Dark Romance vs Romantasy: Which Genre Should You Write?
Table of Contents
Throughout history, romance and romantic literature have always been really popular and have always been beloved by readers. It’s also one of the biggest genres in film. People love reading stories about tales of love that triumph over all odds and obstacles, no matter the setting or style. Today, romance readers have more subgenre options than ever and two of the fastest growing ones (thanks to TikTok) are dark romance and romantasy. You’ll often find them in the same online spaces being recommended and even placed next to each other on shelves. However, there are some pretty major differences between the two. If you’re a writer trying to figure out which direction you want to take your story in, understanding the difference between these two genres can help save you a lot of confusion. So, for today’s post, I’ll be breaking down dark romance vs romantasy, what makes each one distinct, and how to figure out which one is right for you to write as your next story.
I’ve been writing for over 10 years and although most of my focus is on sci-fi and fantasy (check out my series, The Fallen Age Saga), I do enjoy reading romance stories and including romantic plots in my own books. That’s why I also created a free set of romantasy writing prompts just for you. It’s completely free and you get 20 whole high-quality prompts to help you with your next story.
For a complete toolkit to writing romance, no matter the subgenre, check out my Storycraft System to Writing Romance. It’s a full 120+ page high-quality guide and workbook that walks you through everything you need to know about writing this incredibly vast genre. Grab your copy right now!
What Is Dark Romance?
Dark romance is a subgenre that centers on intense, emotionally complicated relationships. These stories often explore things like power dynamics, obsession, moral ambiguity, and characters who do not exactly fit into the mold of a traditional hero or heroine.
The big thing to understand about dark romance is that the relationship between the two main characters is the story. Everything else, whether that’s crime, danger, or conflict, exists mostly to put pressure on that central relationship and push it to its limits. The external world is a backdrop, not the main event.
Characters in dark romance tend to be morally gray. They may be controlling, damaged, ruthless, or deeply flawed in ways that a high fantasy hero would never be. Readers are drawn to the tension that builds when love or obsession grows in a situation that feels risky, forbidden, or psychologically intense. Love interests in this genre are often referred to as being toxic, but people who read dark romance tend to be fine with that as they separate fiction from reality through stories like these.
The tone is usually intimate and internal. A lot of page time goes toward the characters’ psychology and the push and pull between them.
What Is Romantasy?
Romantasy blends fantasy world building with a romantic storyline at the center of the narrative. Unlike dark romance, the relationship is not the only engine driving the plot. There is also a bigger world at play, and that world has its own rules, politics, magic systems, conflicts, and history. This is what I tend to refer to in my 50 Romantasy Story Blueprints Pack as the “fantasy” conflict or plot of the story.
In romantasy, the two main characters fall in love while navigating something much larger than themselves. There might be wars between kingdoms, ancient prophecies, corrupt governments, or magical threats. The romance and the fantasy plot exist side by side and feed into each other.
Because of this, romantasy requires a lot more world building than dark romance does. Readers expect the fantasy setting to feel real, layered, and immersive. The relationship means more when the world around the characters is fully realized and the stakes extend beyond just the two of them.
I talk about a lot of these elements in-depth in my Ultimate Guide to Writing Romantasy, which is one of my best-selling writing guides and is beloved by everyone who uses it! You can also pick it up in a bundled set with my 50 Romantasy Blueprints so that you can get a guide and premium story-starters!
What Makes Dark Romance Different From Romantasy?
The biggest difference comes down to where the narrative weight sits.
Dark romance is relationship-driven. The emotional and psychological connection between the characters is what the story is fundamentally about. If you stripped away the romance, there would be no story left.
Romantasy is world-driven. The relationship grows inside a larger fantasy setting that has its own conflicts and stakes. If you stripped away the romance, the fantasy plot would still exist. The story would just feel incomplete without the emotional core.
Tone is another major difference. Dark romance leans into psychological intensity, morally complicated dynamics, and darker aspects of human nature. Romantasy tends to balance emotional payoff with more epic, adventurous storytelling.
However, the two genres can technically overlap. If you’re writing a romantasy that’s an enemies-to-lovers and the love interest is a brooding, obsessive assassin, then that’s pretty much in-line with dark romance. However, there’s more to a romantasy story than just the existence of the romance. So, romantasy can be dark romance, but it’s not pure dark romance.
