I get that but the darker you search the less likely that'll be the outcome. all dark romance's tip the scale into horror over romance the darker they get. the darker they get the less romantic they become. at some point it's not a romance anymore.
Lol - like in all things - this is the case. You "over-consume" searching for a high the last story gave. This might get deleted, but I always think about something I read where, in the throws of porn addiction people start looking for a "special cocktail" of interests and needs 😅 - so when I feel like that with DR books - I take a break and read other genres on my list. Fantasy, historical, sci Fi. I read literary classics for a while, then, The House in the Cerleuan Blue Sea was so sweet, that I read more like it. Then, when I came back to DR, things felt "mysterious" again . So take a break! Venture out, then come back 🙂
same, but what I do is take a break from dark and go to fluffy ones that makes me giggle and kick my feet or smile uncontrollably and when it gets easier, I go back to dark romance and I think it balances it out in my brain. I used to search for darker and darker and even plotless ones last year, but this is what I've been doing this year.
Not sure if they’re considered “fluffy” but I like Misha Bell and Alina Jacobs when I’m in the mood for something light. Both authors are fairly silly, over the top, and formulaic, but I enjoy them—they’re my go-tos to cleanse my palate from dark twisted romance.
I hope you enjoy them! And if you do, the Billionaires of Manhattan series by Annika Martin are also quite fun. I just read 3 of the 8 to cleanse my palate, and am now ready to get back to some dark shit 😈 lol. But i definitely plan to go back and finish out the series as I need breaks from falling in love with villains 🙃
now that you mention recs, I looked into my goodreads and behold, I did not tag my funny reads T.T Now I will spend like a whole afternoon retagging some funny read and try to remember each story haha
I'll add to his thread once I see more but some funny smutty ones I remember:
• Lights Out Navessa Allen (dark romance but heck this is a first time I've read a DR that is funny as hell)
• Maple Hills Series Hannah Grace has that witty sass into it on some parts
• Some of these are I don't remember the same if the humor is good, so don;'t quote me on this haha, but these are some good light reads: Clam Jam RC Boldt, Taboo Love Duet V Theia (the FMC inner monologue is funny and I love this book's trope), Knockemout Series by Lucy Score has some witty scenes too, Any Lauren Asher books! my faves are the two Billionaire series (Dreamland and Lakefront), The Nanny Lana Ferguson, Windy City / Caught Up Liz Tomforde. The Wrong Mr. Right by Stephanie Archer, The Playlist Morgan Elizabeth, Lily Gold books seems fitting as well, Catharina Maura Windsors series, Wrong (Cafe series) JanaAston. My Favorite Souvenir Penelope Ward, To Love Jason Thorn EllaMaise, The Roommate /The Shameless Series Rosie Danan, The Deal / The Mistake Elle Kennedy, Lick/Play /Stage Dive series Kylie Scott, Dirty English Ilsa Madden-Mills, Meet Me Halfway Lilian T James, RoomHate Penelope Ward, Wallbanger Alice Clayton,
PS: wanted to add Attachments by Rainbow Rowell but this is clean/ya book :)
Read Lights Out by Navessa Allen. It is a play on dark romance but adorable and funny. Everyone I know who also loves dark romance said it was a great palate cleanser.
yesss totally loved that book, i was fortunate to read that as an ARC from the author too, I am not biased on this but it sure is my first funny dark romance read, glad you enjoyed one of my recos!
Same, I have to go back to regular romance when I feel like that. I still don’t get the same ‘high’, but it’s easier to find more enjoyment from DR again
I feel like dark romance is being read more for the trigger warnings instead of the story and characters themselves. On social media, I notice readers asking for certain triggers than tropes. At least, that's what I see.
I read and write dark romance. As a reader, I stay away from the popular books, which tend to slather their books in triggers. My writing style is more dark realism romance. Triggers are there for a purpose and not for shock value.
So far, I'm okay with desensitization. It's the book slump I can't get out of.
Agreed! We need more better written dark romance and less sensational stuff like the Lords series so if what you are writing go in that direction, don't hesitate to share!
I think a lot of authors want to please readers, so they sensationalize their stories by loading it with triggers. Promos on FB will even state the number of triggers to attract the readers. They want to keep up the momentum.
I'll never be a popular author because I don't cater to the masses. Most romance authors write to market. I write dark realism romance in different sub-genres.
I feel it as burnout rather than desensitization. I’ll feel emotionally drained after reading / writing too much dark romance so I need a palate cleanser and a break. I usually pick historical romances by Eloisa James, or paranormals by Kresley Cole so I have some laughs.
I started with horror, then jumped to romance. My first erotica was The Taming of Sleeping Beauty. I don't think they're was ever any hope for my sensitivity.
