Just over a month ago, Rebecca Yarros's third installment of the Empyrean Series, Onyx Storm, was released, and HUD App's Marketing team Slack chat erupted in a discussion of all things dragonriders, brooding bad boys, magic, fictional royalty, and fantasy that isbelievable enough to make us want to visit those alternate universes. Turns out we're all obsessing over dark romance/romantasy, which are two distinct but overlapping literary genres that have boomed in the past few years. (Side note: Did anyone else think we were getting a trilogy and now we're getting five books? How will we cope until book four is released?)
Dark romance has recently taken the literary world by storm, especially among readers aged 18-25 (and their moms, not gonna lie). Themes of passion, danger, and psychological complexity captivate readers looking for emotionally intense stories. From morally grey love interests to high-stakes relationships, dark romance offers a thrilling escape (which, let's face it, we need right now more than ever) while bringing up important discussions about power dynamics and boundaries in relationships.
Dark romance has sucked us in for several reasons. The plots of these books offer an emotional rollercoaster, presenting characters who have deep trauma, forbidden love, or redemption arcs - and they're written in a way that speaks our language. And while we're in the midst of navigating our own emotional complexities and relationships, we find these narratives both engaging and cathartic - and super relatable, even though none of us are dragonriders or deposed royals or magical halflings or sexy fairies.
Secondly, the "bad boy" or "morally ambiguous" love interest trope just won't quit. These "broken" characters are usually redeemable, although often at great cost, and give us as readers space to explore our own healing, trust issues, and difficulties within relationships while expecting a satisfying conclusion at some point (maybe several books later). The tension and intensity in dark romance plotlines also make them compulsively readable, keeping us hooked on the high-stakes emotions, twists and turns (I mean, did anyone see that coming for Xaden at the end of Iron Flame?).
The digital age has fueled this trend through social media platforms like BookTok and Bookstagram, where readers can share recommendations and discuss their favorite toxic but irresistible fictional couples. Self-published books and series also contribute to the popularity of the genre, as they're easy to access, often quite cheap, and give us the ability to consume entire series effortlessly on our phones on the bus to work.
Another genre that has gained massive popularity alongside dark romance - and there's a significant overlap - is "romantasy," a blend of romance and fantasy. Romantasy often features magical worlds, supernatural beings, and epic love stories intertwined with fantasy elements like werewolves, fairies, vampires, witches, and the like. Many romantasy books incorporate dark romance themes, such as brooding antiheroes, forbidden love, and emotionally wrenching plotlines.
Romantasy transports readers to richly crafted, incredibly detailed worlds that are utterly believable (sometimes scarily so) while still delivering the emotional depth of romance that we love to read. Books like A Court of Thorns and Roses (aka ACOTAR) by Sarah J. Maas or The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen exemplify how dark romance and romantasy merge - and they set us up for series that not only get us addicted while we're waiting for the next one to drop, or send us to other books by the same authors or seeking more books in the genre because we desperately need to scratch that itch.
However, much like dark romance, romantasy can also romanticize toxic relationships or power imbalances, which it's why we, as readers, need to critically engage and think deeply about the content so we don't get wrapped up in thinking that's how real life works. The added fantasy elements do provide a natural layer of detachment so we can escape without necessarily applying the same dynamics to our actual lives - but it's easy to get lost in the fantasy, which is why we keep coming back to them.
We haven't mentioned it yet, but these books are almost always "spicy" - that is, sexy, containing sometimes graphic depictions of intimacy and sex. Remember your mom reading bodice-ripping romance novels while you played in the community pool? Yeah, dark romance/romantasy is the natural next step from that - and we're passing them around to our friends, recommending them, and posting about them on socials. While "wild sex scene with a fairy and a human" doesn't necessarily sound like something that will titillate, these aren't the frilly pink fairies of your childhood we're talking about. They are, well, hot. The characters are written to appeal to our attractions, and the writers know what they're doing. Writing sex scenes is an art form that many authors can't handle. Have you ever read a book where the characters were about to hop into bed and the chapter suddenly ended? Yeah, that's not what you'll get with these books. These intimate scenes are most definitely NSFW.
Despite its allure, dark romance - and by extension, romantasy - has sparked debates about potential drawbacks. One major concern is the portrayal of unhealthy relationships. Some dark romance and romantasy novels can romanticize possessiveness, manipulation, and even abusive behavior under the guise of passion.
Another issue is the lack of clear boundaries between dark romance, romantasy, and problematic content. While some books feature characters overcoming trauma and growing into healthier relationships, others glorify non-consensual acts without proper consequences.
And then there's the "chaos theory" of love being extreme, intense, and all-consuming... Which appeals when we're young and impressionable and ruled by our hormones, but isn't healthy or realistic. These everything-everywhere-all-at-once portrayals of intimate relationships can sometimes overshadow the healthier aspects, like mutual respect, communication, and taking things at a comfortable pace instead of diving in.
So the moral of the story (ha ha) is - be aware of what you're reading, try not to confuse fantasy with reality, and allow fiction to be your escape but don't let it rule your life. We all know now that the Twilight series glorified some seriously unhealthy and immature relationship dynamics, but at the time we were all obsessed and watching the movies, we just saw the hot brooding vampire and innocent love interest and thought, "Aww yeahh!" Enjoy what you're reading, but take stock of the content and think about it. Talk about it. Raise the points with friends. Talk about the themes, good and bad.
But above all, keep reading - because research tells us that reading is a habit that can lengthen our lives by giving us stress relief, improving our memories, exercising our brains, helping us sleep better, and all kinds of other benefits. And the longer we live, the more time we have to read books!
Dark romance is a fiction subgenre featuring morally complex or outright villainous love interests, power imbalances, and dynamics that would be red flags in real life (stalking, obsession, captivity, dubious consent). It's distinct from traditional romance by leaning into psychological intensity and moral ambiguity rather than resolving them away.
Psychologists point to what's called benign masochism, i.e. the ability to enjoy something that would be threatening in reality because the reader knows they're safe. Research from Dr Justin Lehmiller at the Kinsey Institute supports the idea that fantasy and real-world desire are distinct. Dark romance delivers emotional intensity and "controlled danger" that real-life relationships rarely offer.
No, most readers are acutely aware of the difference. As media psychology research shows, fantasy lets people explore taboo scenarios in a context the brain marks as not real. Enjoying a fictional stalker doesn't mean wanting one — just as enjoying horror doesn't mean wanting to be murdered.
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