Best Dark Romance Books 2023

Meadows Potter spent eight years of her life with a man who had only vowed to marry her if she gave him her body. Naive enough, she fell for it despite her best friend’s warning, only to wake up the next day and find out he was already married. Weeks later, she discovered she was pregnant. With no other choice, she had to find a man who would pretend to be her boyfriend while she stayed for two months with her relatives in LA. It shouldn't have been her best friend. Not Cody Larson, a.k.a. Ice. Not the notorious dirt biker her parents despised, and especially not the man who was secretly, deeply in love with her—though she was blind to it. Will she fall for him during their time in LA, or will her thirst for revenge and stubborn blindness destroy the very love she had been craving all her life? Find out now in Best Friend's Shouldn't Date.

++18 This one is scandalous Would you risk it all for pleasure? Brandi and Gio were never meant to happen and should not have happened, but....one fateful night, an unexpected encounter, they both experienced fire they had never felt before, and for them, there was no turning back. His daughter's best friend to the woman in his bed. Giovanni will have a hard time accepting Brandi is no longer the little girl he once knew.

"My mate is the man who murdered my sister," Lucia whispered, her voice shaking. Julius’s eyes flashed with hurt and fury. "I don’t know who you think I am, Lucia, but I will prove the truth, even if it breaks us both." She swore to kill him. Fate swore to bind them. Ten years ago, Lucia Wright watched her sister, Teja, die at the hands of a man whose honey gold eyes she could never forget. Since that night, her life has been nothing but prisons, rogues, and blood-soaked promises of revenge. At the Moonbane Festival, the goddess finally grants her a mate. But when the mask falls away, she recognizes him, Alpha Julius of Rivermist Pack. The man she believes murdered her sister. Lucia accepts his mother’s sudden proposal, not out of love, but to finish what she started, to kill him from within his own home. Yet the mate bond burns hotter than her hatred, and every stolen touch threatens to unravel her carefully built rage. Julius has secrets of his own, enemies in the shadows, a rival Alpha bent on his ruin, and a past drenched in sins he can’t escape. As truths twist and betrayals surface, Lucia must decide, will she cling to vengeance, or surrender to the bond that defies her every oath? In a world of demons, rival packs, and blood debts, love may be the deadliest trap of all.

All 20 year old Holly ever wanted to do was escape the boring Colorado mountain town where she was born. However, when she arrived at college, she found herself having too many wild nights. Worse yet, she had one too many mornings of waking up in an unfamiliar bed, and she couldn't keep her scholarship. Now that's she's back in Conifer, she has no idea what she is going to do with her life and no hope for the future. Andrew's father died a couple years ago in an electrical accident, and while Andrew wants nothing more than to leave town, his mother's mental instability makes it impossible for him to go. He feels trapped in a no-win situation and his options are slipping away. When a mutual friend has a crisis, Holly comes up with a plan, a plan that will change all their lives for the better. She knows that, despite previously being burned, all it takes to start a fire is a spark. However, she realizes that once again, she may have stood too close to the flame, and the torch she carries for Andrew burns brighter than ever. Will Holly manage to rekindle old loves, or will the destructive fire in their hearts consume everything they hold dear?

He is loathsome, arrogant and handsome doctor with uncouth mouth. She is a simple sales girl. Being straightforward and brave, she shamelessly pursued him, sending him gifts, meals, flowers and tried to get close to him. She was humiliated when his staff gossiped about her and she retreated. Then he rejected her and told her they could only be friends. She tried her best to avoid him but no matter how much she tried they frequently cross paths. Suddenly one day he told her. "Be my girlfriend!" What a mess!

“Make me stop, Kyra… please… because once I cross this line, I won’t come back. I’ve spent years fighting this, telling myself it’s wrong, but every time you look at me like that, I forget who I’m supposed to be. You were never meant to be mine… but I don’t think I can survive pretending you’re not.” •••••••••• Kyra Callis has loved Toren Grace her entire life but Toren is her father’s best friend, the man who helped raise her, and the one person she can never have. Toren Grace is dark, broken, and fiercely protective, battling his growing desire for the one girl he should never touch. When Kyra becomes an adult, their undeniable connection ignites into something dangerous, passionate, and forbidden. As secrets unravel and loyalties are tested, love threatens to destroy everything they’ve built. With emotional depth, raw chemistry, and intense moral conflict, this story explores love that defies rules and time. Will love be enough to survive judgment? Or will their past tear them apart forever?

Her father promised me life on the legal side if I saved his only daughter. I was her last hope. Something about this rich, spoiled princess captured me from the moment I laid my eyes on her. This green-eyed beauty made me want things I never had. She was untouchable. If I were decent, I’d keep my distance. But God knew I was the worst kind of sinner. She shouldn’t have wanted my touch. Now she was mine. When a Russian rival mafia came for her seeking revenge and old, forgotten secrets are revealed, her life became marked. Would she stay in my world or go back to her carefree, privileged life?

After two months of surviving on her own, Kieran returns to Concord, stepping straight back into the suffocating warmth of family love she isn’t sure she’s ready for. Fresh from a funeral and carrying wounds no one fully understands, she’s greeted by watchful grandparents, anxious relatives, and questions about a future that no longer feels like hers to decide. Concord is familiar, comforting even, but it’s also filled with memories she hasn’t healed from. Chief among them is Lucas, the boy who was once her best friend and then, without warning, walked away. No explanation. No goodbye. Just silence that hurt deeper than any fight ever could. His absence lingers, heavy with unanswered questions and unspoken feelings Kieran has never allowed herself to name. Seeking space, Kieran escapes to her favorite spot by the lake, hoping for peace. Instead, fate intervenes. The unmistakable growl of a motorcycle announces Lucas’s return, changed, bigger, sharper, and undeniably no longer the boy she remembers. One glance is enough to shatter the fragile calm she’s built. The past isn’t buried. It’s right next door. As summer begins, Kieran is forced to confront unresolved hurt, broken trust, and the dangerous pull of someone who once knew her better than anyone else. Some friendships don’t end cleanly...and some feelings refuse to stay buried.

Olivia was in a loveless marriage without kids. Her husband was a workaholic and unfaithful in his marriage to her. Sharon, her best friend, suggested she find a younger man to satisfy her needs while her husband does what he does. Why should he have all of the fun?! Sharon tells Olivia of an exclusive escort service specifically made for women. Olivia decides to take Sharon up on her offer and signs up for a membership with the service. Sharon asks Olivia to have some fun without commitment while dating around. Olivia wasn't familiar with dating younger men and therefore she was a bit skeptical in doing so. Eventually, she accepted a contract and wished for the best. Tony Hamilton, Sharon's son, was looking for a way to build capital for his start up business with his best friend Matt. Both Matt and Tony decide to pick up extra work in order to obtain the capital as soon as possible. Matt always had an eye for Tony's mom, Sharon, ever since he was younger. Sharon knew Matt was interested and now she saw him as a grown man. Another friend of Tony's suggested he work for an exclusive escort service to earn the capital needed to start his business quickly. Once the contract was signed, both Olivia and Tony realize - they have chosen each other! Things heat up and secrets are kept between Olivia and Tony and Matt and Sharon, until Sharon's birthday when all secrets were revealed.

What is love ? The question is mostly asked and answered with various definitions . One definition that is ever used and ever true is that it makes you do things that make you seem foolish to others . Can we call it foolishness when it is a feeling that comes naturally? KHEERA falls in love with her best friend's younger brother which brought about a crack in her friendship . Will this love survive the fight against age difference, friendship , family,morals and ethics? Find out in this exciting love story