You’ll Love These 8 Classic & Modern Gothic Romance Novels

Everyone has heard of Wuthering Heights. It's one of the most popular Gothic romance books out there, but I feel like I must tune in and spread the word because this book is a masterpiece.

If you don't really read classics but you love gothic vibes, this book might be a good starting point for you. It has a strong focus on the relationships between the characters and the tragic tale of a dysfunctional family through the decades, combined with the dark and moody atmosphere of the Yorkshire moors.

Catherine and Heathcliff are definitely among the most famous tragic lovers (emphasis on tragic), but other than that, the narration itself is also genius. The book is narrated from the perspective of different (potentially unreliable) narrators, each with their own background knowledge and prejudices, so we actually never get one “accurate” version of what happened and why.

If you like Gothic romance and you're also into whimsical murder mysteries with a crazy plot, A Dreadful Splendor might be the perfect book for you.

The main character, Genevieve, is a (fake) spiritualist in Victorian London who is tasked to perform a séance for Lord Pemberton, whose bride died under mysterious circumstances. They say it was suicide, but he's suspicious. He's also well aware that all Genevieve does is an act – he just needs her “performance” to find the killer.

The pair starts to plan the perfect deception, but it soon turns out that it may not be necessary as a number of mysterious incidents occur at the manor.

As the title may imply, The Hacienda goes beyond the stereotypical British countryside and sets the story in Mexico after the War of Independence. I would say this is a spooky story set in a very intriguing historical context.

Beatriz’s life is turned upside down, and her only hope is marrying her suitor, Don Rodolfo, whose first wife mysteriously died. After arriving at her new husband’s manor, Beatriz realizes that something evil is haunting the manor.

At first, it seems that she is all alone: her husband is gone, and his sister also dismisses her fears. Her only hope is a young priest, Padre Andrés, and the two team up to fight the darkness living in the house. The story includes both of their POV, so we also get a glimpse of both of their inner thoughts and backgrounds, which is always a great element in a novel like this.

My Cousin Rachel is told from the perspective of Philip Ashley, an orphaned young man who was raised by his unmarried older cousin, Ambrose, with whom he has a great relationship, and Ambrose even names him as his heir.

When Philip is already an adult, his cousin unexpectedly marries a mysterious woman and dies not long afterwards. Philip is understandably upset and suspicious and sets out to meet this mysterious woman known as Cousin Rachel. Despite all his efforts, he falls in love with the terrible thought of Rachel murdering his beloved cousin.

Daphne du Maurier is yet another Gothic romance icon, halfway between the “classics” and the contemporary. Her most popular novel is probably Rebecca (mentioned above), which is also a great one, but I decided to include My Cousin Rachel because it’s just as good, and it absolutely has those dark, thrilling vibes we all love about this genre.

This book has everything that a good Gothic romance needs and more. A haunted British manor, murders, a protagonist who's able to see ghosts, and also time-traveling... Yes, you read that right.

As a child in the mysterious Thorne Manor, Bronwyn Dale could see ghosts. But as an adult, she's convinced that it was just her imagination, including the boy from 200 years ago, with whom she became friends.

When Bronwyn returns 20 years later, the boy, William, now a grown-up man, is still there, but he's not happy. Of course, things get romantic after a while, but this isn't the whole story. Thorne Manor is full of ghosts, and after a series of mysterious disappearances, everybody is a suspect, and Bronwyn has to get to the bottom of it all.

If you're into multiple timelines, sapphic romance, mysteries, movies, and celebrities, look no further.

Plain Bad Heroines has two timelines, with one set in a Rhode Island private school in 1902, and the other in the LA film industry in the present. The boarding school storyline follows Flo and Clara, who are obsessed with, well, each other, and another young woman, Mary MacLane, and her memoir. They are the ones who founded the titular Plain Bad Heroines Society. There, they meet in secret, but it soon turns into a tragedy. Their corpses are found together with Mary’s book, and soon afterwards, the school closes its doors forever.

In the present, their story is turned into a book and then a horror movie adaptation starring a celebrity actor, Harper Harper, and a former child star, Audrey Wells. There's basically a celebrity love triangle going on, combined with the horror element, and while the present storyline, of course, has less gothic vibes than the 1902 plot, they're definitely still there.

Nocticadiais the perfect combination of dark academia and Gothic romance, telling a chilling story of forbidden love with the elite setting, secret societies, and intrigue.

This book follows Lilia, who gets accepted to the Ivy League-esque Dracadia University. That's where she meets Devryck Bramwell, aka Doctor Death, a strange professor who operates a midnight lab. Lilia decided to become involved because she suspects that the strange disease Professor Bramwell is investigating might explain the mysterious death of her mother.

The romance between the two main characters is definitely slow-burn, with tragic backstories but also with a fair amount of spice. Devryck Bramwell is a sarcastic, dark, and very smart love interest, and the author managed to make the scientific aspect surprisingly interesting.