Light fantasy romance is always my go-to when I want to settle back with a good read designed to take me away from ‘real’ life for a while. If there’s some actual magic in the story, so much the better. It’s become increasingly easier to find closed-door authors with a style that brings me back to their work time after time and I thought I’d share a few just in case you’re on the hunt too.
For this post, I’m sharing 3 authors with multi-book story arcs. They’re all light, closed-door romantasy with a happily ever after at the end. I hope you enjoy!
First off is one of my all-time favorite authors-Lynn Kurland. I’ve been reading-and collecting on my keeper shelf-her books for onwards of fifteen years. Her Nine Kingdoms series is a fantasy romance with magic and is just fantastic. The atmosphere is reminsicent of LOTR with elves, mages, humans and dwarves but it’s lighter in nature and each book set focuses on a main couple.
The White Spell kicks off this set, with The Dreamers Song and The Prince of Souls finishing it off.
The hero, Acair, has spent his life trying to convince others-and himself-that he’s a dangerous black mage to be feared. And while he is feared and powerful, he can’t seem to stop himself from ‘do-gooding’ at times. He is a fun, surprisingly likeable character who is snarky, funny, with some bluff & bluster, but deep down wants to be loved and accepted for who he is.
Leirsinn has no magic and a painful past but is content taking care of the horses she has charge of. She is courageous, plucky and willing to make personal sacrifices for those she loves. She sees Acair as the complicated man he is, with all the good and bad, and not only accepts, but loves him for it. Both characters are likeable and I found myself rooting for them through their adventures.
The romance is slow-burn and gentle with swoony moments interspersed within that I’ve re-read over and over again. There are also returning characters from previous books that add depth and humor to the story.
Next up is K.M. Shea. She write contemporary fantasy/paranormals based in a magic centered city in the midwest. She writes in first person, which I don’t always love, but tends to switch off views between Heroine/hero so you get both perspectives. Her books are full of humor, snark, and well-developed worlds.
The Crown of Shadows is the first book in the Court of Midnight and Deception, followed by Crown of Moonlight and finished with The Queen’s Crown.
Leila turned her back on her Fae heritage, choosing to embrace her human half but finds herself the unwilling queen of the night court when she is chosen by the Night Mares. Leila is a great character-funny, unfailingly kind, animal-lover. She reluctantly agrees to take charge of a court that is in debt, riddled with fae that don’t like her both in her and other courts and almost daily assassination attempts. Through it all, she keeps her positive outlook and is strong enough to tug her stuck-in-the-past court members into a good place. Oh, and she ends up in a marriage of convenience with the original assassin who tried to take her out before she officially became queen….
For the romance aspect, it’s very slow-burn and we just get some light kisses at the end, but the couple themselves are snarky with each other and learn to not only, truly like, but love each other. Their scenes together are fun to read and in the end you’re cheering for them to suceed.
And, to round this out, is a set by Tara Grayce. Her Elven Alliance series begins with Fierce Heart, War Bound and Death Wind. The titles sound dire, but her writing style is generally light with some humor.
These are set in an alternate world that mixes fantasy with steampunk (sounds weird, but it works). The elves (living in a kingdom of mostly nature) and the humans (who are in a victorian era/steampunk land) have been enemies for a long time. As a last ditch effort for peace, a marriage of alliance is made between Essie and Farrendel. Essie is bright, unfailingly cheerful and chatty-facing the challenge of living in a completely foreign culture with a stranger for a husband with determination and a chattiness that quickly endears her to her new husband. Farrendel, on the other hand, is very shy and, despite being a formidable warrior, struggles with some inner demons.
The first two books are light-hearted and deal with the two of them navigating their new marriage as well as their opposite cultures and family dynamics as well as a growing threat from the trolls and discovering there are traitors in both their kingdoms. The third book takes a decidedly heavier turn as Farrendel is captured and tortured by the trolls and the three kingdoms go to war. Tara has a talent for highlighting heavier themes but doing it with a light touch so I never felt like it was too dark (though, the torture scenes weren’t graphic, I did feel like it went on too long and he should have been rescued much earlier than he was). By the time the book finished, I felt ensured that the two would have their happily ever after.
If you finished here, I think you would be satisfied but the author extended the series with other couples but included more to Essie and Farrendel’s romance in each of those as well. She also put out several short-story compilations which were fun. I really liked the one where it had several stories of them with their children.
So there you have it! Three 3-book light, humorous romantasy books to enjoy that will take you away from the daily grind and leave you smiling at the end. And…a little self-promotion here…if you like light, humor romantasy, I invite you to check out my books as well.
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