Curse of Shadows and Thorns

Curse of Shadows and Thorns falls within the subgenre of romantasy, a category of romance novels that also combines elements of high fantasy and action. Known for their heightened emotions and epic scenarios, these novels, though popular with readers of all ages, often share many similarities with young adult literature. They typically feature story arcs related to first experiences, coming of age, and other significant events in a young person’s life. Some other examples of romantasy include Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince (2018) and Powerless (2023) by Lauren Roberts.

Romantasy often focuses on the life-changing quest of a young heroine, whose romantic journey parallels one of self-discovery and/or social change. Emphasizing both the personal and the political, romantasy novels typically pair scenes of great battles and political turmoil with more intimate, often sexually explicit explorations of romantic relationships. Unlike most contemporary romances or romantic comedies, the stakes of romantasy are often high, with darker themes that are not necessarily balanced by more lighthearted moments.

Romantasy novels use many conventions typical of the broader genre of romance, including familiar tropes, archetypes, and common situations, such as enemies-to-lovers relationships, marriage-of-convenience plotlines, and magical settings. Andrews uses the popular forced proximity trope in her novel, in which continually being in the same settings and situations forces Elise and Legion to confront the feelings that they have been trying to avoid. Secret dating is another common romance convention used in Curse of Shadows and Thorns, where pretending not to have feelings for one another makes Legion and Elise reconsider what those feelings really are.