@WeirdWriter @bookstodon Mages of the Wheel by JD Evans, and Crowns by Nicola Tyche, both fantastic fantasy romance series with adult characters behaving like adults,and neither series are particularly trope heavy. Cradle by Will White is progression fantasy, also quite good, and I could suggest so many more.

@WeirdWriter @bookstodon Lilith Saintcrow

@WeirdWriter @bookstodon My favorite authors on KU are Nenia Campbell, Quinn Blackmore, Kate Raven and Sybil Knight, all Indies.

Nenia has a range of dark romance, mainly set between the present and early 2010s

Quinn you should check out her Dark Fae series. Fantastic take on if Fae decided fuck it and ended most of humanity.

Kate Raven does unique dark romance and her obsession is on point.

Sybil Knight has very very fun prose. I suggest starting with Half Cocked.

Thank you! Looking all of them up! After a few days of using it, I kind of understand the appeal but it's not worth paying for so after my trial ends I'll continue to use non resident library cards instead. Also, I know that in 2026 Amazon allows people to download their books again but I have yet to see any author or publisher enable this feature. Now if there was an EBook store that only sold DRM Free EBooks, I'd buy from them always, but I get the appeal of KU. @mariam_al_masri_author @bookstodon

@WeirdWriter @bookstodon Yeah, for me I exclusively read indie authors and dislike how same-y a lot of trad prose is so it's a good way for me to read a ton without breaking the bank, but unless you read voraciously or are into romance indies, KU can feel limited.

Oh since you read Romance too, I thought you'd like this rant https://sightlessscribbles.com/why-happy-ever-after-is-radical-restorative-justice/ @mariam_al_masri_author @bookstodon

@WeirdWriter @bookstodon I really like this cause it reminded me of the appeal of dark romance: that everyone, not matter how horrible or wicked can get a HEA.

Yep! I've got a *lot* of defenses for dark Romance but that will get it's own blog post. I always keep track of trad pub works because many are good sounding, like the below, which is seeking rights, to sell rights.

Dolls & Daggers
By D.L. Darby
Dolls & Daggers is book one of a dark romantic comedy trilogy following the worst serial killers ever. It's a blend of Dexter meets Legally Blonde with a Sabrina Carpenter aesthetic. Dove is a pink-obsessed vigilante serial killer with a very specific type of victim. Wrenley is her uptight work rival, obsessed with her alter ego, but completely unaware it's her. As their connection deepens and her secrets start to slip, Dove faces a choice: come clean or cut him loose for good. But his own dark past might just rewrite the ending she had planned.
Category
Fiction: Romance
Rights Sold
Audio
Rights Available
Print. Foreign. Film/TV rights.
Contact
D.L. Darby

@mariam_al_masri_author @bookstodon

@WeirdWriter @bookstodon My issue is that I need power imbalance to consider it dark romance and don't think two serial killers qualify as dark romance, but understand that since Lights Out the genre has expanded to include more equal dynamics, even if I'd never read those books.

@WeirdWriter @mariam_al_masri_author @bookstodon

...reminds me a bit of how German folk tales where the Devil would horribly punish evil noble lords for their misdeeds (speaking of "restorative justice").