Spicy Books, Rated
Every book here gets a 4 or 5 out of 5 from us for spice, which means explicit and frequent, not one tasteful scene in chapter forty. We split it into spicy romantasy and fantasy, and spicy dark romance, because those are very different nights in.
Spice and darkness don't move together, so check both numbers. Some of the spiciest books on here are basically cozy. Others come with a page of content warnings.
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Spicy romantasy and fantasy romance (20)
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1. King of Battle and Blood
A princess marries the vampire king to save her people and plans to kill him on the wedding night. A lot spicier than her Hades books.
- Vampires
- Arranged Marriage
- Enemies to Lovers
- Possessive Hero
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Gore, Murder
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2. From Blood and Ash
Poppy is the Maiden, veiled and untouchable, and her new guard Hawke is far too interested in her. Very talky, very horny, and the twist lands if you don't see it coming.
- Vampires
- Enemies to Lovers
- Forbidden Love
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Physical or emotional abuse, Kidnapping
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3. Quicksilver
Saeris is a thief who touches the wrong thing and gets hauled into the fae realm by a very rude fae warrior. Long, crude in a fun way and properly spicy once it gets there.
- Fae
- Enemies to Lovers
- Forced Proximity
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Gore, Murder
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4. The Book of Azrael
Dianna is a shape-shifting monster who does terrible things for her maker. Liam is a god-king forced to work with her. The main characters really aren't nice people, and it's dark and very horny.
- Enemies to Lovers
- Morally Gray
- Gods and Mythology
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Gore, Torture, Murder
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5. Bride
A vampire is married off to the Alpha of the werewolves as a peace treaty. Hazelwood's banter in a monster romance. Lighter on the dark, heavy on the yearning.
- Arranged Marriage
- Vampires
- Fated Mates
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Physical or emotional abuse, Graphic violence
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6. When the Moon Hatched
An assassin with a huge chip on her shoulder, a sky-king with a dragon and a lot of history between them. Huge, purple-prosed and divisive. People either love it or bounce off hard.
- Dragons
- Fated Mates
- Possessive Hero
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Torture, Physical or emotional abuse, Kidnapping
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7. Bonded by Thorns
Beauty and the Beast, except there are four fae beasts and nobody has to choose. Cozier than most here, but steamy.
- Fae
- Why Choose
- Fairy Tale Retellings
- Curses
Content warnings
Physical or emotional abuse, Graphic violence
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8. Throne of the Fallen
Envy gets his own book and Maniscalco cranks the spice way past Kingdom of the Wicked. A spin-off you can read on its own.
- Demons
- Forced Proximity
- Enemies to Lovers
- Curses
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder
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9. A Touch of Darkness
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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10. Kushiel's Dart
Phèdre is a courtesan and spy who finds pleasure in pain, sold into a world of political betrayal. Dense and long, with real kink, and it was doing romantasy 20 years before the word existed.
- Court Intrigue
- Gods and Mythology
- Morally Gray
- Slow Burn
Content warnings
Dubious or non-consent, Torture, Sexual assault, War, Graphic violence
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11. The Veiled Kingdom
Nyra has spent her whole life hiding that she's really Verena, the lost fae princess of Marmoris, and Dacre, the man she can't stop wanting, has no idea. Fast and very spicy, light on worldbuilding. That's either the appeal or the problem.
- Fae
- Enemies to Lovers
- Forbidden Love
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Death of a loved one
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12. The Wren in the Holly Library
Kierse is a thief in a New York still scarred by a war with monsters, and she gets caught breaking into the house of Graves, a centuries-old something who offers her a job instead of killing her. Beauty and the Beast bones and plenty of heat. The first act is slow.
- Enemies to Lovers
- Fairy Tale Retellings
- Morally Gray
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Death of a loved one
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13. Frost
Torin, the icy Seelie king, needs a queen to save his kingdom and holds a deadly competition to pick one, and a sarcastic human woman with nothing to lose ends up in it. The Bachelor with fae and frostbite. Quick, snarky and steamy.
- Fae
- Deadly Trials
- Enemies to Lovers
- Arranged Marriage
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder
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14. Ravenous
Cole kicks off a new arc set in her Immortals After Dark world, with rival supernatural factions in the Skein and enemies who absolutely should not be sleeping together. It's a fresh starting point, so you don't need twenty backlist books first.
- Forbidden Love
- Enemies to Lovers
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder
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15. The Sweetest Fiend
Pied Piper retelling. The Piper clears a plague from her city and takes 130 people as payment, her included. The first half is plague and survival, the back half gets very explicit, and it ends mid-fall.
