Do We Really Need Another Book Called A Court of Something and Something?
Romantasy = Beige Soup
Okay, can we talk about the state of romantasy for a second?
Because lately every time I look at a new release shelf, I feel like I’ve fallen into a fever dream where the only books in existence are titled A Court of Something and Something, and every character is as flavorful as, well, microwave rice.
Don’t get me wrong, these books are not bad…. somehow they’re worse than bad. They’re aggressively fine. Like eating plain oatmeal with no sugar. you’ll live but your soul will not thank you.
🕮 Bookish Mood Of The Week
The Collective Suffering
What makes this even more painful is that a lot of us started out loving these genres. Romantasy! Dark romance! They gave us dragons and fae courts and plot twists and longing stares across candlelit banquets.
But now? It feels like the genre has been microwaved. Bland, formulaic, reheated for the algorithm.
And trust me, I say this as someone who still gets side-eyed because I confused three different “Beige Court” books in a row.
(I don’t even read much romantasy and somehow was given an ACOTAR bookmark for secret santa. I was offended. I’m sorry I am not built for it)
♪♫ I think I’ve seen this film before … ♫
We’ve been here before. Remember YA dystopia in the 2010s?
Hunger Games blew up, and then suddenly the world was on fire with a thousand “strong girl + brooding boy + evil government” knockoffs.
Then what happened? The entire genre imploded under the weight of sameness.
Romantasy deserves better than that. We don’t need to beigeify our dragons.
So here’s my plea: sure let’s keep the cliches we love, but twist them five ways to sunday and breathe some actual spice back into this genre.
Bland oatmeal is for sad dorm kitchens not our bookshelves,
𓂃🖊 Rachel
Want to watch me do a piss poor job of guessing the ratings of romantasy books that have the girlies in a chokehold (and play along for fun)? New video is here: