Because these themes are heavier, people go into these books already in the headspace to engage with that type of content, whereas it can be a little bit more jarring to explore those kinks in a very, like, fluffy light romance. But there are plenty of people that have these fantasies. Huang: “These books tend to dive a little deeper into all sorts of themes that are not necessarily ‘socially acceptable,’ at least in the mainstream.

and it's okay because many women love it.” They are much more interesting, I would say, because they're different. So we feel like these heroes are much hotter for us. Rina Kent: “I think I speak for at least a portion of dark romance readers, we were never really interested in the heroes growing up. On writing plots and characters that are not always socially acceptable more like heavier emotions than in classic contemporary romances at the end of the day.” So, this is where you see a lot of anti-heroes and villains positioned as protagonists where there may be psychological or physical trauma depicted on page, as well as villains. Interview HighlightsĪna Huang: “I think dark romance is subjective, but to me, it is books that have darker themes and characters. There’s also an element of darker sexual themes, with these novels exploring all sorts of taboo kinks, including - but most certainly not limited to - BDSM, dubious consent and knife-play.īest-selling dark romance writers Ana Huang, author of the “ Twisted” series, and Rina Kent, author of the “ Royal Elite” series (among many others), explain the components of this genre and how, at the end of the day, it is still romance. Popular tropes that make up a chunk of these novels include mafia, stalking and kidnappings. These stories often come with content warnings, morally-gray characters and plots riddled with trauma and violence. The cover of a dark romance book, however, tends to be much more mysterious - often in line with its plot.ĭark romance is a subgenre of romance novels with darker themes and mature content. Romance books bring to mind an image of a pastel cover with two people’s soft silhouettes and slight hints at the plot of that particular love story.

Dark romance is a subgenre of romance novels with darker themes and mature content.

Haunting adeline book cover