Romantasy Books for Teens: 9 Romantic Fantasy Recomendations

Bev Humphrey
Literacy & Digital Media Consultant
www.bevhumphrey.com
Social media – https://linktr.ee/BevHumphrey

Romantasy or romantic fantasy fiction has become phenomenally popular with teenage readers, with A Court of Thorns and Roses being one example of this. If you browse TikTok’s BookTok community you could almost be forgiven for thinking that books from this sub genre are the only books that exist!

In my opinion anything that encourages young people to read avidly can’t be a bad thing but I do admit to feeling slightly uncomfortable when I see students from years 7/8 reading books that I know include a lot of explicit ‘spice’ and I’m really not sure I would have had these books on my shelves when I was a school librarian, at least not available for loan to younger year groups. However, we do want to capitalise on this wave of interest so here’s some suggestions of great romantasy reads that will spare everyone’s blushes!

Six of Crows & Crooked Kingdom, Leigh Bardugo
Welcome to the grishaverse, a world of charismatic thieves, magic and romance with a light touch. Main protagonist Kaz Brekker has bad boy vibes but is also intelligent and inspires empathy.

Costumes for Time Travellers, A R Capetta
A cosy time travelling LGBTQ+ adventure that I thoroughly enjoyed, a charming and sweet romance with an amazing shop base that serves customers who are travelling to different times and need clothes to blend in.

The Mistborn Trilogy, Brandon Sanderson
This is an epic series that starts with a brilliant heist and then quietly morphs into something much deeper, great for your students that like to continue characters stories over several books.

Of Flame and Fury, Mikayla Bridge
A punchy fantasy that pulls you straight into the action and does not let go. I loved the fact that it is all about phoenixes, a mythical creature that doesn’t often get the spotlight. The romance simmers in the background, messy and intense but never explicit.

Thieves Gambit & Heist Royale, Kayvion Lewis
An enemies to lovers duology about highly skilled young thieves and a competition that they each need to win. Fast paced, cinematic and a fun read.

Powerless trilogy, Lauren Roberts
A BookTok favourite this trilogy is definitely romantic with slow burning tension building between more than one couple. Lots of flirtatious banter that made me smile, the plot’s reminiscent of the Hunger Games but is different enough to not feel derivative.

The Lunar Chronicles series , Marissa Meyer
Each book in this series is based on a different fairytale with the first Cinder , riffing on the Cinderella story and book 2 Scarlet, focussing on Little Red Riding Hood. Every new story builds the world and the friendships while letting the romances grow naturally.

A Language of Dragons, S F Williamson
One of my favourite 2025 reads and I’m very excited to read the next one A War of Wyverns which has just been published. Set in Bletchley Park in 1923 with dragons on almost every page with a slow burn romance, intrigue and adventure.

A Wish So Deadly, Marilize Loxton (publishing March 26)
Talia, the female protagonist in this fast moving, exciting fantasy steals jewels from a powerful Soulreaper and in doing so causes harm to her beloved sister and is forced to enter a deadly tournament to try and win back her life. She is forced to work with Taron, who is definitely not someone who makes friends easily but has a dark allure nonetheless. Ends on a real ‘what the heck’ cliffhanger, a great debut and I’m looking forward to reading what happens next.

For more from Bev Humphrey, sign up for her Lit Link-up webinars or watch the previous session here.

How do Accessit’s new features simplify the ordering process?

The ordering process is getting an upgrade with Accessit – making it more intuitive and better aligned with how you work.

We’ve enhanced the ordering experience to give you comprehensive, at-a-glance information for effective budget tracking and order monitoring, while making it easier than ever to build reading lists from books that are on their way. With new data columns and a streamlined pathway to the associated resource list, Items on Order has evolved from a simple list into a practical, everyday tool for oversight and curation.

Bulk Select Items When Ordering

When ordering a new set of books, you can now bulk-select multiple items within an order and assign both the quantity and budget of each item.

For example, if you’re purchasing a mix of new books for both the tourism and animal care courses, you can select them all in one go and allocate each group to its pre-existing budget – without repetitive data entry. Adding new budgets remains as straightforward as ever, requiring just a few clicks. These improvements save you time and help minimise the risk of data-entry errors, especially when you’re managing orders across multiple departments or spending lines.

