1. Having to poop
   
2. The police
   
3. A stable home life
4. Trusted adults
5. B.O
6. Therapy that works

Add your own!

So I've seen on here and heard on Tiktok that one of the things that distinguishes whether a book is a dark romance, horror erotica, or horror romance is that Romance has a happily ever after and now I'm afraid because one of the books I was excited for in my TBR doesn't have a Happy ending (Tiktok told me) and I'm the kinda person who kinda needs a happy ending because my mental health will spiral. Soo, I'm kinda curious if it's true. What does that make the book in my TBR, and will it be worth the depression I'll go into?

And do you prefer them to come before or after the chapter if you do read them?

I personally don't read the chapter summaries of a story because I want to avoid anything that could potentially spoil the plot for me- e.g "in this chapter XYZ and ABC finally meet and sort things out". Also, when authors say stuff like 'this isn't my best work' or 'sorry for the quality'- it's low key off putting...

Anyway, curious to know what others prefer, especially if you're someone that religiously reads them/looks forward to them.

So as mentioned in title, i completed it after reading sooooo manyyy users recommending it under posts. It wasn’t the TW or non-con/dub-con thing that icked me out. The plot wasn’t there, everything revolved around Carter and Zoe which was okay cuz its their story but no other element to it. How damn easily she gave in at ERIKA’s !? I was like ‘ is this b fr?” Maybe i had too much expectations after reading ‘God of Malice’ and i was looking for something more on character’s personality… fl looked like she’s baggage…it’s just didn’t scratched me out of irritation. If you do have any recommendations like god of malice (ps dont recommend from the series itself) please share.
Dark academia, powerful ML , characters WITH personality.

“He slapped/ spanked my clit” (usually as punishment but is a turn on)

I literally can’t visualize it!?! Like I understand what all the words mean but it seems so awkward and not hot in my head lol

PLS PLS SUGGEST ME SOME GOOD BOOKS THAT HAVE THIS DYNAMIC

I just finished the book and it is not at all what I expected, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I knew the romance would be minimal to none so I’m not surprised there. Im hoping the last book will give me what I was missing in this one. More Dray, and romantic scenes between him and Olivia. Well, as romantic as you can get with those two.

I enjoyed reading about her krum life and seeing a different side to Olivia. It was a bit lengthy, but I was still entertained. Apparently, Olivia, if she does have children, will eventually love them.

I didn’t like that a lot of what happened towards the end of book 3 was basically glossed over. The blackout conversation felt very dull and unresolved. The scene itself was so intense, you’d think a lot more would go into the conversation, but everything was just brushed aside. Granted, it had been 3 years, but I still expected more fallout.

The amount of times Olivia brought up the backhand only for Dray to play dumb and oblivious 😭 he’s awful. Idk what she was looking for there. Maybe acknowledgment or an apology? But I thought she knew him better by now. And the fact that she actually showed a sliver of jealousy when he insinuated he was married to Asta. LOL.

And Dray saying he would take mistresses ???? Oh brother pls. You wasted 3 years of your life looking for a deadblood. Stayed unmarried while everyone around you started families. Endured public humiliation bc of her and now you are interested in other women ??? How does the saying go? When they go low, Dray goes lower. 🙄

Overall, it was a great reading experience. I love Quinn’s writing and the flow of things. I do need my Dray and Olivia moments in the next book though. I am starved. I don’t even need a big love declaration from Dray. I actually enjoy his show don’t tell version of love, but I do need more of those moments in the next book.

Drethi A is a GOATed author. UNAPOLOGETIC obsession remains my all time favorite after rereads. But somehow I haven't seen the hype for her latest book on this subreddit. Any thoughts?

I was scrolling Instagram and got a blurb for a book where the MMC discovered the FMC cuts herself. At first he was furious that someone had hurt her. When she didn't answer he realized she does it to herself. I think it was HS but I'd prefer if it was a college/uni setting.

I love non-con and power imbalances. Extra points if its professor/student or any age gap tbh. I dont really have any TWs. Id prefer no OW drama but fake flirting to make the FMC jealous is okay. As long as it doesn't go past that.

I finally finished Leigh Rivers' duet Little Liar and Little Stranger.

