You only need to look at the best seller lists to know there is a market for dark romance. It’s a popular romance sub-genre that shines a light on darker subject matter, safely exploring formerly taboo topics.
H.D. Carlton’s Goodreads page has over 60,000 followers and her bestselling Cat and Mouse duet (Haunting Adeline, 2021 and Hunting Adeline, 2022) together have amassed over 1 million ratings.
Just let that sink in. One million ratings.
Whether darker topics are something you like to read or write, they’re incredibly popular and are here to stay. So, I decided to explore the genre a little more.
One thing I noticed that consistently came up in dark romance stories, was the subversion of the emotional and physical intimacy beats. Traditionally romances start with emotional intimacy being earned before physical intimacy occurs, but in dark romance it’s often flipped. Physical intimacy can, and often does, occur earlier—sometimes even on page one—but the emotional intimacy often comes much, much later in the story.
At least that’s what I noticed during my recent deep dive into the genre.
Now, I don’t write dark romance, so I thought it best to speak with an author friend of mine who does and see what she had to say on the topic of intimacy in dark romance.
Heleva Risque is an author of what she refers to as “a vast array of dark romance” and will be soon incorporating MF pairings on the same pen name. So, if you like darker themes, but not reverse harem, she has something for you too. Or will soon.
What is it about dark romance that draws you to the genre?
I like the uninhibited aspect of the genre, the freedom to bring the bad in with the good and really show the worst of humanity can also experience feelings and love too. That not every single story is as clear cut and pretty as you’d like it to be.
How would you describe the development of physical intimacy in a dark romance compared to a non-dark romance?
I think that’s different for every author. Some choose to incorporate the darkness in the relationships, and others insert it into the world around them, leaving the romance purer and untainted. Others still may include it in such a way that it becomes a catalyst for character development, such as a pivotal ‘reaffirmation of life’ moment, for example.
What differences have you noticed in reverse harem dark romances compared with single partner dark romances?
I think the biggest differences are size of the book, complexity of successfully integrating individual relationships within the harem between each man and the woman, as well as the interaction between the harem men as well.
I’ve not noticed any closed-door dark romances. If I’m correct (and not just doing dodgy research), why do you think this is?
I believe there are a few, though very few and far between, and I attribute it to the idea that when you’re dealing with more taboo and darker aspects of the world and relationships, sex is no longer such a sensitive subject. Once you’ve put someone being murdered on the page for readers to see, you really don’t think twice about putting a dick on the same page.
What do you love the most about the dark romance genre?
The ability to showcase the darker side of humanity and its flaws, but also show readers that not every bad guy is inherently bad.
Is there any misconceptions about the genre you’d like to correct?
That it’s self-gratifying and snuff. That it’s bad or shameful for victims of those same actions (i.e. rape, sexual abuse, assault, etc.,) to read this content, and somehow demeans or belittles the things they’ve gone through.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I encourage anyone who reads to check out a dark romance once in their lives, as long as it’s not triggering to them. It really gives you another view on humanity and human nature and the real brokenness of some of us in this world.
Heleva’s recent release “Cruel Games” is a standalone reverse harem romance set in the fictional city of Port Wylde. It follows a woman seeking revenge for her father’s death, and the men who killed him. That seemed like pretty intense conflict for a romance, so I asked her a bit about that.
Tell us about your latest release. What motivated you to write it?
I really wanted to showcase and explore a relationship between a group of men who were doing good perceived as bad, protecting a woman who was convinced they were wrong because of the lies she was presented and raised with.
Was there a favourite scene to write?
The scene between the MLs and the FMC where she realizes she’s falling for them was pivotal, but the favorite in my opinion will always be the torture scene when she finally captures them and allows herself a guilty pleasure despite how shameful it makes her feel.
Heleva’s books can be found on Amazon where they’re available in Kindle Unlimited. Her most recent release, Cruel Games, can be found at books2read.com/portwylde2. Her newsletter is fantastic (I am a subscriber and enjoy her particular brand of sass immensely), and you can subscribe on her website.
Dark romance might not be for everyone, but for many there’s hope to be found in facing the darkness and not just surviving but thriving. It is no surprise to me that exploring dark topics in the safety of a book is increasing in popularity.
Melody
Melody's latest release is the following story in the anthology, Monsters Under Mistletoe.
Mistletoe Mishaps
Melody Beckett
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