Rewarding Engaged Readers

If a student or staff member has requested a specific book, we’ve made it easy to ensure they’re the first to get their hands on it when it arrives. During the ordering process, simply select the item within the order, choose Reserve, click Find Borrower, and enter their details.

Once the order arrives, they’ll be first in line – a great way to reward your star readers!

New ‘Coming Soon’ Label

We’ve also refined what happens next in the workflow. Previously, books on their way appeared to you as ‘In progress’ and were simply marked as unavailable for patrons. Now, any book that is yet to arrive will show as ‘Coming soon’ to both you and your borrowers.

This small but impactful change makes the status of incoming items much clearer, reduces enquiries about books still en route, and helps build anticipation around your newest additions.

10 Essential Graphic Novels for your School Library

Paul Register
Educational speaker and librarian of 25 years
Linkedin

During my Accessit webinar – Understanding Graphic Novels and Using Them in your School Library – I was asked by an attendee what graphic novels I would recommend as being essential for school libraries. I remember shooting off a few ideas that rose to the top of my brain the quickest, but I wanted to produce a follow-up blog to that question with a more considered list (with reasons for their inclusion too) that I hope many of you will find helpful.

Just to clarify, this is a list of graphic novels only and will not include manga. We can leave that for another day. It’s important to remember that the two formats are different, and you will have students in your schools that love their graphic novels but have little interest in manga – and vice versa. And that’s okay. We cater for many.

I should also point out that I have put together a Top 10 here based on how popular I think they might be in your schools. I’ve avoided creating a simple list of the Top 10 graphic novels of all time. That sort of thing is easily available online and will always be entirely subjective. Experience has taught me that those sorts of lists aren’t always helpful anyway. To use a regular fiction example, the greatest writers of all time are rarely the most borrowed in a school library. Jeff Kinney will always trump Dickens, I’m afraid! What I’m looking to do here is offer some suggestions of books that will enhance your graphic novel collections and be popular amongst your students – so let’s get to it!

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore & David Lloyd
(DC Comics) ISBN 978-1779511195
Quite different from the movie starring Natalie Portman, this graphic novel remains one of my favourite books of all time and is a product of both its 1980s creation (against a Thatcher-dominated background in UK politics) and the inspiration it takes from George Orwell’s 1984. A challenging read for any student, in terms of what it makes the reader think about regarding mass control, fascism and authoritarianism.

Planet Hulk by Greg Pak & Carlo Pagulayan
(Marvel) ISBN 978-0785120124
A weighty tome of 416 pages that I have seen pull many a boy reader into its pages. The Hulk is shot into space to stop him being a threat to innocent humans anymore and he ends up landing on an alien planet. Completely unprepared for the culture and the variety of new people around him, Hulk goes from gladiator to revolutionary leader to lover… and more. Much of the plot of this storyline was adapted for the movie Thor: Ragnarok.

Bunny vs Monkey, by Jamie Smart
(David Fickling Books) ISBN 978-1788451772
An absolute slam-dunk this one! Guaranteed* to raise your borrowing figures amongst your 11- and 12-year-olds. A beautifully cartoony and hilarious take on the constant battle between nature and technology by the amazing Jamie Smart, one of the UK’s biggest talents in comics today. I think there are currently 15 Bunny vs Monkey titles out there, so if/when this first volume is successful in your library there’s a wealth of additional material to buy in.

*Guarantee only valid in fictional schools.

Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale
(DC) ISBN 978-1401232597
Long considered one of the finest Batman stories of all time (by two creators, Loeb and Sale, who worked together several times and always created something special – seriously, look them up!), The Long Halloween remains much-loved to this day, by critics and readers alike. Featuring many of the Dark Knight’s rogues gallery, the story follows the attempts of Batman (with Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent) to stop a serial killer who only strikes on special holidays, like Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, etc.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier by Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting & Michael Lark
(Marvel) ISBN 978-1302956387
An instant classic that brought Captain America’s World War II sidekick Bucky Barnes back from the dead (and it had been decades in our time!) and into the modern day. A spy/espionage thriller that also dealt with the complications of the Cold War and the deep emotions of Cap’s survivor guilt, it was recreated in movie format in 2014… and is still considered by many to be Marvel Studios’ finest success on the silver screen. The ISBN I have included above is for the collected edition (which should still be available) but be aware that this story was originally published in two volumes, so just double-check what you’re buying.

