Fantasy and Romance are two book genres that can give us wonderful escapism. And my top 10 of the best Fantasy Romance books on Audible are full of adventure and feelings, giving you the best of both genres!
Venture into magical lands full of magic and hot, steamy… uhm… coffee.
Journey alongside lovable – and sometimes exasperating – protagonists who have to sort out their feelings while battling enemies on the backs of dragons or protecting entire kingdoms.
Let’s get lost in the captivating worlds of these beautiful Fantasy Romance books!
Heartless
Gena Showalter (Author), Adam Gold (Narrator)
Do you often fall for the villain in Romantasy books? In Heartless, you absolutely can’t help but fall for him!
The unhinged fae king and the gamer girl make such a wild and unlikely pair. But it’s perfection!
I loved Cookie and how she made her way in the unexpected fae world, by using her solid skillset to the best of her abilities and staying aware of her limitations.
Kaysar is a morally grey character who thinks his attraction to Cookie is just physical. Oh, is he in for a surprise!
The book never takes itself too seriously while being utterly captivating and exciting. The narration of the Heartless audiobooks is wonderful as well. Adam Gold has an amazing voice and makes this one of the best Fantasy Romance books you can find on Audible!
Venom & Vow
Anna-Marie McLemore (Author), Elliot McLemore (Author), MW Cartozian Wilson (Narrator), Vico Ortiz (Narrator)
Venom & Vow is a beautiful Young Adult Fantasy Romance book with an Enemies to Lovers storyline. Author Anna-Marie McLemore blew me away last year with Self-Made Boys.
It took me a little while to get fully immersed in this world because I’m not the best at remembering names and I needed a while to keep everyone apart (or together, as it were). But once I did… oh boi, I was enchanted!
Two kingdoms are at war. Their royal families – or what remains of them – blame each other for a curse that banished their kings, queens, and generals to an enchantment.
In one kingdom, Cade presents himself as Prince Patrick’s younger brother. No one else knows that he is trans or that he often pretends to be Patrick in battles.
In the other kingdom, Valencia is a lady in waiting for the princess. Valencia is bi-gender and also uses the name Gael, who has a reputation as a skilled fighter and has a history with Cade.
Both main characters have disabilities and use walking aids, which the authors have skillfully woven into the entire story, from fight scenes to the dances.
Venom & Vow is a book that truly deserves a second look. It is excellent and, for me, one of the best Fantasy Romance books on Audible!
Vico Ortiz and MW Cartozian Wilson were perfectly chosen for the audio version of this Romantasy novel.
Related article: The Best Romance Books with Disability Representation
Fourth Wing
Rebecca Yarros (Author), Rebecca Soler (Narrator), Teddy Hamilton (Narrator)
Fourth Wing is a breathtakingly fast-paced, exciting Romantic Fantasy adventure! No wonder it has been making such waves!
Violet is the youngest daughter of a dragon-riding general from a country that has created its entire identity from the war with its neighbors. She is pressured by her mother to join the dragon academy.
As the cover says, “Fly… or die”. This book has a truly huge body count. But Rebecca Yaros manages to keep the heroine hopeful and determined. This doesn’t feel like a dark book, despite many of its dark themes.
Rebecca Soler has a very fitting voice for Violet and did an excellent narration!
If you enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses and love Sarah J. Maas’s books, I have no doubt that Fourth Wing will be one of your favorite Fantasy Romances as well!
Mead Mishaps Series
Kimberly Lemming (Author), Hazel Addison (Narrator)
If you are looking for escapism and laugh-out-loud moments, the Mead Mishaps series are among the best Fantasy Romance books you can pick!
Set fully in a cozy, low-tech, medieval-vibes fantasy world, we accompany Cin in “That Time I Got Drunk And Saved A Demon” as she, well, saves a demon and then falls for him.
And in “That Time I Got Drunk And Yeeted A Love Potion At A Werewolf”, we get to know Cin’s best friend Brie better, who, well, throws a love potion at a werewolf who then imprints on her. Whoops!
