This post was last updated on March 11th, 2025 at 12:17 pm
The pages of these YA fantasy romance novels are simmering with Celtic mythology, magic, adventure, and complicated love. Whether you’re familiar with the lore and beliefs of the Celts or not, these vivid tales will surely capture your heart.
If you love YA fantasy romance novels and can’t get enough of Celtic mythology, this is the list for you! What did the Celts believe? The Celts believed in many gods and goddesses. Ancient people tied these deities to the natural world, different areas of life, and the human experience. For example, the Welsh goddess Cerridwen is seen as the overseer of the cauldron of knowledge. This connection makes sense as people also view her as a witch and herbalist.
The Celts also believed that spirits inhabited everything—not only human, animal, and insect bodies, but also trees and plants, places such as lakes or caves, and inanimate objects like shields and stones. This belief is known as “animism.” Celtic people tried to communicate with these spirits by leaving offerings where they dwelled. A petitioner might then ask the spirit for aid.
In the spirit of YA fantasy romance novels, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention at least one Celtic reference to love. In Welsh mythology, namely the Mabinogion, we often think of Branwen as the Welsh goddess of love and beauty. Her name means “Beautiful Raven.” Her story is wrought with heartbreak and loss, but she shows tremendous strength in her struggles after marrying Matholwch, King of Ireland. Like Branwen, the heroines of these novels also show strength and courage. However, luckily for them, they don’t end up as tragic characters in the Mabinogion.
This post is about YA fantasy romance novels that were inspired by Celtic mythology.
YA Fantasy Romance Novels
Fantasy Romance Books for Teens: The Forgotten Ones: Book 1 (The Danaan Trilogy)
This YA fantasy romance book series was a USA Today Bestseller.
From the blurb: Allison’s plan is to go to grad school so she can get a good job and take care of her schizophrenic mother. She has carefully closed herself off from everything else, including a relationship with Ethan, who she’s been in love with for as long as she can remember.
What is definitely not part of the plan is the return of her long-lost father, who claims he can bring Allison’s mother back from the dark place her mind has gone. Allison doesn’t trust her father, so why would she believe his fairy tale about a long-forgotten Irish people, the Tuatha de Danaan? But truths have a way of revealing themselves. Secrets will eventually surface. And Allison must learn to set aside her plan and work with her father if there is even a small chance it could restore her mother’s sanity.
Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston
From the blurb: Paste magazine’s Best New Fantasy Books of January. Indie Next Pick. A stunning Celtic YA fantasy adventure set in the ancient kingdom of Eire, inspired by the legend of the first true queen of Ireland, perfect for fans of Shelby Mahurin and Adrienne Young.
In the kingdom of Eire, banshees chill the air, and water wights lurk in the rivers. But magic is outlawed by the king and jealously hoarded by his Druid priests. Neve is the youngest daughter of the king, and Ronan is a Druid’s apprentice turned thief, making a living by selling stolen spells. They should be enemies, but their shared hatred of the Druids—and a dark magic that has marked them both—makes them unlikely, if uneasy, allies.
When Eire is threatened by a power struggle, Neve must seize the chance to take her rightful place on her family’s throne with the help of Ronan and the realm’s most dangerous outcasts. Their journey takes them to the outskirts of Eire, where magic still runs free… and where an outlaw and a warrior princess might carve out a future with spells and swords.
Lesley Livingston vividly reimagines Irish legends and fairytales to craft a YA fantasy adventure that will captivate readers of Brigid Kemmerer and Tricia Levenseller.
YA Fantasy Romance Novels: The Connelly Boys (Celtic Witches Book 1) by Lily Velez
The Connelly Boys is the perfect choice if you’re looking for YA fantasy romance books without spice. It has a little bit of everything: Celtic mythology, magic, and an intriguing plot and adventure that will keep you turning pages in the moonlight!
From the blurb: Witches, magic, mystery, and adventure. The Secret Circle meets Shadowhunters in this addictive new dark fantasy you won’t be able to put down!
When 17-year-old Scarlet Monroe arrives to the sleepy seaport town of Rosalyn Bay, Ireland, the last thing she expects is to get tangled up in the dark and mysterious world of Jack Connelly. Popular, wealthy, and devastatingly beautiful, Jack and his three brothers have effortlessly cast a spell on just about everyone at school. There’s just one problem: their family’s cursed. At least, that’s what all the local superstitions say.
But when Scarlet inadvertently banishes a demon while trying to save Jack’s life, unleashing powers she didn’t even know she possessed, she quickly realizes curses are the least of her worries. Now, with demons hunting her down and dormant magic awakening within her, Jack Connelly may very well be the only one equipped to help her. Especially when she discovers the truth of who and what she really is… and how she might be all that stands between an ancient evil and the fate of everyone she loves.
