20 Highest Rated Spicy Dark Romance Books 2025

Checkout this list of highest rated spicy dark romance books to add to your 2025 reading list.

Honestly, dark romance isn’t for everyone. It’s got some really heavy themes, but it also has some of the steamiest romances I’ve ever come across. I haven’t read a ton of dark romance myself yet, but every time I’m on BookTok, I see so many popular ones, and it just makes my TBR (to-be-read) list skyrocket. Anyway, if you’re into steamy reads with spicy mafia vibes, reverse harem, or even cowboy romance, this list is definitely for you! The best part is many of these dark romance are available on Kindle Unlimited.

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• Steamy Christmas Rom Coms To Read Next
• 28 Hottest Cowboy Romance Novels

Spicy Dark Romance Books 2025

Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton 

Haunting Adeline is spicy and eerie in all the best ways. Addie moves into a haunted manor and discovers her great-grandmother was murdered there. To make it worse, Addie starts seeing eerie parallels between her life and her great-grandmother’s, especially the fact that both had stalkers. This is one of the popular books on bookTok. If you’re into dark romance suspense with a gothic vibe, get this book asap.

The Manipulator

I can manipulate the emotions of anyone who lets me.
I will make you hurt, make you cry, make you laugh and sigh.
But my words don’t affect him. Especially not when I plead for him to leave.
He’s always there, watching and waiting.
And I can never look away.
Not when I want him to come closer.

The Shadow

I didn’t mean to fall in love.
But now that I have, I can’t stay away.
I’m mesmerized by her smile, by her eyes, and the way she moves.
The way she undresses…
I’ll keep watching and waiting. Until I can make her mine.
And once she is, I’ll never let her go.
Not even when she begs me to.

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Corrupt by Penelope Douglas 

Erika (Rika) has been lowkey obsessed with Michael Crist, her boyfriend’s older brother, for years. But things get very steamy when Rika goes off to college and finds herself in Michael’s crosshairs, along with his friends who just got out of prison and are out for revenge.

Erika

I was told that dreams were our heart’s desires. My nightmares, however, became my obsession.

His name is Michael Crist.

My boyfriend’s older brother is like that scary movie that you peek through your hand to watch. He is handsome, strong, and completely terrifying. The star of his college’s basketball team and now gone pro, he’s more concerned with the dirt on his shoe than me.

But I noticed him.

I saw him. I heard him. The things that he did, and the deeds that he hid…For years, I bit my nails, unable to look away.

Now, I’ve graduated high school and moved on to college, but I haven’t stopped watching Michael. He’s bad, and the dirt I’ve seen isn’t content to stay in my head anymore.

Because he’s finally noticed me.

Michael

Her name is Erika Fane, but everyone calls her Rika.

My brother’s girlfriend grew up hanging around my house and is always at our dinner table. She looks down when I enter a room and stills when I am close. I can always feel the fear rolling off of her, and while I haven’t had her body, I know that I have her mind. That’s all I really want anyway.

Until my brother leaves for the military, and I find Rika alone at college.

In my city.

Unprotected.

The opportunity is too good to be true as well as the timing. Because you see, three years ago she put a few of my high school friends in prison, and now they’re out.

We’ve waited. We’ve been patient. And now every last one of her nightmares will come true.

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Hooked by Emily McIntire 

Hooked is a dark and sexy reimagining of Peter Pan but told from Hook’s perspective. James (aka Hook) wants revenge on Peter Michaels, but when he meets Wendy, Peter’s daughter, his plan gets complicated. Their chemistry is addictive, and it’s all about blurred lines between love and vengeance.

James has always had one agenda: destroy his enemy, Peter Michaels. When Peter’s twenty-year-old daughter Wendy shows up in James’s bar, he sees his way in. Seduce the girl and use her for his revenge. It’s the perfect plan, until things in James’s organization begin to crumble. Suddenly, he has to find the traitor in his midst, and his plan for revenge gets murkier as James starts to see Wendy as more than just a pawn in his game.

