Fairy tales are out of fashion, but a new kind of fairy tale is alive and well

Romantasy, a relatively new literary genre that offers exactly that, is having a seismic effect on the books industry.

As the name suggests, the genre combines fantasy realms with a romantic plot.

Science fiction and fantasy sales were up more than 40 per cent in 2024 .

Author Sarah J Maas was the best-selling author in the US last year .

Both Maas and Yarros ’s heroines are strong and independent and yet in both cases they are bound to the man they love, or will grow to love, through life and death.

In A Court of Thorns and Roses Feyre must fall in love with the “High Lord” Tamlin to break the curse on his kingdom.

In Broadbent's The Serpent of the Wings of Night , Oraya is a human always endangered in a world of vampires.

Names for places and people lack the consistent and distinctive syntax of Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings .

Yarros , for example, is careful only ever to refer to “gods”, plural, as in “oh my gods” and godsdamn” The students of Basgiath War College still understand concepts like “boundaries”.