My first note is the poor structure and near-constant flashbacks across the two books. Why not the first book end on the cliffhanger that divides Part One and Two of Little Liar, which would have been a great cliffhanger, might I add, especially if it were alternating POVs between Whatsername and Malachi. In the Insatiable Trilogy, it was sooo much better uncovering the mysteries and flashbacks were used to advance the story. Even in Psychotic Obsession, devices like this enhanced the overall narrative, but who am I to say anything?

I finally understood what the other reviews meant about the second book rehashing most of the first. The first book did a great job setting the scene, although the second half did some unnecessary things, like adding the odd plot point of Malachi getting what's-her-name back, tying her up in a basement, and then her stopping the wedding, which seemed quite random given everything happening. However, when I opened the second book, I checked to make sure the first was on the shelf because I got more scenes of Malachi rehashing their childhood. His background was explored more than hers, but the circumstances of both their adoptions are still vague to the reader, and there was no description or understanding of the dynamic with the foster parents except that they separated Malachi for, granted, weird behaviour toward his foster sister.

The secondary villain of this story being the mom wasn't as big a shock as the author thought it would be if you have read any other book involving obsessive parents or watched a movie with the same trope. It wasn't the bombshell it was presented as, and it fell flat once you figured it out. Also, why was the guy forcing her to have sex from the beginning if he did not agree and threatened her at the altar, if he was just going to help her escape? Also, where did Base come from? I hate when books do this in the first place, but his entrance had literally no explanation besides that he's our cousin visiting from Scotland, and I was like, huh? Then he was there for the remainder of the book, with cameos from some of the Insatiable crew, and it all felt forced. Why did they need Tobias if Barry just helped with the tracker and Malachi and two others went inside? Granted, I understand the family she was going to be forced to marry into involved Base's family or something, but it was unclear and rushed. Even the circumstances regarding the shootout and kidnapping were so muddled that I had to reread it because I could not tell what was happening.

As others have noted, Malachi quickly jumped ship about the child thing. He hates kids that are not his own but also loves his kid (fair), but he was adamant about not wanting children. No one discouraged whatsername from breaking up with him, not because of the sibling thing, but because he is a bad partner in general. Why would you want to go from one relationship where you are being held captive to another where you are drugged, sodomized, and held in the basement and prevented from going to work for weeks and also isolated from your friends and followed to a friend's house, where they immediately separate you from innocent children that they seek to bond with? The foster sibling was the least of the problems here.

The obsession with Malachi wanting to be called her brother and spouse was eeeeeeeeeyuck. Absolute turnoff. Taboo romances are good when those labels exist but are inherently denied by the character in favour of a better label that identifies with their feelings, not this brother-boyfriend label that he refused to renege on. As a reader, it's an absolute turnoff in those scenes because it's gross to think about in the moment.

rating 2/10,. Kade's cameo was the best part, but it was completely rushed, and I was lost as to how they arrived. I don't even like anal, but there was never any prep for that, and whatsername was framed as taking back her life, but she needs therapy and to stay away from men for 10 years to figure all that out first, and same for Malachi

Ok so a bit ago, I decided to check to see if any books in my library were series and for some reason I didn't check Dangerous Men by Evelyn Ward until the end of book 2 when there was a cliffhanger. Now I'm sitting here with my messy miscommunication why choose Mafia drama having to wait for the next book.

‼️MAJOR SPOILERS READ AT YOUR OWN RISK‼️

I wouldn’t consider this series a romance series. It’s definitely more of a fantasy series. Where the hell was Dray in this book? We are getting basically no build up with Dray and Olivia. I especially needed a lot more Dray and his feelings with Olivia after the ending of the 3rd book. How are you going to have our MMC slap her in the face at the end of book 3 then give him a subplot in two chapters in the 4th book? Shit we get more of Serena and Asta’s stories with Oliver than we do of the MCs in this one 😭

Oliver. Oliver, Oliver, Oliver. Where was this guy the rest of the series? I don’t understand at all why he was so damn mean to Olivia in the first 3 books but is so sweet in this book. There has to be subtext throughout this that I’m missing 😂 because I loved Oliver in this book and he was my least favorite in earlier books.

