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Best of · Dark romantasy

Dark romantasy booksBig worlds, cruel magic and romance at the centre, ranked

Take the fae court, the war college and the cursed kingdom, then let the romance turn vicious. Captors, gods, monsters, and princes who mean every threat. This list runs from mainstream romantasy with teeth to dark fantasy that never flinches.

These are the big, most-read series. Start with book one unless the series note says otherwise.

How this list works: these are the 12 most-rated books on Goodreads among our library's dark romantasy shelf, scored dark (3 of 5) or darker, with a cap per author and series so one name does not take over. Spice and darkness are our scores out of 5. Every blurb sticks to what our book pages say.

From dark romance to romantasy

If you came here for dark romance, dark romantasy is the same pull in a fantasy world. Morally grey heroes, captivity, war and love that costs something.

Alchemised and Quicksilver are the darkest places to start.

The dark romantasy books, ranked

  1. 1.A Court of Thorns and Roses

    Sarah J. Maas

    Spice 3/5 · Darkness 3/5 · Trigger warnings

    Dark romantasy with fae romance, enemies to lovers and morally grey heroes on top. Hot spice, darkness 3 of 5 (dark): harm is part of the romance, not a footnote. Book 1 of A Court of Thorns and Roses. Shelf-level flags, not yet verified for this book: graphic torture, sexual assault and gore. The most-rated book on this list.

  2. 2.Fourth Wing

    Rebecca Yarros

    Spice 3/5 · Darkness 3/5 · Trigger warnings

    Also on the shelf as dark fantasy romance, enemies to lovers and war romance. Darkness 3 of 5 (dark), spice 3 of 5 (hot). Book 1 of The Empyrean. Ends on a cliffhanger, so have the next one ready. Heaviest flags are moderate: violence, bullying and murder.

  3. 3.From Blood and Ash

    Jennifer L. Armentrout

    Spice 3/5 · Darkness 3/5 · Trigger warnings

    Dark romantasy with dark fantasy romance, vampire romance and enemies to lovers on top. Spice: hot. Darkness: dark. Book 1 of Blood and Ash. Ends on a cliffhanger, so have the next one ready. Shelf-level flags, not yet verified for this book: graphic torture, trafficking and sexual assault.

  4. 4.The Serpent & the Wings of Night

    Carissa Broadbent

    Spice 3/5 · Darkness 3/5 · Trigger warnings

    Also on the shelf as vampire romance, dark fantasy romance and enemies to lovers. Hot spice, darkness 3 of 5 (dark): harm is part of the romance, not a footnote. Book 1 of Crowns of Nyaxia. Graphic on the page: torture, trafficking and sexual assault.

  5. 5.A Touch of Darkness

    Scarlett St. Clair

    Spice 3/5 · Darkness 3/5 · Trigger warnings

    Dark romantasy with dark fantasy romance, Hades and Persephone and morally grey heroes on top. Darkness 3 of 5 (dark), spice 3 of 5 (hot). Book 1 of Hades x Persephone. Ends on an HEA. Shelf-level flags, not yet verified for this book: graphic sexual assault.

  6. 6.Gild

    Raven Kennedy

    Spice 3/5 · Darkness 3/5 · Trigger warnings

    Also on the shelf as dark fantasy romance, captive romance and morally grey heroes. Spice: hot. Darkness: dark. Book 1 of The Plated Prisoner. Ends on a cliffhanger, so have the next one ready. Graphic on the page: torture, trafficking and non-consent.

  7. 7.Phantasma

    Kaylie Smith

    Spice 4/5 · Darkness 3/5 · Trigger warnings

    Dark romantasy with dark fantasy romance and gothic romance on top. Explicit spice, darkness 3 of 5 (dark): harm is part of the romance, not a footnote. Book 1 of Wicked Games. Graphic on the page: torture, sexual assault and gore.

  8. 8.A Shadow in the Ember

    Jennifer L. Armentrout

    Spice 3/5 · Darkness 3/5 · Trigger warnings

    Also on the shelf as dark fantasy romance, vampire romance and enemies to lovers. Darkness 3 of 5 (dark), spice 3 of 5 (hot). Book 1 of Flesh and Fire. Shelf-level flags, not yet verified for this book: graphic torture, trafficking and sexual assault.

  9. 9.Daughter of No Worlds

    Carissa Broadbent

    Spice 3/5 · Darkness 3/5 · Trigger warnings

    Dark romantasy with vampire romance, dark fantasy romance and enemies to lovers on top. Spice: hot. Darkness: dark. Book 1 of The War of Lost Hearts. Graphic on the page: torture, trafficking and sexual assault.

  10. 10.Rhapsodic

    Laura Thalassa

    Spice 3/5 · Darkness 3/5 · Trigger warnings

    Also on the shelf as dark fantasy romance, enemies to lovers and monster romance. Hot spice, darkness 3 of 5 (dark): harm is part of the romance, not a footnote. Book 1 of The Bargainer. Shelf-level flags, not yet verified for this book: graphic sexual assault.

  11. 11.King of Battle and Blood

    Scarlett St. Clair

    Spice 3/5 · Darkness 3/5 · Trigger warnings

    Dark romantasy with dark fantasy romance, Hades and Persephone and morally grey heroes on top. Darkness 3 of 5 (dark), spice 3 of 5 (hot). Book 1 of Adrian x Isolde.

  12. 12.Pestilence

    Laura Thalassa

    Spice 3/5 · Darkness 3/5 · Trigger warnings

    Also on the shelf as dark fantasy romance, enemies to lovers and monster romance. Spice: hot. Darkness: dark. Book 1 of The Four Horsemen. Shelf-level flags, not yet verified for this book: graphic torture and sexual assault.

More dark romantasy books

Read the warnings first

Every pick links to its own warning page, and the trigger warnings A to Z explains every flag we use. Browse the whole dark romantasy shelf for everything we have tagged, or filter the library by spice and darkness.

Questions readers actually ask

What is the best dark romantasy book?

On this list A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas comes first: it is the most-rated dark romantasy book in our library, at spice 3/5 and darkness 3/5. Fourth Wing and From Blood and Ash come next.

What is the spiciest dark romantasy book here?

Phantasma by Kaylie Smith, at spice 4/5 (explicit).

Is there a less dark dark romantasy book?

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas is the lightest here at darkness 3/5 (dark): harm is part of the romance, not a footnote.

Do these dark romantasy books have trigger warnings?

Yes. 10 of the 12 carry at least one graphic-level flag on their book pages, most often sexual assault and torture. Every pick links to its own warning page, which says whether the flags are verified from the author's notes or still shelf-level. Check the author's own list as well.

How is this list ranked?

By how many readers have rated each book on Goodreads, among the books in our library tagged dark romantasy. We cap how many books one author or series gets so the list is not one name. Spice and darkness are our own scores out of 5.

What is dark romantasy?

Dark romantasy is romantasy with dark romance themes, like captivity, violence and morally grey heroes. Darkness is scored separately from spice.

What is the darkest romantasy book?

On our scales, Alchemised by SenLinYu is the darkest at 5 out of 5.

Is there dark romantasy without sexual assault?

Some, but always check each book's warning page. Our dark romance without SA list is a good place to start.

Questions

What is dark romantasy?

Romantasy is romance in a fantasy world. Add the content of dark romance, like captivity, violence or a morally grey love interest, and you've got dark romantasy.

Is Fourth Wing dark romantasy?

Not really. There's real violence and real death, but it scores 3 of 5 for darkness. Alchemised and Quicksilver go a lot further.

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