The Psychological Benefits of Fantasy Fiction: Exploring the Enchantment of ACOTAR

13 Jan The Psychological Benefits of Fantasy Fiction: Exploring the Enchantment of ACOTAR

Updated September 2026

Please note: Any client stories or examples shared here are composites based on common themes across many experiences. Names and details are changed, and no story represents a single client.

There is a particular kind of quiet that can arrive when you finally sit down with a book you have been waiting for. The house settles. Your attention narrows. Somewhere a few pages in, the refrigerator hum, the inbox, and the rest of the day seem to recede.

If you have been counting down to this fall’s releases, you are in good company. Sarah J. Maas returns to Prythian with A Court of Splintered Harmony on October 27, 2026, and Rebecca Yarros’s Threshing Day arrives September 29, 2026. For many readers, those dates are not trivial calendar entries. They are small, steady points of anticipation in an often unpredictable year.

The psychological benefits of fantasy fiction are not simply about “escaping reality.” Fantasy and romantasy can offer a meaningful emotional experience: a contained world in which readers encounter longing, fear, loss, courage, and connection, then close the book and return to their own lives.

That does not make fiction therapy, and it does not need to. It can simply be one supportive part of a fuller life.

Why does “romantasy” feel so emotionally absorbing?

Romantasy blends the stakes and imaginative distance of fantasy with a relationship readers care deeply about. The magical setting can make difficult themes easier to approach. Beneath the courts, dragons, battles, and impossible quests, these stories often explore betrayal, survival, identity, grief, desire, trust, and the experience of learning that you are allowed to want more for yourself.

For some people, a fictional world creates enough distance to reflect on hard emotions without feeling overwhelmed by them. This is one reason genre fiction can feel so resonant. You may not choose a clinical book about trauma, attachment, or self-worth after a long day. But in a story about a warrior, a healer, or a character finding her way home, similar themes may feel more approachable.

This is also why fantasy can complement other forms of reflection. If you are interested in how fiction creates a safe-feeling distance from intense material, you might also read Trauma Response: Escapism in the Horror Genre. Horror and romantasy may look very different on the surface, but both can give readers a structured way to engage with emotion.

What is narrative transportation?

Narrative transportation is the research term for becoming deeply absorbed in a story. It is that feeling of being fully inside the world of the book: noticing the setting, caring about the characters, and temporarily setting aside your usual mental to-do list.

In a 2013 study published in PLOS ONE, researchers found that readers who were more emotionally transported into a story showed increased empathy over the following week. This does not mean every novel will produce the same outcome for every reader. It does suggest that the experience of being moved by a story can matter.

Absorption is not a side effect of reading. It is often part of what readers are seeking.

When a story gives you language for an experience, lets you root for someone’s survival, or offers a believable moment of relief, it can widen perspective. A character’s choice may illuminate something you had not named in your own life. A fictional relationship may remind you what safety, repair, or mutual care can look like.

Why waiting for a new release can feel so good

Anticipation is its own emotional experience.

Many parts of life are uncertain: schedules change, difficult news arrives, relationships shift, and demands appear before we feel ready for them. A known release date offers something different. It is a future pleasure that can be held lightly but reliably.

Looking forward to a book is not a solution to stress. Still, it can be a small source of hope, structure, and enjoyment. You can imagine the bookstore visit, the cozy evening you have planned, or the friend you will text when you reach a particular chapter. These moments give the mind something positive to return to.

There is often a community element, too. A group chat full of theories, a favorite BookTok creator, a library hold list, or a friend who understands exactly why you are rereading a 700-page series can turn reading into connection. Feeling understood by other readers counts.

Co-regulation, the ways we settle and feel supported in connection with others, does not require a formal setting. It can happen in ordinary, meaningful exchanges: sharing a reaction, laughing over a fictional crush, or realizing someone else felt the same way about a scene.

Why rereading familiar books can be comforting

Rereading is sometimes dismissed as repetition. But returning to a beloved series can serve a very different purpose from reading something new.

New books offer discovery. Rereading offers familiarity.

Research on repeat consumption suggests that people return to books, films, and music for several reasons: to reconnect with an earlier version of themselves, notice details they missed, and experience emotions whose general shape they already know. In a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, readers described revisiting familiar media as a meaningful experience rather than a lesser one.