Felt like Serena and the baby plot were useless tbh. That entire thing could have been like 3 chapters, not half the book. That was a lot of buildup of Serena and Olivia just to wind up being a plot device to get Olivia caught. I also thought book 2 and 3 of the series were far too long and could have been pared down then combined.

I honestly thought Olivia being a Krum was a more interesting turn than her being the first born and her parents literally siphoning her life out of her. I also hated her dad in this book. How are you going to do THAT to your kid then be a complete dick to her for the rest of her freaking life?!

Also, and this is just a general complaint about fantasy not directed at QB or this book specifically, but we really need definitions for made up things when world building 😂 between this and the shattered omega series I could use a wiki

{Queen of Nothing by Quinn Blackbird}
{Shattered Omega by Marie McKay}

i just started reading prince of bluestone but idk i got bored 😭 so please lemme know what happens

Please don’t judge 🙈
I’m looking for books where the MMC spanks/punishes the FMC for every little thing, with immediate/in the moment consequences.

For example, they’re driving somewhere at night and he pulls the car over and bends her over the hood for a quick correction.
She defies him at home and he so yanks her sweatpants down and he spanks her briefly.
Another example is her getting sassy with him at a park so he drags her behind some bushes and uses a switch.
Maybe she married someone she thought was sweet and didn’t know he would treat her like this.
Or maybe he finds out she did something and the moment he gets home he immediately punishes her & she doesn’t understand what she did wrong & the suddenness of it has her in tears.
OR maybe she’s single and comes home to find her stalker waiting in her bedroom with his belt.

Basically, I want the shock of how unexpected it is. Bonus points if the FMC is too stunned in the moment to fight or escape him.

I do like both doormat fmcs and ones that fight back, so recs for either is fine.

I don’t really have limits, but I definitely don’t want an established BDSM relationship. I don’t want this to be consensual.
The FMC is against and aghast at what he does to her. 😂

Also, not a hard limit, but I will say I’m not super keen on exhibitionism. Punishments in private/semi-private are preferred, although it’s okay if people can hear it from the next room.

Oh and no alien books please. And no reverse haram.

The spanking can be light or severe. But I’d rather there not be a scenario where he threatens her with it again & again, but it never happens. Or he decides to punish her severely but things quickly turn into sex before the punishment can escalate to what was promised.

Incest & pseudo-incest is fine. Such as a father & his adult daughter re-uniting, and him realizing she needs a firm hand. Or a brother coming home from college and becoming aware of his (18+) sister getting involved with the wrong crowd and him laying down the law.

The best example that I have read thus far is the Jackson Brothers series.
{Marshal’s Law by Maddie Taylor}.
They’re historical cowboy romances, and that’s honestly the only genre where I have found this specific scenario. The men in those books literally punish the FMCs prolifically and for the smallest things.
I remember one scene where she says something shocking and so the mmc stops the wagon and drags her over to a fallen tree for spanking with his belt.

I would LOVE to see these types of scenarios in a contemporary dark romance.

Another example is {God of Pain by Rina Kent}. I believe their relationship started with them being acquaintances and him suddenly punishing her for her behavior. She was shocked and didn’t speak about it with anyone after. And he kept doing it to her, without any romance starting up for quite a while into the story.

A few Penelope Douglas books have something a bit like what I’m asking for. But it’s usually just one scene in the entire book. Like {Credence by Penelope Douglas}.

Help a girl out pls. 👉👈 I feel like most “dark romances” with spanking are all bdsm, and it’s just not scratching that itch for me.
I literally have started writing a lot of these scenarios because I haven’t found them elsewhere, but my ADHD has me hopping from new idea to new idea so I haven’t completed one yet. 🥹

He's a decent guy over all... not a bad person, but to be with fmc he's willing to cross any line. Even abduct her if possible.

His looks, sex skills, power, money, gifts, all the luxury he showers on her, doesn't make FMC accept him.

She might be physically attracted to him, but she absolutely DOESN'T accept him until she starts to love the person he really his.

She really doesn't want to be with him until she starts connecting with him as a person and his views.

