Penguin Random House Announces New D&D Romantasy Book

Penguin Random House has announced The Feywild Job, a new D&D novel written by World Fantasy Award and Nebula-winning writer CL Polk. The new book is a romantasy novel, a popular and wildly growing book genre. The book features a rogue tasked with stealing a gem called "The Kiss of Enduring Love" and is teamed up with their ex-lover, a bard. The twist to the novel is that the rogue has a magical pact granting them powers in exchange for never falling in love.

The new novel is written by CL Polk, a writer with serious bonafides in the fantasy community. Polk's debut novel Witchmark won the World Fantasy Award in 2019 and their 2022 novella Even Though I Knew The End won the Nebula Award for Best Novella that year. Based on their website, this appears to be Polk's first foray into licensed media.

Below is the full description for The Feywild Job. The book will be released on June 30, 2026.

Sparks fly when bitter exes are forced to team up for an elaborate Feywild heist, in this cozy fantasy romance by the bestselling author of the Kingston Cycle and Even Though I Knew the End.

Saeldian has sworn never to fall in love. That oath isn’t just a personal promise, but rather a magical pact, granting them powerful abilities. The only catch? They must never give their heart away—a deal that Saeldian is perfectly content with. They’ve seen firsthand how messy love can get.

Saeldian prefers their no-strings-attached life as a con artist, pulling off heists and leaving a trail of broken hearts behind them. But when a grift goes horribly wrong, they catch the eye of a mysterious patron with a job offer they can’t refuse.

The mission? Steal a gem called “The Kiss of Enduring Love” and return it to the Feywild. Simple enough, until Saeldian discovers their ex-partner, Kell—a charming bard—is part of the team.
The last time Saeldian saw Kell, things hardly ended on good terms. A kiss became a betrayal, leaving Kell hurt and confused for almost a decade. But Kell can’t just walk away—not when this job might finally be his ticket back to the Feywild.

Forced to work together again, their adventure takes them from high-society parties to Feywild couple’s therapy. But as Saeldian and Kell rekindle their chemistry, they realize the gem is much more than a fey bauble, and their simple heist has summoned powerful enemies. . . .

 

[slobster]

I wouldn’t be reading too much into that quite yet. Legends and Lattes (which I read yesterday) itself started on a very similar note. The scene of ‘adventure-typical’ violence. It serves as a contrast to what comes later, to emphasise why the MC might see the cosy life as desirable.

Not to spoil too much, but the trajectory of this book seems to be quite a bit different. The second novel in the series (the first chronologically) also involved numerous murders throughout the plot and ends in a big life or death fantasy fight...though I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't read!

I won't say that these series DON'T have a predominantly very cozy vibe; they absolutely do! But as to those (like the post I was originally replying to) who say that cozy vibes stories require that "no character may be in danger" or similar, I absolutely can point to examples that show that this isn't so. In any case it's pretty much besides the point when we talk about cozy romantasy in particular, as that is mostly to distinguish it from spicy/explicit stories.

But hey, genre definitions are notoriously fluid and hard to rigidly codify. I'm not surprised that the half dozen of us talking about it probably have a dozen total different and variously contradictory definitions we sort of find work. I do think that some of the posters here who seem to dislike cozy stories are operating under a pretty exaggerated view of the actual genre is like, which is part of why I laughed while reading that opening quote from Brigands and Breadknives after seeing what some people in this forum were saying about cozy romantasy stuff.

 

[Dire Bare]

To add to the two above, this is the opening line to Brigands and Bread knives, that sequel to Legends and Lattes which was a founding part of this cozy romantasy subgenre:

Despite having important romances in their plots, Baldree's books, Legends & Lattes and its two follow-ups, are generally considered "cozy fantasy" but are not considered "romantasy". Romantasy is a very different genre with a very different focus. In Baldree's books, the romance subplots are important, but are not the focus of the stories. And these romances are not "cozy" or "spicy" as per @Charlaquin's definitions of how those terms are used in romance fiction.

But your main point stands, IMO. Both "cozy fantasy" and "romantasy" don't always lack for stakes, action, combat, adult language . . . they are not YA books written for kids or adults who can't handle adult themes.

EDIT: And of course, even YA books written for kids can be full of danger, high-stakes, and even some pretty adult themes . . .