- Fairy Tale Retellings
- Fae
- Captor and Captive
- Deals and Bargains
Content warnings
Kidnapping, Graphic violence
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16. A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon
Mariel botches a spell and summons Ozroth, a grumpy demon who's stuck with her until she agrees to a bargain. She refuses. So they fake date to annoy her mother instead. Small-town cozy fantasy with much more open-door heat than the cover lets on.
- Demons
- Witches
- Deals and Bargains
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Physical or emotional abuse
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17. A Shadow in the Ember
Sera was raised to seduce and kill the Primal of Death, who was promised her as a bride and then never came to collect. When Nyktos finally shows up, the plan gets messy fast. Long and repetitive in the middle, and a prequel world for Blood and Ash readers.
- Gods and Mythology
- Arranged Marriage
- Assassins
- Enemies to Lovers
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Physical or emotional abuse, Murder
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18. Fall of Ruin and Wrath
Lis is an orphan with a knack for seeing things she shouldn't, and she uses it doing jobs for dangerous people, until she crosses paths with Thorne, a very powerful immortal. Classic Armentrout: banter, heat and a lot of internal monologue. The sequel is a long time coming.
- Forbidden Love
- Possessive Hero
- Morally Gray
- Court Intrigue
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Physical or emotional abuse
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19. Phantasma
Ophelia Grimm is a necromancer with a cruel voice in her head who enters the Prince of the Devils' deadly game, where only one player wins a wish. Caraval meets a haunted manor, with a lot more heat. The cover did plenty of the selling on BookTok.
- Deadly Trials
- Deals and Bargains
- Demons
- Forbidden Love
Content warnings
Death of a loved one, Suicide or suicidal thoughts, Graphic violence
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20. Voidwalker
Fi is a smuggler who can walk the Void between worlds, and a job gone wrong drops her in front of Antal, an antlered daeyari lord whose species eats humans. He'll spare her if she helps him find whoever attacked his city. Predator and prey, with claws and tails and a lot of heat.
- Deals and Bargains
- Enemies to Lovers
- Forbidden Love
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Gore, Murder
Spicy dark romance (44)
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1. Haunting Adeline
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
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2. Hooked
Peter Pan, except Hook runs a criminal empire and Wendy is the daughter of the man he wants dead. Each book in the series is a different villain. Great entry point if you want dark romance that isn't relentless.
- Fairy Tale Retellings
- Villain Gets the Girl
- Mafia
- Revenge
Content warnings
Murder, Graphic violence, Death of a loved one
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3. Corrupt
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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4. Den of Vipers
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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5. The Ritual
Secret society, masked men, a girl promised to one of them. Very explicit, very dark and not subtle about any of it.
- Dark Academia
- Possessive Hero
- Arranged Marriage
- Stalker Romance
Content warnings
Dubious or non-consent, Sexual assault, Graphic violence, Drug or alcohol abuse, Kidnapping
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6. God of Malice
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
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7. Captive in the Dark
Olivia is kidnapped and trained to be sold. One of the original modern dark romances. It doesn't dress up what it is, so take the warnings seriously.
- Captor and Captive
- Villain Gets the Girl
- Revenge
Content warnings
Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Human trafficking, Torture, Physical or emotional abuse
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8. Neon Gods
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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9. Blood of My Monster
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
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10. Lights Out
Josie has a masked-stalker fantasy, and a hacker named Aiden makes it real. The twist is that she's into it and he keeps checking in. Funny, filthy, and a soft landing if Haunting Adeline sounds like too much.
- Stalker Romance
- Possessive Hero
- Morally Gray
- Touch Her and Die
Content warnings
Stalking, Physical or emotional abuse, Death of a loved one, Graphic violence
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11. The Lies We Steal
Ponderosa Springs is rotten, and the Hollow Boys are the four guys nobody in town wants to cross. Rook and Sage start as enemies after her sister dies, and the secrets get uglier from there. Moody small-town gothic with real grief in it.
- Dark Academia
- Revenge
- Enemies to Lovers
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Murder, Death of a loved one, Sexual assault, Drug or alcohol abuse
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12. Promises and Pomegranates
A modern Hades and Persephone where Hades is a hitman named Kal and Persephone is Elena Rossi, a mafia daughter who's tired of being kept. The prose is moodier than most mafia books. Each sequel follows a new couple.