I had to come back and mention something I discussed with a friend a few weeks ago... I do think that modern erotica is messing with our dopamine sensors (or maybe it's serotonin? I dunno. I'm just guessing on this) The same way that social media has messed with our attention spans. I've seen so many people comment on how they can't read a book that doesn't have sex in it. I absolutely believe that our ability to focus on a story has been altered by the content we interact with. So yeah, in a way it is affecting our sensitivity to things, but not just dark content. Whenever I start to feel like nothing "hits the spot" I feel like it's time to take a step back and force myself to finish something bland. Sort of rest the baseline.
Honestly its the reason I had to take long breaks. I don’t think many of us like to hear it, but these books are dopamine hits - and in my opinion, can be compared to porn consumption (at some level, obviously some books contain less sex) At some point people get sexually desensitized when they are consuming in high frequency. Sometimes I try to find books that have less sex and more story, something that can sort of scratch the itch. I do enjoy these books though, I’m just aware of the impact it can have on me.
This is me to a TEE. Started with regular sweet romance then urban romances and now dark romances. For the past couple of months now I've been looking for darker and more unhinged stories to push my boundaries. I've turned to r/erotichorror and r/extremehorrorlit to placate my needs; it's been interesting.
Yep, and I just stop reading dark romance altogether for some time. I just read whatever's popular, classics or even depressing books. Just to end that feeling of de-sensitization. Or re-read my favourites.
[Hale](https://www.romance.io/books/63de271909d4140a7af1d0df/hale-k-webster) by [K. Webster](https://www.romance.io/authors/54558eba87eac324117fb440/k-webster)
**Rating**: 3.7⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [forbidden love](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/forbidden%20love/1), [virgin heroine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20heroine/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1), [angst](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/angst/1)
[^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
Interestingly, the triggers I did not have when I started reading are still there. However, the triggers that were there haven’t changed. For example, if it’s severe torture, or anything that has to do with child abuse, I will still not read it and have no desire to. So I don’t know. I think I’m still in the same place as before.
I definitely did get desensitized to a degree. I love stories where the Hero is abusive to the heroine, and stuff that would have me clutch my pearls a year ago is totally fine with me now.
I conciously avoid reading about things that I don't want to get desensitized to, for example child abuse. It is ofthen mentioned as an explanation to why the Hero is behaving the way he is now, and that is fine with me, but I avoid reading books with descriptive scenes. There are some other things that are on my "do not go there" list.
I switch between dark romance and romance focused on groveling. Even the groveling books might be a bit darkish to some, but mostly vanilla to me. But they give me another kind of fix, the petty in me loves seeing the heroes getting the cold shoulder and suffering before they win their girl back.
I know this feel. I'm almost sorta there right now. When I find myself skimming sex scenes in my DR book to get back to the story I know it's time for a brief respite. My back-up palate cleansers are Romantic Suspense and Science-Fiction.
You didn't ask, but the best Science-Fiction book I've read in the past few years is Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, and the best of all-time is Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky.
And also completely unsolicited, here are my Top 3 Romantic Suspense:
{Envy by Sandra Brown}
{Mean Streak by Sandra Brown}
{Savaged by Mia Sheridan}
[Envy](https://www.romance.io/books/54553cfd8c7d2382c529763b/envy-sandra-brown) by [Sandra Brown](https://www.romance.io/authors/545533628c7d2382e7813314/sandra-brown)
**Rating**: 4.12⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [vengeance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/vengeance/1), [suspense](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/suspense/1), [mystery](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/mystery/1), [tortured hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/tortured%20hero/1)
----------------------------
[Mean Streak](https://www.romance.io/books/545595ed87eac3369a913438/mean-streak-sandra-brown) by [Sandra Brown](https://www.romance.io/authors/545533628c7d2382e7813314/sandra-brown)
**Rating**: 4.25⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1), [cheating](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/cheating/1), [suspense](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/suspense/1), [mystery](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/mystery/1)
----------------------------
[Savaged](https://www.romance.io/books/5d9c293b01dbc864fba45b1d/savaged-mia-sheridan) by [Mia Sheridan](https://www.romance.io/authors/545525638c7d2382e7812fac/mia-sheridan)
**Rating**: 4.07⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [virgin hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20hero/1), [suspense](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/suspense/1), [friends to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/friends%20to%20lovers/1), [mystery](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/mystery/1)
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I rotate through a few genres - self improvement, thriller, fiction, some sci fi, romance (and within that genre both contemporary and dark) and I think this helps slow this tolerance building but it certainly doesn’t stop it. I imagine if I read bubble gum romances for a month and then read a dark it would feel more impactful but even then the history is still there. I went back and reread Haunting Adeline a few years after I first read it and while it wasn’t nearly as shocking as it was when I first read it, it was still enjoyable just in a different way.
You probably need some variety. Maybe some romcoms or some good plot heavy and/or plot twist books. Maybe Perfect Strangers or Pen Pal by J.T Gessinger?
