I’m convinced that we have the fantasy genre to thank for the surge in dark romance popularity. This is because world-building with Incredibly taboo themes and subject matters is one quick and dirty way to make sure you aren’t just another Tolkien wannabe. The Black Jewel Trilogy—a dark fantasy with moderate sexual elements but no explicit sex scenes—is the reason why I am in to dark romantacy today. 

Our of all the dark romance genres, dark fantasy romance is my ultimate expertise. It’s what I live, breathe, and want to write myself one day. So, boy-oh-boy, do I have some top tier recommendations for you today: 

The King by Eris Belmont 

In this dark romance fantasy, our MC Annalise is caught in a world where war rages between man and best. When she is captured by Cyrus, King of the Beasts, she must submit and bide her time until she can escape. He is a tyrant and mass murderer determined to break her down and own her. It’s a power imbalance, noncon, captivity/slave tale for the ages with Tarantino-levels of graphic violence.

From an author so dark that one of her first books was banned from Amazon. 

Wildest Dreams by Kristin Ashley 

Wildest Dreams is the first book in the Fantasyland dark romance series, which is a great read in its entirety. Finnie Wilde hires a witch to skip her into a parallel timeline with plans to reunite with her deceased parents. This absolutely “foolproof” plan goes horribly wrong when she ends up in the winter lands of Lunwyn about to be wed to devilish Frey Drakkar. I’m his world, he is marrying an alternative version of Finnie to secure an alliance with her father. 

This book has noncon, violence, coercive pregnancy, hyper super alpha male energy, and a sassy heroine. What more could you want? 

Flame to Frost by Myra Danvers 

This dark romantasy story gave readers what we really want: hot anime-adjacent men on book covers. But I digress. Mila is a priestess and a healer, a sought-after archetype used as “living batteries” by those who seek ultimate power. Betrayed and sold, she ends up in the clawing grasp of Captain Asher Rawlings. She now must keep her priestess identity hidden from him, lest he bleed her dry for his own twisted benefit. 

But honestly, you had me at “Captain.” Yes, sir! 

The Scholomance by R. Lee Smith 

A magic school taught by demons is the last place Connie was seen, and Mara is determined to get her back. Luckily, Mara is gifted with psychic powers, so she should be an obvious admittance. Except that at this school, throwing kids off cliffs wins you esteem and every tenth student who leaves gets abducted by the devil. 

This is not Harry Potter for adults. It’s worse. Way worse. Prepare to be scandalized by shock-horror throughout. Oh, and demon fucking. Duh. 

Bride of Lucifer by Emily Shore 

Astraea is an angel intent on marrying The Devil Himself: Lucifer. But it’s not what you might think. Lucifer is hosting The Bride Trials to pick his mate, and Astraea intends to conquer the trials and kill him on their honeymoon. In the meantime, she and her sentient snake sidekick have to solve murders as Lucifer’s spy. 

Bride of Lucifer is great for those who like enemies-to-lovers, forbidden love, and a sinful smorgasbord or spice. 

Gild by Raven Kennedy 

Gild is the myth of King Midas reimagined as a dark fantasy romance where far once ruled the earth. This is the kind of story that has ample trigger warning, including dark sexual violence. It’s part of the world building, but it also might be a lot for some readers. Auren might seem a bit lame at first, but as you learn about her past she grows on you. 

However, the story has tones of intrigue and twists, with a slow-burn “MC coming into her own power” that is super satisfying to read. 

Also: Round of applause for a dark romance book that doesn’t have a horrible cover. Yippee! 

Feathers so Viscous by Liv Zander 

As a book series called “Court of Ravens,” you just know the author read Sarah J Maas and thought: This world needs more dicks and violence. And I am incredibly here for it. The book ends on a cliffhanger which is, like, ugh, but the second book is good, too. 

Heroine Galantia is held captive by not one but two morally grey raven shifters. It also has a deep world and magic system, which shows that this is a good writer who happens to enjoy a little dark spice on the side. The love triangle components were addictive as Hell, too. Page-turner. 

The Carnal Games by Nautii Nebula

The Carnal Games is a smidge more sci-fi than pure fantasy, but it’s such a good read and I figured y’all would be craving some monster fuckery in your dark romantasy recommendations. It’s kind of like alien-planet Hunger Games, except with more size difference monster sex. 