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The next five graphic novels I want to add onto this list are books that all did well on the Excelsior Award, either by winning outright or winning their age category – so you know that they were all chosen by myself and my team of judges to appeal to students, and that those students validated our choices by giving them high marks.

Skyward: Volume 1 by Joe Henderson & Lee Garbett
(Image) ISBN 978-1534308336
Science-fiction series centring on one girl’s life in a world where gravity has been reduced to a fraction of what it was – and her father’s attempts to return it to normal levels, after humanity has spent twenty years getting used to it.

Doctor Andromeda and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows by Jeff Lemire & Max Fiumara
(Dark Horse) ISBN 978-1506723297
Not for the faint-hearted and quite sweary in places (so make a decision about what age groups you’re lending it to), this is the story of an aged superhero and his desire to reconnect with his estranged son. You will be in tears by the end! (Originally titled Doctor Star and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows).

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott & Harmony Becker
(IDW Publishing) ISBN 978-1603094504
The first-hand account of George Takei’s childhood years living in an internment camp for Japanese immigrants in West Coast America during World War II. George became famous for his portrayal of Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek but has also been a vehement advocate of equal rights for many years.

Supergirl: Being Super by Mariko Tamaki & Joëlle Jones
(DC) ISBN 978-1779503190
A coming-of-age tale of a super-powered girl from Krypton navigating life in smalltown America, whilst coping with the usual trappings of being an awkward teenager in high school… until a natural disaster forces her to confront her position in the world and make some hard choices. (Apparently, there is a new edition of this title coming out in April 2026 but, as of today, I’m not sure if it will have any extra features included or not. Don’t feel the need to wait for it if you don’t want to).

Darth Vader: Vader by Kieron Gillen & Salvador Larrocca
(Marvel) ISBN 978-0785192558
The first volume of some all-new adventures featuring the Sith formerly known as Anakin Skywalker. Great storytelling and lovely artwork of Darth Vader just doing the usual nasty and evil Vader stuff in the Star Wars universe. Adds some fascinating backstory to the character without upsetting any of the lore of the movies. I was still lending the various volumes in this series fairly regularly last year. I would describe this one as an easy win for librarians.

So, there you have it! I hope you have found this list useful. Don’t feel obliged to buy everything on this list if you don’t want to. They are just my recommendations (based on many years of reading, rating and school library work) but, as ever, you know your school and your students better than I do. It can be fun to dip your toe in the water sometimes! Enjoy!

Top Festive Book Picks for Kids – Your 2025 Bookmas Guide

Bev Humphrey
Literacy & Digital Media Consultant
www.bevhumphrey.com
Social media – https://linktr.ee/BevHumphrey

It’s beginning to look a lot like bookmas… well it is in our home anyway! There have been so many absolutely amazing festive titles for children released this year that it has been hard to choose some favourites to share with you but here goes:

You’re My Deerest, Harriet Evans
This charming, cute but sturdy board book would be a perfect gift for any baby or toddler on your list. It has raised up elements on each page making it wonderfully tactile and the words are loving and sure to strike a chord with any parent.

I Am Wishing Every Minute for Christmas, Lauren Child
With such a well-established author I kind of knew I’d enjoy this, but enjoyment isn’t strong enough a reaction, I loved it! Featuring well beloved characters Charlie and Lola the story perfectly encapsulated that ‘just can’t wait’ anticipatory feeling that young children get around the festive season.

A Christmas Delivery, Andy Shepherd
This is the first picture book from the author of popular middle grade series The Boy Who Grew Dragons and it has all of the craziness and warmth of her previous stories. And there’s a snow dragon, need I say more?!

Dave Pigeon (Turkey Dinner), Swapna Haddow
Dave Pigeon is traumatised when he realises that the humans eat… birds!!! for Christmas lunch so with his trusty sidekick Skipper he sets out to save the turkey – not realising that it’s already much too late for this particular bird. Very funny with an ecological message delivered with a very light touch.

An Anthology of Christmas, Auriol Bishop
With its sumptuously foiled cover and fully illustrated throughout, this factual anthology of Christmas facts is one to treasure and pore over for years. I was fascinated to read of the Icelandic tale of a fierce Yule cat, and the attached ribbon bookmark has been in constant use.

A Crongton Christmas Party, Alex Wheatle
Final adventure set in our favourite London community, with strong themes of friendship and bullying. Alex Wheatle sadly passed away this year, so I read this with a lump in my throat even as I enjoyed his usual excellent storytelling.

