The Best New Romantasy Books of September 2026
In publishing, September marks the start of the most wonderful time of the year. (No, it's not Christmas.) The official kick-off of Fall means a raft of new books arriving at your local bookseller, as big releases position themselves ahead of the all-important holiday shopping season.
While the season's biggest heavy hitter (a new Sarah J. Maas A Court of Thorns and Roses novel) isn't releasing until October, this month still has plenty to get excited about, including a new Rebecca Yarros short story collection from the world of Fourth Wing, and new releases from established romantsy faves like Rachel Gillig, Raven Kennedy, and Geneva Lee.
Here are some of the best romantasy books hitting shelves this September.
The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig
Release date: September 1 from Orbit
Why You Should Read It: Gillig’s fantasy The Knight and the Moth was one of the best books of 2025, and its sequel will likely rank similarly later this year. The Knave and the Moon picks up in the immediate aftermath of its predecessor’s devastating ending: former nameless Diviner Sybil Delling is now married, forced to wed the cruel king she once considered a friend. But thanks to a mysterious knight with no memory, Sybil may have found a way to rewrite her—and her kingdom’s—story. Featuring lush prose, an adorable sentient gargoyle, and weapons-grade yearning.
Publisher’s Description: Aisling Cathedral is in ruins. Rodrick Myndacious, Bartholomew, and Maude Bauer are rumored to be dead—and the king has taken Sybil Delling as his bride. To show off their union and solidify his power over Traum, Benji proposes a series of tournaments throughout the hamlets. Captive and drugged, Sybil remains determined to vanquish him as she once did the Omens, even if she destroys the kingdom’s faith—and herself—in the process.
But then a mysterious knave rises to the top of the lists, a man with no name and no memory who may just be Sybil’s ticket to undoing Benji’s power. For in a land where stories repeat themselves, where a king can prove as cruel as a god, the only way to truly destroy the Stonewater Kingdom’s faith is to save it.
Tempest by Victoria Aveyard
Release Date: September 8 from Harper Voyager
Why You Should Read it: The adult fantasy debut from the author of the blockbuster Red Queen YA series, the story follows a former noblewoman turned owner of a pirate tavern who is facing potential execution for treason unless she helps the Meridian Empire hunt down the legendary pirate Valerian Kane. (Who also happens to be her ex and the love of her life.) Peak Pirates of the Caribbean vibes abound.
Publisher’s Description: Cat Rose knows what it is to live in two worlds, in two times. Before—as Lady Catrine Rose of the Meridian Empire, chained to a loathsome lord with a dwindling fortune. And after—as the Widow Rose, queen of a pirate tavern in the Lyrian Sea, determined to be the master of her own fate.
But tides turn and winds change. The Meridian Empire looms on the horizon, the full weight of her navy falling on the Lyrian, bent on reclaiming the wealthy colonies and crushing the pirate republic once and for all. Ship after ship is captured, save for one, captained by a pirate who continually evades both noose and blade: the legendary Valerian Kane.
With his fearsome ship and uncanny connection to the song of the sea, Valerian is the only man who might rally the pirates who remain. The only man who threatens the Empire. And the only man Cat has ever loved, blazing in and out of her life like a star.
Desperate for victory, the Empire offers Cat a devastating choice: bring them Valerian or hang. In truth, no choice at all.
But Cat Rose is nothing if not a survivor.
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The Emperor's Enemy by Jasmine Mas
Release Date: September 15 from MIRA
Why You Should Read It: The first installment in a new series from the author of Blood of Hercules, this chaotic high-tension dark romantasy actually means it when it says enemies to lovers. If the unpredictable plot, great banter, and hefty dose of obsession aren’t enough for you, there’s also an amazing animal sidekick.
Publisher’s Description: Zora Ravenal didn’t join the Crimson Army to be a hero. She joined to destroy the empire.
A skilled hunter hardened by loss with a concerning capacity for stubbornness, Zora claws her way into becoming a Knight Mage: the Commonwealth’s deadliest defense against the Empire’s storm magic and her people’s only hope.
It almost works.
Now she’s stuck in a war she can’t walk away from, hiding dangerous secrets, and shoved into very close quarters with the one man she should never be alone with.
He’s a Royal Mage with a body count, a temper, and an unsettling obsession… with her.
Now they’re partners.
Sort of.
If “partners” means being forced to train together, trust each other with their lives, and somehow not kill each other in the process.
But the Royal Mage isn’t just dangerous—he’s paying attention. And the longer they’re forced to remain in each other’s orbit, the more twisted everything becomes. Who’s hunting who?
The Sweetest Fiend by Raven Kennedy
Release Date: September 22 from Avon
Why You Should Read It: A loose Pied Piper retelling from the author of the Plated Prisoner series, this apocalyptic romantasy is set in a world of fae and dark magic where monstrous creatures known as Banes broke into the world and left deadly plagues behind. A man known as the Pied Piper can rid the cities of such pestilence, but takes people captive as payment, including our heroine, a half-fae, half-Bane woman named Esti. You can probably guess what happens next between them, but Kennedy’s thoughtful worldbuilding, unique magical system, and snappy banter make the ride worth it. Warning: The cliffhanger ending is a doozy.
Publisher’s Description: Our world cracked open like an egg. Power burst out, and with it, nine monstrous Banes ready to destroy everything. The powerful Core fae finally slayed them all, but each Bane left a Plague to punish us.
But that’s not the only thing they left behind.
