I loved this one so much! It was different and fun and so entertaining! It was a love letter to the romance genre, as well as those who read and love it! I devoted this book in one sitting and I’m excited to listen when it hits audio! I also will be looking for more from this author. I really enjoyed her writing!

This one was a mixed bag for me. I loved the representation of an Iranian FMC in a romance novel and I loved the book in theory as a love letter to both romance novels and especially fandom. On the other hand, I wasn’t invested in the story-within-the-story and Joonie’s plot is just so off-the-wall crazy. It was just a little bit too ridiculous for me personally. I think that the best comparison I could make for it is that it’s actually an adult romance version of the Disney Channel Original Movie Dadnapped?

But it gets an extra half star for Chapter 17! I love an impactful one sentence chapter- and, same, Joonie.

Thank you NetGalley and Cosmo Reads for the ARC- all thoughts my own!

This is a mix of both a brilliant satire on the Romania’s genre and an immaculately executed romance. Joonie is a protagonist worth rooting for and the story as a whole encapsulates the joy of reading and the romance community. If you are a devoted fan of the genre, stereotypes and all, this is a must-read for you.

What a unique and fun book to read! I loved learning more about Joonie and the connection to her favorite book boyfriend-Ryke. Who doesn't love a merman?!?! This book was so unique and I truly do not think I have read a book quite like this one and I loved that! Joonie was so funny and I found myself really cackling at times because she felt like a person I would be friends with in real life. Definitely a super cheesy romance book but it's a fun and quick read!

What started out as a fun commentary on romance readers and romantasy quickly became a cheesy caricature of both genres.

When the story began, I rooted for Joonie, HARD. I wanted her fanfic and romance novel-loving heart to find love! I even kind of shipped her going and looking for the guy who had inspired her favorite romance hero. When there was a bit of a plot and genre twist? I was also hardcore into that. Where the story lost me was the writing style, and unfortunately, there isn't much hope of coming back from that once a reader dislikes it.

The writing was simple and cheesy. With the main novel, I could overlook those aspects for a time, but there were also excerpts (too many, if I'm being honest) from the FMC's favorite romantasy series, and the writing in those excerpts was bad from the start. I thought initially it was purposeful, but as the book went on, I couldn't overlook how blatantly bad the writing in those pieces was. Then, that poor writing seeped into the main story. I thought maybe the main romance could save it, but it couldn't, and the cheesiness actually made it worse.

If you're looking for an unserious and comedic take on romance, then give this a shot. Based on the Author's Note, I thought the author loved the romance and romantasy genres, but I couldn't tell from the writing of this story.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this one and the author's voice is truly unique! The concept was so fun and I definitely let myself be pulled along for the ride, enjoying every minute of it! I will definitely be recommending this story to my romance reading friends and family and expect they will all enjoy it as much as I did!

I really wanted to love this — a meta-romance that celebrates and critiques the genre? Count me in. Unfortunately, Female Fantasy didn’t work for me. The biggest issue? The constant interruptions with fanfiction-style excerpts from Joonie's favorite romantasy novel. They pulled me out of the main story every time and felt more like filler than meaningful parallels.

Joonie, the main character, also didn’t click with me. While I appreciate a strong, independent FMC, her constant "I don't need a man, I'm better than this" energy made her come off more smug than self-aware. Her attitude often felt dismissive of others, and that made it hard to root for her or feel invested in the romance arc.

There were flashes of charm and some witty banter, but overall the tone felt too self-congratulatory, and the pacing was thrown off by the dual narrative. If you’re deeply into meta-romcoms or want a feminist lens on romance tropes, this might be your thing — but sadly, it missed the mark for me.

What an adventure of a book! Female Fantasy took me on so many twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting, yet at its heart it’s still a sweeping romance and a book about a woman who discovers who she is. I loved both sides of the story, the adventurous romance-mystery of Joonie and Nico, as well as the magical, fated-mates, romance of Mariah and Ryke. A book inside a book! I couldn’t ask for anything else.

