Dark Romance books to Twist & Turn
If you’re looking for some truly twisted dark romances, this list of reads will put you on your knees begging for mercy.
Still Beating
by Jennifer Hartmann
➥ Contemporary Romance
Tropes:
- dark romance
- abduction
- tortured heroine/hero
- angst
- suspense
- forced proximity
- slavery
- cheating
- forbidden love
- enemies to lovers
⚠︎ Trigger Warning ⚠︎
- rape
- abuse
- suicide
- miscarriage
- dubious consent
- self harm
- substance abuse
- mental health
Blurb
WARNING: This book contains subject matter that may be sensitive for some readers. There is dark and triggering content between these pages. 18+ only. Please read responsibly.
When Cora attends her sister’s birthday party, she expects at most a hangover or a walk of shame. She doesn’t anticipate a stolen wallet, leaving her stranded and dependent on Dean—her arch nemesis and ultimate thorn in her side.
And she really doesn’t anticipate waking up in shackles in a madman’s basement.
To make matters worse, Dean shares the space in his own set of chains.
After fifteen years of teasing, insults, and practical jokes, the ultimate joke seems to be on them. The two people who always thought they’d end up killing each other must now work together if they want to survive.
But Cora and Dean have no idea their abductor has a plan for them. A plan that will alter the course of their relationship, blur the line between hate and love, and shackle them together with far more than just chains.
The Never King
by Nikki St. Crowe
Vicious Lost Boys, 1
➥ Romantasy
Tropes:
- dark romance
- cruel hero
- forced proximity
- abduction
- enemies to lovers
- polyamorous
- reverse harem
- ménage
- age gap
- alpha male
- fantasy
- fae
⚠︎ Trigger Warning ⚠︎
- dubious consent
- slit shaming.
Blurb:
The stories were all wrong — Hook was never the villain.
For two centuries, all of the Darling women have disappeared on their 18th birthday. Sometimes they’re gone for only a day, some a week or a month. But they always return broken.
Now, on the afternoon of my 18th birthday, my mother is running around the house making sure all the windows are barred and the doors locked.
But it’s pointless.
Because when night falls, he comes for me. And this time, the Never King and the Lost Boys aren’t willing to let me go.
* Release Date is not final and will likely be much sooner. Target release date is March 2022 *
The Never King is a dark retelling of Peter and Wendy. If you like your enemies to lovers romance with hot, ruthless, morally gray love interests, you’ll enjoy The Never King and the Lost Boys. You can expect hate kissing, fighting, bickering, and ‘touch her and I’ll unalive you’ vibes.
The Five
by Lily White
➥ New Adult
Tropes:
- dark romance
- suspense
- friends to lovers
- other woman
- age gap
⚠︎ Trigger Warning ⚠︎
- abuse; rape
- dubious consent
- substance abuse
- nontaditional hea
Blurb:
This is not your average love story…
Every man who meets Rainey wants her. Having lived a life of sex, drugs and manipulation, she is a temptation with far too many secrets.
When psychologist, Justin Redding, is assigned to Rainey’s case, he has no way of knowing the tale of debauchery he will encounter.
On a twisted path of love, loss and murder, Rainey leads Justin through the events of her life.
Death follows Rainey…
Justin fights to discover her secrets…
But will he discover the secret of THE FIVE in time to resist Rainey’s ultimate seduction?
In the Garden of Discontent
by Lily White
➥ Contemporary Romance
Tropes:
- dark romance
- friends to lovers
- suspense
- angst
- abuse
- two timelines
⚠︎ Trigger Warning ⚠︎
- This book deals with sensitive subject matter that may be difficult for some readers
Blurb:
This is a love story.
It’s brutal.
Heart-wrenching.
Dirty, terrifying, and raw.
But a love story nonetheless because it is so beautiful.
Ensley:
Noah Carter was the type of guy that every girl wanted.
Gorgeous. Talented. Smart and kind.
He was the world that revolved around me even though I didn’t deserve him.
But then something went wrong.
He snapped maybe, just lost his mind.I found him the night my family died, their blood staining his hands.
I put him in prison. I got my revenge.
But then years later he found me again…
…and stole me away from my life.
Noah:
You couldn’t know Ensley without wanting to strangle her.
She was beautiful, she was wild, she was the girl next door
.I grew up with her by my side.
I watched her destroy herself while I held on.
I protected her when she had been blind to the danger that surrounded her.
I let her go once only to find her again.
She would see me this time no matter what.
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