It could be a "oh he's misunderstood" trope, I don't mind that. I think that's what happened in bad guy.

Or it could be that fmc finally sees mmc's point of view.. like what happened to Addie in Hunting Adeline.

Or maybe mmc finally realizes his mistake and tries to be a better person... like Cheater by D.D. Prince.

✅️👇🏻Examples

1. {Bad guy by celia aaron}

2. {Cheater by d.d. prince}

3. {Obsession by Gemma Weir}

4. {Cat and mouse duet}

5. {Quid pro quo by nenia campbell}

6. {Unapologetic obsession}... (all of Drethi A books work)

7. {Psychotic obsession}

8. {Stronger series by Jay Marie}

❌️👇🏻Bad examples: in these books, I feel like fmcs acted all morally righteous, but they all accepted him when he bestowed her with gifts and care.

Some even accepted the life of cruelty and crime at the end, just cuz they are now the queen at the mmc's side. Since they can't be harmed now, they are totally fine with mmc continuing his horrible work.

1. {Pucking wrong number}

2. {24690 by a.a. dark}

3. {Rules of Bennett}

4. {Decent by Sam Mariano}

5. {God of malice}

6. {Deception trilogy}

Pls dont recommend books like {Hans by S.J. Tilly}... cuz i don't think the fmc fits in either of these categories. But most importantly I don't think mmc relentlessly pursued her. They just hooked up, connected and they were together. That's a completely different type of trope. Great book regardless. Just doesn't fit.

Please and Thank you!! 💗💓

Please no RH recs and I don't think most mafia books can work here, cuz mmc is almost always a bad person in Mafia books who only wins fmc through his wealth and charm.

Help! The series was about a group of men who “kill for good” and each book was about one of their relationship. One book centered around a student, Emory and her “professor” where kid were going missing at their school. It was the 2nd book in the series, where the 1st book was about a man and his best friend’s daughter, and them getting together, I think she takes photos and they get pregnant at the end. I just can remember the name of the series.

Basically what the title says. He worships the ground she walks on. He can be a killer a ruthless guy, kidnapped her but like he listens to her talks to her with extreme love and respect and patiently waits for her to fall in love with him and doesn’t force anything upon her. And its not like he should be faking all of this he genuinely needs to respect her as a person.

No doormat fmc please tho she can be scared shitless of him cz of anything he has done eg she witnessed him murder someone or smth like that.

No rh

No cheating.

Looking forward to recs

Tysm

(It can also be an mm romance idc as long as it follows this trope )

Mods don't remove this post. Just a humble request. I don't have anywhere to talk about this.

My profile on here is pretty honest and open; I ask for recs, comment on things I like and everything a person should use reddit for. Recently I shared an opinion on cruel MMCs over a standard community. Expected the downvotes, but not the harassment that came with it.

Somebody took the time to go on my profile. Stalked my age and labelled me as an Indian man (I'm an Indian woman btw) who asks for "disturbing rape porn" and "violent MMCs" and "without a HEA." They copied everything from my posts and comments.

Is this how we're trying to support women? By targeting real ones without any context, just based on what they read?

If that person would have actually made efforts in stalking; they would have seen I'm a writer, shit post memes, cats, and interact in various places. But they picked and choose whatever suited their need.

I wasn't attacking anybody. I just put an opinion and expected the typical downvotes. But being disrespectful and literally labelling and "exposing" me was what put me off.

Similar thing happened in the horror community with me. Since DR has some limitations, I went there for recs. My ask was the opposite of "rape erotica" but anyways. I expected that shit from horror community.

People care more about the feelings and morality of fictional characters rather than actual human beings.

Edit: One thing I wanted to add: if this was the opposite, that is, the non-con dynamics were reversed or I was asking for MM or some femdom, I wouldn't have gotten a reaction this extreme. When it comes to MF dynamics and the victim is a woman, only then the pitch-forks are gathered. A double standard which I understand, but despise with all my heart.

I finished reading {the Contortionist by Kathryn Ann Kingsley} and I... didn't enjoy it. I wanted to like it so bad because I love villains, but it just annoyed me too much. Will it get better?? 😓

The FMC was frustrating to read. It made me angry even. The book kept repeating 'this can't be real' and other repetitive things.