- Gods and Mythology
- Mafia
- Possessive Hero
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Physical or emotional abuse
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13. Desperate Measures
Jafar and Jasmine in Carver City, where Jasmine wants revenge and Jafar will help for a price. It's a Daddy Dom book with consensual non-consent, so know that going in. Short, filthy and very Katee Robert.
- Villain Gets the Girl
- Fairy Tale Retellings
- Possessive Hero
- Deals and Bargains
Content warnings
Dubious or non-consent, Graphic violence
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14. Credence
After her parents die, Tiernan is sent to live in a remote mountain house with her stepuncle Jake and his two sons. The taboo is the whole point. Atmospheric snowed-in setting, but it's one of Douglas's most divisive books for a reason.
- Forbidden Love
- Why Choose
- Forced Proximity
- Possessive Hero
Content warnings
Dubious or non-consent, Sexual assault, Physical or emotional abuse, Suicide or suicidal thoughts
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15. Does It Hurt?
Sawyer is a con artist on the run, and Enzo Vitale is the man she tries to steal from. Then things go very wrong for both of them. Less stalker than Haunting Adeline, but the backstories are brutal, so read the warning list first.
- Captor and Captive
- Enemies to Lovers
- Morally Gray
- Possessive Hero
Content warnings
Harm to children, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Torture, Murder
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16. Ruthless Creatures
Natalie's fiancé vanished, and the Russian mobster who shows up looking for him decides he wants her instead. Kage is gruff, devoted and frankly funny. Lighter on darkness than the cover suggests and a lot heavier on spice.
- Mafia
- Possessive Hero
- Touch Her and Die
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder
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17. Tears of Tess
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
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18. Twist Me
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
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19. Buttons and Lace
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
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20. Her Soul to Take
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
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21. A Soul to Keep
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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22. The Professional
Grad student Natalie Porter wants answers about her birth family, and enforcer Aleksandr Sevastyan whisks her off to Russia. Old-school erotic Bratva romance, a little dated but still a cult favorite.
- Mafia
- Possessive Hero
- Captor and Captive
- Stalker Romance
Content warnings
Stalking, Kidnapping, Murder, Torture
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23. Deliver
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
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24. Dark Notes
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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25. Priest
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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26. Lords of Pain
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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27. Deviant
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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28. The Never King
Peter Pan snatches Winnie Darling, a descendant of Wendy, because he thinks she knows where his shadow went. Vane and the fae twins Kas and Bash come with the package. Neverland as a violent, hedonistic island. Check the author's content warning page first.
- Why Choose
- Fairy Tale Retellings
- Villain Gets the Girl
- Captor and Captive
Content warnings
Kidnapping, Murder, Graphic violence
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29. Butcher & Blackbird
Two serial killers meet at a crime scene and start competing over who can take out the worst men. Funny, gory, and secretly sweet. The ideal first dark romance for horror fans.
- Morally Gray
- Found Family
- Revenge
Content warnings
Gore, Murder, Torture, Physical or emotional abuse
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30. Twisted Love
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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31. The Sweetest Oblivion
Elena's sister is engaged to Nico Russo, and Elena is the one he can't stop looking at. Sharp and funny. Lighter on darkness than most mafia books.
- Mafia
- Arranged Marriage
- Enemies to Lovers
- Forbidden Love
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder
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32. Dark Lover
Leather-clad vampire warriors in Caldwell, NY, and the human-ish reporter one of them claims. Pure 2005, slang and all, and still addictive.
- Vampires
- Fated Mates
- Possessive Hero
- Found Family
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder
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33. Deviant King
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
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34. Brutal Prince
Aida Gallo burns down part of the Griffin family's house, so Callum Griffin gets her as a wife to keep the Chicago peace. She is a gremlin and it's a delight. Mafia-lite, lots of banter, a good first mafia book.
- Mafia
- Arranged Marriage
- Enemies to Lovers
- Possessive Hero
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Kidnapping
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35. Kingmakers: Year One
A boarding school on a remote island where the heirs of crime families learn how to run them. Leo Gallo and Anna Wilk are childhood friends on opposite sides. More school drama than horror, which makes it easy to binge.
- Dark Academia
- Mafia
- Forbidden Love
- Enemies to Lovers
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder
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36. The Silver Swan
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
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37. Crow
Crow is an Irish mob enforcer in Boston, and Mack is a woman with no options left who ends up owing him. Gritty and sad in places, with a hero who's a killer and doesn't apologize. Heavy warnings, including an on-page assault.
