Books Like Credence
If you finished Credence and want more forbidden love, why choose, forced proximity, start here. Each pick shares at least two tropes with it, and we've rated every one for spice and darkness so you know what you're getting into.
For reference, Credence is:
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The picks
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1. Corrupt
Shares: possessive hero
Her fiancé's older brother and his friends just got out of prison, and they blame her for putting them there. Devil's Night pranks, revenge and the book that set off a whole wave of masked-men dark romance.
- Revenge
- Stalker Romance
- Enemies to Lovers
- Possessive Hero
Content warnings
Dubious or non-consent, Stalking, Kidnapping, Graphic violence
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2. Dark Notes
Shares: forbidden love, possessive hero
Ivory Westbrook will do anything to get out of her life in New Orleans, and her new piano teacher at the conservatory, Emeric Marceaux, is not a safe person to need. Teacher-student taboo with real menace. One reviewer flagged that it ships without warnings.
- Forbidden Love
- Dark Academia
- Possessive Hero
Content warnings
Sexual assault, Physical or emotional abuse, Dubious or non-consent
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3. Deviant
Shares: possessive hero, forbidden love
Dr. Sloane Romera goes looking for her missing best friend and ends up needing Zeth Mayfair, a Seattle criminal with very particular tastes. Readers who came from Quicksilver are often shocked by how dark it is. Collected now as Blood & Roses Volume 1.
- Morally Gray
- Possessive Hero
- Forbidden Love
Content warnings
Human trafficking, Graphic violence, Murder, Physical or emotional abuse, Drug or alcohol abuse
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4. Lords of Pain
Shares: why choose, possessive hero
At Forsyth University a trio of Lords runs everything, and Story Austin becomes their very unwilling plaything. Dark college why-choose with secret-society rituals. The foreword warnings are long, read them.
- Why Choose
- Dark Academia
- Enemies to Lovers
- Possessive Hero
Content warnings
Dubious or non-consent, Physical or emotional abuse, Graphic violence
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5. A Soul to Keep
Shares: forced proximity, possessive hero
Reia is handed over to a skull-faced Duskwalker as a sacrifice, and Orpheus has no idea what to do with a human who isn't food. A monster romance that's sweeter than it looks, but the gore is real and a dog dies.
- Captor and Captive
- Forced Proximity
- Possessive Hero
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Gore, Kidnapping, Animal death, Death of a loved one
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6. Den of Vipers
Shares: why choose, possessive hero
Kidnapped by four men to settle her father's debt, and she ends up falling for all of them. Violent and over the top, and it knows exactly what it is.
- Why Choose
- Captor and Captive
- Villain Gets the Girl
- Possessive Hero
Content warnings
Kidnapping, Dubious or non-consent, Torture, Gore, Murder
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7. A Dowry of Blood
Shares: why choose, possessive hero
Constanta, Dracula's first bride, writes to him about how she came to want him dead. Short, gothic and lush. It's really a book about getting out of an abusive relationship.
- Vampires
- Why Choose
- Possessive Hero
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Physical or emotional abuse, Murder, Gore
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8. It Ain't Me, Babe
Shares: forbidden love, possessive hero
Salome escapes a religious cult and lands in the compound of the Hades Hangmen, whose mute president Styx has never forgotten her. Biker romance with some of the heaviest backstory in the genre. The cult material is hard going.
- Forbidden Love
- Touch Her and Die
- Possessive Hero
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Harm to children, Sexual assault, Physical or emotional abuse, Graphic violence
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9. Neon Gods
Shares: forbidden love, possessive hero
Hades and Persephone in a modern city run by the Thirteen. She runs away from a forced engagement to Zeus and makes a deal with the one man nobody crosses. Quick and very steamy.
- Gods and Mythology
- Deals and Bargains
- Forbidden Love
- Possessive Hero
Content warnings
Physical or emotional abuse, Graphic violence
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10. Priest
Shares: forbidden love, possessive hero
Father Tyler Bell hears Poppy Danforth's confession and falls apart. Religious guilt, BDSM and a lot of heat. Darkness is low on violence, but it deals with grief and abuse in the church. Midnight Mass finishes their story.
- Forbidden Love
- Slow Burn
- Possessive Hero
Content warnings
Suicide or suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault
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11. A Touch of Darkness
Shares: possessive hero, forbidden love
Persephone bets with the god of the dead and loses. Hades and Persephone in modern day, with all the jealousy that comes with it. A comfort read for a lot of fans.
- Gods and Mythology
- Deals and Bargains
- Possessive Hero
- Forbidden Love
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder
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12. Twisted Love
Shares: forbidden love, possessive hero
Her brother's ice-cold best friend agrees to keep an eye on her, which turns into moving her into his place. More dark-ish than dark, which makes it a good warm-up before heavier books.
- Forbidden Love
- Possessive Hero
- Touch Her and Die
- Slow Burn
Content warnings
Murder, Stalking, Death of a loved one
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