How are fantasy, magical realism and "romantasy" different? Fantasy is a literary work that deals with supernatural or unnatural elements in an alternate world. In magical realism the elements are incorporated into a realistic setting. Romantasy is a newly popular term for a fantasy where the romantic relationship is the driving force of the plot within a fantastical world. Obviously lines are blurred when trying to categorize a particular novel, but this month I am introducing three new fantasies that might be categorized as follows. The Weaver Bride by Lydia Gregovic is a sweeping fantasy about a witch who must navigate a marriage competition and try not to fall in love while competing. An Embroidery of Souls by Ruby Martinez is a magical realism novel in which the soul is a tapestry with each color symbolizing a different aspect of the self. The Crimson Throne by Sara Raasch and Beth Revis is the first book in an historical romantasy set in the 16th century Scottish court, where a fae guardian of the realm falls in love with a charming Elizabethan spy.
In The Weaver Bride Lovett Tamerlane is a silkwitch, who has the ability to unlock any door. She spends her days stealing from wealthy families. Silkwitches need to marry a Weaver, who harvests silkwitch hair to spin into magesilk, by her 21st birthday. If not, she will be sent to the cloisters forever. When she attempts to steal from a Weaver, Eliot Lear, he catches her and makes her a proposition. He will not expose her if she agrees to enter the Vainglory to compete to become the bride of Weaver Noé Alaire. During the competition they will work together to discover who killed his silkwitch sister in the previous year’s competition. Lovett must use her wits to win competitions set for the 10 competing silkwitches. Her relationship with Eliot becomes complicated and she finds herself on her own to survive.
An Embroidery of Souls is a magical realism novel in which Jade Aguilar is a thread speaker, who can manipulate the fabric of a person’s soul, a tapestry with each thread color symbolizing a different aspect of the self. She can stitch beauty and brilliance into existence, save a life or unravel one. After his father’s death, Lukas Keller is desperate to provide for his family. He approaches Cora, a vicious gang leader, for help, and she tasks him with finding the murderer who is not only taking people’s lives, but also their souls. He enlists Jade’s help and together they discover love and strength in themselves, as well as solving the mystery of the monster on the hunt. Set against the backdrop of Mexican and German lore, this is an inventive and spellbinding page-turner.
The Crimson Throne, the first book in the Spy and Guardian
duology, introduces Englishman Samson Calthorpe, who lives under a curse which
makes him lethally violent, and Alyth Graham, a half fae/half human protector
of Queen Mary of Scotland. She is part of a group of Guardians sworn to defend
against the Red Caps, a bloodthirsty fae clan that Mary’s husband Lord Darnley
is in league with to overtake Scotland. When Samson has the opportunity to
break the curse, he becomes a royal spy, hoping to uncover a plot to
assassinate Queen Elizabeth by befriending Darnley and finding Red Cap weapons, one of which he thinks cursed him.
Alyth and Samson meet in the Scottish
Court and find they both share a hatred of Lord Darnley. and an attraction to each other. Using secret codes and
a bit of magic, they hope to unravel a plot that has been centuries in the
making. Samson’s and Alyth’s alternating
first-person narratives keep the pace moving and an historical note at the end identifies
the realistic elements of the story.
I would like to also mention two additional romantasies with a cautionary note. On the Wings of Blood by Briar Boleyn is the first in the Bloodwing Academy vampire series. Dire Bound by Sable Sorenson opens the Wolves of Ruin series in which warriors bond with and ride Dire Wolves in battle. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the books, their graphic sex scenes make them inappropriate classroom recommendations.
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