Dark romance without cheating
For some readers cheating is the one line a book can't cross, however dark the rest of it gets. In none of these books does either half of the main couple cheat once they're together, according to the author's note and reader-reported warnings. Cheating by side characters, or before the couple gets together, is listed on the book where it happens.
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01 · Dark romantasy
A Soul to Keep
Opal Reyne
ScorchingReia is the village bad omen, so when the skull-faced Duskwalker comes for his offering, they give him her. He's lonely, gentle in his own monstrous way, and nothing like she was told. Tender monster romance with a lot of gore around the edges, very explicit, and a guaranteed happy ending.
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02 · Dark romance
Butcher & Blackbird
Brynne Weaver
ScorchingTwo serial killers who only hunt other killers keep bumping into each other, so they start a rivalry: who can take out the worst monster first. It is funny, gory and genuinely sweet, the hero falls first and hard, and the spice is very explicit. The best place to start if you want dark with a grin.
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Captive in the DarkC. J. Roberts
03 · Dark romance
Captive in the Dark
C. J. Roberts
ScorchingOlivia is abducted by Caleb, who means to train her and sell her. This is one of the oldest and hardest books in the genre, a true captive romance with no softening, very explicit and ending on a cliffhanger. Read every content warning before you start; this one isn't for everyone.
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04 · Dark romance
Corrupt
Penelope Douglas
ScorchingThree 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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05 · Dark romance
Credence
Penelope Douglas
ScorchingAfter her parents die, Tiernan is sent to live in the mountains with her late father's stepbrother and his two sons, cut off from everything for the winter. It's taboo, isolated and very explicit, and it doesn't stay with one man. Read the content warnings before you go in.
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06 · Dark romantasy
Dark Fae
Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti
ExplicitElise is a vampire on a mission: one of the four kings who run Aurora Academy killed her brother, and she's going to find out which. Four dangerous men, a school where fae kill each other for status, and a murder mystery that keeps the pages turning. Why choose, high spice, cliffhanger.
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07 · Dark romance
Den of Vipers
K. A. Knight
ScorchingHer 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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08 · Dark romance
God of Malice
Rina Kent
ScorchingGlyndon 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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09 · Dark romance
Haunting Adeline
H. D. Carlton
ScorchingThis 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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10 · Dark romance
He Sees You When You're Sleeping
Alta Hensley
ScorchingChloe, a jewelry influencer facing another Christmas alone, finds herself drawn to two men: an anonymous fan of her secret online persona and the fireman who keeps checking on her. One of them has been watching her for a long time. Festive, short, very explicit stalker romance.
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11 · Dark romance
Hooked
Emily McIntire
ExplicitPeter 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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12 · Dark romantasy
King of Battle and Blood
Scarlett St. Clair
ExplicitTo end a war, Princess Isolde is married to Adrian, the vampire king who conquered her people, and she plans to kill him. He knows, and he's patient. Dark, sensual and full of court danger, high spice, and it ends on a cliffhanger.
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13 · Dark romance
My Dark Romeo
Parker S. Huntington & L. J. Shen
ExplicitOne 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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14 · Dark romantasy
Neon Gods
Katee Robert
ScorchingPersephone 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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15 · Dark romance
Ruthless People
J. J. McAvoy
SteamyMelody Giovanni marries Liam Callahan to unite the Italian and Irish mafia in Chicago, and she is every bit as ruthless as he is. A couple who are equals in violence, with a romance that grows inside the arrangement. Medium spice; check the warnings for the drug and torture content.
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16 · Dark romance
Satan's Affair
H. D. Carlton
ScorchingEvery Halloween a travelling haunted house rolls into town, and the man behind it hides in its walls and chooses who doesn't leave. Short, savage and very explicit, the prequel to Haunting Adeline. Read the warnings first.
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17 · Dark romantasy
Savage Fae
Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti
ExplicitElise is closer to finding out which of the four kings killed her brother, and further than ever from keeping her body away from them. The murder mystery deepens, the trust falls apart. Why choose, high spice, cliffhanger: book two of five, read Dark Fae first.
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18 · Dark romantasy
The Awakening
Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti
SteamyTwins Tory and Darcy find out they're the lost heirs to a fae throne, and the four Heirs who want that throne for themselves will do anything to make them leave Zodiac Academy. Bully romance in a magic school, medium spice, and the start of a long, long series.
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19 · Dark romantasy
The Never King
Nikki St. Crowe
ScorchingFor 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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20 · Dark romance
The Professional
Kresley Cole
ScorchingNatalie is a grad student who finds out her father is a Russian billionaire, and the enforcer he sends to protect her decides she belongs to him. He whisks her off to Russia and makes all the rules. Filthy, possessive, very explicit, happy ending.
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21 · Dark romance
The Ritual
Shantel Tessier
ScorchingAt Barrington University the Lords, a secret society paid in blood, are each given a chosen one. Blakely thinks Ryat is offering her freedom; it's the start of something far darker. Very explicit, very dark; read the warnings first.
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22 · Dark romance
Tourist Season
Brynne Weaver
ScorchingCape 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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Twist MeAnna Zaires
23 · Dark romance
Twist Me
Anna Zaires
ScorchingNora is taken from her life by Julian, a man who has wanted her since he first saw her, and kept on his private island. A classic captive romance, very explicit, ending on a cliffhanger. Read the content warnings before you start.
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24 · Dark romance
Wretched
Emily McIntire
ExplicitEvelina runs her family's drug empire with a gun and a greenhouse, and the man from last night's one-night stand just started working for her father under another name. He's undercover, and he's there to bring her down. The Wizard of Oz with a villain heroine, high spice, happy ending.
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