Social media post to come

Joonie has not had the best luck when it comes to men. So she does what any girl would do and direct her attention to the unattainable handsome love interest of her favorite fantasy romance. After finding out that this fantasy boy is actually based on a real person she makes it her mission to find him and have a meet cute with this handsome fella.

Joonie is likable and this read was incredibly fun. It wasn't perfect but I really had a good time. Even during the nonsensical parts, it really captured the insanity of it all. Also, Nico is awesome! This classic childhood frenemies to lovers aspect was predictable and sweet and I loved it.

The premise of this book was so fun and refreshing. We get a very tongue in cheek and campy take on the romance genre through Joonie, a copywriter and prolific fanfic author.

She takes a wild road trip to find the real life inspiration for her favorite book boyfriend of a romantasy series. Her brother's best friend and childhood crush is along for the ride and of course nothing goes to plan. I loved how she got to implement all her specialty sets of skills based solely of things learned from romance novels.

It was equal parts unhinged, sillly, and heartfelt at the same time.

🩵 thank you to netgalley for the arc 🩵

3.5/5 stars

Joonie, a fanfic writer of a popular fantasy series, is on the hunt for love. Everyone keeps telling her she is living in a fantasy and her expectations are unrealistic, but she is determined to use what she’s learned from romance novels in her own search for love.

This was so different from anything i’ve read. We have Joonies story, along with excerpts, and a story of its own, from her favorite book series and her favorite book boyfriend, Ryke. Each chapter ends with an excerpt from that novel. We watch Joonie on crazy adventures that were truly hilarious, with her brothers best friend, Nico, in tow. This had so much humor infused throughout while also including important topics such as the importance of romance novels, the undermining of people’s love for romance and how it is harmful, as well as racial aspects, as Joonie is middle-eastern.

I didn’t fully connect with the romance in this one and didn’t care for them together, hence my rating. I had so much fun with this though and really enjoyed it.

This was, I cannot stress this enough, the perfect love letter to the romance genre!! It was cozy, fun, silly, romantic, and played fast and loose with allll of my favorite romance tropes in the best way. I also loved the secondary story told through Joonie's fanfic. I think Iman's writing is so digestible and easy to binge, while touching on humor and emotion. I absolutely loved Joonie's character, how open and loving and quirky she was and how she worked to be unapologetically this way. By the end of the book I felt so proud of her! I would definitely love to see a Joonie/Nico epilogue novella, I adore them!!

The author is doing a great job marketing this book on socials and I really hope she finds her audience. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include me. I gave this one(more than) a college try. I attempted to read this book 5 different times. Thinking maybe it was a mood thing, but it wasn’t. It’s just a me thing. A lot of that could be that I’m not a fantasy or romantasy reader so I found the FMC’s obsession with the storyline and characters pretty cringe.

Here’s the quick and dirty synopsis of Female Fantasy–
Joonie has never been super successful in dating. After a failed relationship she fell into reading and discovered her favorite author/series/character. She’s become so wrapped up in this fantasy world that she writes fanfic and posts it. She catches a live from the author who spills that the MMC of her book(who’s a merman?) is based on a real person, and he’s single. Now she’s determined to find the man of her dreams.

I found the FMC childish and pacing really jerky. Everytime we dove back into the fantasy world of her favorite book it just took me out of it and I found myself trying to rush through it. It felt like I was lurking on something I wasn’t supposed to see.

Anyhow, I truly do hope this book finds its audience.

I see what this book was trying to do, but it just wasn’t it.

Even as my own personal preference of not liking books within books, the off brand mermaid fantasy book was unnecessary.

It was campy and satirical which I appreciate the effort, but the one too many romance books are real books rants just annoyed me. Trying to teach a lesson to the readers, but most anyone who would pick up this book already knows.

So many parts of this book were hyper cringe which again I know the author was playing into the bit of it all but it just wasn’t it for me.

This was such a fun book! It had so many funny moments and I could not put the book down! I highly recommend this book!

What an interesting premise.
Really enjoyable book, with complex and lovable characters.
It is a wild ride from start to finish!!

Imagine your favorite book boyfriend was actually based off someone in real life. Wouldn’t you set out to go find him? That’s the premise of this fun novel!

