Fantasy Romance Series

Kushiel's Dart (Kushiel's Universe) Start here

by Carey, Jacqueline

The first novel in a six-part series, this is an epic tale that features a female protagonist who is both spy and courtesan. She has been chosen to experience pain and pleasure as one.

A lot of novels on this list are either children's stories or young adult. While they make for great stories, there are some great coming of age stories that feature very mature content. Primarily, Phedre's Trilogy is a...

The Hero And The Crown (Damar)

by Mckinley, Robin

A classic book that features many recognizable Fantasy tropes: royalty, romance, enchantment, dragons, war.

Aerin is shy, clumsy, ugly, and mistrusted by the people she is supposed to rule. She is ridiculed for being the daughter of a witch with none of her witchy powers, and even when she eventually becomes a Dragon-Killer...

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter)

by Hamilton, Laurell K.

The first breakout writer of Urban Fantasy, Hamilton's series are vastly popular and are more supernatural than magical.

For a racy adult vampire series, Anita Blake takes the cake. The novel's sort of a cross between mystery and romance, though as this humongous series progresses dwells more in more in the bodice-ripper romance category....

Mercy Thompson Series (A Mercy Thompson)

by Briggs, Patricia

Urban Fantasy excels at creating strong female leads, and this is one of the best. Mercy is a part Native American auto mechanic who also happens to be a walker; one who can turn into a coyote at will. Like the Grimm...

Dark Lover: Black Dagger Brotherhood (Black Dagger Brotherhood) Start here

by Ward, J.r.

A secret brotherhood of vampire warriors fights the Lessening Society, the novel that began a paranormal romance giant.

Black Dagger Brotherhood is one of the most well known series in the paranormal romance genre. While it hasn't aged well (many new readers will point out that its clichéd and derivative), but the things that look for in...

Twilight Series (Twilight) Start here

by Meyer, Stephenie

As one of the most popular fantasy series in history, it would be remiss not to include Stephanie Myers Twilight series on this list. The 4-book series has had an enormous impact on the young adult fantasy, shaping the...

The Mists Of Avalon (The Mists Of Avalon) Start here

by Bradley, Marion Zimmer

A story of King Arthur's court, through the eyes of Arthur's half-sister Morgaine Le Fay.

I can't do a list of the top 50 fantasy novels with strong female leads without including The Mists of Avalon. Considered one of the great classics of modern fantasy literature, it won the Locus Award for Best Fantas...

Dark Hunter (Dark-hunter)

by Kenyon, Sherrilyn

These books have been around for nearly a decade now and are still wooing the hearts of millions of women around the world. Her male heroes are particularly well drawn. One of the problems in the vampire romance genre is...

Archangel (Samaria) Start here

by Shinn, Sharon

This series does something a bit different from your usual fantasy romance. The setting of the book is a different world, a world with different legends and religions. There is a religious aspect to the book, but it’s ne...

Slave To Sensation: Psy-changeling (Psy-Changeling) Start here

by Singh, Nalini

A woman is sent to a forbidden changeling on a cold, controlled world in the first book of the Psy-Changeling series.

Nalini Singh is one of the more talented authors in the genre, with an exceptional ability for painting images with words. Psy-Changeling is full of the things that make her books so enjoyable: Detailed, rounded and inte...

Interview With The Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles)

by Rice, Anne

A now classic tale of confession, this is the first book in Rice's Vampire Chronicles series. A complex story that blends the supernatural with the human condition; it will mesmerize readers. Particularly compelling amongst its pages is the story's philosophical inquiry.

There was Dracula. And then there was Brad Pitt… err… Louis – the main character in what is one of the founding books of the genre. Before you read this book, you need to keep in mind that it was published in 1976. At th...

Poison Study (Study) Start here

by Snyder, Maria V.

Yelena is about to be executed for murder and is offered an alternative: food taster to the king. She herself is poisoned and must appear for her daily antidote or die a painful death. What she does with the hand de...

A Hunger Like No Other: Immortals After Dark (Immortals After Dark) Start here

by Cole, Kresley

A Valkyrie is captured by a vampire warlord and a vampire's mate, the fun first book of Immortals After Dark.

Don't expect this to be a work of classic literature, but of all the paranormal romance series out there, Immortals After Dark is one of the most fun. There's romance and steam, but the thing readers of the series talk a...

Wild Magic (The Immortals) Start here

by Pierce, Tamora

This is Pierce’s best piece - a fantastic and touching tale about Daine, a young girl with the magical ability to speak to animals. It’s a perfect blend of adventure, humor, and romance - all bound together with Pierce's...

The Ruins Of Ambrai (Exiles) Start here

by Rawn, Melanie

Amazon Book Description  Fleeing persecution to build a free colony on the planet Lenfell, the magic-wielding Mageborns find their new home torn apart by civil war between the Mage Guardians and the Lords of Malerris. ...

Outlander (Outlander) Start here

by Gabaldon, Diana

Claire is on her second honeymoon in 1945 when she walks through an ancient stone circle and right into 1743. This series is part portal fantasy, part historical novel, and part romance.

In the Outlander series, Diana Gabaldon reinvents the use of time-travel in fantasy and historical fiction, crafting a thrilling drama set in the 18th and 20th centuries. The series follows Claire Randall, an ex-comb...

The Darkest Night: Lords Of The Underworld #1 (Lords Of The Underworld) Start here

by Showalter, Gena

A demon hunter and a woman with her own hidden powers, an adult, fast-moving paranormal romance.

This series is adult with a capital A. Don't give this to a fourteen year old as a gift. Don't give it to your mother either. Keep it in the guilty pleasures and midnight binges box that's underneath your bed.Showalter's...

Dragon Prince Trilogy (Dragon Prince)

by Rawn, Melanie

Amazon Book Description  Melanie Rawn's best-selling debut is a novel of love and war, magic and madness, and deadly dangerous dragons that hold the secret to unimaginable wealth that could prove key to mutual peace-or...

Dragon And The Phoenix (Dragonlord)

by Bertin, Joanne

Amazon Book Description  Once every thousand years the phoenix of Jehanglan burns to death in a magical release. For millennia the emperors of Jehanglan have tried to harness the awesome power of the phoenix's rebirth....