About

Dark Fairy Books is for working out what to read next. Tell us what you've read and loved (and what you didn't), and we'll build you a reading list from it, matched on tropes, spice and darkness. No account needed.

Every book also gets two ratings and a list of content warnings, written by us, so nothing on that list blindsides you.

How the ratings work

Spice (0 to 5) is how much sex is on the page.

• 0: none, or closed door
• 1: kissing, maybe a fade to black
• 2: one or two scenes, not very explicit
• 3: a few open-door scenes
• 4: frequent and explicit
• 5: a large part of the book, very explicit, often kink

Darkness (0 to 5) is everything else: violence, cruelty, despair and how much the book is willing to hurt you.

• 0 to 1: cozy or light, some peril
• 2: real stakes, some violence
• 3: dark themes and on-page violence
• 4: brutal in places, heavy subject matter
• 5: the darkest stuff in the genre. Read the warnings.

Ratings are opinions, and books in a series change as they go. If you think we've got one wrong, we'd honestly like to hear it.

Content warnings

Warnings are hidden behind a tap so nobody gets spoiled, but they're always there. They cover the major stuff, not every possible trigger. If a specific topic matters to you, check the author's own warnings too. Most dark romance authors print them at the front of the book.

Affiliate disclosure

Dark Fairy Books is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

We're also a Bookshop.org affiliate. Bookshop.org shares profits with independent bookstores, so if you'd like your money to go to indies, use that button.

When you buy through a link on this site we may earn a small commission. It costs you nothing extra and it never decides what gets recommended or how it's rated.