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. . . .

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

I'm not sure we need mechanics for romance, but perhaps some guidelines. I dunno.

I think WotC putting out a romantasy supplement for the game would be a wise move.

I remember they once put out a "love domain" cleric unearthed arcana and had to quickly backpedal it because including any mechanics about love and romance can be easily abused with all of the methods player characters can coerce, manufacture or disregard consent. They hacked it together into a "unity domain" instead.

I bring this up because I don't think D&D is going to introduce any mechanics for romancing characters, so at that point I don't understand how you'd have mechanical support for a "romantasy" book. The rest is setting and flavor, and you might as well just play Blue Rose as a campaign setting for 5e if that's what you're into.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

Queer and nonbinary folks are wildly over-represented within the RPG fandom. (That is to say, the demographics of RPG fans have a much larger proportion of queer and NB people than the general population). Turns out, a leisure activity that explicitly encourages playing with identity is very appealing to people whose identities don’t fit neatly into the mold they were assigned in their daily lives. And, queer and NB people who enjoy roleplaying tend to enjoy fantasy in general. And since queer and NB representation is hard to come by, we tend to seek it out wherever we can, including (perhaps even especially) in romance fiction.

NGL if I didn't play a warforged bard whose whole schtick was "how funny, this bard is a robot so it doesn't want to have sex, unlike every other bard on the planet who's horny 24/7" during 3.5e I may not have started identifying as asexual later.

 

[Charlaquin]

Book of Erotic Fantasy 2025 edition when?

It’s 3rd party, but Kinks and Cantrips by stellara books is quite good. And enough of it is usable in a non-explicit game that they were able to produce an SFW version - the curious explorer’s guide to bundheim.

 

[Charlaquin]

I remember they once put out a "love domain" cleric unearthed arcana and had to quickly backpedal it because including any mechanics about love and romance can be easily abused with all of the methods player characters can coerce, manufacture or disregard consent. They hacked it together into a "unity domain" instead.

The second draft was called the unity domain. The version that made it to print is called the peace domain.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It’s 3rd party, but Kinks and Cantrips by stellara books is quite good. And enough of it is usable in a non-explicit game that they were able to produce an SFW version - the curious explorer’s guide to bundheim.

And presumably neither version has the cringeworthy CGI art of The Book of Erotic Fantasy, which was neither erotic nor fantastical.

 

[ProfessorDetective]

So I can make a Warlock Pact with Bachelorhood? Sweet deal.

Bringing the Vow of Chastity back, I see,
This reminds me of an old homebrew subclass I found I still want to play.
Literally "Wedding Vows as Warlock Pact".
Wanted to pair it with another one that was very on-theme, to the point that I was surprised they were from different authors.
Literally "Wedding Vows as Paladin Oath".

 

[ProfessorDetective]

It’s 3rd party, but Kinks and Cantrips by stellara books is quite good. And enough of it is usable in a non-explicit game that they were able to produce an SFW version - the curious explorer’s guide to bundheim.

There are also supplements like The Sisters of Rapture from Fantastic Gallery or Miss Mycelia's Lewd Handbook, if you want something outright pornographic.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

There are also supplements like The Sisters of Rapture from Fantastic Gallery or Miss Mycelia's Lewd Handbook, if you want something outright pornographic.

I'm kind of surprised that the Oglaf creator never put out anything gaming related, since they clearly know RPGs. At the very least, they seem like an ideal person to hire for art on a project.

 

[bedir than]

I bring this up because I don't think D&D is going to introduce any mechanics for romancing characters, so at that point I don't understand how you'd have mechanical support for a "romantasy" book. The rest is setting and flavor, and you might as well just play Blue Rose as a campaign setting for 5e if that's what you're into.

A whole section of Strixhaven already includes rules for relationships in D&D

And you can go as far as having multiple "Beloveds" which can include romances or platonic beloveds based on the table's norms and character play.
Yes, that means poly relationships are in an official D&D book.

Link on Beyond if you have it

Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos - Shop D&D Beyond

Buy Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos for D&D fifth edition for campus adventures including 47 monsters, 10 magic items and maps.

www.dndbeyond.com

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I was wondering if D&D would jump on the romantasy genre. Not my jam, but a good move for WotC and Random House.

Curious to see how well the book does, I suspect it will do well.

I think its going to do poorly. Where is the fun trashy romance novel cover? Where's a Fabio?