Essay
Haunting Adeline vs Hunting Adeline: which comes first, and which one is darker
Short answer: read Haunting Adeline first. Hunting Adeline is the sequel, it finishes the story, and on the warning list it’s the heavier of the two by a long way.
27 essays · The Dark Room
Essays: Dark romance essays
Opinion pieces in the first person. The argument is mine; the books link into the library.
Essays essays
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Essay
Haunting Adeline Movie: What We Actually Know So Far
A film of Haunting Adeline is in development. What H. D. Carlton has confirmed, and the rumours that are not true.
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Essay
Every dark romance book adaptation in the works, and how far each has got
Five dark romance books are heading for the screen at the same time. Here's where each one actually stands, with a source for every claim.
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Essay
The Butcher & Blackbird series in order, and which Ruinous Love book is the darkest
Three killer couples sharing one very bloody world. Here's the order, who each book follows, and what's going on with the film.
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Essay
Halloween Dark Romance Books: Masked Killers, Ghostface Vibes & Gothic Reads
Masked killers, Ghostface energy, gothic houses and monsters. My October reading list, with spice, darkness and warnings for every pick.
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Essay
Haunting Adeline Book vs Movie: Can It Stay This Dark?
Six hundred pages, about two and a half hours. What the film is likely to lose, and what is worth fighting for.
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Essay
What is dark romance? The answer I give at parties
A plain definition from someone inside the genre: what makes a romance dark, what doesn't, and which books people mean when they say it.
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Essay
The Lights Out series in order: every Into Darkness book, and which one is spiciest
Lights Out was only the start. Here's the Into Darkness order, who each book's about, and how they stack up on heat.
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Essay
Dark romance for beginners: start in the middle of the pool
The first books I hand people who've never read dark romance, the famous ones I'd save for later, and two minutes on warnings.
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Essay
H.D. Carlton Books Ranked: Lightest to Darkest
H. D. Carlton’s novels ranked from the lightest to the darkest, with where to start and the movie news.
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Essay
Stalker romance books: why the man who watches works
What stalker romance is, why it gets its hooks in, which warnings come with it, and the books I'd hand you, lightest to darkest.
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Essay
The Twisted series in order, and where Kings of Sin fits after it
Four friends, four books, and a Netflix show on the way. Here's the reading order, plus where to go after Twisted Lies.
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Essay
Dark romance tropes explained, from masks to monsters
The trope names you see in every review, in plain English: what each one usually means for the darkness, and what happens when they stack.
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Essay
Book spice levels explained: what the peppers actually mean
What a spice rating actually measures, what each step from 1 to 5 looks like with real examples, and why the number tells you nothing about darkness or consent.
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Essay
Legacy of Gods in order, from God of Malice to God of War
Six books, one very dangerous university. Here's the Legacy of Gods order, plus the warnings you'll want to know about before God of Malice.
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Essay
What is a morally grey hero? The man the genre is built on
Morally grey is the most overused phrase in the genre. What it really means, where the line sits, and why readers keep coming back for him.
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Essay
Mafia romance: a guide to the families, from mafia to bratva
The biggest lane on the shelf, untangled. Mafia, bratva and cartel: why they work, the warnings that come with them, and where to start.
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Essay
Dark romance trigger warnings: how to read them, and why I print them
Why every book on this shelf carries warnings, whether they spoil anything, what the shorthand means, and how to search for the one thing you can't read.
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Essay
Kings of Sin in order, from King of Wrath to King of Gluttony
Seven deadly sins, six books out so far. Here's the Kings of Sin order, how dark each one is, and what's next.
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Essay
What is why choose romance? Reverse harem, explained
One heroine, several love interests, and nobody has to choose. What why choose means, how dark it gets, and what to check before you start.
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Essay
Serial killer romance: why we fall for the killers
Romances where one or both of them kill. How the lane went from niche to bestseller, what to expect, and which books to read first.
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Essay
Penelope Douglas books in order, and which one to start with
Three series, a pile of standalones, and Credence. Here's the order for the lot.
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Response
Is Dark Romance Harmful? A Dark Romance Writer Answers the Critics
My reply to MissWeiWei’s ‘Dark Romance is Corn For Women?’ on fantasy, consent, the addiction claims, and why fiction isn’t endorsement.
Responding to MissWeiWei (opens in a new tab)
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Response
Why Do Women Read Dark Romance? The Psychology Behind the Fantasy
My reply to Aydin Paladin’s ‘The Secret Psychology of Women’s Romantic Fantasies’ on escapism, imagination, feminism and fantasy.
Responding to Aydin Paladin (opens in a new tab)
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Response
The History of Dark Romance: From Wuthering Heights to Haunting Adeline
Picking up from Shanspeare’s ‘Dark Romance: Love, Desire…Oppression?’: gothic novels, the Brontës, du Maurier, bodice rippers and BookTok.
Responding to Shanspeare (opens in a new tab)
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Essay
The mask is the point
Why the big reveal is so often where a masked-hero dark romance gets smaller, and what I want instead.
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Essay
Dark is not a spice level
Spice and darkness are two different scores. Why “dark romance” doesn't mean explicit, and how to actually use a warning page.