Wendy has been cloistered away most of her life by her wealthy cold father, but a spontaneous night out with friends turns into an intense and addictive love affair with the dark and brooding James. As much as she knows James is dangerous, Wendy can’t seem to shake her desire for him. But as their relationship grows more heated and she learns more about the world he moves in, she finds herself unsure if she’s falling for the man known as James or the monster known as Hook.

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The Ritual by Shantel Tessier 

Barrington University is home to the Lords, who are like an elite, violent club where blood is currency. The story of The Ritual revolves around Ryat and his chosen one, with a ton of twists. If you love dark, twisted romance with secret-society backdrop, read this book.

THE CHOSEN ONE

I vow. You vow. We vow.

Barrington University is home of the Lords, a secret society that requires their blood in payment. They are above all—the most powerful men in the world. They devote their lives to violence in exchange for power. And during their senior year, they are offered a chosen one.

People think growing up with money is freeing, but I promise you, it’s not. My entire life has been planned out for me. I never got the chance to do what I wanted until Ryat Alexander Archer came along and gave me an option for a better life. He offered me what no one else ever had—freedom.

I chose to be his. He made me believe that anyway, but it was just another lie. A way that the Lords manipulate you into doing what they want.

After being sucked into the dark, twisted world of the Lords, I embraced my new role and allowed Ryat to parade me around like the trophy I was to him. But like all things, what started out as a game soon became a fight for survival. And the only way out was death.

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Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver 

Butcher & Blackbird is about Sloane and Rowan, who bond over their shared “hobby” and start a deadly annual game of hunting the worst criminals.

When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, the two find something elusive—the friendship of a like-minded, pitch-black soul. From small town West Virginia to upscale California, from downtown Boston to rural Texas, the two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering, one that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country. But as their friendship develops into something more, the restless ghosts left in their wake are only a few steps behind, ready to claim more than just their newfound love. Can Rowan and Sloane dig themselves out of a game of graves? Or have they finally met their match?

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God of Malice by Rina Kent 

Killian is the kind of villain you love to hate. He’s charming but absolutely ruthless, and when he fixates on Glyndon, her world flips upside down. God of Malice is another intense, enemies-to-lovers, unputdownable dark romance.

I caught the attention of a monster.
I didn’t ask for it.
Didn’t even see it coming.
But the moment I do, it’s too late.
Killian Carson is a predator wrapped in sophisticated charm.
He’s cold-blooded, manipulative, and savage.
The worst part is that no one sees his devil side.
I do.
And that will cost me everything.
I run, but the thing about monsters?
They always chase.

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Does It Hurt? by H.D. Carlton 

Does It Hurt is about Sawyer, a thief on the run, and Enzo a biologist she scams. Soon she turns out to be a bigger predator than she imagined. Their dynamic gets even crazier when they end up shipwrecked together on a creepy island.

Who am I?

I’ve forgotten the answer to that question long ago. Ever since I ran from that house, so desperate to escape, I left with only the clothes on my back and socks on my feet. After that day, I’ve only ever walked in stolen shoes.

Could I be a girl who is searching for the meaning of life in faceless men? They were all so forgettable. Until he came along. He took me under a waterfall and made me forget my name, and in return, I took his instead.

Enzo Vitale.

An enigmatic man that will only ever love the deep sea. Or rather the predators that inhabit it. Turns out, he’s not so different than the monsters he feeds. He lured me onto his boat like a fish in the ocean, seeking vengeance for my crime. Had I realized his intentions, and that a massive storm would leave us shipwrecked, I would’ve ran.

Now, I’m a girl who’s seeking refuge in a decrepit lighthouse with a man who loathes me almost as much as he craves me. He wants to hurt me, but the old caretaker of the abandoned island may have intentions far more sinister.

It’s no longer a question of who I am, but rather, will I survive?

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The Sweetest Oblivion by Danielle Lori 

The Sweetest Oblivion is a steamy romance about Elena, a proper mafia princess, who finds herself drawn to Nicolas Russo, her sister’s fiancé and a Made Man with a dangerous reputation. I If you are a mafia romance fan with strong characters, you’ll love this book.

