You are currently viewing Not Your Happy Romance Novels

Not Your Happy Romance Novels

16 Dark Adult Romance Book Series

I’m not usually (if ever) a ‘sweet and warm romance novel’ kind of girl.
And it’s not even the happily ever after that irks me..

Going through hell with someone and coming out the other end, not just in one piece, but stronger for all the pain and misery you’ve endured.. and still capable of love?
Now that’s something I can get behind.

Good thing, too, because none of the books here today would be Disney approved.
Buut.. they might make great conversation with your therapist.
(Just saying)

Enjoy!

Be Advised: Controversial themes, Mature content, Unhealthy relationships, Questionable consent, Physical and verbal abuse, Graphic violence, and so much more..


(Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. Any purchases made through my links may earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you.)

Have read:

The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice

Book 1 of 4: Sleeping Beauty Trilogy

In the traditional folktale of “Sleeping Beauty,” the spell cast upon the lovely young princess and everyone in her castle can only be broken by the kiss of a Prince. It is an ancient story, one that originally emerged from and still deeply disturbs the mind’s unconscious. In the first book of the trilogy, Anne Rice (author of Beauty’s Kingdom), writing as A.N. Roquelaure, retells the Beauty story and probes the unspoken implications of this lush, suggestive tale by exploring its undeniable connection to sexual desire. Here the Prince awakens Beauty, not with a kiss, but with sexual initiation. His reward for ending the hundred years of enchantment is Beauty’s complete and total enslavement to him . . . 


A Kiss of Shadows by Laurell K. Hamilton

Book 1 of 9: A Merry Gentry Novel

Merry Gentry, princess of the high court of Faerie, is posing as a human in Los Angeles, working as a private investigator specializing in supernatural crime. But now the queen’s assassin has been dispatched to fetch her—whether she likes it or not.

Suddenly Merry finds herself a pawn in her dreaded aunt’s plans. The job that awaits her: enjoy the constant company of the most beautiful immortal men in the world. The reward: the crown—and the opportunity to continue to live. The penalty for failure: death.


Broken and Screwed by Tijan

Book 1 of 2: The BS Series

Alexandra’s older brother died the night he graduated.

That day changed everything for her. No longer was she the party girl. No longer did she care about being popular and no longer was her family the happy unit she always thought existed. The only person who could help her heal is the same person who loved her brother as much as she did, his best friend. She only hopes to keep her entire heart from breaking when Jesse will move on, and she knows he will.

After Ethan died, Jesse excelled at basketball, partying, and girls. He used it all to turn his emotions off, but the irony was that Alex was the only person who could do that for him. She helped him forget, but she was the one person he shouldn’t be with because the secrets he knows could shatter everything. They could shatter her.


Mona Lisa Awakening by Sunny

Book 1 of 5: A Novel of the Monere

A smoldering debut novel.

Mona Lisa, an unusual young woman who has always known that she is different, is drawn to Gryphon, a mysterious man of unearthly beauty who arrives during her night shift in the E.R., and discovers that he, like herself, is a Monere, a child of the moon, and is introduced to the nighttime world of the Monere, one of calculated cruelty, intrigue, and casual lust.


Twist Me by Anna Zaires

Book 1 of 3: Twist Me

A man obsessed. A girl abducted. The darkest love story ever told…

Kidnapped. Taken to a private island.

I never thought this could happen to me. I never imagined one chance meeting on the eve of my eighteenth birthday could change my life so completely.

Now I belong to him. To Julian. To a man who is as ruthless as he is beautiful—a man whose touch makes me burn. A man whose tenderness I find more devastating than his cruelty. 

My captor is an enigma. I don’t know who he is or why he took me. There is a darkness inside him—a darkness that scares me even as it draws me in. 

My name is Nora Leston, and this is my story.


Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Book 1 of 11: Fever Series

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death—a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone—Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae. . . . 

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane—an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book—because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands. . . .


The Anatomy of Jane by Amelia LeFay

Book 1 of 2: WJM

Jane

I’ve always been on my own. My life used to consist of nothing but work, keeping Allen out of trouble, and if I had time, sleep. Then I became their maid.

