Best Dark Romance Books 2023

The end of the world was upon us, but there weren't enough spots for evacuation. The roars of the zombies echoed in my ears as my fiancé, Oliver, gritted his teeth and pulled me onto the rescue vehicle—securing the last available seat. I arrived safely at the survivor base. Lina, his first love, did not. The zombies tore her apart. Oliver still went through with our marriage, but I never expected that he had only done so to make me suffer. In his eyes, I was the one who had killed Lina. If she had to endure such agony, then I should, too. For five years, he hated me. My life was worse than that of a stray dog scavenging for food on the street. On the day my divorce was finalized, he kidnapped me, dragged me into the wilderness, and wrapped his fingers around my throat. Then, he threw us both into the swarm of the undead. When I opened my eyes again, I was somehow reborn on the day the apocalypse began. The rescue team was shouting impatiently, "One more! We have room for one more—hurry!" I turned to Oliver, watching his hesitation. Then, with a quiet smile, I took a step back and let someone else have the last seat.

He was off limits, but I couldn't help but want him. His touch ignited my skin, and his long intense stares set my heart ablaze. He knew me so well, and it made me hope that maybe what we had wasn't just lust and attraction… But he never said the words I wanted to hear. Was I always going to be his angel in secret, or was he going to show the world that I was his? Regardless, I knew I was always going to find myself desiring my best friend's dad.

Twenty-four hours. Half a million dollars. Or his mother dies. Omega Caelen Ryn is out of options: his mother is dying, treatment costs half a million dollars, and loan sharks are closing in with brass knuckles and threats. Then a lawyer appears with an offer from Alpha billionaire CEO Aldric Fenmore: marry him for two years, every debt disappears, and his mother will be saved. The rules are brutal: separate bedrooms, zero feelings, don't fall in love. Their marriage is a transaction. Nothing more. Their first kiss is for the cameras. In public, they play devoted spouses. Behind closed doors, they're strangers. Until Monaco. When Aldric's race car spins out at 200 mph, Caelen realizes the truth-he's fallen in love with his husband. And when Aldric kisses him after his victory, raw and desperate and real, the contract between them shatters completely. They broke every rule. They fell impossibly in love. Aldric's ex returns, the man who destroyed his ability to trust, bringing a ruthless business rival and a plan for revenge. What starts as sabotage escalates into kidnapping, violence, and a premature labor that leaves both their lives hanging by a thread. In the trauma room, as Caelen bleeds out, the doctor delivers words that break Aldric completely: "You have to choose. We can only save one." The husband he loves. Or the child they never planned for. In that impossible moment, every vow they made, every sacrifice they offered, and every fragile dream they built together came down to a single, devastating choice. A contract that was supposed to end. A love that refused to.

Lorcan Tiarnan Riordan Cillian. Four brothers. My lords. My mates. They gave me life, riding me of my humanity. In exchange, they took my soul and my body, but not my heart. When they found me dying by my burning car, my heart was already dead. It had been a perfect day. I was going to tell my husband that I was pregnant with his child. But when I walked in on him and my best friend in bed, everything shattered. The rage consumed me and the pain killed me. My car got wrecked in an accident and I knew I was going to die. Until they came, and bit me, turning me into one of them, and I’ll die before I let them make me their breeder.

I found out my husband of three years had cheated on me and his mistress is the one who told me—because he didn’t have the balls to do it himself. I move out and get a new apartment, a job as a bartender, and try to move on with a broken heart. I wonder where it all went wrong, if I hadn’t been enough for him, if I’d been stupid for marrying him in the first place. I’m at work one night when he walks inside—the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. He sits at the bar and a forest fire burns between us. I was depressed the moment before he entered, but the second I look at his blue eyes, I forget the dumpster fire that my life has become. I invite him back to my place and it’s the most passionate night of my life. I expect to never see him again. I just want him as an anti-depressant—but he wants me all to himself. I just got my heart ripped out of my chest so I want something easy and no-strings-attached, but he wants all the strings because he’s hooked. I don’t get much of a say in the matter, and that’s not surprising when I learn why—because he’s the Butcher. The crime lord of all crime lords, the boss that overshadows all of Paris, that makes everyone abide by his rules—or pay. And now I’m his.