She’s a romantic at heart, living in the most unromantic of worlds… Nicknamed Sweet Abelli for her docile nature, Elena smiles on cue and has a charming response for everything. She’s the favored daughter, the perfect mafia principessa… or was. Now, all she can see in the mirror’s reflection is blood staining her hands like crimson paint. They say first impressions are everything…

In the murky waters of New York’s underworld, Elena’s sister is arranged to marry Nicolas Russo. A Made Man, a boss, a cheat—even measured against mafia standards. His reputation stretches far and wide and is darker than his black suits and ties. After his and Elena’s first encounter ends with an accidental glare on her part, she realizes he’s just as rude as he is handsome. She doesn’t like the man or anything he stands for, though that doesn’t stop her heart from pattering like rain against glass when he’s near, nor the shiver that ghosts down her spine at the sound of his voice. And he’s always near. Telling her what to do. Making her feel hotter than any future brother-in-law should. Elena may be the Sweet Abelli on the outside, but she’s beginning to learn she has a taste for the darkness, for rough hands, cigarettes, and whiskey-colored eyes. Having already escaped one scandal, however, she can hardly afford to be swept up in another. Besides, even if he were hers, everyone knows you don’t fall in love with a Made Man… Right?

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The Predator by RuNyx 

Tristan and Morana are enemies in the mob world, but their rivalry turns into an unexpected attraction. He’s a dangerous mystery, and she’s a tech expert with her own goals. When a mystery pushes them to work together, the mix of hate and passion between them leads to explosive chemistry. The Predator is another action-packed dark romance to add to your 2025 reading list.

What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object in the field of death?

In the dark underbelly of the mob, Tristan Caine has been an anomaly. As the only non-blooded member in the high circle of the Tenebrae Outfit, he is an enigma to all – his skills unparalleled, his morality questionable, and his motives unknown. He is lethal and he knows it.

As does Morana Vitalio, the genius extraordinaire daughter of the rival family. What Caine does with weapons, Morana does with computers. When a twenty-year old mystery resurfaces, Morana infiltrates Caine’s house, intent on killing him, unaware of a tie that binds them together. Hate, heat, and history clash together with unexpected sparks.

But something bigger, something worse is happening in their world. And despite their animosity, only they can fight it down

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There Are No Saints by Sophie Lark 

There Are No Saints is about Cole, a wealthy artist who also happens to be a serial killer. He becomes obsessed with Mara, a struggling artist who accidentally ends up in his dangerous world.

The city of San Francisco thinks we’re rival artists.

In truth, we’re predators battling for hunting ground.

We never chased the same prey. Until the night we both laid eyes on Mara Eldritch.

Shaw wants to use her as a pawn in his twisted game.

I’m fixated on her for a different reason…

She makes me feel things I never thought I could feel. Want things I never wanted.

Only she can make me lose control.

I don’t know if I should protect her at all costs… or destroy her before she ruins me.

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Her Soul to Take by Harley Laroux 

Rae accidentally summons Leon, a demon, and things spiral from there. He’s dangerous and possessive, but she needs his help to survive an ancient evil. Her Soul to Take is an interesting blend of dark and paranormal romance and great for fans of steamy supernatural stories.

Leon I earned my reputation among magicians for a reason: one wrong move and you’re dead. Killer, they called me, and killing is what I’m best at. Except her. The one I was supposed to take, the one I should have killed – I didn’t. The cult that once controlled me wants her, and I’m not about to lose my new toy to them.

Rae I’ve always believed in the supernatural. Hunting for ghosts is my passion, but summoning a demon was never part of the plan. Monsters are roaming the woods, and something ancient – something evil – is waking up and calling my name. I don’t know who I can trust, or how deep this darkness goes. All I know is my one shot at survival is the demon stalking me, and he doesn’t just want my body – he wants my soul.

Her Soul to Take is book 1 in the Souls Trilogy. Each book within the Souls Trilogy is interconnected, following a different couple through a similar timeline in the fictional world of Abelaum.

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Still Beating by Jennifer Hartmann 

Still Beating is a raw, and gripping romance about Cora and her lifelong nemesis Dean. Both are kidnapped together and have to rely on each other to survive. What starts as hate turns into something much more as they bond through their shared trauma.

