Hit novels by Sarah J Maas and Rebecca Yarros offer more than sex and escapism. They have reclaimed the fantasy genre for women

A strange and powerful creature has taken over the publishing industry – romantasy, a magical union of romance and fantasy. Last week in scenes reminiscent of Pottermania 20 years ago, bookshops across the country held midnight launches, with fans dressed as their favourite characters, for the publication of Onyx Storm, the third instalment of Rebecca Yarros’s Empyrean series. In its first week it became the fastest-selling adult title since records began, with more than 180,000 copies sold in one day in the UK alone.

Yarros is following in the fairy dust of fellow American novelist Sarah J Maas, who is credited with spearheading the genre with her hugely successful A Court of Thorns and Roses series. In just five years, a genre born during the pandemic and rising on a blaze of BookTok recommendations and emojis has gone from being a niche offshoot of young adult fiction to a once-in-a-generation phenomenon. In the past year, the market share of science fiction and fantasy books rose by over 41%. With their action-packed storylines, alternate worlds and friendship groups, romantasy novels satisfy a nostalgia for those who grew up on a diet of the Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Twilight series. Tolkein this is not, nor JK Rowling. But lack of literary finesse never hindered juggernaut bestsellers from the likes of Dan Brown (who has a new Robert Langdon novel out in September).

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