A werewolf having a human mate has been engraved in the history of werewolves. Having a human mate has been forbidden ever since the last time it happened. The reason? The last werewolf who had a human mate turned against the werewolf kind, the reason why hunters exist. After meeting his mate, Nathan wants nothing but to claim his mate as his but doing that will be a bit hard since one, his mate is human; two, it’s forbidden; and three, it will be for sure, the werewolves against him and his mate. But Nathan doesn’t care about the laws and the history, he just wants his mate, and if taking off his title as the guardian of the werewolves, he would do so without hesitation or reluctance. But what could be the reason why the good Goddess has given him a human mate? Surely there’s a reason behind it right? As Nathan unfolds the story of history while pursuing his human mate, things will be a  bit messy. Faking his documents just to enter Hallmark high school is already risky, but Nathan will do just anything to claim his mate, after all, he is the Guardian of the werewolves right?

“We shouldn’t be doing this.” Christian said, his voice gruff. I gripped him tighter in my hands, making his eyes roll and pumped him again. “Yes, but it’s too late.” I lowered my mouth onto his hard length. ***** A mixup landed Elisa in best friend’s father’s bed. A widower and billionaire in his late thirties. They vowed to never let it happen again. Except they couldn’t stop. And it easily became a battle between mind, body and heart. After Elisa moves into his house, she realizes her illicit craving is the least of her problems.

️ CONTENT WARNING ️ This book is a filthy best-friend’s-dad / massive-age-gap / gay-awakening erotic romance with explicit, raw gay sex. If extreme taboo is not your cup of tea or these dynamics upset you, close the book now. >>>>>>>> Asher Vale has been turning heads since the day he learned to walk. A tall black-haired blue eyed stunner with a deliciously sinful body. Yet, Asher has never cared about sex or women because for twenty-two years, he's never gotten an erection. Until one drunken night when Asher stumbles downstairs and sees his best friend's father, Nico, fucking a man. Asher didn't mean to watch, and he definitely hadn't meant to grab out his cock and masturbate to the sight. But he couldn't help it. But now he can’t unsee it: and every time Nico walks into a room, Asher’s cock remembers exactly who it belongs to, leaking in his jeans every time Nico so much as breathes near him. Finally, he's found someone he wants and it’s the one man on earth he’s not allowed to have but some hungers don’t care about rules.

I roll my eyes. "Why are you being nice to me? Did your therapist say it was good for your mental health?" *************** Jeanet and James have been together for four almost blissful years. Two years ago, James bumped into his ex-girlfriend and realized he still had feelings for her, but every time Jeanet asked him, he denied this, until one morning when he does something that makes Jeanet finally lose it. She moves out of their shared apartment, but she has nowhere to go. She can barely afford rent with her failed business, and no company wants to hire her due to her past. She ends up forced to work for Damien, the Italian hotshot who barely smiles, who is also her best friend's uncle, and who has always despised her, but she never cared, because she despised him back even more. How are they supposed to share space when they are a true definition of a cat and mouse?

“How do you like your cock sucked?” He throws his head back and laughs. My brows furrow. Then his gaze drops to mine again. “You’re cute. But not tonight, Chan.” “But—” “Another time.” Before I can respond, he scoops me up like I am his newlywed bride, arms under my knees and back, and carries me to the bed. He slowly lowers me onto the mattress. His hand slides to the nape of my neck, fingers working into my hair, and he pulls me into a deep, claiming kiss. I close my eyes and melt into it, arms curling around his neck. A moan escapes me when his mouth leaves mine and closes over one nipple. The wet suction sends a jolt straight between my legs. His hand drifts lower, fingers finding my clit and rubbing slowly. The pleasure becomes tight. More moans spill out before I can stop them. I bite my lip hard, trying to stay quiet. My family is downstairs eating dinner. If they hear—if anyone hears—they’ll kill me. He switches to the other breast, sucking harder while his fingers keep working me. ~~~ Chancé has been in love with River Dawson for four years. The charismatic hockey captain is everything she should avoid—magnetic, reckless, and dangerously irresistible. River doesn’t believe in relationships. He doesn’t do love. And according to his twin sister Cortney—Chancé’s best friend—he definitely isn’t someone Chancé should ever get involved with. But when Chancé saves River during a near-drowning accident, the boy she’s secretly loved finally notices her. What begins as a stolen moment quickly becomes a secret, intoxicating affair built on strict rules: no love, no labels, no drama—and absolutely no one can find out. Especially not Cortney.