Thank you net galley for the e-arc, this book felt like a big hug, an ode to romance readers and the genre, and maybe even a push for us to believe we can find all love in our real lives, not just our fantastical ones.

It felt so timely as so many people are obsessed with their own book boyfriends and I think this storyline is something many girls would dream of happening. It’s part satire, part fun. It is whimsical, unexpected, and full of tropes. As a romance reader and writer, I just adored this book, it felt like validation and reassurance of our passion. I loved Joonie, she believes in love and happy ever afters like all of us! It was so unexpected and so interesting to hear that what she learned in romance books were able to save the day! I will absolutely be recommending this to everyone.

I don’t even know where to start with this book because it was such an unhinged “WTF I just read” type of book but it was also a love letter to romance readers and an adventure. Basically an absolute treat.

This book is chaos. I loved it immensely. The talking fish, the ABBA references, I almost spat my coffee out.

The only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is because I got lost once or twice between the book and what was happening and I think it created confusion that was not intended.

If you want a fun silly read, this book is amazing.

Thank you so much for this ARC! I appreciate the opportunity to leave honest feedback voluntarily.

This was so fun to read! As a former fanfic-obsessed reader, this scratched an itch that I’ve had since I started reading romance novels. Additionally, it has been exciting to watch Iman’s growth as an author. I truly love her voice and enjoyed how she leaned into the romantasy genre in Female Fantasy.

The novel follows Joonie, a romance-obsessed copywriter with standards that no man can possibly reach, due to her book boyfriend Ryke, the male lead in the romantasy series A Tale of Salt Water and Secrets. The book is actually split into two: Joonie’s journey of self-love and Merriah’s (the female lead) story in the romance series. There are similarities between the two main female characters, and I enjoyed how they mirrored each other’s similar struggles.

The first half of the book had me sold. I was completely on board with the quest that Joonie decided to take, and was fully immersed in the A Tale of Salt Water and Secrets world. But as the book progressed, I felt more drawn to the story occurring in the romantasy novel than the action occurring in Joonie’s. I wasn’t invested in the romance between Joonie and Nico (Joonie’s brother’s best friend), and when Joonie had her epiphany and they ultimately ended up together, it felt unearned. The 180 happened too quickly in my opinion.

However, Female Fantasy ignited my love for romance and fanfic, and had a lovely message that all romance readers will appreciate. Thank you to NetGalley and Cosmo Reads for the ARC!

Title: Female Fantasy
Author: Iman Hariri-Kia
Genre: Romance, Humor & Satire, Women’s Fiction
Publication Date: October 14, 2025
Publisher: Cosmo Reads
Page Count: 416

4 / 5 ⭐ Thank you NetGalley and Cosmo Reads for my Advanced Reader Copy.
This book was funny, light-hearted, and smart.
Joonie believes in true love, the kind of love she experienced reading her favorite romantasy series of all time. She wants a man like her favorite MMC Ryke, so she sets out to find the man the book character was based on to see if sparks fly.
The story was engaging and although the plot was predictable I believe that was the point and it added to the satire of the book. After a few chapters in I had trouble putting it down. I was actually really into the high stakes in this and how funny those moments were. It kind of reminded me of those 80’s rom coms with Nicholas Cage.

Joonie and Nico were both loveable characters. Nothing got too deep outside of Joonie herself and I really liked that. Joonie has some past trauma, an abusive relationship, a strained relationship with her parents and racism she experienced as a teen. Although Joonie’s experiences have been heavy she found that reading has helped her cope. It also taught her a lot about life.
The pacing of the book was pretty fast, but I felt that it dealt with heavy themes without dwelling too much. They definitely weren’t ignored but the tone matches the typical tropey romance book. I was actually really interested in the book within the book, I know it’s a parody of a well known series but I preferred the author’s version and I could see this author writing a successful fantasy romance series.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romance books but also enjoys satirical and speculative fiction. I’m rating this 4 out of 5 stars as I really enjoyed it but I did want a little more time with Nico than we got, overall though this story was very balanced and enjoyable.