I’m half Bane, half fae, and wholly hated. Survival means enduring every vicious glare and cursed outbreak. Until one day, a Plague descends upon my city that means certain death.
Then he comes. The Pied Piper.
He rids my city of the Plague, but it comes at a cost. One hundred and thirty people are taken as payment. Including me.
I don’t know what he’s going to do to us, but I know I have to get home. My family’s lives depend on it. But the Piper won’t let me go, and something wicked stirs between us. The sweet scent in my veins beckons him, while the seductive lure of his magic sinks under my skin.
I have to escape before it’s too late. Because if I don’t, it’s not just my heart at risk…
But the entire world.
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Harbinger by Geneva Lee
Release Date: September 22 from Entangled: Red Tower Books
Why You Should Read It: The kickoff to a new series from the author of the Filthy Rich Fae and Filthy Rich Vampires books, Harbinger follows the story of a young noblewoman marked as an omen of war who receives protection from an elite assassin rather than facing execution. Arden makes for an outstanding heroine and Game of Thrones vibes.
Publisher’s Description: Arden Icaros was never supposed to matter. From the poorest of five noble bloodlines, she prefers life on the family farm with dirt under her nails over the fine dresses at court. She just needs to get through one boring ceremony, inherit her earth magic, and return home.
Instead, she's handed a dagger and with it, an impossible choice.
Now Arden is branded an omen of war, half the nobility wants her dead, and assassins are tracking her every move.
Her only chance of survival lies with the most feared man in Antares.
They call him Bishop. No one remembers the name he had before he dedicated his life to his order. Empowered to execute first and question later, Bishop is ruthless, terrifying, and utterly loyal to the kingdom that wants Arden dead.
He should kill her.
Instead, he offers her sanctuary.
But the longer Arden stays under Bishop's protection, the more dangerous he becomes. Because Bishop has secrets powerful enough to topple kingdoms...and a need for Arden that could ruin them both.
The Wretched Divine by Adalyn Grace
Release Date: September 22 from FIEWEL
Why You Should Read It: The adult fantasy debut from Adalyn Grace, author of the popular Belladonna series, The Wretched Divine is a sprawling tale of knights, angels, demons, and soulbounds (both forbidden and otherwise). Aurelie has trained to be a knight in the centuries-spanning war between angels and demons all her life, but when a personal tragedy throws everything she thought she knew into chaos, she’ll have to reckon with her upbringing and the holy war she’d always considered so justified.
Publisher’s Description: Aurelie Chantelune was born to serve. Raised as a knight in a kingdom ravaged by demons, she’s spent her life honing her blade, driven by the memory of the monsters who tore her family apart and by the knowledge that she’s one of the few who can stop them.
If Aurelie can claim her first kill, she’ll inherit a legacy passed down through the Chantelune bloodline: a soulbond with Yuriel, an angel whose power is vital to her kingdom’s survival. But when those she loves begin turning into the very monsters she’s sworn to destroy, Aurelie is forced to seek help from the last place she ever imagined. Desperate, she forges a second and far more dangerous bond with Severin, a demon she can hardly trust, but who claims to know how to end the war for good.
With their lives and fates entwined, Aurelie, Yuriel, and Severin must team up to hunt down a cure capable of turning demons back into humans. But the more they learn about one another and the deeper their relationships grow, the more Aurelie begins to question the war and her place in it. With both of her bonded on opposing sides, she’ll have to make a choice: continue to stand with the angels, or risk everything by trusting a demon.
The Court of Venus by Bel Banta
Release Date: September 29 from Tor Books
Why You Should Read It: Mixing fantasy elements with inspiration from Tudor history, this buzzy debut (from a fellow University of Virginia alum) is full of morally gray characters, court intrigue, celestial magic, and a deliciously slow-burn central romance
Publisher’s Description: In Alvion, magicians have always ruled beside kings. Blessed at birth by one of the seven planets, their abilities are miraculous and extremely rare. Magicians born under Jupiter influence luck. Saturnborn can speak to the dead. Venusborn read the desires of the living.
At the moment of Bianca Mortlake’s birth, the stars and planets aligned just so, making her the first Moonborn magician in over a thousand years. A sorcery so rare that even the history books cannot say what she is capable of.
After a childhood training under the realm’s most powerful magician—and alongside a most insufferable Venusborn named Roland—Bianca lives a quiet life far from court. Until a chilling missive arrives in the night, summoning her back.
A mad and deadly court awaits. Two queens have met the executioner’s blade, and one wrong move could see any of them next beneath its steel. As power is pulled between ruthless royals and courtiers like the tides by the moon, Bianca must rely on the last person she would ever want to—the infuriatingly alluring Roland.
Because something is terribly wrong in Alvion. And only this moon-blessed magician and her oldest rival can save the court—and each other—from the dark fate they see written in the stars.
Threshing Day by Rebecca Yarros
Release Date: September 29 from Entangled: Red Tower Books
Why You Should Read It: If you are even vaguely familiar with romantasy as a genre, you’ve almost certainly heard of Rebecca Yarros and her blockbuster Empyrean series. While Threshing Day is not technically the sequel to Onyx Storm we’re all waiting for, it should at least help fill the dragon-shaped hole in our hearts for a bit. An anthology of thirteen different stories about the bonds between various characters and their dragons from throughout the series, we can only guess what kind of fun lore will be revealed.
Publisher’s Description: The next book in the blockbuster Empyrean series, Threshing Day contains thirteen stories starring your favorite characters and their dragons.
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