Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, stars of 'Heated Rivalry', will voice characters in a new three-episode romantasy audio series 'Ember & Ice', exploring a forbidden enemies-to-lovers relationship between princes from rival kingdoms, following their success on TV and the show's rise to No. 1 on HBO Max charts. Season two is confirmed, with the series continuing on HBO Max and Crave.
In 2025, Spotify highlighted the growing popularity of audiobooks, especially romantasy and music memoirs, with a significant focus on backlist titles and genre-blending fiction. Trends included a surge in dystopian themes and the influence of book-to-screen adaptations, with predictions for continued growth in horror, climate fiction, and AI-related stories in 2026. Spotify's integration of books into its broader cultural ecosystem is transforming how audiences engage with stories.
The popularity of Harry Potter fanfiction, especially romantic stories like Dramione, is fueling the Romantasy genre, which features magic, dragons, and explicit romance, driven by a generation that grew up with Harry Potter.
Goodreads has released a list of the most-anticipated fantasy, science fiction, and horror books for 2024, highlighting popular sequels and the trending subgenres of romantasy and horror-romance mashups. The list is based on the number of times books have been added to users' Want to Read shelves, featuring works by authors like Sarah J. Maas and Stephen Graham Jones.