When Cora attends her sister’s birthday party, she expects at most a hangover or a walk of shame. She doesn’t anticipate a stolen wallet, leaving her stranded and dependent on Dean—her arch nemesis and ultimate thorn in her side.

And she really doesn’t anticipate waking up in shackles in a madman’s basement.

To make matters worse, Dean shares the space in his own set of chains.

After fifteen years of teasing, insults, and practical jokes, the ultimate joke seems to be on them. The two people who always thought they’d end up killing each other must now work together if they want to survive.

But Cora and Dean have no idea their abductor has a plan for them. A plan that will alter the course of their relationship, blur the line between hate and love, and shackle them together with far more than just chains.

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The Risk by S.T. Abby

Next we have a dark, twisted romance about a serial killer and FBI agent. Lana is a serial killer out for revenge, and Logan is an FBI agent. Somehow, their worlds crash together, and they end up in a twisted forbidden love story.

I didn’t expect him.
I didn’t want to fall in love.
But I can’t let him go.

Logan Bennett makes the world a safer place.
He’s brilliant.
He’s a hero.
He locks away the sick and depraved.
But while he’s saving lives, I’m taking them. Collecting the debts that are owed to me.

Ten years ago, they took from me. They left me for dead.
They should have made sure I stayed dead.

Now I’m taking from them.
One name at a time.

I’ve trained for too long.
I’ve been patient.
I can’t stop now.

Revenge is best served cold…

They never see me coming, until I paint their walls red.

Logan doesn’t know how they hurt me. He doesn’t know about the screams they ignored. He doesn’t know how twisted that town really is.

He just knows people are dying.
He doesn’t know he’s in love with their killer.

No one suspects a dead girl.
And Logan doesn’t suspect the girl in his bed.

They’re looking for a monster.
Not a girl who loves red.
Not a girl in love.

I’m a faceless nightmare.

At least until I tell them the story they’ve pretended never happened.

But in the end, will Logan choose them? Or will we watch them burn together?

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The Never King by Nikki St. Crowe

The Never King is spicy, dark twist on Peter Pan. This time, Peter isn’t the hero, and the Lost Boys are nothing like the childhood story. The Darling women disappear on their 18th birthdays, and now it’s her turn. This reverse harem romance has a lot of action, fantasy, and spice.

The stories were all wrong — Hook was never the villain.

For two centuries, all of the Darling women have disappeared on their 18th birthday. Sometimes they’re gone for only a day, some a week or a month. But they always return broken.

Now, on the afternoon of my 18th birthday, my mother is running around the house making sure all the windows are barred and the doors locked.

But it’s pointless.

Because when night falls, he comes for me. And this time, the Never King and the Lost Boys aren’t willing to let me go.

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Credence by Penelope Douglas 

Tiernan ends up living in the mountains with her uncle and cousins after her parents’ deaths, and things get…complicated. Credence hot dark romance that is also emotional, as Tiernan learns about love and survival in a totally different world.

Tiernan de Haas doesn’t care about anything anymore. The only child of a film producer and his starlet wife, she’s grown up with wealth and privilege but not love or guidance. Shipped off to boarding schools from an early age, it was still impossible to escape the loneliness and carve out a life of her own. The shadow of her parents’ fame followed her everywhere.

And when they suddenly pass away, she knows she should be devastated. But has anything really changed? She’s always been alone, hasn’t she?

Jake Van der Berg, her father’s stepbrother and her only living relative, assumes guardianship of Tiernan who is still two months shy of eighteen. Sent to live with him and his two sons, Noah and Kaleb, in the mountains of Colorado, Tiernan soon learns that these men now have a say in what she chooses to care and not care about anymore. As the three of them take her under their wing, teach her to work and survive in the remote woods far away from the rest of the world, she slowly finds her place among them.

And as a part of them.

She also realizes that lines blur and rules become easy to break when no one else is watching.

One of them has her.

The other one wants her.

But he…

He’s going to keep her.