 

[Incenjucar]

Cozy is defined by being a ‘comfortable’ read, not really being anything specific. That scene I’m betting was resolved quickly, and with as little threat as it could produce. It was ‘safe’ violence, involving ‘heroic’, surface level descriptions that could have been in a fairytale book.

I’m not saying that all cozy is like that, but it’s more of a mood than a hard series of facts or rules. Don’t make the reader uncomfortable.

As has been stated several times, in this specific context cozy has nothing to do with a vibe and everything to do with how far it gets into sex scenes.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Setting romanticy aside for a moment, one of the things to consider when discussing cosy fantasy in D&D is a role playing game is not a novel. This might be why some people have the idea that cosy is synonymous with low stakes. In a novel, you can have high stakes, but still write it in such a way as to make the reader feel safe. In D&D, you need to make it actually safe to get the same effect.

Another point is the cooking competition adventure in Radiant Citadel that has been brought up. This is of course low stakes. It is also for 1st level characters. There is a general idea in D&D that stakes should be roughly proportional to the characters’ level. But 1st level is often the most deadly in 5e. So it’s not uncommon to start players out with something that is low stakes. That doesn’t mean the stakes won’t get much higher later on.

The first chapter of Lord of the Rings is all about a cosy birthday party.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

EDIT: And of course, even YA books written for kids can be full of danger, high-stakes, and even some pretty adult themes .

The Hunger Games is brutal and dark. Cosy it ain’t.

 

[Rainbow Scissors]

As has been stated several times, in this specific context cozy has nothing to do with a vibe and everything to do with how far it gets into sex scenes.

This.

A 'cosy' or 'spicy' "Defilers and Preservers" Dark Sun book would likely mean something very different for a romance novel than it would for a ttrpg supplement.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

I think the real questions we need to ask are whether or not the Epic of Gilgamesh and/or The Fairie Queene are "cozy" fantasy or not and work backwards from first principles

 

[slobster]

I think the real questions we need to ask are whether or not the Epic of Gilgamesh and/or The Fairie Queene are "cozy" fantasy or not and work backwards from first principles

I'd definitely have to classify Gilgamesh as "spicy", there's some NSFW content in there for sure!

 

[belsonic]

Ohhh they did Witchmark! Really enjoyed that! Looking forward to reading this too.

 

[JLowder]

A few notes, from the various threads:

Licensed novels can be a good deal financially for the writer, but it largely depends upon the contract. The D&D books tend not to pay as well these days as they did in, say, the 1990s, when the novels were selling tens or, more likely, hundreds of thousands of copies. (And often continue to sell.) Also, some projects that once offered royalties and cuts of translations and so on may not do so now, as licensing fees have gone way up; as fees go up, the writers tend to get squeezed. We fought to improve the D&D fiction contracts in the late 80s and early 90s, and I hope the most recent contracts reflect those gains.

Some folks still see licensed fiction as "slumming," but that's not as common a hot take now as it once was. The same with the publishing industry frowning at writers and editors "admitting" they play TTRPGs. (At the time, I had someone in the industry tell me it was a big mistake to mention in my First Quest article back in Dragon #208 that my gaming shaped my storytelling.) Where the criticism of the licensed projects is accurate and on target is in slamming how they are sometimes (often?) run, with editorial and licensing overreach and the creators losing control or even participation in their creations once the book is done. There's also a growing concern about what I call IP washing, with properties changing owners and the new owners refusing to honor old contracts, as happened recently with Disney and the novels and comics related to Star Wars, Alien, and other IPs they bought.

Romantacy storylines and cozy play style are already happening at D&D tables. The book existing is just openly admitting that, which makes it a potential gateway to the game for people who might not realize that's an option. The D&D fiction has always served this purpose in the spread of the game. D&D already supports this kind of play, so there's no need to change the rules, and any romance or relationship mechanisms run the risk of being misused and undermining concepts of consent (player and character).

I recently published a short (3K words) article about the history of D&D fiction and its interaction with the game rules--"The Wyrm That Eats Its Tail"--in New Edge Sword & Sorcery #5. It covers a lot of the topics related to what we are seeing reflected in this announcement. I enjoy the magazine a lot and have been subscribing since issue #1. New Edge Sword & Sorcery – Made with love for the classics, and an inclusive, boundary-pushing approach to storytelling!

If you happen to be at the Philly Area Game Expo this coming weekend, I am giving my talk on "An Insider History of D&D Fiction" on Saturday. I gave it previously at Gary Con.