When you reread, you already know the ending. That familiarity may make it easier to stay present with a tense or tender scene because there is less uncertainty about where the story is headed. You can feel fear, grief, longing, and relief in the book while remaining aware that you are safe in your own space.

“You can feel fear in a scene without needing to prepare for danger, because some part of you already knows the ending.”

From a therapeutic perspective, this can be worth noticing with curiosity. A favorite story may offer predictability when life feels especially demanding. That is not something to judge or “fix.” It may simply be information about what feels supportive right now.

One composite example: a woman in her thirties had read the same favorite series three times, once in college, once during a divorce, and once during a difficult winter. On the third reading, she noticed a detail that had not stood out before: a character slowly realizing she was allowed to leave. The book had not changed. Her life had.

How to make reading feel more restorative

The conditions around reading can shape the experience as much as the story itself. If you would like reading to feel more like a genuine pause, try one or two of these ideas, without turning your hobby into another self-improvement project.

1. Give reading a clear container

Twenty intentional minutes can be more settling than an open-ended plan to read until you fall asleep. A beginning and an end may help your mind relax into the activity.

2. Create a little distance from your phone

If possible, leave your phone in another room or outside arm’s reach. The goal is not perfection. It is to reduce the sense that you need to be available to every alert while you are trying to enter another world.

3. Support your body before you open the book

A chair that supports your back, warm socks, water or tea nearby, and a comfortable reading position can make it easier to settle. For those building a calming reading routine, some readers find a Bearaby weighted blanket a cozy, optional support. Comfort is personal, so choose what feels safe and workable for your body.

4. Slow down for the first page

We often start reading at the speed we were living a minute ago. Try taking the first paragraph slowly. Notice the shift from doing to receiving.

5. Notice one sign of settling

Perhaps your jaw softens, your exhale lengthens, or your shoulders lower. You do not have to force relaxation. Just notice if it arrives.

6. Close the book while you still want more

Stopping at a satisfying point can leave you with something to anticipate. That small thread of pleasure may be part of why reading feels so sustaining.

If you would like more practical, therapist-informed ideas for difficult days, Dr. Sara Teta’s 33 Nervous System Supports offers simple options to explore at your own pace.

Affiliate disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to purchase through one, STeta Therapy Wellness may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Recommendations are included only when they fit the topic and are not a substitute for individualized care.

When does reading become avoidance?

Fiction can be restorative, and it can also sometimes become a way to stay away from something that needs attention. The distinction is not always clear-cut, and neither response makes you a problem.

A helpful question is: How do I feel after reading?

Restorative reading may leave you softer, more grounded, or better able to return to your life. Avoidant reading may come with a lingering sense of dread, isolation, or lost time. If you notice the latter more often, it may be useful information, not a reason for shame.

For a deeper exploration, I recommend checking our blog The Art of Resting: Distinguishing Between Rejuvenation and Avoidance.

If reading is one of the few places you feel relief, or if daily life has begun to feel persistently unmanageable, it may be worth exploring that with a qualified mental health professional.

Questions to take back to your favorite series

• Which fictional character have you returned to more than once?
• What was happening in your life each time you reread their story?
• What do you notice in your body during a favorite scene?
• If you are waiting for a release this fall, what are you hoping the story lets you feel?

Fantasy fiction can offer imagination, emotional distance, belonging, and the comfort of a known ending. Romantasy, in particular, invites readers to care deeply about survival and connection while remaining held by the boundaries of a story.

So, if you are counting down to October, deep into a comfort reread, or opening your first romantasy because everyone you know keeps recommending one, you may be doing more than passing time. You may be giving yourself a contained place to feel deeply, rest your attention, and remember what connection can feel like.

Somewhere around page four, your shoulders may drop. That is worth noticing.

This post is educational and informational only. It does not replace therapy, diagnosis, or medical care, and it does not create a therapist-client relationship.

If this season is asking more of you than usual, you do not have to sort it out alone. Both myself and Grace O’Donohue, MS, MHC support adults navigating stress, trauma recovery, and relationship patterns in person in Brooklyn and virtually across New York, Connecticut, Michigan, and Rhode Island. You can request a free consultation. We are ready to meet you where you are.