Dark Romance vs Romantasy: Which One Should You Write?
Here’s an easy question to help you figure this out. Ask yourself: if the romance disappeared from my story, would the plot still exist?
If the answer is no, you are likely writing dark romance. The relationship is doing all the heavy lifting. If the answer is yes, you are likely writing romantasy. Your story world has conflicts and events that go beyond the central relationship.
Beyond that, think about what you actually enjoy writing. If you love exploring morally gray characters, obsessive dynamics, and psychological tension, dark romance is probably where you belong. If you love building out fictional worlds with magic systems, political intrigue, and large-scale conflict, and you want a compelling romance woven through all of that, romantasy is the better fit.
Think about what you also enjoy reading. I personally am not a fan of dark romance much, but I do find myself occasionally reading romantasy books that I enjoy. I still tend to like grimdark fantasy the most (check out this post for some recommended reads), but I would be just fine sinking my time into a romantasy. However, dark romance is a tough sell for me. Think about your own book preferences, as they likely reflect your writing preferences as well.
World Building in Romantasy: Why It Actually Matters
One of the most common mistakes I see in romantasy is treating the fantasy setting as decoration. A kingdom that exists just to give the characters somewhere to stand is not going to hold up. Readers expect the world to feel lived-in and to actually shape the story.
If your characters are navigating a corrupt royal court, the reader needs to feel the weight of that court’s history and power. If there’s a magic system, it should have rules, costs, and consequences that matter to the plot. The world should feel like it existed long before your characters showed up and will continue after the story ends.
This is exactly why world building is one of the most important steps in writing any fantasy story, including romantasy. That’s where my best-selling Ultimate Guide to World Building can help. It’s over 340 pages of practical instruction, guided worksheets, and world building strategies that will help you build a fantasy setting that actually supports your story. Check it out here → The Ultimate Guide to World Building.
Conclusion
Ultimately, choosing between dark romance and romantasy as your genre to write depends on you as the writer. You can explore both genres as much as you want before you commit to one, and that’s what I personally recommend you do if you’re unsure.
Again, you can also overlap the two genres and create a dark romantasy instead. That’s perfectly fine, and in fact, many popular romantasy books out there would actually fit this bill pretty well. The idea of dark romance isn’t just about bad relationships that are 100% toxic in the real world, but it’s more of an exploration of more strange pairings or more morally gray individuals involved in a relationship. It can be interesting to explore the psychology of the characters as well.
I think some people have sort of twisted the idea of dark romance over the years, but for the most part, it’s always been a more psychologically-driven genre, in my opinion. Romantasy is just more of a new way to define fantasy books that are heavier on the romance than a standard fantasy would be. So, pick what genre works for you!
Don’t forget to pick up a copy of my 20 free romantasy writing prompts to get your next romantasy story started!
And be sure to grab yourself my Storycraft System to Writing Romance! That way, if you’re not sure what subgenre works for you, you can get a full range of exploration into the overall style of writing romance.
FAQs
Yes, and some stories blend elements of both. A fantasy world can absolutely exist alongside a dark and morally complicated central romance. The key is making sure the primary focus is clear to readers, so they know what kind of story they’re getting into from the start.
Both are growing fast. Romantasy has had a particularly massive surge in popularity recently because it appeals to readers who want both the emotional payoff of romance and the adventure of epic fantasy. Dark romance has also built a very passionate and dedicated readership.
It can be. Dark romance often explores power dynamics, morally questionable behavior, and psychologically intense relationships. A lot of readers love it for exactly those reasons, but clear content warnings and thoughtful execution go a long way.
Not necessarily. Some romantasy stories are set in a fairly contained world, like a single kingdom or a small magical community. But even smaller settings need to feel thought-out and real. The depth of world building matters more than the scale of it. However, world building is not an optional thing in this genre.
Confusing the genre’s core focus. When writers try to blend dark romance intensity with epic fantasy structure without being clear on which one is driving the story, things can start to feel unfocused and hard to follow. Knowing which genre framework you’re working within from the start makes everything else easier to build around.