Dark romance books

1. 

   Butcher & Blackbird

   Brynne Weaver · Book 1 of 3 in The Ruinous Love Trilogy

   Spice 5/5 · Scorching

   Two serial killers, a yearly kill competition and the funniest dark romance on the shelf.

   • Rivals to lovers
   • Touch her and die
   • Found family
2. 

   Haunting Adeline

   H.D. Carlton · Book 1 of 2 in Cat and Mouse Duet

   Spice 5/5 · Scorching

   The stalker romance with the most infamous content warning list on BookTok. Read the warnings. Seriously.

   • Stalker hero
   • Possessive MMC
   • Gothic
3. 

   Lights Out

   Navessa Allen · Book 1 in Into Darkness

   Spice 5/5 · Scorching

   A masked hacker watches a lonely nurse through her window. She watches back. The stalker romance that went mainstream.

   • Touch her and die
   • Stalker hero
   • Possessive MMC
4. 

   Twisted Love

   Ana Huang · Book 1 of 4 in Twisted

   Spice 4/5 · Spicy

   Her brother's best friend, a cold billionaire who "does not feel anything" except extremely possessive about her.

   • Brother's best friend
   • He falls first
   • Grumpy hero
5. 

   Corrupt

   Penelope Douglas · Book 1 of 5 in Devil's Night

   Spice 4/5 · Spicy

   Three years ago she sent him to prison. Now he is out, and it is Devil's Night. Dark Halloween romance.

   • Bully romance
   • Revenge plot
   • Enemies to lovers
6. 

   Credence

   Penelope Douglas

   Spice 5/5 · Scorching

   Mountain isolation, three men and a taboo setup. Very much a check-the-warnings read.

   • Forced proximity
   • Age gap
   • Forbidden love
7. 

   Den of Vipers

   K.A. Knight

   Spice 5/5 · Scorching

   Her father pays his debt to four mafia men with her. They were not expecting her to be this unhinged.

   • Captor / captive
   • Possessive MMC
   • Morally grey MMC
8. 

   God of Malice

   Rina Kent · Book 1 of 6 in Legacy of Gods

   Spice 5/5 · Scorching

   A college psycho decides she is his new favourite game. Dark academia meets stalker romance.

   • Bully romance
   • Villain gets the girl
   • Enemies to lovers
9. 

   Hooked

   Emily McIntire

   Spice 4/5 · Spicy

   A modern Captain Hook as a crime lord, and Wendy as his ticket to revenge. First in the Never After villain retellings.

   • Retelling
   • Villain gets the girl
   • Revenge plot
10. 

    Punk 57

    Penelope Douglas

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    Pen pals for seven years who promised never to meet. They have been meeting. They are enemies.

    • Bully romance
    • Secret identity
    • Enemies to lovers
11. The RitualShantel Tessier

    The Ritual

    Shantel Tessier

    Spice 5/5 · Scorching

    A secret society of powerful men, a ritual and a heroine marked by one of them. Shock-value dark romance.

    • Morally grey MMC
    • Possessive MMC
    • Dark academia
12. 

    Vicious

    L.J. Shen · Book 1 of 4 in Sinners of Saint

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    The boy who tormented her in high school is now a ruthless lawyer, and she needs his help.

    • Bully romance
    • Enemies to lovers
    • Second chance
13. 

    Bully

    Penelope Douglas · Book 1 in Fall Away

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    Her childhood best friend turned on her overnight. Now she is back and fighting back.

    • Bully romance
    • Enemies to lovers
    • Second chance
14. Captive in the DarkC.J. Roberts

    Captive in the Dark

    C.J. Roberts · Book 1 of 2 in The Dark Duet

    Spice 5/5 · Scorching

    A captor with a revenge plan and the girl he is training to sell. A foundational, brutal dark romance.

    • Captor / captive
    • Revenge plot
    • Morally grey MMC
15. 

    Captive Prince

    C.S. Pacat · Book 1 of 3 in Captive Prince

    Spice 3/5 · Steamy

    A prince sold as a slave to his enemy's court. Vicious politics and a slow, savage enemies-to-lovers.

    • Enemies to lovers
    • Captor / captive
    • Royalty
16. 

    Dark Fae

    Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti · Book 1 of 4 in Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A fae girl in a supernatural prison with a gang of dangerous inmates who all want a piece of her.

    • Enemies to lovers
    • Forced proximity
    • Morally grey MMC
17. 

    Her Soul for Revenge

    Harley Laroux · Book 1 of 3 in Souls Trilogy

    Spice 5/5 · Scorching

    A witch summons a demon to take revenge on the cult that hurt her. He is wildly, filthily devoted.

    • Revenge plot
    • Villain gets the girl
    • Morally grey MMC
18. 

    Losers: Part One

    Harley Laroux · Book 1 of 2 in Losers

    Spice 5/5 · Scorching

    The rich girl who made their lives hell in high school, and the four "losers" who now own her. Divisive and delicious.

    • Revenge plot
    • Morally grey MMC
    • Small town
19. 

    Scarred

    Emily McIntire

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A Lion King retelling where Scar is the hero. Yes, really. The royal ward and her villain.

    • Retelling
    • Age gap
    • Villain gets the girl
20. 

    Tears of Tess

    Pepper Winters · Book 1 in Monsters in the Dark

    Spice 5/5 · Scorching

    Kidnapped and sold, she ends up with a man darker than the ones who took her. Very dark, very intense.

    • Captor / captive
    • Morally grey MMC
    • BDSM / dom-sub
21. 

    The Never King

    Nikki St. Crowe · Book 1 of 5 in Vicious Lost Boys

    Spice 5/5 · Scorching

    Wendy's granddaughter, a feral grown-up Peter Pan and his Lost Boys. A deliciously dark Neverland.

    • Retelling
    • Villain gets the girl
    • Captor / captive
22. 

    The Risk

    S.T. Abby · Book 1 of 5 in Mindf*ck

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A woman with a long revenge list and the FBI agent closing in on her. A twisty, divisive cult favourite.

    • Revenge plot
    • Villain gets the girl
    • Morally grey MMC
23. Twisted HeathensJ. Rose

    Twisted Heathens

    J. Rose · Book 1 of 3 in Blackwood Institute

    Spice 4/5 · Spicy

    A girl sent to a corrupt psychiatric institute and the damaged boys who become hers. Dark and different.

    • Found family
    • Morally grey MMC
    • Gothic

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