention because I’d never seen it before.
I quickly determined that the term is assigned to romantasy novels that feature mythology, myth, or folklore in the story. It’s an interesting term that maybe has a chance to spread in the literary world just like “romantasy” did. Will everyone use it? I’m not certain. On one hand, the term can easily be used as a hashtag to aid in discoverability on social media. On the other hand, it might still be easier to search for fantasy romances featuring mythology if you’re looking for these reads online.
It’s clear to me that not many will like the term but some will, just like everything. If you want to use it, do it. And if you don’t, don’t. From where I’m sitting, creating portmanteaus is a great tool for creating buzz and better book discovery. If that can help authors sell their books, it’s a win for me.
Take a Chance on These Mythromantasy Novels
The Legend of Meneka by Kritika H. Rao (Jan 21)
I want to mention The Legend of Meneka first because it kickstarted this whole article. This upcoming romantasy inspired by Indian mythology is perfect for fans of adventure, romance, and myth retellings.
The book reimagines the famous tale of a celestial dancer who seduces a mortal sage but ends up falling in love with him instead. This twist forces her to choose between the loyalty she has for her lord and listening to her heart.
A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet
I always recommend A Promise of Fire and the Kingmaker Chronicles series to readers who want smutty fantasy romance featuring Greek mythology. You might be wondering, “Is it really that spicy?” Yes, it is. But it’s also full of action-packed moments, magic, powers, enemies, romance, and even found family.
Cat Fisa is pretending to be someone she’s not. Why? To live. Her life is in constant danger, and she must do what needs to be done to be safe. Everything comes crashing down, though, when an ambitious warlord finds her and kidnaps her. As gods, kings, and mortals are all hunting her down, who will get to Cat first?
The Last Dragon of the East by Katrina Kwan
The Last Dragon of the East is a fantasy romance inspired by Chinese mythology. It begins with Sai, a quiet guy who has been keeping up with the family teahouse and helping his ailing mother. What people are unaware of is that he has a secret gift of seeing the red string of fate between soulmates. When the Emperor finds out about his ability, Sai is thrown into the search for dragon scales, leading him on a wild, epic journey that will change his life forever.
The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon
When Thea Guanzon wrote The Hurricane Wars, she took inspiration from the myths and cultures of her home region of Southeast Asia, particularly from the Philippines, to create the beautiful world you’ll find in this book.
The story follows a rebel soldier and the enemy prince who have to team up to end the war and defeat something far bigger than themselves. With strange new magic they can create together, maybe they will be able to find out the secrets hiding in the war and in themselves.
Asiri and the Amaru by Natalia Hernandez
Based on Peruvian mythology, Asiri and the Amaru is a mythromantasy novel you need to read if you’re a fan of cozy fantasy, will they/won’t they romances, and spice.
The book is about Asiri, a gifted woman who can speak to animals. Knowing her powers are being abused by her family, she decides to leave it all behind and move to a coastal town to start anew. But the person most likely to find out about her secret is the charming and handsome town veterinarian, Dario, and she keeps bumping into him!
King of Immortal Tithe by Ben Alderson
Even though it’s part of the Darkmourn Universe series, King of Immortal Tithe is a standalone novel that you can pick up right away. The book is also a spicy reimagining of the Hades and Persephone myth!
In Alderson’s novel, you’ll get to meet human Arlo, who only wants to keep his broken family safe. When the annual Choosing arrives, where elves choose a mortal spouse to keep the peace between realms, Prince Faenir decides to pick Arlo’s sister…until Arlo touches him. And he doesn’t die.
The Phoenix Keeper by S. A. MacLean
I’ve chosen to include The Phoenix Keeper even though it isn’t inspired by a specific myth or legend. I consider it mythromantasy mainly because the novel is set in a magical zoo that harbors many mythical beasts that come from myths, like dragons, kelpies, and unicorns.
This cozy queer fantasy book tells the story of a phoenix keeper whose dream of conserving endangered firebirds takes a turn when she has to pair up with her college rival to save the entire species.
The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim
Inspired by Korean mythology, The God and the Gumiho is a fantastic contemporary fantasy book about a fallen trickster god and the shapeshifting fox he is tasked to eliminate. But when a demon of darkness escapes the underworld, Hani and Seokga are forced to pair up to track it down before the world as they know it ceases to exist.
The Road of Bones by Demi Winters
Set in a world inspired by Icelandic and Norse mythology, The Road of Bones is a wild ride of survival, sexual tension, Vikings, and intrigue.
The story follows Silla Nordvig, who is on a journey to Kopa after her father dies. But to reach Kopa, she must travel the treacherous Road of Bones — a thousand-mile stretch filled with monsters, murderers, and warbands. She can’t do it alone though, so she sneaks into a wagon belonging, unbeknown to her, to the Bloodaxe Crew, a ragtag group of mercenaries. And this is where the story begins!
If you want to read more novels inspired by mythology, take a look at this list of books. For the YA readers, you can also read these novels for fans of Greek mythology.