Dark romance is a subgenre of romance characterized by ‘dark’ and ‘mature’ content, with common tropes including morally grey anti-heroes, mafia, motorcycle gangs, stalking, arranged marriages, and kidnapping. Dark romance also includes darker erotic content including BDSM, kink, and ‘taboo’ sexual desires. As a result, the sexual relationships between characters range from fully consensual to non-consensual or rape. This article explores how dark romance readers engage with the romantic and sexual dynamics between main characters through an analysis of two popular stalker dark romances – Haunting Adeline by H. D. Carlton and Lights Out by Navessa Allen – and their corresponding Goodreads reviews. I explore how readers evaluate a reading experience and content as pleasurable, focusing reader responses to the physical features and personalities of the masculine main characters while chronicling their journeys exploring sexual desires and dynamics alongside the feminine main characters.
Mel Monier (Thu,) studied this question.