Dark romance is a subgenre of romance that deals with darker and often more intense feelings meant to unsettle readers. Often combining elements of other genres like thrillers and mysteries, dark romance is a controversial genre because many believe it romanticizes upsetting or taboo subjects such as sexual assault, toxic relationships, abduction, stalking, and murder. Dark romance novels often include extensive content warnings yet appeal to many readers because they explore stories full of emotional intensity. Dark romance novels have garnered significant social media attention, particularly on BookTok, a sub-community of readers on TikTok.

These novels often depict acts of physical and emotional violence and instances of rape or dubious consent, where one of the parties involved is coerced into having sex or their consent is otherwise unclear. Though not all dark romance novels contain such elements, these stories are darker in tone and address the more controversial side of feelings like love, obsession, lust, greed, and power. The characters in these novels tend to range from morally grey to morally black, and their actions often either challenge or disregard socially accepted morals. Like the novels

Don't Miss Out!

Access Study Guide Now