Spotify listeners couldn’t get enough of romantasy in 2025.
The audio streaming app revealed its lists of the most listened-to audiobooks of the year, USA Today reports, with Rebecca Yarros topping both the global and U.S. lists.
Yarros’ Fourth Wing, the first volume in her Empyrean series of romantasy novels, took the No. 1 spot on the lists. Iron Flame, the second novel in the series, was No. 2 in the U.S. and No. 3 globally.
Navessa Allen’s dark romance Lights Out was No. 3 in the U.S. and No. 2 globally. Romantasy author Sarah J. Maas had three books on the global list and two on the U.S. list. Callie Hart’s romantasy novel Quicksilver took the No. 10 spot in the U.S. and the No. 9 spot globally.
Other books to make both lists include Alison Espach’s The Wedding People and Emily Henry’s Great Big Beautiful Life.
For the first time, Spotify named the top narrator of the year, with the honor going to Julia Whelan, who lent her voice to books including Henry’s Great Big Beautiful Life and Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Atmosphere.
“It’s incredible,” Whelan told USA Today. “It highlights and underlines the fact that audiobooks are a larger part of media and entertainment. I’m very grateful, obviously, to receive this, but more than anything I’m just happy for the industry that it’s finally being included as it should be.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
