Eight Dark Romance Books To Obsess Over

Valor Amidst Decay by A.J. Sommers is about a woman's journey to find her way through life and the zombie apocalypse that leads her to her found family. 

Dahlia Danaher is returning from vacation when the world goes up in flames. Unboarding a plane shouldn't take that long, but when she's finally able to get off the plane…it feels unsettlingly quiet in the LAX airport. That's until the Undead pop out and groan surprise, and all chaos breaks loose. 

Running from the Undead, Dahlia helps a child and an Asian aunt escape, which leads them to Ren Ryūko. Ren is waiting for his aunt and nephew to show up when he starts hearing news about the Undead. Willing to do anything for his family, Ren has to go out and save them from more than one type of danger. 

With the Undead rising, nothing and no one will ever be the same, but sometimes things must be lost so they can be found…

Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver is book #2 in a series of wonderfully gruesome interconnected standalones that are best read in series order.

Lark Montague is not living her best life. With familial issues ongoing, Lark is forced to propose to Lachlan Kane, the one man she despises. 

Being a contract killer isn't something Lachlan wants to do anymore, but after butchering a job for a client, he's indebted to his boss for a much longer period of time than anticipated. His way out? Marrying his enemy, Lark, and using his skills to hunt down a killer for her. 

With enemies seeking revenge and family possibly at risk, Lark and Lachlan must work together to overcome many dangerous trials, despite their initial dislike for each other.  

Beautiful Carnage by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti is about a family who had a son stolen from them and the daughter they steal back.

Rocco Romero is supposed to murder Slone Calabresi for her father's sins, but when the time comes, he finds himself unable to go through with it. 

Fast forward 5 years, and Slone is about to marry one of her father's most trusted soldiers, Nico. Before making it to the altar, Slone is kidnapped and taken to a remote location with the Romero brothers, where surely torture awaits her. The only torture to be found is the handsome man who once tried to kill her, forced proximity, and one bed.

I hadn't read a dark mafia romance book in a while, so when I saw Beautiful Carnage on the bookshelf a few days before its release date, I thought, 'Why not?' 

Hooked by Emily McIntire is about a man who has (almost) lost everything and his plan for revenge, which includes a rather unsuspecting woman.

Wendy Michaels isn't much of a party girl. Growing up her whole life sheltered by her father and living up to his standards, she never truly got the opportunity to go out. 

Wendy is twenty and wants to live life like a normal person after moving to Massachusetts, so when some coworkers invite her out to James Barrie's (also known as Hook) bar, she accepts, despite being underage. 

When the daughter of his enemy walks into his bar, James can finally put his plan for revenge into action. Seducing Wendy is no hardship for Hook, but it might be for James when unwanted feelings begin to develop.

Fabric of Our Souls by K.M. Moronova is about a woman who wants nothing more than to die and the men who convince her to live.

Wynn Coldfox wants nothing more than to die. After making an attempt on her life, her brother puts her in an unconventional rehabilitation center where she has to room with Liam Waters, a man who wants to live but cannot stop harming himself. 

As Wynn begins her journey to healing, she becomes closer to Liam and Lanston, who share a condition like hers, and their secrets that won't stay buried. 

When a ghost from Liam's past comes back to haunt him, the people he cares about get caught in the crossfire, and sometimes not everyone makes it out alive.

Gothikana by RuNyx is about a woman who has lost her way and now seeks to find her purpose in life, and the man who will teach and guide her into flight.

Corvina Clemm is lost. Her mother is gone, and Corvina doesn't know what to do until a mysterious admissions letter arrives in the mail, inviting her to attend the University of Verenmore. At the college, Corvina meets Vad Deverll, who's both a student and a professor, and is entirely off-limits. 

As mysteries from the school's deadly past come alive, Corvina and Vad are forced to interact, even if it puts them in danger, and sometimes the most monstrous of all are standing right in front of you.

It's been a hot minute since I finished reading Gothikana, and I'm still not entirely sure what happened. I only know that I really enjoyed this spicy BookTok sensation. 

The Ritual by Shantel Tessier is about a man who sets his sights on a woman to be initiated into a secret society, only to become obsessed with her because of his rival.

Blakely Anderson started as a senior year assignment and a reward for Ryat Archer. That's all she was meant to be, but when her current boyfriend, who is also Ryat's rival, continues to act like an out-of-line, Ryat decides to up his game and claim Blakely for himself. 

As Blakely and Ryat's physical and emotional relationship grows, so do their enemies grow bolder with their attacks. When emotions become muddled and the stakes become high, Ryat and Blakely have to see just how far each of them is willing to go for the other, and if in the end it's all worth it.

Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton is about a woman who claims she doesn't like having a stalker but gets really hot and bothered when her stalker does disturbing stalkerish things.

Adeline Riley is moving into the house her grandmother left for her when she acquires a stalker. Zade Meadows isn't one for being weird around women, seeing as that's his line of business, but when he spies Adeline at her book signing, he becomes obsessed. As Zade continues to stalk Adeline, he becomes more reckless, and attention in his line of work is never a good thing. 

Adeline must come to terms with the fact that her stalker can be both her damnation and her savior. But as she uncovers mysteries in her gothic mansion, she learns that history can, and possibly always will, repeat itself.

Haunting Adeline is Haunting All My Lines – do you see what I did there? I'm way too proud.