The Goodreads Choice Awards got some buzz in 2023 for adding a new section: romantasy. Romantasy is the intersection of romance and fantasy, and until last year, these books were always categorized under the Choice Awards’ fantasy section.

If you’re not familiar with Goodreads, it’s been a mainstay platform for book reviews since the mid- to late-2000s. Since 2011, they’ve given users a chance to vote for their top picks in a variety of genres at the end of every year.

A lot of the critique for the addition of romantasy is that it’s a sub-genre of fantasy. Some feel it’s unfair to include one sub-genre, but not others. Some even feel that because of romantasy’s huge popularity on social media platforms like TikTok, it makes Goodreads look like it’s catering to the masses versus maintaining the integrity of the vote.

So, what’s the scoop on this new romantasy section, and why is it actually a good thing? I’ll tell you.

It gives general fantasy a better shot at winning recognition.

For three years in a row, a romantasy book won the fantasy section’s choice award. And that trend had no signs of slowing down – especially not with Fourth Wing’s massive success in 2023. It was pretty much guaranteed to win its section.

The truth is, romantasy isn’t for everyone, and in many ways, it can really feel like its own genre compared to general fantasy. But romantasy is popular, and so long as that’s true, it’s going to outshine anything it competes against for a popular vote. Which is what the Goodreads Choice Awards is.

Many readers didn’t like this trend, especially if they didn’t like (or even snubbed) romantasy. So separating these books into their own category just made sense. I think without that, it would’ve been harder for Leigh Bardugo’s Hell Bent to claim victory in the fantasy section. Not because it isn’t popular (it is very popular), but because Fourth Wing’s hype was astronomical.

Romantasy has replaced Young Adult for many adult readers.

Goodreads’ move to add romantasy as its own section has made many readers ask the question: Why does romantasy feel so different from other fantasy?

For a long time, young adult (or YA) literature was a juggernaut. From the late 2000s until about 2020, it pretty much dominated the book scene, especially in fantasy and sci-fi. With huge successes from the heavy hitters like Twilight, The Hunger Games, Divergent, Cinder, and City of Bones, among other big titles, the category as a whole was a force to be reckoned with.

Despite the “young adult” label, many adults would (and still do) read these books, as well. And it makes sense. At the time, if you wanted an emotionally engaging fantasy story told from a first-person POV that centered female main characters and perhaps had romantic plots or subplots – YA was the place to go. There was a gap for that in popular adult fantasy then, and YA filled it.

But there became a growing desire for more books that felt the same way, but whose characters were adults, with plots that contained adult language, violence, and sex. And romantasy delivered.

Maybe it’s not permanent, but it makes sense for now.

Romantasy is replacing YA as “the genre” – and who knows what will eventually rise up to replace romantasy. As with most media, the book world works in cycles. Fifteen years ago, zombie stories and paranormal romances were the big things. Now it’s fae/fairy romances and anything labelled “cozy,” and someday those too will be replaced.

We’ll likely see the tides begin turning when TikTok latches onto something new, or perhaps even when the new generations take over the social media platforms. Gen Alpha is going to be taking center stage soon (sorry Gen Z, your time is limited), and who’s to say how they’ll shape the landscape online? Heck, in ten years, TikTok may even be viewed as an “old person’s” social platform, and a new one may sweep in to replace it.

But for now, it makes sense for Goodreads to alter their category selections to make the process more fair according to today’s trends.