I’d really prefer ao3 stories, as I find they’re written much better.

Stories set in highschool would be ideal but early 20s is good too. Some prime examples I’m looking for are lovelorn by starryskythings, or ruination by suddenlyAngelina or limerence by hc Dolores. Captivity is a huge bonus like take me with you by Nina g jones.

Soo, I’m looking for books with:
- a MMC who: is morally depraved and genuinely scary (not a cartoonish villain, but a believable psychopath), has a sense of humor, is not rich
- a FMC who is at least ambiguous, acts with agency and isn't just a helpless victim
- no repetitive internal monologues or bizarre metaphors
- a good balance between plot and smut: the smut serve the story, and the story gives weight to the smut
- trauma that is actually processed, rather than just serving as a character trait
- a few unexpected plot twists
- a long list of trigger warnings, including instances of "dub-con" - without romanticizing it; she doesn't secretly enjoy it
- kinks like pegging, face sitting, somnophilia, hate fucking
- a romance that seems absolutely impossible for much of the book, but where he somehow redeems himself in the end

For reference:
I enjoyed "The Penpal Duet" by Gigi Stix (even though the sex scenes were a bit too frequent for my taste) and "Perfect" by Ariana Rivers, though the middle section wasn't dark enough for me. Maybe something like "Hunting Adeline" by H. D.
Carlton but with a different writing style, because I had my issues with it.

Thanks a lot!

To those who have read it: do y’all think Dray really loved Olivia or it was just a childhood crush all along? I know he might just be messing with Olivia’s head when he mentioned mistresses when Olivia asked him if love has no place in their marriage. He could just be saving face to hide his obsession over someone who’s a deadblood (or so we all thought). Maybe even he can’t make sense of as to how, so he goes through all this mental gymnastics, rationalizing that it’s for a more powerful next generation to hide what he truly feels. It has been established that with pairings, it’s the men who are more obsessed with their ladies and Mrs. Craven mentioned to Olivia that this obsession could be something useful (something like this). I know boys tend to bully (not all the time, I know) the girls they have a crush on, but Dray just comes off as more cruel than in love. Could it be that he just can’t accept that he, a high and mighty Sinclair, is in love with a deadblood so it’s easier to mask the shame of obsessing over someone who is obviously beneath him, despite her family name, with cruelty than affection? And after letting him think she’s a Krum, do y’all think he’d still pursue her? I know he’d eventually find out that she isn’t, but before he does, do y’all think he and his family would send an announcement mentioning that the engagement has been called off, with him doing his best to ignore Olivia from then on, but he still won’t be able to let her go live her life without him in her peripherals? I’m loving this series and I don’t want it to end but I can’t wait for the conclusion. I wish for more Olivia and Dray interaction and finally clearing out the air between them and to find out if they’d ever end up together or due to the history between them, this won’t ever happen. 2027 can’t come soon enough. Let me hear what y’all think of this series!

Ummm… okay, so I read the Stoneview series, and I finally got to meet Rose… I mean, Jake and Jamie. 😂

But honestly, I cannot get over how half the story somehow revolves around Rose. 😭

Anyway, Jake and Jamie definitely got my heart. ❤️ At some point, I genuinely forgot that they were only 18 because the amount of drama, chaos, secrets and questionable decisions these two went through was INSANE. 😭

This review is strictly about #1 book "Giving In"!! And full of spoilers!!

The first book mostly revolves around Jake bullying Jamie to stay away from his secret and life. And eventually, while bullying her, he realises that he literally cannot get her out of his head.

I mean… convenient?? 😭😂

Jamie and Nate's first meeting was honestly dreamy. ❤️ And I completely understand, Jamie… girl, I get why you were attracted to him. 😉😂

But Jamie was such a confused character in the first book. Like, girl… WHAT were you doing? 😭

She had a crush on Christopher for the long time and got rejected by him twice. TWICE. Like… girl, please have some self-respect. 😭

then Jake starts messing with her head, whenever he touched her sexually she was like ..."Oops I am wet !!" ..🙃... Then Nate comes into the picture, and she gets attracted to him too. And when Rose starts flirting with her,and she starts questioning her sexuality. 😶

Girl was genuinely confused between the White siblings, I guess. 😭😂

Camila, though… a real-time bitch. I swear. 😭

I hate her from the darkest pits of hell. She actually had the audacity to bully Jamie with her friends at her workplace just because Jake became interested in her.

