The Never List

The Never List follows the conventions of the popular “why choose” trope within the romantasy genre, a category that blends elements of romance with fantasy conventions. Both “why choose” novels and romantasy novels have seen an enormous boom on BookTok, a TikTok community focused on books and reading. BookTok has launched many romance titles into instant success, including Hannah Grace’s Icebreaker and erotic science-fiction romance Ice Planet Barbarians, which received a traditional publishing contract six years after its initial publication due to its TikTok success.

The term “romantasy” became popular in 2024, though romance-fantasy hybrid novels predate this terminology. Unlike fantasy with a romantic subplot, romantasy novels keep the romance narrative central. Romantasy often takes place in fantastical settings with magic systems given centrality to the world-building of that setting. What distinguishes romantasy from other romance subgenres is its sustained focus on a single romantic arc across multiple installments rather than introducing new pairings in each book. This narrative structure allows for slower-burn development, higher-stakes emotional arcs, and greater integration between plot and romance. This puts romantasy in a unique position in the broader romance genre, as certain installment in a romantasy series may not have the requisite “happily ever after” that is demanded by romance readers. Overall, however, readers still expect happy endings for romantic leads. The Never List falls into this genre loophole, as it ends on a cliffhanger that promises a sequel to resolve the romantasy plot.

“Why choose” romances involve more than two romantic partners who all experience a polyamorous romance together. This term is now widely accepted as a substitute for the previously popular term “reverse harem,” which readers have criticized as culturally insensitive, implying that one central woman character will have multiple male love interests, but that these male love interests will not have any sexual interaction, even within the group. Some readers see this as having implicit anti-gay bias. The term “why choose” is considered more expansive, particularly regarding LGTBQ+ relationships. The popular “why choose” title Pucking Around, for example, presents polyamorous sexual relationships between male partners as well as their female partner.

Fans of “why choose” romances enjoy different characters revealing different emotional needs, whether within the group broadly or between a central, usually woman, character and her partners. In The Never List, for example, Rylee finds herself responding to Axl’s lighthearted playfulness, Pierce’s intellectualism, and Jax’s sullen intensity, as these each speak to different aspects of her personality. Proponents also enjoy the way “why choose” romances resist traditional heterosexist and monogamist romance structures, instead offering a broader definition of what romantic love might look like.

Popular “why choose” romantasy titles include Broken Bonds by J Bree, Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert, and Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhou.