Fantasy Is Booming—But What Does That Mean for Readers? – Taylen Carver

There’s a magical surge sweeping through the book world right now. Fantasy—especially the romantasy and cozy fantasy flavors—isn’t just thriving. It’s dominating. Bookstores are bulging with dragons, fae courts, magical academia, and cinnamon roll necromancers. Your “to-be-read” list is now a small continent.

But while publishers and authors race to catch the wave, let’s pause and ask: what does this boom really mean for readers?

The Boom Is Real (and Not Just for Gen Z)

Fantasy sales shot up 62% in 2024 alone. Romantasy jumped another 35%, with titles like Fourth Wing and Onyx Storm selling millions in their first weeks. While younger readers—especially Gen Z—are driving much of this (thanks to BookTok and pure escapist hunger), older readers aren’t sitting this one out.

In fact, the cozy fantasy trend (think Legends & Lattes, The House in the Cerulean Sea) owes much of its warm hug appeal to adult readers burned out by the news cycle. For every dragon-rider romance devoured by a 20-something, there’s a 40-something sipping tea with a retired assassin running a bakery.

Fantasy has become the genre of emotional refuge—for everyone.

Cozy Fantasy Is the Hot Blanket We All Needed

Yes, it’s part of the boom. Cozy fantasy is the introvert-friendly cousin of epic sword-and-sorcery. The stakes are personal. The pace is gentler. The vibes are immaculate.

Its popularity makes sense:

No apocalypses to prevent.
The dragons usually don’t eat anyone.
Emotional healing > mass battle scenes.

Readers exhausted by real-world chaos are finding safety and satisfaction in stories where kindness matters, the world is a little magical, and found family saves the day.

Indie Authors Are In On It, Too

Some indie authors are riding this wave with impressive finesse:

Travis Baldree (Legends & Lattes) basically invented the “coffee shop fantasy” niche.
Becky Chambers brings cozy-ish vibes to sci-fi, but her fans overlap hard with fantasy lovers.
On platforms like Amazon Kindle, indie romantasy authors like Carissa Broadbent and Katee Robert (borderline indie-trad hybrids) are raking in readers.

And yes—some use AI tools to accelerate output. That’s a whole other discussion (and controversy), but it’s part of the landscape.

More Books, More Choice—But Also, More Confusion

Readers are overwhelmed.

When everything on your feed is “the next Fourth Wing” or “perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas,” it becomes hard to tell:

What’s actually good?
What’s just trend-chasing?
What will I enjoy without reading the same plot again?

And the algorithmic nature of book marketing means that certain kinds of stories—hot fae romance, morally gray assassins, magical enemies-to-lovers—dominate visibility. If you want something different, you often have to dig.

The Downsides of a Boom (Yes, Even for Readers)

Dilution of quality – Some titles are rushed, under-edited, or derivative. Not everything that’s trending deserves to be.
Discovery fatigue – It’s hard to find the books that really speak to you in a flood of near-identical covers and copycat blurbs.
Genre echo chamber – With certain tropes so dominant, other fantasy flavors (like weird fantasy, mythopoeic fantasy, or hard-edged political magic) get buried.
Reader burnout – When even your escape feels like a job—”must read before spoilers drop!”—you’re not actually escaping.

So What’s a Fantasy Reader to Do?

Glad you asked:

Enjoy the boom – This is an incredible time to be a fantasy reader. You’ll never run out of options.
Refine your tastes – Explore subgenres. Try cozy, grimdark, historical, portal, urban, contemporary or magical realism. You might surprise yourself.
Follow curators you trust – BookTubers, bloggers, indie reviewers—not just the TikTok top 10.
Support depth, not just hype – Read debut authors. Revisit backlists. Champion stories that make you feel something new.

And most importantly?

Keep your joy close.

Don’t let the noise drown out the wonder. Pick up a book that makes you excited to turn the page—not just the one everyone’s yelling about.

What’s the best book you’ve discovered because of this fantasy wave—and what gem have you found despite it? Share it in the comments.

Fantasy is vast, weird, and beautiful. Let’s keep it that way.