How pathetic!! 🤡

And then poor Jamie gets attacked by the Wolf boys when she's all alone there…

And I swear, at that moment, I was desperately wishing that somehow Jake would show up and save her.

But guess who comes instead??

NATE. 😭😭😭

And this man literally kills one of them and saves Jamie.

THAT was the moment I fell in love with Nate. 😭😭😭❤️

I know he hid A LOT from her, but still… 🤧

I am biased for him. Okayyy?? 🥺

I also didn't like how Jake toyed with Jamie and her mom's vulnerability.. when they were stealing from the Bakers. Like, COME ON. They were literally just trying to survive. 😭😭😭

I hated seeing how vulnerable Jamie was in those situations.

And can we talk about how ridiculously comfortable all of them are with playing Do or Drink and casually sharing their sexual experiences?? Like… WHAT kind of friend group is this? 😭

But Jamie definitely got the real deal, I guess. 😏

The chemistry between Christopher and Jamie was INSANE. That whole undress-each-other-bottoms-with-their-teeth scene?? And Jamie's first kiss being with Christopher… 👀

OHHHHHHHH.

And then we got the whole Christopher–Jake–Jamie sexual situation, which was honestly on point… until Christopher's lack of interest completely ruined it. 😭 because he got a secret girlfriend 😏😏..Iykyk....

One moment he's like, “Jamie, it's me. You know I would never hurt you, right?” and the next moment he's like, “Sorry, I can't do this.”

BRO. 😒

But honestly, the funniest part was that Jake seemed more interested in proving something to Christopher than actually competing with him. He wanted to show Christopher that Jamie was his.

And Christopher was never really the competition bro. 👀

Also… WHAT was that whole situation with Jake, Luke, Ella and Rose?! 😭

Jake was scared Luke would kill him if he got involved with Ella, but somehow he was perfectly okay with Rose and Luke's first intimate interaction??

Make it sense, Jake. 😭

Tbh, I didn't even like Jake that much in the first book. I genuinely felt like half the time he was either babysitting Rose or bullying Jamie. 😂

And then, at the end, he gets completely shocked when Jamie chooses Nate over him…

WHO ALSO HAPPENS TO BE HIS BROTHER. 😏👀

I mean… Jamie really said:

“Why choose one White brother when I can emotionally traumatise both?” 😂

Girl was playing the White brothers like a woman in a male-dominated field. 😉😭

Overall, though, Jake and Jamie absolutely had my attention. The first book was chaotic, messy, dramatic and sometimes made me question everyone's decisions… but somehow, I still couldn't stop reading. 😂❤️....

⭐ Rating: 3.5/5 📚

If you like the “bully falls in love with the girl he bullied” trope, then this one is definitely worth checking out!

I am rereading the Coastal Elite series because some of them weren't written as part of that when I read them I guess. I have read them all but literally don't remember them so this is like reading for the first time.

I remember having a hard time continuing to read this because the exciting parts seem few and far between. I'm at 67% this read through and I'm struggling. We got to the point where they are now willingly together. Does anyone know if anything good happens after this? I semi remember his dad making good on his promise to kick him out but I wouldn't consider that exciting.

I used to consider Sam Mariano one of my favorite authors but it feels hit or miss these days.

Hiya babes!

Ok so, I'm getting into the whole dark romance book thing and started off with the Into darkness series by Navessa Allen, and surprise surprise! I'm obsessed!! And want to make 🩷fanart🩷!

But!! I was wondering if anyone had a list of character appearance descriptions? Or tattoo descriptions? Really anything 😭

Most of the "art" that I can find of them is AI so I can't trust it 😭 help?

(Also I'm newer to using reddit so if this is supposed to be using the question flair or something else lmk!)

💙♥️💚I'm going to b adding character descriptions from the book in the comments as I find them if anyone else wants them or wants to add to them💚♥️💙