Romantasy · December 2026
7 New Romantasy Books Coming in December 2026
A shared heartbeat, a dangerous apprenticeship, a political marriage and a stolen body. Seven December releases with romance caught up in magic and power.
Briony Rosewood has to share her magic and heartbeat with a man whose family helped destroy hers. Princess Lia needs a marriage to make a political campaign possible. In these stories, loving someone can affect who controls magic, who gets to govern and who survives a bargain.
Three of the books are scheduled for December 1, with four more on December 29. Some introduce new worlds; others pick up relationships already in trouble. The sequel setups below mention the characters’ next circumstances, so the earlier-book notes matter if you are still catching up.
At a glance
December 1 and December 29 romantasy releases
Vine of Hearts, The Bloodfire Oath and The Golden Huntress are scheduled for December 1 in the US. What Light Breaks, The Divine, Lightning & Thunder and Until the Stars Burn Out arrive on December 29.
01 · Court intrigue and a shared magical bond
Vine of Hearts
By Julie Soto
· US · Forever
Briony Rosewood is living under the protection of the Hearst family, whose part in the destruction of her own kingdom makes safety a complicated word. Now she must share her magic and heartbeat with Toven Hearst. Their uneasy alliance sends them to foreign courts, where she has to appear devoted to him.
Behind that performance, Briony gathers information and helps the rebellion. Her feelings for Toven make the disguise difficult in ways she cannot safely admit, and his own magical gift remains a danger she does not fully understand. The romance is tied to the power Briony can provide and the people who want to use it.
The Evermore Trilogy, book 2. Rose in Chains comes first. Vine of Hearts continues Briony and Toven’s relationship and the same struggle over Evermore.
02 · An assassin inside a magical institution
The Bloodfire Oath
By Chloe C. Peñaranda
· US · Bramble
Scythe supports her family through paid assassinations in a city where the Arcanum Order keeps magic for the elite. A job goes wrong, and she steals an invitation into the Guild, the Order’s stronghold. Getting inside means joining initiates who may not survive the pursuit of magical power.
Asher Kyrell chooses her as his apprentice, pulling her into a relationship where attraction and self-preservation are difficult to separate. Scythe is hiding how she got there; Asher has secrets of his own. Her lessons also reveal problems within the Order, giving her reasons to question more than her teacher’s intentions.
This begins The Arcanum Order. No earlier Peñaranda novel is needed.
03 · Young adult fantasy and a dangerous hunt
The Golden Huntress
By Katherine Quinn
· US · Entangled: Teen
Charlie Pierce enters the Spiritwoods to hunt relics of dead gods, even though the woods have already taken her father and her boyfriend. The annual Hunt is her chance to prove herself to the Collectors’ Society and find answers about the people she has lost. Jack Slade has been sent with a different task: kill her.
A storm scatters the initiates and leaves Charlie and Jack dependent on one another to survive. They need to find a Celestial vessel and get out of a realm whose terrain will not stay put. Working beside someone who was meant to eliminate her makes their growing connection particularly dangerous.
This opens a new young adult duology. It does not continue To Kill a Shadow or Quinn’s other series.
04 · Magical power and a political marriage
What Light Breaks
By Falon Ballard
· US · G.P. Putnam's Sons
Lia Boscosa can plant memories in other people’s minds. Her royal family has kept that Gift hidden while using it for their own purposes. With Talia approaching its first presidential election, the leader of the Uprising wants Lia to become a candidate, but her family name is a serious obstacle.
A marriage to the popular Maro Violaine is meant to change how people see her. The attraction that follows complicates the political arrangement, while Lia’s ability makes questions of loyalty and manipulation unusually personal. A Romeo and Juliet retelling sits inside a campaign where even the public’s memories can be influenced.
Idle Reputations, book 2. Something Wicked comes first. The central couple changes, but the political upheaval belongs to the same world.
05 · A demonic bargain and a stolen body
The Divine
By Harper L. Woods
· US · Bramble
Margot Erotes made a bargain with Satanus to save Beelzebub. Now another being is wearing her skin, while her soul is trapped inside a goddess. Returning to him means finding a way to reclaim a life that no longer belongs to her in any ordinary sense.
The attempt draws her toward a destiny she has tried to avoid, while old powers threaten Hell itself. Each discovery exposes another lie behind the bargain. The separation here is literal as well as romantic: Beelzebub is grieving someone who is still trying to reach him, and getting closer may demand further sacrifices.
Coven of Bones, book 4. Read The Damned before this direct continuation. The Coven and The Cursed establish the wider world earlier in the series.
06 · Queer mythological adventure romance
Lightning & Thunder
By Sara Raasch
· US · Bramble
Pollux “Lux” Keraunos is a descendant of Zeus and a cybercriminal trying to bring down the Hero Council led by his brother. When that brother disappears, the council turns to Lux to keep Zeus’s line going. There is a condition: he has to train with Erik Thorson, the much-loved descendant of Thor.
Erik is also his brother’s best friend, which gives Lux plenty of reasons to distrust him. But Erik may not know about the corruption Lux is fighting, and his desire to help people appears sincere. Lux’s plan to sabotage the council becomes harder to separate from his feelings for the person teaching him to be a hero.
The first Heroes and Romance novel. No earlier Raasch book is required.
07 · A cross-realm quest and unstable magic
Until the Stars Burn Out
By Jordan Lynde
· US · Avon
Nell refuses to let Enver search alone for a lost relic that may be the key to controlling his magic. Their journey crosses realms and brings them back into contact with people from his past, including the fae responsible for his imprisonment. Enver still keeps secrets that make it hard for Nell to trust him.
The closer they become, the harder it is for Enver to control the shadows. Finding the relic is part of keeping their relationship possible. Nell also has to decide what to do about a threat to Enver’s kingdom and the people they have already helped.
Shadowsworn, book 2. Read Until the World Falls Down first. Nell and Enver’s relationship and the consequences of that story continue here.
New stories and relationships already in motion
The Bloodfire Oath, The Golden Huntress and Lightning & Thunder introduce their characters and magical rules here. Vine of Hearts, The Divine and Until the Stars Burn Out continue existing couples; What Light Breaks brings a different pair into an established political world. The separate fantasy selection below covers seven other December books, with no repeated titles.
More December fantasy releasesRomantasy books already covered on Book Review Guide