© 2025 New Hampshire Public Radio

Persons with disabilities who need assistance accessing NHPR's FCC public files, please contact us at publicfile@nhpr.org.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Own a business? Expand your reach and grow your audience by becoming an underwriter on NHPR.

Check This Out: Jennifer Armentrout & 'The Primal of Blood & Bone'

Check This Out ventures into an entirely new genre for the show!

Host Rachel Barenbaum is a long-time fan of "romantasy" and is eager to bring it the respect she thinks it deserves.

Jennifer Armentrout, who is publishing her sixth book in the Blood and Ash series, "The Primal of Blood and Bone," is a "romantasy" phenomenon. She's sold almost a million copies of the books in this series and she's done it without a traditional publisher.

We discuss the series, how fast she writes, and how she keeps track of the details in her fantasy world.

With over 70 titles to her name, she has a unique view on the role of BookTok, the publishing industry, and how it's changing.

What is "romantasy"? It's a mashup of romance and fantasy that is selling like crazy. Twenty percent of best sellers are romantic titles. Sales are well north of 600 million in 2024, and they are growing fast, leading growth for the entire publishing industry.

Check this Out features lively conversations with up and coming authors you may not have discovered yet. Check This Out is proud to partner with The PEN/Faulkner Foundation to champion new voices in literature.

Rachel Barenbaum is the author of the critically-acclaimed novels Atomic Anna and A Bend in the Stars. She is a prolific writer and reviewer. Her work has appeared in the LA Review of Books, Harper’s Bazaar, and more.
Related Content

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.