Max

Every day more than half a million people tune in to watch my show. They trust me. I know it’s because I’m the only son of the prominent Emerson family. However, I like to believe it because I’m honest no matter what story I report on. I’m honest about everything but the man I’ve been f**king for the last four years… and now her.

Wesley

I want three things: First, Maxwell Emerson and Jane Chapman both in my bed. Second, to be the best bloody chef in the country. Third, to figure out how to simultaneously get the first and second things I want without any of us getting hurt.

Three People

One Love Story


TBR:

Burn by Maya Banks

Book 1 of 3: The Breathless Trilogy

When Gabe Hamilton saw Mia Crestwell walk into the ballroom for his hotel’s grand opening, he knew he was going to hell for what he had planned. After all, Mia is his best friend’s little sister. Except she’s not so little anymore. And Gabe has waited a long time to act on his desires.

Gabe has starred in Mia’s fantasies more than once. So what if he’s fourteen years older? Mia knows he’s way out of her league, but her attraction has only grown stronger with time. She’s an adult now, and there’s no reason not to act on her most secret desires.

As Gabe pulls her into his provocative world, she realizes there’s a lot she doesn’t know about him or how exacting his demands can be. Their relationship is intense and obsessive, but as they cross the line from secret sexual odyssey to something deeper, their affair runs the risk of being exposed—and vulnerable to a betrayal far more intimate than either expected.


Killing Sarai by J.A. Redmerski

Book 1 of 7: In the Company of Killers

Sarai was only fourteen when her mother uprooted her to live in Mexico with a notorious drug lord. Over time she forgot what it was like to live a normal life, but she never let go of her hope to escape the compound where she has been held for the past nine years.

Victor is a cold-blooded assassin who, like Sarai, has known only death and violence since he was a young boy. When Victor arrives at the compound to collect details and payment for a hit, Sarai sees him as her only opportunity for escape. But things don’t go as planned and instead of finding transport back to Tucson, she finds herself free from one dangerous man and caught in the clutches of another.

While on the run, Victor strays from his primal nature as he succumbs to his conscience and resolves to help Sarai. As they grow closer, he finds himself willing to risk everything to keep her alive; even his relationship with his devoted brother and liaison, Niklas, who now like everyone else wants Sarai dead.

As Victor and Sarai slowly build trust, the differences between them seem to lessen, and an unlikely attraction intensifies. But Victor’s brutal skills and experience may not be enough, in the end, to save her, as the power she unknowingly holds over him may ultimately be what gets her killed.


Monsters in the Dark by Pepper Winters

Book 1 of 4: Monsters in the Dark

Tess Snow has everything she ever wanted: one more semester before a career in property development, a loving boyfriend, and a future dazzling bright with possibility.

For their two year anniversary, Brax surprises Tess with a romantic trip to Mexico. Sandy beaches, delicious cocktails, and soul-connecting sex set the mood for a wonderful holiday. With a full heart, and looking forward to a passion filled week, Tess is on top of the world.

But paradise is shattered.

Kidnapped. Drugged. Stolen. Tess is forced into a world full of darkness and terror.

Captive and alone with no savior, no lover, no faith, no future, Tess evolves from terrified girl to fierce fighter. But no matter her strength, it can’t save her from the horror of being sold.

Can Brax find Tess before she’s broken and ruined, or will Tess’s new owner change her life forever?

A New Adult Dark Contemporary Romance, not suitable for people sensitive to hard to read subjects. A story about finding love in the strangest of places, a will of iron that grows from necessity, and forgiveness that may not be enough.


Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Book 1 of 3: Fifty Shades

When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.


Ruthless People by J. J. McAvoy

Book 1 of 4: Ruthless People

To the outside world, they look like American royalty, giving to charities, feeding the homeless, and rebuilding the city. But behind closed doors is a constant battle for dominance between two bosses, cultures, and hearts.

