If you loved
Books like Butcher & Blackbird
You want killers who flirt over a body: dark, funny and sweeter than it has any right to be. These ten keep the darkness, and a few keep the grin. Some are much heavier than Butcher & Blackbird, so read the warnings on each before you choose.
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1. Haunting Adeline
H. D. Carlton · 2021
ScorchingAdultThis is the book people mean when they say dark romance. A writer moves into her great-grandmother's manor, and the man watching from the woods decides she belongs to him. It is obsessive, violent and very explicit; read the content warnings first, then decide if you're in.
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2. Tourist Season
Brynne Weaver · 2025
ScorchingAdultCape Carnage is a pretty seaside town with a body count, and Harper buries the worst tourists under her flowerbeds. Nolan has come to town to kill her. Instead they make a deal to catch a long-lost serial killer. Dark romcom, very explicit, happy ending; check the warnings first.
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3. Den of Vipers
K. A. Knight · 2020
ScorchingAdultHer father runs up a debt with the Vipers, the four men who run the town, and pays it by selling her. They expected a pawn; they got a woman who bites back. Why choose, mafia, very explicit, and some of the darkest content on this site, so check the warnings first.
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4. God of Malice
Rina Kent · 2022
ScorchingAdultGlyndon sees something she shouldn't at a party, and Killian, a med student with no conscience, decides she's his. Elite island university, a hero who is honest about being a monster, and a heroine who refuses to be his victim. Very explicit and obsessive; read the warnings first.
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5. The Never King
Nikki St. Crowe · 2021
ScorchingAdultFor generations every Darling woman has vanished on her eighteenth birthday. When Winnie's turns, the Never King and his Lost Boys come for her, and this time they don't let her go. A dark, grown-up Peter Pan, why choose, very explicit, cliffhanger.
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6. Neon Gods
Katee Robert · 2021
ScorchingAdultPersephone runs from an arranged marriage to Zeus and straight into the lower city, where Hades makes her an offer: his protection, in exchange for helping him take revenge. Hades and Persephone in a modern city, very explicit, happy ending. Check the warnings before you start.
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7. Hooked
Emily McIntire · 2021
ExplicitAdultPeter Pan, but Hook is the hero and Neverland is a city run on crime. Wendy Darling walks into James's bar, and he sees the perfect way to get revenge on her father. Villain gets the girl, high spice, and a gentler entry into dark romance than most; still check the warnings.
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8. Corrupt
Penelope Douglas · 2015
ScorchingAdultThree years ago Erika helped send Michael Crist's friends to prison. Now they're out, it's Devil's Night, and Michael and his masked friends want her to pay. Revenge, obsession and a lot of very explicit scenes; this is where Penelope Douglas goes dark, so check the warnings first.
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9. My Dark Romeo
Parker S. Huntington & L. J. Shen · 2023
ExplicitAdultOne stolen kiss at a debutante ball, and Dallas ends up engaged to Zach, the cruel heir who used her to get at his rival. She thinks he deserves poison; he thinks she'll accept her fate. Enemies to lovers in a marriage neither wanted, high spice, happy ending.
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10. Pestilence
Laura Thalassa · 2018
ExplicitAdultThe Four Horsemen have come, and Sara shoots the first one off his horse. He doesn't die. He takes her prisoner and drags her across the country while he spreads his plague. Enemies to lovers at the end of the world, high spice, happy ending.