Books Like Does It Hurt?
If you finished Does It Hurt? and want more captor and captive, enemies to lovers, morally gray, 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, Does It Hurt? is:
Last updated
We may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. It doesn't change what we recommend. How we make money.
The picks
-
1. Haunting Adeline
Shares: possessive hero, morally gray
The book that made dark romance go viral. A stalker, a gothic manor and a lot that's legitimately disturbing. Read every warning before you start. It earns its reputation.
- Stalker Romance
- Possessive Hero
- Morally Gray
- Villain Gets the Girl
Content warnings
Stalking, Dubious or non-consent, Sexual assault, Human trafficking, Murder, Gore
-
2. Blood of My Monster
Shares: captor and captive, possessive hero, morally gray
Sasha hides as a man to work security for a Bratva boss, and Kirill figures out a lot faster than she'd like. Classic Rina Kent: violent, obsessive and very spicy. The trilogy has to be read in order.
- Mafia
- Captor and Captive
- Possessive Hero
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Torture, Dubious or non-consent
-
3. The Silver Swan
Shares: enemies to lovers, possessive hero, morally gray
Madison Montgomery transfers to Riverside and lands in the middle of a secret club of ten guys run by Bishop Hayes. The plot is chaotic and twisty to the point of confusion, and people love it for exactly that. One reader noted the front-matter warnings don't cover everything.
- Dark Academia
- Enemies to Lovers
- Possessive Hero
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Suicide or suicidal thoughts, Harm to children, Graphic violence
-
4. Buttons and Lace
Shares: captor and captive, possessive hero
She owes Crow Barsetti, so he decides he owns her. The Barsetti books get softer later, but this opener is very dark and readers single it out for its rape content. Not a starter book.
- Captor and Captive
- Villain Gets the Girl
- Possessive Hero
- Mafia
Content warnings
Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Physical or emotional abuse, Graphic violence
-
5. Deliver
Shares: captor and captive, morally gray
Liv Reed is taken and handed to Van Quiso, whose job is training captives to be sold. As dark as captor romance gets, with a slow, strange turn toward something like love. For seasoned readers only.
- Captor and Captive
- Villain Gets the Girl
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Human trafficking, Sexual assault, Dubious or non-consent, Kidnapping, Torture
-
6. Den of Vipers
Shares: captor and captive, 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
-
7. Deviant King
Shares: enemies to lovers, possessive hero, morally gray
Aiden King decides Elsa is his target at their elite British prep school, and he is relentless about it. A bully romance with a buried childhood mystery underneath. Early Rina Kent, so tamer than her college books but still dub-con heavy.
- Enemies to Lovers
- Possessive Hero
- Revenge
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Dubious or non-consent, Harm to children, Physical or emotional abuse
-
8. God of Malice
Shares: enemies to lovers, possessive hero
Killian is a psychopath at a university on a private island, and Glyndon catches his eye. Rina Kent goes full throttle. People either love it or DNF it.
- Stalker Romance
- Enemies to Lovers
- Possessive Hero
- Dark Academia
Content warnings
Dubious or non-consent, Stalking, Graphic violence, Suicide or suicidal thoughts
-
9. Tears of Tess
Shares: captor and captive, possessive hero
Tess is abducted on vacation with her boyfriend and sold to a Frenchman known only as Q. One of the early books that defined captive dark romance, and it doesn't soften anything. Check the author's warnings first.
- Captor and Captive
- Villain Gets the Girl
- Possessive Hero
Content warnings
Human trafficking, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Torture, Physical or emotional abuse
-
10. Twist Me
Shares: captor and captive, possessive hero
Julian kidnaps eighteen-year-old Nora and keeps her on a private island. That's the setup, and the book is honest that he is not a good man. Pure captor fantasy, often recommended alongside Captive in the Dark.
- Captor and Captive
- Possessive Hero
- Villain Gets the Girl
Content warnings
Kidnapping, Dubious or non-consent, Sexual assault, Graphic violence
-
11. Vicious
Shares: enemies to lovers, possessive hero, morally gray
Baron Spencer earned the nickname Vicious, and Emilia LeBlanc was the one girl at their Todos Santos high school who saw through him. Ten years later in New York, he's still not done with her. Classic bully-to-lovers angst.
- Enemies to Lovers
- Revenge
- Possessive Hero
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Physical or emotional abuse, Sexual assault
-
12. Corrupt
Shares: enemies to lovers, 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
-
13. Comfort Food
Shares: captor and captive, possessive hero
Often called one of the original modern dark romances. A woman is taken and kept by a man who wants her to need him, and the book lives inside her conditioning. Short, quiet and deeply unsettling.
- Captor and Captive
- Villain Gets the Girl
- Possessive Hero
Content warnings
Kidnapping, Physical or emotional abuse, Dubious or non-consent
-
14. Deviant
Shares: morally gray, possessive hero
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
-
15. Her Soul to Take
Shares: possessive hero, morally gray
A demon named Leon is summoned to hunt Rae down, and he likes his work a little too much. Horror-adjacent, very kinky and full of CNC and blood play. Laroux posts a thorough warning list, use it.
- Demons
- Possessive Hero
- Villain Gets the Girl
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Torture, Graphic violence, Gore, Dubious or non-consent
Read more than just Does It Hurt?? Tap everything you've loved and we'll build a reading list around all of it, not just this one book.