My Favorite Fantasy Romance Book Boyfriends + With Spice Ratings

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For those who don’t know, a book boyfriend is a name coined for a fictional character the reader wishes were an actual person, that could be pursued for real life romance. 

We all know book boyfriends are unrealistic, most of them stem from romance novels, because fictional men in romance novels tend to be the most swoon-worthy. 

(Also, because most book boyfriends are written by women who fantasize about their version of the perfect man just like the rest of us.)

This is a fairly short list about fantasy romance book boyfriends who live rent free in my head. I’d also be lying if I said this list was unbiased, because we all like different things. 

Please also consider this list unfinished, as I still have so many more fantasy romance books on my TBR list and so many more book boyfriends I have yet to meet. So let’s dive right in! 

(I also plan to update this with my favorite pieces of fan art, but some pieces I am still searching for artist credits, so once I have credits for all the pieces I will update this post with fan art! 😍)

Ravyn Yew

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

Goodreads / My Review

This might be a surprising first choice for some, but Ravyn Yew literally lives rent free in my head. There are a lot of love interests that I enjoy paired with the main character, but I want Ravyn Yew all for myself. 

I love Elspeth but that boy is mine and I have no shame about it. 

One Dark Window is the story of the girl and the nightmare. The cards that hold the power to set Blunder free from its cursed fog. 

And oh trees! Ravyn and Elspeth pull off the fake dating trope with plenty of swoon worthy moments along the way. 

This story holds both plot and a slow burn romance and is one of my favorite reads of 2023. 

Ravyn’s spice level in One Dark Window is a solid 🌶️🌶️.5, because while open door, nothing too explicit.

Rhysand, Cassian, and Azriel 

ACOTAR Series by Sarah J Maas

Goodreads / My Review

Rhysand is the OG book boyfriend of the ACOTAR series. There is no denying that. But some of us aren’t loyal and switched to being Cassian girlies during Silver Flames while Rhysand was out there acting like a coconut head. 

And while Azriel is not yet a love interest, he is in my head. I am so eager to know more about our mysterious and elusive spymaster. 

ACOTAR has been around for quite a while and has gained quite a large audience with mixed opinions on the series. But this series was one that really cemented my love for Fantasy Romance. 

There was no way I was picking just one. The bat boys are a set and I want all three.

Rhysand’s spice level is a solid 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 because he’s more passionate than anything else and there’s plenty of spice to go around.

Cassian ranks a bit higher with 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ because he was spicy, smutty, kinky for SJM, and straight up nasty.

Azriel will probably rank the highest by the time we get around to his book, because SJM has put it out there that he is a freak. 👀

Xaden Riorson

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Goodreads / My Review

This list would not be complete without mentioning Xaden. A bad boy with a mysterious double life? Sign me up! 

While Xaden does need to work on his communication, that throne scene lives rent free in my head and I do love his loyalty to those important to him.

Fourth Wing was the book that initially got me back into reading Fantasy Romance and gave me possibly one of my worst book hangovers, followed by ACOTAR. 

And honestly? This list just wouldn’t have felt complete without our favorite wing leader.

I’d give Xaden a solid 🌶️🌶️🌶️ because that throne scene is up there with “Put your hands on the headboard”. 🥵

Wilder Hawthorne

The Legends of Thezmarr series by Helen Scheurer

Goodreads / My Review

I spent four books getting to know Wilder. He definitely was one that grew on me over time, rather than one I fell in love with right away. 

Wilder is definitely rough around the edges and not my typical type of book boyfriend. (Ya know, tall, dark, and handsome, preferably a shadow daddy.)

But I love his fierceness and his love for Thea, despite all the obstacles. I also wasn’t sure if I would like the mentor/mentee trope, but I think Helen Scheurer did it well and I ended up loving Wilder by the end of the series. 

Also, an honorable mention to Talemir Starling, who I am so intrigued by and is featured in Slaying The Shadow Prince by Helen Scheurer. 

Wilder is a lot like Cassian. They both are ripped, have long hair, tragic pasts, and are sometimes rougher in the spice department than characters like Rhysand or Ravyn, or even Xaden, so Wilder also gets 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ and I can’t speak for Talemir but if I know Helen’s writing he’s a solid 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5.

Death

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

Goodreads / My Review

This book initially pulled me in with its mystery and atmospheric writing. The intro was also a banger, and I was hooked. 

But death personified as a love interest also had my attention. 

And Death himself did not, by any means, disappoint. I enjoyed his dynamic with Signa and how their relationship dynamic changes throughout the book. 

The Belladonna series is one that is another favorite and comes to an end at the end of August 2024 with Wisteria!

As sad as I am to say goodbye to death’s books, I am so excited to get back to him, and see where his story with Signa goes.

Death is kinda hard to rate but on a spice level I’d give him 🌶️🌶️, he’s kinda tame, but you just know there’s more underneath the surface.

Irian 

A Feather So Black by Lyra Selene

Goodreads / My Review

Sometimes Irian will pop up in my mind and surprise me. 

Our main character, Fia, struggles a lot with her identity. A changeling raised as a Princess and then sent to the fae worlds to rescue the real princess is an interesting concept. 

I actually enjoyed how the love triangle was handled in this book. 

What I loved the most about Irian was despite his (very) morally grey attitude, he understands Fia better than most and he is the fictional character who introduced my love for “That’s my wife” type of one-liners. 

Irian is a solid 🌶️🌶️🌶️ because the amount of spice in this book truly took me by surprise.

Wrath

Kingdom of the Wicked series by Kerri Maniscalco

Goodreads / My Review

Last, but certainly not least, is Wrath.

My trajectory with Wrath was similar as my path to Wilder. Wrath interested me right from the start but it definitely took me a minute to really get into his character. 

Especially because Emilia was rather frustrating for most of the series, so Wrath eventually became to feel like a breath of fresh air. 

If you are not familiar with Wrath or the Kingdom of the Wicked series, definitely go check it out! 

Wrath might be one of my favorites because he starts out fairly unassuming, around 🌶️ but as the series goes on, Wrath turns up the heat and easily ends the series with 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.

Although to be honest, Prince Envy can easily rival Prince Wrath and if you read Throne of The Fallen, you’ll understand why. 😉

Did I feel kinda silly compiling a list of fictional men my delulu self is in love with? Yes.

Did I have fun the entire time? Also yes.

And like I said at the start, this is definitely a part 1 type of list. There is also a ton of fan art, but until I have credit sources for each piece of fan art, I am going to leave it off of the post for now.

Did your book boyfriend make the list or are you about to make my tbr list even longer?

You might also like: Fantasy Romance Recs. Pt. 1 // Fantasy Romance Recs. Pt. 2