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Deviant King by Rina Kent ​​

Aiden King is a bully with a dark side, and Elsa becomes his obsession. Their toxic, high-stakes relationship happens at a rich prep school where power and secrets rule. Deviant King is angsty, dramatic, and has a lot of spice.

The villain isn’t supposed to be king

I have a simple plan.
Finish Royal Elite School and get into my dream university.

One glance from the school’s king blows my plan up in smoke.
One glance and he suffocates my air.
One glance and he issues his death sentence.

His first words spiral my life into irreparable chaos.
“I will destroy you.”

Everything about Aiden King is black.
Black mind.
Black heart.
Black soul.

I should’ve remained quiet and endured the time I have left.
I didn’t.

I made the irrevocable mistake of provoking the king on his throne.
The devil in his hell.

And now, I’ll pay the price.

Being hated by Aiden King is dangerous.
But being wanted by him is lethal.

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That Sik Luv by Jescie Hall 

This one’s intense and raw. Aero is a dark, obsessive force in  Briony’ life, pulling her into her most forbidden desires. It’s about finding the darkest parts of yourself and learning to embrace them.

As it reads, we should flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

They teach us that these thoughts, these actions, are immoral. But that dark side that lives inside all of us, the true nature of man, drives us to seek the need that burns within, demanding to be set free. Deep inside of our bones lies that intrinsic need, one desperate to escape. An innate behavior, seemingly out of our control.

One that screams for sins they tell us are condemning.

Aero is the throat from which I scream.

The dark parts of myself I want hidden from this world are all he sees when he gazes at me beneath yet another mask.

He’s the demon drowning me in my own underlying desires.

He may never stop. Not until I succumb to my truths, or die beneath the weight of his unrelenting grasp.

Because according to him, the life I’ve been living is a hell far worse than death.

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Lights Out by Navessa Allen 

What starts as a social media obsession with masked men turns into reality when one shows up in Aly’s life. Lights Out is a fast-paced, dark romance with a morally grey hero who brings her wildest fantasies to life.

I don’t need another kink. That thought pops into my head whenever I pull up my favorite social media app, but alas, every time I scroll, I learn something new about myself, and another one is born. And yes, I know I’m responsible for what the algorithm shows me, but I’m trying to ignore that fact.

Lately, my feed has been dominated by masked men. I’ve favorited videos with them dressed in full cosplay, decked out in futuristic military apparel, and wrapped up like ghouls.

But more than anything else, my FYP is filled with shirtless men wearing ghost masks. Bonus points if they’re heavily tattooed, wielding a knife, or covered in fake blood. At night, I dream about being chased by them, of them catching me and doing deliciously dark things to my more than willing body.

I never could have guessed that by sending one drunken text, those dreams would become my new reality.

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Twisted Love by Ana Huang 

Twisted Love is dark romance about Alex, the icy and ruthless hero, who falls for Ava, his best friend’s sister. Their romance is all about opposites attracting, with a lot of suspense and secrets that threaten everything. It’s steamy, emotional, and full of tension.

He has a heart of ice…but for her, he’d burn the world.

Alex Volkov is a devil blessed with the face of an angel and cursed with a past he can’t escape.

Driven by a tragedy that has haunted him for most of his life, his ruthless pursuits for success and vengeance leave little room for matters of the heart.

But when he’s forced to look after his best friend’s sister, he starts to feel something in his chest:

A crack.
A melt.
A fire that could end his world as he knew it.

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Little Stranger by Leigh Rivers 

Little Stranger follows Malachi, who is out for revenge against Olivia, his foster sister who betrayed him. This dark, obsessive romance has a lot of intense moments as he haunts her, blurring the line between love and hate. If you are a fan of revenge-driven romance with a chilling vibe, this one’s for you.

She betrayed him, and now he wants revenge against the foster sister who became his forbidden obsession the second he laid eyes on her. After she sends him to prison for years, he’s free and ready to haunt her.

Everything about Olivia belongs to Malachi Vize.
Her mind
Her body
Her soul
Her fear
Her pain

On Halloween night, he can no longer lurk in the shadows. All he has left to own is her heart, even if he needs to take it.

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