The Hunters · 2023
Moments of MalevolenceSpice level, tropes & is it dark romance?
by T.L. Smith
Spice 4/5 (Explicit) · Darkness 5/5 (No light) · 7 trigger warnings flagged
From T.L. Smith, 2023: Moments of Malevolence, book 1 of The Hunters. The pull here is mafia, morally grey and enemies to lovers. We score it spice 4 (explicit) and darkness 5 (pitch black). The heaviest flags readers report are blood, violence, murder. Our scores lean on what readers report, not on a full reread, so treat them as a guide. This note is ours. It is not a publisher blurb.
First published: 2023. Book 1 of The Hunters.
Moments of Malevolence tropes
On this shelf, Moments of Malevolence is filed under Mafia dark romance, Morally grey heroes and Enemies to lovers. Each tag opens more books with that trope.
Moments of Malevolence spice level
Is Moments of Malevolence dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. Moments of Malevolence scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light).
Spice and darkness are separate scores. More no light books. How we rate.
Moments of Malevolence trigger warnings
Book-specific flags taken from reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 11 readers), grouped by us. Also on that list: sexual content, gun violence, injury/injury detail, cursing. See the reader-submitted list.
Graphic (7) — open before you read
Open this before you read. These are the flags most likely to be a hard stop.
Moderate (0)
Harm, control, or obsession that is common in this lane.
None flagged in this band.
Minor (0)
Present, and usually not the reason someone puts the book down.
None flagged in this band.
Full Moments of Malevolence trigger warnings
The Hunters reading order
Moments of Malevolence is book 1 of 1 in T.L. Smith's The Hunters series. Start here.
- Book 1 Moments of Malevolence (this book) · 2023
Order checked against the StoryGraph The Hunters series page on 13 October 2026.
Who it's for
Shelf note written for this site. We do not copy reviews or publisher blurbs. Outbound links are search pages, not quoted ratings. Kindle Unlimited and endings are only flagged when we were willing to mark them. How we rate.
Missing a book? Suggest it.
Books like Moments of Malevolence
Matched on shared tropes, then the closest spice and darkness scores. Other books in the same series are listed above, not here.
- North of the Stars
North of the Stars
Monica James
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Enemies to lovers
- Riot Rules
Riot Rules
Callie Hart
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Enemies to lovers
- Binding Rose
Binding Rose
Ivy Fox
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Enemies to lovers
- Control Me
Control Me
Michelle Heard
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Morally grey heroes
- Dante
Dante
Sadie Kincaid
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Enemies to lovers
- Deviant Hearts
Deviant Hearts
Jagger Cole
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Enemies to lovers
- Possessive Enemy
Possessive Enemy
Michelle Heard
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Enemies to lovers
- Heavy
Heavy
M.L. Burns
Spice ●●●●○Dark ●●●●●
Shared: Mafia dark romance, Morally grey heroes
Books like Moments of Malevolence, with a reason for each
Questions readers actually ask
What is the spice level of Moments of Malevolence?
Moments of Malevolence spice level is 4 of 5 (Explicit). On-page sex, clearly written. Darkness is a separate score: 5 of 5 (No light).
What are the Moments of Malevolence trigger warnings?
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Murder, Death, Stalking, Torture, Sexual assault. Moderate: none flagged. Minor: none flagged. These are book-specific flags reported by readers on reader-submitted content warnings on The StoryGraph (top flag reported by 11 readers), grouped by us. The author's own note may list more. Read it before you start.
Is Moments of Malevolence dark romance?
Yes, at the very dark end. Moments of Malevolence scores 5 of 5 on our darkness scale (No light). The book is not interested in pulling the punch.
What tropes are in Moments of Malevolence?
On this shelf Moments of Malevolence is filed under Mafia dark romance, Morally grey heroes and Enemies to lovers.
Who is Moments of Malevolence for?
For readers hunting mafia and morally grey with explicit spice. Read the warnings first.
What are some books like Moments of Malevolence?
Matched on shared tropes and similar spice and darkness: North of the Stars by Monica James; Riot Rules by Callie Hart; Binding Rose by Ivy Fox; Control Me by Michelle Heard; Dante by Sadie Kincaid; Deviant Hearts by Jagger Cole. More read-alikes, each with a reason, are on zademasked.com/like/moments-of-malevolence.
Is Moments of Malevolence a standalone?
No. Moments of Malevolence is book 1 of 1 in the The Hunters series by T.L. Smith.
What order should I read the The Hunters series in?
1. Moments of Malevolence.
How many books are in the The Hunters series?
The The Hunters series by T.L. Smith has 1 main book.
What is the Moments of Malevolence age rating?
We'd say 18+. Spice sits at 4/5 (explicit) and darkness at 5/5 (no light). That's our recommendation, not an official rating, so read the trigger warnings as well.
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