I was talking to a non-writing friend of mine this morning about a project I’m currently toying around with. When I told her it was a fantasy romance, she asked, “Aren’t all romances fantasy?”
There’s a bit of genre disconnect for people who aren’t actually involved with the genres, or writing or books. Most romance is a fantasy. There isn’t actually a lonely cowboy looking for a spunky emerald-eyed nymph out there in real life. People read romance to enjoy the fantasy of cute meets, long, teasing glances and a forever love.
It’s A fantasy, but not necessarily fantasy.
Some people hear fantasy and they either think magic and dragons, Game of Thrones or Harry Potter. Fantasy romance could be some kind of secret Draco and Hermione ship. It could be whatever passes for love in GoT (probably among siblings or complete enemies). It could be a dragon shifter and his prey… er… intended bride?
It could be something with rich world building, in-depth characters with goals and dreams and trials external to the quest for love. There are tons of fantasy books with romance in them, but fantasy-romance is a bit different. Like with all romance genres books, the main point of it all is the couple and getting to that happily ever after.
In the end, it can be a pain in the butt to explain the intricacies of genre lines with someone who is not invested in the world of fiction. Better to just describe your story and recommend they read it.