Ruthless People is a romantic crime fiction set in modern day Chicago and follows the life and marriage of Melody Giovanni and Liam Callahan – rivals by blood and leaders through fear. Theirs is an arranged marriage with the goal of ending years of bloodshed between the Irish and the Italians. Liam assumes he’s getting a simple-minded wife, one he can control, one who bends to his every need…he’ll soon find out that his wife to be does not fit that mold.

Melody knows exactly what type of man Liam is and would rather die than give up the power she has spent her life earning.

The mafia of the past has evolved, and with rival bosses gunning for their family, Melody and Liam will have to learn to work as one to take down those who stand in their way.


Sins & Needles by Karina Halle

Book 1 of 3: The Artists Trilogy

There’s a Fine Line Between Sin and Salvation . . .

Ellie Watt is a woman on the run. Raised by a pair of thieves who taught her the art of the grift-and pursued by a mobster who fell for her con-she hopes to find refuge at her uncle’s farm in quiet Palm Valley, California. Ellie swears she’s through with her life of crime. But before she knows it, she’s right back in the game when she meets an easy mark who’s too good-and too hot-to be true.

His name is Camden McQueen. A master tattoo artist and a total inked stud, Camden is nothing like the awkward kid who crushed on Ellie back in high school. Now, as owner of the wildly successful Sins & Needles, he’s got tats to kill for, muscles to die for, and money to burn. Ellie can’t believe the transformation-and can’t resist pulling off one last con. But when Camden catches Ellie red-handed, the tables are turned. The mark becomes the master. And when the ultimate player gets played, you never know who’s going to end up on top . . .


With Visions of Red by Trisha Wolfe

Book 1 of 6: Broken Bonds

Criminal profiler Sadie Bonds knows blood. Her affair with the gruesome, dark world of killers began long before she started applying her analytical skills to investigate gory crime scenes. She gets inside the killers’ heads, breaks them down, relates to them on an arcane level. She prefers it this way–because it’s safer to ally herself with the villain than the victim. At least, that’s how she’s coped ever since she was abducted and tortured as a teen.

She will never be a victim again.

Now, she’s honed her skills in order to bring justice to these ritualistic offenders. Working alongside her colleagues, armed with sharp wit and a SIG, Sadie always catches her sadist. Until one ruthless serial killer gets inside Sadie’s head, turning the tables. He knows her secrets. Her obsessions. The darkest, most deviant part of her soul.

When she meets Colton Reed, dangerous stakes are raised as he threatens to unravel her control and push her boundaries, forcing her to acknowledge that side of herself she fears. Plunged into a realm of torture and suffering, pain and pleasure, Sadie balances on the razor-sharp edge of two intersecting worlds threatening to swallow her as she hunts the Arlington Slasher.

Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher

Standalone

Gemma, 16, is on layover at Bangkok Airport, en route with her parents to a vacation in Vietnam. She steps away for just a second, to get a cup of coffee. Ty–rugged, tan, too old, oddly familiar–pays for Gemma’s drink. And drugs it. They talk. Their hands touch. And before Gemma knows what’s happening, Ty takes her. Steals her away. The unknowing object of a long obsession, Gemma has been kidnapped by her stalker and brought to the desolate Australian Outback. STOLEN is her gripping story of survival, of how she has to come to terms with her living nightmare–or die trying to fight it.


And that’s that for now..
I hope you enjoyed this post and found something of interest. Thank you for taking a moment to stop by and, as always, Happy reading!

What do you think?
Dark romance.. or light, more contemporary reads?

Follow Read Betwixt Words on WordPress.com

This Post Has 5 Comments

  1. thegirlwhoreadsforyou

    I’m adding a whole bunch of these to my TBR stack! Thanks for the recommendations!

    1. Sheri Dye

      Lol, I’m glad.. I hope you enjoy them!

  2. Daphny Aqua

    I think I am definitely gonna love reading this, thanks Sheri. 🙃

    1. Sheri Dye

      Any time, Daphny, I hope you did enjoy it! 😋

      1. Daphny Aqua

        I am sure I will 😁

Comments are closed.