Please know that I understand that everyone is different and what works for some, won't work for others and books are no exception to this rule. My dark romance reading journey may not look like your dark romance reading journey, but we are going to have fun.
When I joined BookTok over a year ago, I kept seeing all these dark romance titles ALL over my FYP and I wanted to be a part of it! I really, really did. I like dark subject matter, I usually reserve those themes for horror and thrillers but I was curious about exploring those things in a different way. However... after reading a few of the more popular dark romance titles - Haunting Adeline, The Wild, Promises & Pomegranates, The Pawn and the Puppet - I started to think that this just wasn't my thing. I found something to hate in every single book, craft aside but I learned a lot about my tastes. For example, I don't like mafia books, I am sensitive to repetition, I am also not a fan of rape romanticization or incest. You know, casual things you didn't really know until you ~knew~ you know?
In spite of all my failures, I still believe that decently written, well constructed, dark romance books with intriguing characters, cohesive story telling and good spice exist and I am prepared to do the work to find them. For you and for me!
My name is Natalie and I am on a quest!
This quest soft launched over a year ago when Hannah and I began our aggressive buddy reading but it really took shape when I started my YouTube channel in the wake of one of the grossest, most irresponsible books I've ever read, The Wild by K Webster, the full rant review can be found on my YouTube.
Upon making this type of video - the rant reviews - I realized that I could cover multiple bases at once. I could explore the dark romance genre, figure out what I like/dislike/loathe, work toward my reading goal AND make content that people enjoy. It's a home run idea!
Now the journey has begun but I needed a way to stay organized. So like the sporadically inspired Capricorn that I am, I made a spreadsheet to keep tabs on what I read, what I thought and if I recommend it or not. I made it accessible so you can partake in the fun as well, just click here to be taken to the google sheet. I You can view it and get some new recs or you can go to File>Make a Copy and copy the format of the sheet into your own google drive so you can make your own list!
If you have any dark romance recs, please leave them in the comments. I am always looking for my next read! P.S. I hope you enjoy me and my husband in the above picture, that AI stuff is fun :P
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