Dark romance
Every book here has no rape, sexual assault, attempted assault, non-consent, dubious consent or sexual coercion: not on the page, not in a character's past, not mentioned. Books with consensual non-consent (a scene both partners agreed to beforehand) are included and marked CNC, and books with sexual harassment are included and marked as such.
You can want an obsessive hero and a lot of darkness and still have a line you won't cross. Every book here was checked one by one against the author's note, reader-reported warnings and a wider search of reader reviews. The rule above says exactly what is left out.
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A Soul to GuideOpal Reyne
01 · Dark romantasy
A Soul to Guide
Opal Reyne
ScorchingRaewyn, an elf, opens a portal by accident and lands in a world of demons and Duskwalkers with no way home. Merikh has spent 180 years trying to get off that world, and he sees her as his way out, if he can stop destroying everything he touches. Gory, tender monster romance, very explicit, happy ending.
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A Soul to StealOpal Reyne
02 · Dark romantasy
A Soul to Steal
Opal Reyne
ExplicitGideon wakes up dead in Tenebris, an afterlife that feels like a painted set, and can't let go of the life he lost. Aleron, a Duskwalker cut off from his twin, is just as alone, and the two of them end up on the road together. A slow, grieving M/M monster romance, high spice, happy ending.
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03 · Dark romance
Darling Venom
Parker S. Huntington
ExplicitCharlotte and Kellan met on a school rooftop on Valentine's night, both ready to jump, and made a pact to meet there every year instead. In the fourth year, he breaks it. Years later she crosses paths with his older brother Tate, a cold, controlled doctor carrying his own guilt. Grief-heavy and sharp-tongued, high spice, happy ending; read the warnings first.
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Try before you buy
Kindle Unlimited and Audible both start with a free trial, and a lot of romantasy and dark romance is included. Check whether a book is in before you buy it.
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04 · Dark romantasy
Gloam
Lily Mayne
ExplicitRig lives in a raider camp in the Wastes, and when Collector Mary drives off with the monsters chained to her RV, he goes with her as her assistant to free one of them: Gloam, a huge, gentle monster with a cage locked over his head who can only talk through a notebook. Mary, and the cult behind her, turn out to be far worse than a cruel collector. Captivity, torture and an M/M monster romance on the road, high spice, happy ending.
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05 · Dark romance
House of Rayne
Harley Laroux
ExplicitSalem was supposed to take this ferry on her honeymoon. Instead she arrives alone at an old manor on an island in the Pacific Northwest, and the woman behind the check-in desk is Rayne, the stranger she spent one night with. Then the apparitions start, and someone turns up dead. Sapphic gothic horror with a lot of blood, high spice, happy ending.
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06 · Dark romantasy
Moth
Lily Mayne
ScorchingSexual harassmentCharlie is crossing the Wastes with his best friend Hunter and Hunter's monster boyfriend Edin when a stop at a raider camp turns into a rescue mission: the camp's leader, Cat, is locked in a prison where captives are made to fight humans and monsters, and Charlie has been inside it before. The rescue throws him together with Moth, a half-monster who can't stand him from the first look. Grumpy meets sunshine in a dark M/M monster romance, very explicit, happy ending.
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07 · Dark romantasy
Radiant Sin
Katee Robert
ExplicitCassandra has spent her life staying out of the Thirteen's way, so playing Apollo's date at a week-long party thrown by a new power in Olympus is the last job she wants. Her price is freedom for her and her sister once the city's spymaster gets what he came for. Apollo and Cassandra in a modern city, a fake relationship that stops being fake, high spice, happy ending.
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08 · Dark romantasy
The Rycke
Lily Mayne
ExplicitGhost runs with a raider camp in the monster-filled Wastes, and his anxiety makes every run harder than it should be. In an abandoned military base he finds a winged monster in chains, badly hurt, and can't make himself walk away, even when the camp wants the monster gone and the military wants him back. A tender M/M monster romance with torture and PTSD close behind, high spice, happy ending.
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Valentine's SlayNavessa Allen
09 · Dark romance
Valentine's Slay
Navessa Allen
ExplicitNoah is digging graves on Valentine's night in small-town Louisiana when he hears screaming from a fresh one, and the woman inside is Emma, the girl he loved in high school. Someone wanted her dead, and they aren't done trying. A short, gruesome, darkly funny novella, high spice, happy ending.
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Viciously YoursJamie Applegate Hunter
10 · Dark romantasy
Viciously Yours
Jamie Applegate Hunter
ScorchingSexual harassmentRennick was thirteen when the gods named his mate: a girl on the human side of a barrier he can't cross until he's king. So he writes to her, for twelve years, and Amelia falls for a secret admirer she never expects to meet, until the morning he's standing in front of her. An obsessive fae hero who hurts anyone who comes near her, very explicit, happy ending.
Content warnings