Midterms are approaching, so what better way to procrastinate than fall into a new fantasy world. Sometimes starting a romantasy series can feel daunting, but duologies are the perfect solution. The second book is not just filler, and there is no third book that is somehow almost always double the size of the first two. Here are five romantasy duologies that are action packed with mystery, magic, and of course, romance.
This Savage Song & Our Dark Duet by V.E. Schwab
In this dark fantasy duet, Kate Harker and August Flynn come from opposite sides of a city overrun with monsters and will have to work together to live another day. As a human, all Kate wants is to make her dad proud and join the illegitimate family business of offering protection to humans from monsters for a steep price, whereas all August wants is to go unnoticed and blend in with the humans. Follow these two dynamic heroes as they navigate a divided city and its criminal underworld.
Six of Crows & Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Fans of the Shadow and Bone series can step back into the magical world of Grisha, or new readers can explore the dark and twisted streets of Ketterdam in this action-packed duology. A vengeful gang leader puts together a crew consisting of a spy, a sharpshooter, a heartrender, a runaway, and a thief to pull off an impossible heist. The elaborate schemes, twisted backstories, and slow-burn romances will leave you wanting more. Check out the Netflix series Shadow and Bone to see these characters come to life.
Dance of Thieves & Vow of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson
This romantasy series featuring one of the most well written enemies-to-lovers tropes, follows Kazi, a former street thief working for the queen’s elite guard, and Jase, the new leader of his family’s empire that plays outside the rules. When these two headstrong personalities are thrust together when they are both kidnapped, Kazi and Jase need to learn to trust each other on their adventure full of riddles, dry humor, and fantastical creatures. This duology is perfect for readers looking to escape into a reinvented world of magic and betrayal.
These Violent Delights & Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong
In this Romeo and Juliet inspired series, Gong combines classic Shakespeare with monsters and mayhem. Set in 1920 Shanghai, Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov are the heir apparents of rival gangs, fighting for control over the city and their attraction to one another. When residents in Shanghai develop a sickness of madness reportedly caused by an unknown monster, the pair put down their guns and work together to save the city they each hope to run one day.
Foul Lady Fortune & Foul Heart Huntsman by Chloe Gong
Yes, this is yet another duology written by Chloe Gong, set five years after Our Violent Ends. Here, we follow two nationalist spies that are posing as a married couple to infiltrate foreign society to stop a terrorist attack with the threat of invasion from the Japanese Imperial Army looming. If that is not interesting enough, one of the spies is immortal and the other the son of high-society criminals. This series takes the trope of fake-dating to the next level as the spies start to unravel this action-packed mystery.