Follow two characters (Durek and Karnin) destined to kill one another who accidentally also fall in love. This is enemies-to-lovers of the highest order. The world building and character building is excellent, too. Reviewers have called it “brutal,” “gruesome,” and “off-putting”—and those were the ones that liked the book 

Kingdom of Blood and Magic by Chiara Forestieri 

I mainly recommend this book so that you can get to Hollowed Fate #2, Blood of Two Crowns, which is my favorite of the series. But I digress. Kingdom of Blood and Magic had morally-grey FMC Mareina working as the Queen’s assassin in a world packed with twisting politics, trauma and pain, and a spicy love triangle. 

You’ll get: enemies-to-lovers, captivity, noncon, bondage, praise and depredation, and sexy romantasy beasts like fae and vampires. But seriously, hurry up and power through this book so you can read the second one. It’s worth the wait. 

Then, Earth Swallowed Ocean by Shiloh Sloan 

Set in post-WW2 Appalachia, this is the rare fantasy book on my list that takes place here on planet Earth in our all-too-familiar reality. Sadie makes a deal with the devil to exchange an evil soul for a second chance at life for herself. She finds and targets Ridge, a hauntingly beautiful and devastatingly bad man she meets at a gas station.

This one labels itself as horror erotica, but with devils and werewolves in the cast, it feels quite fantasy-esc. It’s unhinged, evocative, and addicting. To give you a vibe taste, my favourite mid review of the book is: “I kinda liked it when he was actively trying to eat her idk maybe that’s just a me thing.” Personally, I would say this:  I came for the unique title and stayed for the shifter fucking.

To Collar a Queen by Zara J. Black 

Hell yeh, two of my favourite things: collars and queens. 

Newly-fae queen Johanna betrayed her king by breaking their engagement, and now he is plotting revenge. Good thing he owns an institute that breaks fae captives into—and I quote—“obedient playthings.” This book doesn’t come wth trigger warnings baked in so watch out for: rape, dubcon, captivity, training, and pitch-black-morally men.

In this book, fae are a lesser race destined for sexual slavery. Watch vengeance-minded Merrill go from “I’ll punish her” to “Touch her and I’ll kill you.” This one is enemies-to-lovers, but it’s plenty of twists to flip the trope on its head. Zara Black is a dark fantasy-romance mastermind, so her other books are also worth checking out. 

Monsters and Guardians by Kay Elle Parker 

Banned on Amazon! This is a reverse harem captivity book with wolf shifter sex. FMC is taken captive by a pack of werewolves who set out to find compatible mates in the wild. Whoever accomplishes this first becomes the next alpha of the clan. Enemies-to-lovers doesn’t encapsulate half of what you’ll get here. It’s much darker…and more brutal. 

Monsters and Guardians is great for dark romance readers who like light omegaverse elements without going full-throttle (like me). It’s an incredibly faced-paced read, with a badass, combative heroine and juuuuust enough plausible deniability plot triggers that you’ll accept the romantic turnaround by the end. 

You can buy Monsters and Guardians on Smashwords. Which is way better than Amaz*n anyway. 

Other Dark Romance Fantasy Books to Check Out

Here are some more dark romantasy books that are great but just didn’t make my top list for today: Abyss of Ruins by Gray Holborn

  • Academy of Protectors by Gray Holborn
  • A Heart of Desire and Deceit by Elayna R. Gallea
  • Alchemised by SenLinYu
  • Anathema by Keri Lake
  • Bloodguard by Cecy Robson
  • Brimstone by Callie Hart
  • Dark Before Dawn by Gray Holborn
  • Dawn of the Cursed Queen by Amber V. Nicole
  • Dreams of Hell by Gray Holborn
  • Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid
  • Fairydale by Veronica Lancet
  • Fashioned by Flames by Mallory Dunlin
  • Forged in Blood by Sadie Kincaid
  • Forging the Guild by Gray Holborn
  • Hell and Back by Gray Holborn
  • Her Soul to Take by Harley Laroux
  • Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
  • Restitution by Leigh Rivers
  • Shadows So Cruel by Liv Zander
  • Shallow River by H. D. Carlton
  • The Bond That Burns by Briar Boleyn
  • The Book of Azrael by Amber V. Nicole
  • The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk by Carissa Broadbent
  • The Folk of the Air by Holly Black
  • The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owen
  • The Primal of Blood and Bone by Jennifer L. Armentrout
  • The Things Gods Break by Abigail Owen
  • This Vicious Dream by Stacia Stark

Related read: Best LGBTQ+ Dark Romance Books

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