I love the sense of humor in these books, as well as the captivating adventures and the sweet, sweet love. The perfect Fantasy Romance mix!
The audiobook versions are narrated by Hazel Addison, who has an outstanding range of voices for the human and non-human characters.
Prince of Flowers
Nazri Noor (Author), Greg Boudreaux (Narrator)
Locke is a perpetual student at a magical academy. But one day, he accidentally binds a powerful fae prince to himself!
This is a rather uncomfortable situation for him, because he doesn’t think he can really control this powerful being, but also for Sylvan, who all of a sudden finds himself forced to be in the human world.
The Wild Hearts series follows Locke and Sylvan as they try to figure things out with each other and attempt to save the fae world.
Greg Boudreaux, one of my favorite M/M Romance narrators, reads this fun and enchanting series.
Save this list of some of the best Fantasy Romance books for later:
Legends & Lattes
Travis Baldree (Author, Narrator)
Legends & Lattes is a Cozy Fantasy (which is really what you imagine when you hear that genre term) with a very tender F/F love story.
This book is audiobook narrator Travis Baldree’s debut novel about an orc warrior who retires from fighting and opens her own coffee shop together with a succubus and a ratkin.
Yes, this book is as adorable and escapist and cozy as it sounds!
The narration for his own characters and story is absolutely wonderful and I loved loved loved every second of this book, as well as of the recently released Bookshops & Bonedusts which is a prequel to Legends & Lattes.
Even though the stakes are low, this is a captivating, wonderful, enchanting story that will pull you into a fantastical world without all the grim and the world-saving and the everyone-is-taking-themselves-sooo-serious.
An absolutely lovely Romantic Fantasy audiobook that I cannot recommend enough!
Swordheart
T. Kingfisher (Author), Jesse Vilinsky (Narrator)
T. Kingfisher’s World of the White Rat is one of my favorite Fantasy Romance universes.
In Swordheart, the heroine Halla comes into possession of a sword with a not-so-super-nice swordsman, Sarkis, trapped inside of it.
Now she owns him, basically. And he will kill whoever his wielder tells him to attack. This fact makes the sword extremely attractive to other people as well.
So, these two have quite some adventures to get through before they can give in to their attraction!
The Swordheart audiobook is read by Jesse Vilinsky, who makes Halla so relatable, and her voice for Sarkis is intensely sexy. When you are looking for the best Fantasy Romance books on Audible, you absolutely need to check out T. Kingfisher’s backlist of M/F and M/M novels!
Violet Made of Thorns
Gina Chen (Author), Emily Woo Zeller (Narrator)
We had the villain-hero earlier, and now I want to introduce to you a villain-heroine!
Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen is shelved as a YA Fantasy Romance, but the protagonists felt older, and I think this will work for listeners who prefer New Adult or Adult books as well. But anyway, let’s talk about Violet!
She’s a seer and she’s very glad to have her place in the palace, that she has a job and a home. She doesn’t have many scruples when it comes to making sure she stays in the good graces of the old king.
However, she most certainly doesn’t hold back when it comes to the crown prince. They HATE each other! (Guess where that’s going, haha.)
This is such an utterly captivating book, and I absolutely adored this Enemies to Lovers Fantasy Romance! I haven’t encountered many heroines like Violet, and I couldn’t help but love her.
Emily Woo Zeller is one of my favorite voice actors and she excels at bringing out the atmosphere of this beautiful book.
Related article: The Best Enemies to Lovers Audiobooks
Reforged
Seth Haddon (Author), Gary Furlong (Narrator)
Ever since listening to T. Kingfisher’s Saint of Steel series, I have had a thing for paladins. And I picked up Reforged by Seth Haddon SO FAST!
This is an M/M Fantasy Romance book about a king and the paladin sworn to protect him.
It’s a story full of unexpected twists and turns as we figure out why all of the royal family died, making the youngest son the new king – the son who was never meant or trained to be a ruler.
