Dark Romance Reads
It feels like dark romance is all that everyone can talk about right now, as we remember that this is a genre that has been popular for as long as romance books have been popular. The sweeping, angsty, beautiful story that is Wuthering Heights reminds us that we’ve always had a thing for the “bad boy”, with all of the tortured looks and mournful wanting from afar…
However, in our modern dark romance era, we find that while the torture is still there, odds are quite a bit higher that one of our main characters will be doing it to someone else, and in a physical, not emotional sense. These new books are spicy. They feature people who you don’t want to root for, but somehow find yourself championing the whole way through. Plus, many of them are now series, so if you want to stick around to see what chaos will reign, you’ve got at least a sequel to catch up on the action.
These books come with about a thousand trigger warnings, so just beware when recommending them to patrons. They’ll either love them and work their way through this entire list, or they will know pretty fast that this isn’t what they want. If you’re in need of some guidance on where to steer your patrons, be sure to check out these titles and the lists below!
Books you should know about
Lights Out by Navessa Allen
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From the publisher:
I want someone with a soul as black as night. Someone who would burn the world down for me and not lose a single minute of sleep over it.
Trauma nurse Aly Cappellucci doesn’t need any more kinks. She likes the one she’s landed on just fine. To her, nothing could top the masked men she follows online. Unless one of those men was shirtless, heavily tattooed, and waiting for her in her bedroom. She dreams about being hunted by one in particular, of him chasing her down and doing deliciously dark things to her willing body. She never could have guessed that by sending one drunken text, those dreams would become her new reality.
I want things most people don’t, craving darkness and depravity instead of light and love.
Josh Hammond has spent his life avoiding the limelight, but his online persona is another story. At night, he posts masked thirst traps for his millions of fans to drool over, but one follower has caught his eye: Aly. After reading a comment begging him to break into her house wearing a mask, he decides to take her up on her offer.
Together, Aly and Josh live out their darkest fantasies, unaware that Aly has captured the attention of someone else. Someone with far more sinister intentions than a little light stalking. As Josh turns from predator to protector and the stakes heighten, he must ask himself how far he’s willing to go for the woman he’s obsessed with.
Tourist Season by Brynne Weaver
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From the publisher:
Welcome to Cape Carnage! Visit Once, Stay Forever.
You can hide in the farthest reaches of the deepest hell, and I will still drag you out. Even the devil can’t save you from me.
Cape Carnage is a seaside town of colorful houses, quirky shops, and an unusually high body count. With tourists comes trouble, and Harper Starling won’t let anyone ruin her picture-perfect home. A skilled gardener with killer instincts, Harper protects her sanctuary—and her aging mentor with a fading memory—at any cost. Troublesome tourists don’t check out of Carnage. They compost beneath Harper’s award-winning flowerbeds.
But Nolan Rhodes isn’t your average tourist. Devilishly handsome, disarmingly charming, and skilled with a blade, Nolan is relentless in the pursuit of revenge. On every anniversary of the hit-and-run accident that fractured his life, Nolan slays another target. And he’s saved the best for last: the undeniably beautiful Harper Starling. The problem? Harper isn’t the monster he expected. And she won’t go down without a fight.
When an amateur true crime investigator comes to Cape Carnage on the trail of a long-lost serial killer, Harper and Nolan strike an uneasy truce. If Nolan helps Harper protect her town, she’ll keep quiet about his hunting habits . . . for now. But their alliance soon spirals into obsession, one that threatens to shatter every secret in Carnage—including their fragile love.
Hooked by Emily McIntire
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From the publisher
He wants revenge, but he wants her more.
Once upon a time, there was a little boy. His belly full of laughter, his life full of joy. Until one day, something changed; stripped his innocence away. The hole inside making space for the devil to come and play. His dreams gone forever, he grew up way too fast. An endless night of crocodiles, and watches made of glass. He grew into a villain, the taste of vengeance on his tongue. Craving to make his enemies pay for the misdeeds they had done. Instead he found a darling girl, and refused to let her go. For what better way to make the man pay, than to steal his little shadow.
Twisted Love by Ana Huang
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From the publisher:
He has a heart of ice…but for her, he’d burn the world.
Alex Volkov is a devil blessed with the face of an angel and cursed with a past he can’t escape.
Driven by a tragedy that has haunted him for most of his life, his ruthless pursuits for success and vengeance leave little room for matters of the heart.
But when he’s forced to look after his best friend’s sister, he starts to feel something in his chest:
A crack.
A melt.
A fire that could end his world as he knew it.
***
Ava Chen is a free spirit trapped by nightmares of a childhood she can’t remember.
But despite her broken past, she’s never stopped seeing the beauty in the world…including the heart beneath the icy exterior of a man she shouldn’t want.
Her brother’s best friend.
Her neighbor.
Her savior and her downfall.
Theirs is a love that was never supposed to happen—but when it does, it unleashes secrets that could destroy them both…and everything they hold dear.
Den of Vipers by K.A. Knight
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From the publisher:
They run this town and everyone in it. Ryder, Garrett, Kenzo, and Diesel – The Vipers. Their deals are as sordid as their business, and their reputation is enough to bring a grown man to his knees, forcing him to beg for mercy. They are not people you mess with, yet my dad did. The old man ran up a debt with them and then sold me to cover his losses. Yes, sold me. They own me now. I’m theirs in every sense of the word. But I’ve never been meek and compliant. These men, they look at me with longing. Their scarred, blood-stained hands holding me tight. They want everything I am, everything I have to give, and won’t stop until they get just that. They can own my body, but they will never have my heart. The Vipers? I’m going to make them regret the day they took me. This girl? She bites, too.
