Welcome to the feature “Tea and Biscuits Book Discussions” where every monday we get together to talk about issues in the bookish community and our love of books and romance.…
Dark Romance…..not a topic that is easily or regularly discussed even among the romance community, in fact, I rarely see it discussed. It’s like this TABOO topic that we sometimes view needs to be hidden away in the closet and act like it doesn’t exist so I would like to share the appeal that dark romance has for me and why I do read it. Now my reading tastes have changed over the years and I will admit that I do need to be in the mood to even read dark romance. There are times when I honestly CANT read it because I need something happy and cheerful. But there are moments when dark romance is exactly what I am looking for. And its a genre that has really grown over the past handful of years and its such where you can fight light darker themes or full on dark.
Now what exactly is this sub-genre? its mostly more taboo like themes, or situations that bring a couple together that aren’t your average. Like kidnapping or a mafia theme or assassin type of character but we are seeing how it is growing in the type of situations that we are seeing. I am really intrigued in seeing what the authors who write in this genre are writing. And we are starting to see more mainstream authors start to delve more into this genre. For example, Katee Robert is a prime example. She has started a new series where we are seeing this. And yes I would definitely say that her new Wicked Villains and yes at least the first book is darker than I EVER expected to find in a Katee Robert novel but I am so happy that she has delved. Because there are many readers I know will love this book because they enjoy reading dark romance.
What is so beautiful about the romance genre is there is LITERALLY a book for everyone and for all types of interests. And I have to say there is an appeal to dark romance just like bodice rippers held appeal and still do for many readers even today. But I do think that its important to understand what Dark Romance IS and the difference from other sub-genres in the industry and see the appeal it holds. I do feel that dark romance even though deals with some more difficult subjects, also can be some of the most fulfilling stories and really stretch your limitations and boundaries at times. I am all for that…. it’s always good to stretch our wings a bit more and read into things that normally wouldn’t appeal to us. I have learned to appreciate this genre over the years and even though I haven’t gotten full deep into it as there are some subjects I can’t go into like the “daddy” fantasies or the step-sibling romances I still am unable to read—-far too close to incest for my liking and that is one boundary I doubt I will ever cross and not one I want to in any way. But I have fallen in love with the mafia, MC club, and assassin type of romances.
So here below I am going to list some of my top reads in the genre and share what appeal I loved most about them
There is so much to appreciate in this novel and I really do love what Tillie Cole has done in this novel. And she is one of my TOP favorites to read in this sub genre to be honest. She is so fabulous. because most of the time the darker elements is situational outside of the relationship. In this series and in this story we are dealing with a heroine who is dealing with being part of being raised in a religious cult. This is something I have NEVER seen in a romance novel, and Cole did a great job in portraying this.
Black Sheep is such a fantastic book and definitely has some darker elements as it deals with the “mob boss” type of world. It’s not super dark, I would say light on the dark romance but simply fantastic.
I simply ADORED this trilogy in every single way and this was one of my first introductions into dark romance that had me falling in love with this genre. It swept me off my feet
This was quite different for sure, as this deals with a rape fantasy that is actually common so I really appreciated seeing this author delve into this.
This was such a great enemy to lovers romance and definitely deals with the mafia/mob boss type of setting and simply fantastic. This was my first introduction into LJ Shen and this author left me very intrigued for sure.
This is one of the darker MC romances I have ever read, but it was realistic and so powerful. I loved every single moment of this story. This author got me hooked on MC Romance.
Rhenna Morgan has always been a favorite of mine and writes my favorite type of alpha males, and in this book, she does delve into dark romance but honestly, this is very borderline in my opinion. SUPER light on the dark romance but very well done and had me falling for these Russian men.
Anna Zaires is well known for her book and how she delves into Dark Romance and this was my first experience with Close Liaisons and I have come to appreciate her work
Have you read Dark Romance? Do you love it or hate it? Or are you indifferent towards it? What are some of your favorite reads in this genre? Let me know in the comments below.
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