- Mafia
- Morally Gray
- Possessive Hero
- Touch Her and Die
Content warnings
Human trafficking, Sexual assault, Murder, Death of a loved one
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38. King of Wrath
Dante Russo is blackmailed into marrying Vivian Lau, and he makes it clear he resents every minute. Billionaire grump, Manhattan glamour, almost no actual darkness. Think of it as dark romance with the training wheels still on.
- Arranged Marriage
- Possessive Hero
- Enemies to Lovers
- Touch Her and Die
Content warnings
Physical or emotional abuse, Drug or alcohol abuse
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39. Punk 57
Misha and Ryen wrote letters for years without meeting. When he shows up at her school under a fake name, he finds out his sweet pen pal is the mean queen bee. Bullying and angst more than real darkness.
- Enemies to Lovers
- Slow Burn
- Revenge
- Forbidden Love
Content warnings
Physical or emotional abuse, Death of a loved one
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40. Comfort Food
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
-
41. Painted Scars
The opener of Neva Altaj's sprawling Bratva series, and the hero is a Pakhan. Readers call it one of the gentler books in the run, with several open-door scenes. Past abuse is a big part of the backstory.
- Mafia
- Possessive Hero
- Touch Her and Die
- Morally Gray
Content warnings
Physical or emotional abuse, Harm to children, Graphic violence
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42. Flock
Cecelia moves to Triple Falls for one summer and gets tangled up with two men and the secret society they run. Robin Hood vibes, a slow first half and a love triangle readers still fight about.
- Love Triangle
- Slow Burn
- Morally Gray
- Forbidden Love
Content warnings
Drug or alcohol abuse, Graphic violence
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43. Vicious
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
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44. It Ain't Me, Babe
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
Spicy but not that dark
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1. Neon Gods
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
-
2. Desperate Measures
Jafar and Jasmine in Carver City, where Jasmine wants revenge and Jafar will help for a price. It's a Daddy Dom book with consensual non-consent, so know that going in. Short, filthy and very Katee Robert.
- Villain Gets the Girl
- Fairy Tale Retellings
- Possessive Hero
- Deals and Bargains
Content warnings
Dubious or non-consent, Graphic violence
-
3. Priest
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
-
4. Bride
A vampire is married off to the Alpha of the werewolves as a peace treaty. Hazelwood's banter in a monster romance. Lighter on the dark, heavy on the yearning.
- Arranged Marriage
- Vampires
- Fated Mates
- Forced Proximity
Content warnings
Physical or emotional abuse, Graphic violence
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5. Bonded by Thorns
Beauty and the Beast, except there are four fae beasts and nobody has to choose. Cozier than most here, but steamy.
- Fae
- Why Choose
- Fairy Tale Retellings
- Curses
Content warnings
Physical or emotional abuse, Graphic violence
-
6. Throne of the Fallen
Envy gets his own book and Maniscalco cranks the spice way past Kingdom of the Wicked. A spin-off you can read on its own.
- Demons
- Forced Proximity
- Enemies to Lovers
- Curses
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder
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7. A Touch of Darkness
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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8. Twisted Love
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
-
9. Brutal Prince
Aida Gallo burns down part of the Griffin family's house, so Callum Griffin gets her as a wife to keep the Chicago peace. She is a gremlin and it's a delight. Mafia-lite, lots of banter, a good first mafia book.
- Mafia
- Arranged Marriage
- Enemies to Lovers
- Possessive Hero
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder, Kidnapping
-
10. Kingmakers: Year One
A boarding school on a remote island where the heirs of crime families learn how to run them. Leo Gallo and Anna Wilk are childhood friends on opposite sides. More school drama than horror, which makes it easy to binge.
- Dark Academia
- Mafia
- Forbidden Love
- Enemies to Lovers
Content warnings
Graphic violence, Murder
Questions people ask
What counts as a spicy book?
We call a book spicy at 4 or 5 out of 5: explicit, open-door scenes that happen often enough to be a real part of the book. A 3 has a few scenes, a 2 has one or two that aren't very explicit, and a 0 has none at all.
What is the spiciest romantasy book?
King of Battle and Blood, Neon Gods and The Never King are the romantasy books we rate a full 5. Quicksilver, From Blood and Ash and The Book of Azrael sit at 4, explicit but with a lot of plot around it.
What spicy books are not too dark?
Bride, Bonded by Thorns, A Touch of Darkness, Neon Gods and Twisted Love are all high on spice but only a 1 or 2 for darkness. Good if you want the heat without the trauma.
Is Fourth Wing spicy?
It's a 3 for us. There are a couple of explicit scenes in the back half, but it's a dragon war book first. If you want more heat in a similar world, try Quicksilver or When the Moon Hatched.