Best YA Fantasy Romance: Avalon Lost: A YA Fantasy Adventure Novel by Mary Rose Kreger
A gripping novel with characters you’ll really care about and a touch of romance.
From the blurb: Unless he finds her, the kingdom falls. A princess longing for another world, a watchman sent to find her, and the portals and traitors that stand in their way…
Philia Pendragon is the greatest teen fencer in modern Wales, but she longs for another world. Late at night, she’s haunted by memories of a magical, medieval kingdom and the loving father she was forced to leave behind. Can Philia navigate shifting portals and hidden traitors to return to the Enchanted Isle?
Will Owain is the most determined apprentice in the King’s Watch. Selected by His Majesty for a high-risk mission, Will must forego his quest to rescue his mother from the traitor Lord Amaranth. Can Will find the King’s lost daughter, Philia, by year’s end and prevent the King from forfeiting his throne to Lord Amaranth?
Avalon Lost’s visual storytelling, compelling characters, and epic fight scenes will appeal to fans of The Legend of Zelda universe, Peter Wacht’s The Sylvan Chronicles, and Pedro Urvi’s Path of the Ranger series. Enjoy this new YA fantasy adventure book for teens and adults! Your adventure begins here.
The Wren Hunt by Mary Watson
From the blurb: Thrilling, atmospheric, and filled with ancient magic, this lyrically written YA debut is perfect for readers of The Raven Cycle and Wink Poppy Midnight. This spellbinding YA debut from Mary Watson is part thriller, part love story, and entirely captivating.
Once a year, Wren is chased through the woods near her rural Ireland hometown in a warped version of a childhood game. Her pursuers belong to the judges, a group in control of an ancient, powerful magic they stole from her own people, the augurs… but they know nothing of her real identity. If they learned the truth, the game would surely turn deadly.
Though she knows the risks, Wren also goes on the hunt, taking a dangerous undercover assignment as an intern at enemy headquarters, the Harkness Foundation. If she can uncover a long-buried secret, she can save her family and end the judges’ reign once and for all.
But as the web of lies, deceit, and betrayal thickens around Wren, she hurtles toward a truth that threatens to consume her and reveal who she really is. Not only has she come to the attention of powerful judge Cassa Harkness, but she is also falling dangerously in love with the one person she shouldn’t. And she may need to decide which she’d rather lose, her heart or her life.
YA Romance Fantasy: The Druid’s Prophecy (Avana Book 1) by Annie Lavigne
From the blurb: In mythical Ireland 2000 years ago, a prophecy awakens… Can a mage’s love be powerful enough to defy the prophecy that condemns her?
Half-goddess, half-mortal, Avana was born with a destiny that could either save or destroy the land of Erin. Daughter of Lug, the god of Light, and the dark Ess Enchenn, she grows up unaware of her birth’s secret and the danger that stalks her: her blood is the key to opening the door to Darkness, and the Great Lord Zha’hor will stop at nothing to claim it.
Rejected by her clan’s druids, the young Ulate flees to Scottie, where fate leads her to a mysterious initiator and a fortress filled with young warriors. There, she meets Finn, a Connachta – her people’s sworn enemy – who will awaken forbidden feelings in her heart. Meanwhile, the druid Shay, his mind filled with thoughts of the one he loves, exiles himself to the Isle of Man to master a magic that could be their world’s last hope.
“An ancestral quest for the four elements that immerses us in a mystical Ireland where magic still pulses through every stone. A novel that brilliantly blends druidic secrets with Celtic mythology.”
The Cauldron Stirred (Guardians of Erin Book 1) by Judith Sterling
This brings us to our last book on the list of YA fantasy romance novels for those who love Celtic mythology and Ireland.
From the blurb: Ashling Donoghue never dreamed moving to Ireland would rock her perception of reality and plunge her into a mystery that brings legend to life.
At seventeen, she’s never had a boyfriend, but she feels an immediate connection to Aengus Breasal, the son of the wealthy Irishman who’s invited her family to stay at his Killarney estate. For the first time in her life, a guy she likes seems attracted to her.
But Aengus is secretive, with good reason. He and his family are the Tuatha Dé Danann, ageless, mythical guardians adept at shifting between this reality and the magical dimension known as the Otherworld. Evil forces from that world threaten the Breasals, the Donoghues, and all of Ireland. Ashling must open her heart, face her fears, and embrace a destiny greater than she could ever have imagined.
This post was about YA fantasy romance novels that were inspired by Celtic mythology.
If you like YA fantasy books without romance, you may enjoy this YA Celtic Fiction set in ancient Wales.
For more lists, including the best YA fantasy romance books and other great reads, check out the following articles:
5 Best YA Fantasy Romance Books to Charm Even Non-Romance Readers
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