Touch Her and Die Energy: Activated
When HEAs come at a cost.
My spring has been filled with new growth and deliciously dark reads. It is Persephone’s time after all!
While I got ready for Monsterotica and wrote up data findings about Romance, apparently, these are the vibes I was craving:
Asshole to Everyone But Her: If this trope is your love language, you’d be eating well with these picks.
Darkness as an Amplifier: Violence, war, vulnerability, and moral grayness to highlight the highs.
Body Realism: Tattoos, battle scars, chronic illness…I craved bodies with their own stories to tell.
Earned HEAs: Nothing worth having is cheap. These are the kind of endings that feel deserved.
Bound to the Shadow Prince by Ruby Dixon
Release Date: October 24, 2023
Quick Take: Bound to the Shadow Prince by Ruby Dixon is a slow-burn, trapped-in-a-tower fantasy romance packed with danger, tenderness, and a refreshingly real chronic illness rep that adds depth without draining the heat.
About the Plot: She’s trapped in a tower with a brooding prince tied to darkness and a condition that mirrors diabetes. What starts as a wary standoff turns into an intense alliance, as survival and desire intertwine in a war-torn world.
Why You’ll Love It: Dixon’s at her best here: lush pacing, emotionally satisfying turns, and a heroine whose chronic illness is an integral part of what makes the story interesting. It’s also one of Dixon’s darker entries, but it delivers a well-earned, full-bodied HEA.
Skip It If: You’re not in the mood for heavier violence, mentions of wartime trauma, or morally murky world-building. This isn’t lighthearted fluff—it’s a romantic saga with bite.
The Artist and the Orc by Finley Fenn
Release Date: May 2, 2025
Quick Take: The Artist and The Orc by Finley Fenn is a sensual, subterranean orc romance that digs into art, perception, and pleasure…literally and figuratively.
About the Plot: When an artist running from past mistakes ends up trapped underground with a mysterious orc, their only connection is through touch and trust. What follows is a dangerous, sensual, emotionally complex journey through the dark.
Why You’ll Love It: If you're into morally gray MMCs, art metaphors that land, and sex scenes that double as emotional reckonings, this one’s something you’ll love. Finley Fenn doesn’t just create worlds. She excavates them for her readers.
Skip It If: You prefer your romances light on kink, or you don’t want to empathize with characters who make very questionable choices underground.
The Orc’s Rage by Lyonne Riley
Release Date: April 18, 2025
Quick Take: The Orc’s Rage by Lyonne Riley is a brutal, unflinching dark monster romance with razor-sharp writing and just enough tenderness to make it hurt in all the right ways.
About the Plot: This is Riley’s darkest tale yet: a morally unmoored orc antihero, a violent world, and one woman who becomes the only thing he doesn’t want to destroy. It’s gritty, bloody, and emotionally precise.
Why You’ll Love It: If you live for “he’s a monster to everyone but her” energy (with narrative payoff) you’re in for a treat. Riley doesn’t pull punches, but she knows exactly where to land them. Thank you. ma’am. I would like another. Also: killer animal sidekicks…literally.
Skip It If: You’re not here for non-consensual themes, violence, or morally bankrupt antiheroes who have to earn every ounce of your trust.
Housekeeping
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the Artist and the Orc is so good! I didn't think that any of the orcs in the series could take Nattfarr's place in my heart, but Filak is making a really good case for it!