God of Malice by Rina Kent
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From the publisher:
From New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Rina Kent comes a gripping dark romance about a villain and his irresistible new obsession. I caught the attention of a monster. I didn’t ask for it. Didn’t even see it coming. But the moment I do, it’s too late. Killian Carson is a predator wrapped in sophisticated charm. He’s cold-blooded, manipulative, and savage. The worst part is that no one sees his devil side. I do. And that will cost me everything. I run, but the thing about monsters? They always chase. This book is a dark unconventional romance and contains themes that aren’t to everyone’s liking. Please check the author’s note for content warnings before reading.
Huntsman by Naima Simone
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From the publisher:
The Huntsman is after me.
But he will be mine first.
Nine years ago, my aunt took everything from me.
My world. My throne. My mother.
I’ve bided my time since then, serving under her in the Mwuaji crime family, but she’s crossed another line. She put a price on my head, sending the legendary assassin the Huntsman, Malachi Bowden, after me.
The Huntsman’s never failed a contract before, but I know everything there is to know about him. It’s finally time for me to take my revenge and finish the war my aunt started.
The Huntsman might be my death. But Malachi Bowden?
He’s my weakness.
Welcome to The Hunted Kingdom.
Ruthless Creatures by J.T. Geissinger
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From the publisher:
Five years ago, my fiancé disappeared. He left me with a wedding dress I’d never wear. Left me with the kind of scars that can’t be healed. The man I built my future on vanished like a ghost. All that remained were my broken heart and a million unanswered questions.
Until a mysterious stranger arrives in town.
Tall, dark, and dangerous, Kage is as full of secrets as he is sex appeal. Though I know he’s hiding something, I’m drawn to him like a moth to flame. Heat crackles between us with every look, desire flares into passion, and I fall hard, helpless to resist.
But then I discover he’s been sent to collect on an unpaid debt from my missing fiancé….
And that debt is me.
Flock by Kate Stewart
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From the publisher:
Can you keep a secret?
The one thing Cecelia Horner knows about her move to Triple Falls is, it’ll be temporary. After one year working for her elusive father at his factory, he’ll hand over the inheritance she needs to help her single mother. With that, Cecelia will leave the town, and everyone in it, behind forever.
On her first day, she collides with her new supervisor, Sean. Enigmatic, charming, irresistible, Sean lures Cecelia into a new world of sex, lies, and alliances. Determined to make the most of her time in Triple Falls, Cecelia allows herself to blindly fall. But the more Cecelia is drawn in, the stronger her belief that Sean is keeping a secret. A secret that Dominic, Sean’s best friend, and the darkest, most dangerous of his crew, is determined to keep Cecelia from uncovering.
Cecelia discovers something else—a maelstrom of untapped desires within herself along with a powerful pull of first love. The more Cecelia becomes immersed in Sean and Dominic’s perilous world, the more she starts to realize that the men she’s trusted are hiding far more than she could have ever imagined. And the secret they’re hiding just might be the thing to break her fall.
Love Me Stalk Me by Laura Bishop
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From the publisher:
For fans of Lights Out and You comes a dark rom-com debut about a woman who confides her fantasies to an AI boyfriend app—unaware she’s really talking to her hot, tattooed coworker who hacked her phone.
When overworked department store manager Izzy Russo downloads an AI boyfriend app to fill the emotional void left by her inattentive real one, she thinks she’s just venting to a harmless chatbot named “Caleb.” In reality, she’s been pouring her deepest, dirtiest fantasies into the ears of Callahan Knight—her store’s brooding new head of security.
Because Cal? He’s been listening. The moment he saw Izzy, he knew she was his. Did he hack her phone? Absolutely. But who could blame him? A woman like Izzy deserves to be cherished by someone who truly knows her worth—and he’ll do anything to be that man.
So when Izzy finally sees her boyfriend for who he really is, and the danger she’s unknowingly been caught up in, Cal is ready to protect her, no matter the cost. Even if it means revealing the truth.
She might not have meant to build the perfect man. But he’s here now. And he’s never letting her go.
Want more dark romance novels, perhaps with a more gothic and historical twist and not just today’s choices? Be sure to check out these great lists put together by our Digital Content Librarians:
I Like My MC Morally Gray: Dark Romance Reads
Wuthering Heights Read-Alikes: Dark Romance and Gothic Reads
For more great lists, check out the Recommended Lists section of the Resource Center, home of all the great lists maintained by OverDrive’s staff librarians. Lists include bestsellers, favorite genres, kids and teens, LOTE content, seasonal favorites, and more!
Hot Lists
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New and Noteworthy in Translation
If the phrase, “touch them and you die,” makes you ready to scroll through your Libby app, these books might be for you, and even if they aren’t they are definitely for many of your patrons! Thank you for sticking around this long, and be sure to reach out to your Digital Content Librarian or Account Manager for more information on how to provide the best content for your community.
About the author: Meghan is an OverDrive Collection Development Librarian and former academic librarian. Her English degree set her up perfectly for grad school, where she received her MLIS and has been immersed in the world of books ever since. You can find her reading with her cat, traveling with her friends and family, or having dance parties with her daughter. HEAs are life.