Mint to Be, Katie Cicatelli-Kuc
A vanilla, charming love story perfect for young teens and up, Mint to Be reads like the best type of Christmas rom com and should be enjoyed with a mug of hot chocolate.

Christmas Origami, Clover Robin
if you’re looking for something to keep the kids occupied in the days up until the big day this book has got your back. Containing step by step instructions to make 13 festive themed animals and 50 sheets of origami paper, you can also scan a handy qr code which leads to video help on each project.

Where’s Wally? The Search for Santa and Where’s Wally? The Perfect Present Hunt
These two pocket sized activity books featuring our favourite lost character are great for mindful calm down moments away from the frantic excitement of the season.

I wish you a very happy bookmas, I hope Santa makes your bookish dreams come true!

For more from Bev Humphrey, sign up for her Lit Link-up webinars or watch the previous session here.

The Role of Books in Supporting Teenagers’ Mental Health

Bev Humphrey
Literacy & Digital Media Consultant
www.bevhumphrey.com
Social media – https://linktr.ee/BevHumphrey

In recent years, concerns about teenagers’ mental health have been on the rise, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdowns. Research from the UK has shown a notable increase in anxiety and depression among teens, worsened by prolonged isolation and disruptions to their daily routines. Similar trends have been noted worldwide, with experts highlighting the deep psychological effects of extended social distancing and school closures on young people. Indeed, the World Health Organization states that “Globally, one in seven 10-to-19-year-olds experiences a mental disorder, accounting for 15% of the global burden of disease in this age group. Depression, anxiety, and behavioural disorders are among the leading causes of illness and disability amongst adolescents. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among those aged 15-29 years old.” (https://tinyurl.com/readingmentalhealth)

In the midst of these challenges, books stand out as a wonderful means of relief and healing. Reading not only offers an escape from reality but also brings a comforting sense of companionship and understanding, helping to build resilience and emotional well-being as well as helping us to understand what we are going through inside our heads. Author Nicola Morgan coined the term “readaxation” to describe the strategy of using reading for pleasure as a way of lowering stress levels, and she shares my own belief that relaxation is an essential part of physical and mental health. (https://tinyurl.com/redaxation)

Here are some book recommendations to help young people cope with their mental health challenges and tap into the soothing power of literature.

The Anxiety Club
This title follows three people as they learn to cope with different forms of anxiety using evidence-based strategies instead of unhealthy habits. Written by Dr. Frédéric Fanget and Catherine Meyer, with illustrations by Pauline Aubry, this guide helps readers recognise, understand, and overcome anxiety. It is highly illustrated, making good use of comic strips, so it is great for visual learners.

Astral Panic
This YA graphic novel by Katie Hicks follows Gale, a young man wrestling with anxiety and self-doubt, whose life changes when he moves in with the outgoing Aiden. Drawn into Aiden’s world and his band, Astral Panic, Gale starts to confront his fears and find his voice, both onstage and off. It tackles anxiety, wellness culture (the Simply Pear app and lifestyle products), digital overload, and the pressure to appear in control.

No Worries
Be Resilient, Positively Teenage, Body Brilliant, etc. – All of these titles from Nicola Morgan offer no-nonsense, practical advice and are worth their weight in gold in a school library. Their matter of fact, sympathetic style is just perfectly pitched, and I learnt a lot from these books as an adult, which made me wish they were about when I was a misunderstood teenager.

Blackout
A YA anthology that follows multiple Black teens across New York City during a power outage. Each story explores friendship, love, and self-discovery, capturing the energy and creativity of urban teen life. The collection celebrates connection, hope, and the magic found in ordinary moments. Short stories can be very helpful if depression means you have a low attention span, and these stories are very good for the soul and uplifting.

King of Nothing
Nathanael Lessore is gifted at dealing with serious issues with wit and humour, and books that make you laugh can be so cathartic. Anton is the self-proclaimed King of Year 9, confident in his social dominance, until his mother forces him to join the local Happy Campers club, where he’s stuck alongside Matthew, the school’s underdog. The story explores themes of masculinity, social hierarchy, and empathy, showing how unexpected experiences can reshape identity and relationships.

I hope these suggestions help you support vulnerable young people in your library. Even if it’s just one we reach, it makes it all worthwhile.