Female Fantasy: A Novel

by Iman Hariri-Kia

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

What happens when fanfic comes to life? Clever and playful, this love letter to romance readers follows a young writer who seeks to find the inspiration behind her favorite male character.

A love letter to romance readers that is in turn chaotic, sexy, and addictively joyful!

"A playful romp and ode to all who believe in true love and happily-ever-afters."—Kirkus, STARRED Review

Joonie has two great loves. Writing fanfic about her favorite fantasy romance series and swooning over its hero, Ryke, a broody, impossibly perfect merman. No real-life boyfriend has ever come close. Why settle for ordinary when your fictional crush is…well, an impossibly hot, impossibly wonderful Ryke?

But then Joonie discovers a secret: Ryke was inspired by a real man. And she's determined to find him. Cue a whirlwind road trip, complete with her brother's aggravatingly hot best friend at the wheel, clumsy kidnappers, psychics, and her fiercely loyal fanfic crew. He doesn't believe in love. She refuses to believe in anything else. And neither is ready for the sparks that start flying.

Filled with crackling banter, laugh-out-loud chaos, and swoony heat, Female Fantasy is an unapologetic ode to the romance genre and the readers who love it. Perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood, Emily Henry, and B.K. Borison.

"Clever, delightfully chaotic, and a total joy to read!" — Lyla Sage, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Wild and Wrangled

"Makes me feel like I'm floating on champagne bubbles. Decadent and dreamy, this one is for the romantics." — B.K. Borison, New York Times bestselling author of First-Time Caller

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728270647
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	10/14/2025
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Iman Hariri-Kia is a writer and editor born and based in New York City. A nationally acclaimed journalist, she covers sex, relationships, identity, and adolescence. You can often find her writing about her personal life on the internet, much to her parents’ dismay.

Editorial Reviews

RECOMMENDED BY Cosmopolitan, Bustle, Goodreads, BookRiot, Swooon, Fated Mates, Bad on Paper, and more

"Equal parts satirical, steamy, and swoony, Female Fantasy is a romance novel tailor-made for book lovers who can’t resist a meta twist…what follows is a hilariously chaotic, self-aware journey through romance tropes that doubles as a genuine story about finding love where you least expect it. This is a joyful reminder of why readers fall in love with the genre in the first place." — BookRiot

"Affectionately satirizes the romance genre and its tropes through use of absurd, over-the-top plotlines while also genuinely extolling how wonderful and empowering romance stories can be...The whole thing is ridiculous in the best ways...A playful romp and ode to all who believe in true love and happily-ever-afters." — Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review

"A devoted romantasy fan embarks on an outrageous quest to find her soulmate in this hilarious and intelligent romp...Hariri-Kia skillfully weaves the two story lines into a celebration of the romance genre and a powerful message of self-acceptance. Riotously entertaining and genuinely moving, this will speak to anyone who’s ever felt shamed for being a hopeless romantic." — Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"Clever, delightfully chaotic, and a total joy to read! Female Fantasy is truly a one-of-a-kind novel. Hariri-Kia has crafted a magnetic story that is both fantastically mystical and deeply relatable. As a lifelong romance reader, this is the type of book I’m looking for—a book that makes me feel seen, adored, and brave enough to hope for something bigger. Absolutely stellar." — Lyla Sage, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Wild and Wrangled

"I had the time of my life reading Female Fantasy. Iman Hariri-Kia’s writing is equally whip-smart, introspective, and hilarious." — Hannah Bonam-Young, bestselling author of Out of the Woods

"Female Fantasy is fresh, fun, and utterly binge-able. Iman Hariri-Kia writes with a natural rhythm that makes me feel like I’m floating on champagne bubbles. Decadent and dreamy, this one is for the romantics." — B.K. Borison, New York Times bestselling author of First-Time Caller

"An unapologetic ode to all of what we love in the genre. Iman's love for romance and romance readers shimmers on every page of this fresh-feeling romcom!" — Tarah DeWitt, USA Today bestselling author Left of Forever

"There is nothing more delicious than being seen as a romance reader, and Iman Hariri-Kia's Female Fantasy does exactly that and more, playfully yanking us into a page-turning caper filled with hilarity, hope, and crackling banter. With an older brother's grumpy best friend, a quirky clan of fanfic besties, clumsy kidnappers, and psychics—and the power of romance novels—Hariri-Kia shows us that being your own main character takes more than determination and verve. It takes knowing you deserve your own happily ever after, full stop." — Sierra Simone, USA Today bestselling author of A Merry Little Meet Cute and Salt Kiss

"Female Fantasy is a rompy good time, but even more than that it's a beautifully defiant love letter to the romance genre, with a main character who wholeheartedly and unapologetically believes in love in all its forms.. I loved every second!" — Jessica Joyce, USA Today bestselling author of The Ex Vows

From the Publisher

★ 2025-08-02
A romantasy fanatic wants to find her own true love.

By day, Joonie works as a copywriter in the small seaside town of Mystic, Connecticut, but online she has a vibrant other life as a viral creator of fanfiction inspired by the popular romantasyA Tale of Salt Water & Secrets. She craves a partner as dedicated and passionate as merman Ryke, but men in the real world aren’t living up to that standard. When the book’s author reveals that Ryke is inspired by a friend of hers, Joonie sets out to meet him. That requires a trip to New York City, and her brother’s best friend, Nico—whose pessimism grates on Joonie’s optimistic nature—insists on tagging along. Growing up, Joonie had a huge crush on Nico, but she’s resented him since he broke her heart in high school. Now, as their road trip takes them in unexpected directions—physically and emotionally—Joonie has to figure out what her heart truly desires. Interspersed are excerpts from the romantasy book about Ryke and his human love interest, Merriah, who finds herself in the middle of a war between mer and sirens after she blows a special conch and finds her own power. While this 2-in-1 book means a double happily-ever-after, the real love story here is between a book and its reader. Hariri-Kia affectionately satirizes the romance genre and its tropes through use of absurd, over-the-top plotlines while also genuinely extolling how wonderful and empowering romance stories can be. Joonie’s first-person narration is downright hilarious while the romantasy sections purposely employ a vaguely formal, old-timey purple prose. The whole thing is ridiculous in the best ways while also being seriously addictive reading, with engaging, swoonworthy characters and well-developed worldbuilding.

A playful romp and ode to all who believe in true love and happily-ever-afters.

Kirkus Reviews