It’s also about the unfulfilled love between these two men as the new king is supposed to find a wife and produce heirs, while Balen, the paladin, always put his duty above all else – even above his relationship with the prince, who is now king.
You can’t ever go wrong with a Gary Furlong audiobook. His narration is so wonderful and emotional, and this is for me one of the best Fantasy Romance audiobooks that you haven’t heard of!
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries
Heather Fawcett (Author), Ell Potter (Narrator), Michael Dodds (Narrator)
Are you in the market for a grumpy heroine and a sunshine hero? And a heartwrenching moment of “the grumpy one is soft for the sunshine one after the sunshine one got hurt”?
Yes, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries has all that, and it is absolutely delightful!
And it’s honestly remarkable how this book manages to feel so very cozy, with the cute little rural hut and the academia and general book wormery, while also sporting several axe injuries and things like bloodied hand prints on a window, observed from the outside.
I suppose the atmosphere of this book gives back perfectly the way faeries are portrayed in stories: Often beautiful and fun, gliding through luscious gardens, hosting feasts with all kinds of candy, while they can also be villains, cat-like in the way they play with and torture their prey.
And there you have Emily, who is a perfect picture of a down-to-earth researcher, and Bambleby, who is for all intents and purposes her polar opposite.
The narration by Ell Potter and Michel Dodds is wonderful and really fleshed out for me how I pictured Emily and Bambleby while listening. They make this immensely enjoyable slow-burn one of the best Fantasy Romance books you can find on Audible!
The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love
India Holton (Author), Elizabeth Knowelden (Narrator)
India Holton’s new book is a whimsical Historical Fantasy Romance about two young ornithology professors. They’re rivals in the search for gathering data on magical birds. Then they get pushed into the race for Birder of the Year, a highly rewarded title.
But there are forces at play here. Do the two get pushed together to make for better press on ornithology? Is Birder of the Year real or a scam? Who can we even trust?
There are all these fun meta jokes about Romance tropes in here, the book doesn’t take itself too seriously. But at the same time, the love story works perfectly and really pulled me in.
And Elizabeth Knowelden’s narration of the audio version is a pure delight! She has the perfect comedic timing, I love her accents, and she’s so good at bringing out the wit and dry humor.
The Phoenix Keeper
S. A. MacLean (Author), Stephanie Bentley (Narrator),
The Phoenix Keeper is a wonderful cozy Fantasy Romance book that has all my love! It’s set in a zoo for magical animals and has a beautifully diverse cast.
Aila takes care of the zoo’s single female phoenix. She loves these animals and is passionate about her job. When she gets the chance to apply for a breeding program and have a male phoenix move in, she is beyond nervous. Helping the phoenix to survive is her life goal!
Aila is an interesting heroine. She is very single-minded and can, at times, come off as unlikable. This also burdens her relationship with her best friend as well as her male colleague who asks her out on a date.
But then there’s also Luciana, the griffin keeper, who constantly challenges Aila, while giving it her all to help Aila get accepted into the phoenix breeding program.
This book completely pulled me in and I loved the Fantasy setting that is very similar to our real world (with webcams and phones), but also has these magical animals like unicorns and dragons. It’s perfection!
Stephanie Bentley did such an excellent job with the audio version. She brought Aila and the gang to life and kept me absolutely hooked on this amazing F/F Fantasy Romance!
I hope you will have fun with my 12 favorites of the best Fantasy Romance books on Audible! If you are looking for more recommendations, check out my favorite Romance audiobooks of all time or these excellent Romantic Urban Fantasy books with demons.
Happy listening!
Eline Blackman (pronouns: she/they) fell in love with books as a child – with being read to and reading herself. 10 years ago, she bought her first Audible book. It was love at first listen! An average of 250 audiobooks per year has become the new normal and you will rarely see Eline without a wireless earbud. Romance and Fantasy are the go-to genres for this audiobook fan.