Official artwork for Kissed by Shadows by Rosa Lee
We’re back! You didn’t think I forgot you depraved degenerates, did you? This was a slower reading year for me, but there was no shortage of novellular (going to sell that word to Webster) debauchery. Standard disclaimer: If you are easily offended, now is your chance to turn back. If the word titties affronts you, well, it only gets worse from here. You’ve been warned.
While most of these fall in the dark romance or taboo genre, there may be a few that lean less dark romance and more plot. Think rated R vs. NC-17. Always check trigger warnings if you need to, and be warned going in that some of these books feature themes of sexual violence and murder. I’m returning back to my WTF rating scoring for this year’s list: the higher the WTF’s the wilder the ride.
Abbreviations: MC- Motorcycle Club, H/H- hero/heroine, HEA- happily ever after
10. Wreck & Ruin by Emma Slate (Tabula Rasa Publishing, 2019) – 5/10 WTF’s
Wreck & Ruin won’t change your life, but it was a great MC series with some spicy scenes that kept the temperature of the room up. When a novel has too much smut and not enough plot, I have a bad habit of skimming through the never ending sex scenes—you’ll never convince me that they’re *doing it* 7 times in one night and actually enjoying it. No skipping here—Slate keeps the reader engaged with plot and a loveable H/H combination in Mia and Colt. Our heroine Mia wasn’t your standard ditzy pushover, she had grit and intelligence which we love to see in this genre. This is an eight-book series, but each can be read as a standalone.
9. Darkest Sin by Sheridan Anne (2024) – 9/10 WTF’s
Y’all, this book is messed up. Like, our girl confuses her vibrator with a taser type of messed up. I’ve seen so many mixed reviews on Darkest Sin, but I personally loved it. The novel is exactly what it says it is: a lot of sex, some really messed up plotlines (seriously, who thinks of these things?), and a H/H you grow to love. I would’ve had this one higher on the list, but our protagonist Chiara is written a bit too heavily into the ditzy, dumb heroine trope which I don’t generally enjoy, and we have some pretty intense insta-love which is a bit of a cliché trope for me as well. The plot was done well, however, and I would put this on my list of quick re-reads when I’m in a funk.
8. Joey by Sadie Kincaid (Red House Press, 2023)- 6/10 WTF’s
Sadie is an author you’ve seen before if you’ve read my lists before, and I know I can always count on her for a quick but exhilarating read. Joey is the second book in the Chicago Ruthless series, and it follows an age gap romance set in the Cosa Nostra mafia world. Age gap, HEA, touch her and die—we have all the standard tropes we love to see in a mafia romance. The novel itself isn’t one that is overly original or unique, but Kincaid’s writing is engrossing and enjoyable, and if you need a quick weekday read with just enough drama to keep you on your toes, this is the one for you.
7. Carnal Vows by Jordan Marie (2023) – 6/10 WTF’s
This is another mafia dark romance, but there was a lot of depth in Carnal Vows that I appreciated. Is it life changing? Absolutely not. Is it a great weekday palate cleansing read? For sure. Emilia grew up in the mafia world, so we skip the naïve heroine’s introduction to violence because she already knows. We have a lot of secondary relationships to explore in the book as well to keep your brain awake and not all in on our H/H, which I appreciate. This is another age gap romance with a bit of other woman drama, so skip if that’s not for you.
6. Kissed by Shadows by Rosa Lee (Dirty Little Publishers Ltd., 2024)- 8/10 WTF’s
Rosa Lee was another new author to me, and I went in blind. The plot we have was not overdone, and I enjoyed the uniqueness of the situation, but this is definitely a smut book with a splash of plot. I put it a bit higher on the WTF scale because there are some…interesting…kinks we see in this one, but nothing *too* bizarre in the grand genre that is dark romance. This is not the novel for you if you need a great backstory and you want a lot of thriller action, but if you’re ovulating and need a book that is heavy on the relations and offers some interesting new ideas, Kissed by Shadows might be for you.
5. Wolf.E by Paisley Hope (Sourcebooks Casablanca, 2024 with a reprint in 2025) – 7/10 WTF’s
10/10 for spice, 6/10 for plot. That averages out well, right? This one is higher on the list because I adored Brinley, our heroine. She was feisty and willing to learn how to protect herself. We have your typical angsty hero, but this one enjoys his girl’s fear a bit too much making it higher on the WTF’s list. Wolfe is absolutely a red flag, but why are you reading dark romance if red isn’t your favorite color?
4. Ruthless Creatures by J.T. Geissinger (Bramble, 2021, reprint in 2023) – 7/10 WTF’s
It’s insta love, so if that’s not for you, skip on by. Despite that sometimes rage inducing trope, Ruthless Creatures was a great read, with a possessive hero and a just a little bit naïve heroine. The chemistry was hot and the plot well written, keeping you on your toes until the very end. This one is heavier on the sexy time element and lighter on the plot, but if that’s your thing it’s an automatic add to cart.
3. King of the Cage by Mila Kane (White Nights Publishing, 2024)- 4/10 WTF’s
Wow, I really loved this book. Bran may be the hottest hero of this list, and Giada is his perfect match. We have Irish mafia, which is always a fun trope, and Giada’s wit and banter are my favorite part of this novel. It’s not as wild on the spice side, but the plot was so engaging that I honestly didn’t miss it. This would have been my number one this year if not for a weird plot twist near the end of the book that I didn’t enjoy. It ends well and overall I loved the book, but could have done without that.
2. The Predator by Runyx (2020) – 7/10 WTF’s
This was a new author for me, and I was blown away with the depth she was able to bring to the characters. I’m a standalone girly—I tend to avoid series’ because I have a hard time putting books down when I’m invested—but this one was worth the sleepless nights. Runyx chose a common theme, mafia dark romance, but wrote in a way that was unique to her and kept me engaged through each novel. I would consider this heavier on the thriller aspect and less on the cliterature, however, there are some pretty strong sexual violence triggers in this series so check that out if you need to. The Predator is written in third person which is obscenely hard to pull off well, but Runyx has a flair that makes it not only tolerable, but enjoyable. The banter is witty, the theme unique and original, and the H/H are both absolute bombshells independently of each other. This is a reread series for me!
1. The Devil and The Devil’s Advocate by Ashley Jade (2018/2019) – 8/10 WTF’s
This was one of those series that had me on a 30-hour bender. Sleep? What is sleep? I didn’t even care because it was just that good. The series was intense, traumatic, emotional, and horrifying in all the best ways. If morally gray were the Crayola color of the year, this series gave us the 48-count pack. There’s obsession, violence, and a lot of trauma bonding. Eden, Cain, and Damien give us the most intoxicating toxicity, the kind you read in public tucked into a corner praying no one can see over your shoulder. As Ashley Jade says in her prelude: There are no heroes in this story, only devils. | Erica Vining