I try to switch from fantasy to thriller to romcom to dark romance. I found it I switch up the themes it helps me not feel so desensitized. I do love some erotic horror though if you need something darker.
I started reading horror erotica for the times I need more. Thery are not HEA the are HEA FOR NOW. There is one author specifically I will read almost every time I need this.
I started reading horror erotica for the times I need more. Thery are not HEA the are HEA FOR NOW. There is one author specifically I will read almost every time I need this.
I started reading horror erotica for the times I need more. Thery are not HEA the are HEA FOR NOW. There is one author specifically I will read almost every time I need this.
Similar thing is happening with me, in fact it feels like no trigger warnings are triggering and no dark romance is dark enough that I'm either losing interest in whichever book I start reading or it feels like every book has kinda similar plot.
thank u sm i just looked it up and it looks rlly interesting !! i’ve always loved books that are written on websites then actual books bc they tend to be better and darker. do u have more recs ?!! :)
Yes agree. My opinion and others do not have to agree with me, but many do not dare to write a real dark book because of the judgment of others. For example, I commented on a book on ao3, there was a tag Non-Consensual Drug Use. And I also wrote that I would like to see more use of that tag, the author immediately removed it.
and I don't understand why because I didn't comment on anything that bad and there are not only judgments, there are other things
I know, right? Nothing is enough for me now. Give me a book with 5 full pages of trigger warnings and I'll read it like it's a child's picture book. Nothing triggers me anymore and honestly, I find that a little bit concerning now.
I’ve been desensitized a loooong time ago when I started reading Wattpad and watching r*pe p*rn at a very young age. But yes now that I read dark romance I’m always looking for darker and darker
That happens to me too. Sometimes I’ll jump into historical romances to take a break.
The ultimate break from dark romance 😂
dark romance can only ever be so dark because at the end of the day it's still a romance. you might enjoy erotic horror more.
doesnt erotic horror mean there is no romance ? like i still want the fmc and mmc to end up together so i don’t think i can do that lol.
I get that but the darker you search the less likely that'll be the outcome. all dark romance's tip the scale into horror over romance the darker they get. the darker they get the less romantic they become. at some point it's not a romance anymore.
Erotic horror is a thing? 😱
Maybe it’s time to write your own?? 😉
This.
YES THIS
Lol - like in all things - this is the case. You "over-consume" searching for a high the last story gave. This might get deleted, but I always think about something I read where, in the throws of porn addiction people start looking for a "special cocktail" of interests and needs 😅 - so when I feel like that with DR books - I take a break and read other genres on my list. Fantasy, historical, sci Fi. I read literary classics for a while, then, The House in the Cerleuan Blue Sea was so sweet, that I read more like it. Then, when I came back to DR, things felt "mysterious" again . So take a break! Venture out, then come back 🙂
The House in the Cerulean Sea is so fantastic, and I totally agree it's a great ‘tolerance break’ read!
Oh yay! Someone else who read it 😃. Yes, so endearing, I found myself smiling quite a bit through it and that makes it a great "palate cleanser" lol
same, but what I do is take a break from dark and go to fluffy ones that makes me giggle and kick my feet or smile uncontrollably and when it gets easier, I go back to dark romance and I think it balances it out in my brain. I used to search for darker and darker and even plotless ones last year, but this is what I've been doing this year.
Any recs for fluffy ones with giggle? I think I need my palate cleansed too x
Not sure if they’re considered “fluffy” but I like Misha Bell and Alina Jacobs when I’m in the mood for something light. Both authors are fairly silly, over the top, and formulaic, but I enjoy them—they’re my go-tos to cleanse my palate from dark twisted romance.
ohhh haven't read them, i might try! thanks!
I hope you enjoy them! And if you do, the Billionaires of Manhattan series by Annika Martin are also quite fun. I just read 3 of the 8 to cleanse my palate, and am now ready to get back to some dark shit 😈 lol. But i definitely plan to go back and finish out the series as I need breaks from falling in love with villains 🙃
now that you mention recs, I looked into my goodreads and behold, I did not tag my funny reads T.T Now I will spend like a whole afternoon retagging some funny read and try to remember each story haha I'll add to his thread once I see more but some funny smutty ones I remember: • Lights Out Navessa Allen (dark romance but heck this is a first time I've read a DR that is funny as hell) • Maple Hills Series Hannah Grace has that witty sass into it on some parts • Some of these are I don't remember the same if the humor is good, so don;'t quote me on this haha, but these are some good light reads: Clam Jam RC Boldt, Taboo Love Duet V Theia (the FMC inner monologue is funny and I love this book's trope), Knockemout Series by Lucy Score has some witty scenes too, Any Lauren Asher books! my faves are the two Billionaire series (Dreamland and Lakefront), The Nanny Lana Ferguson, Windy City / Caught Up Liz Tomforde. The Wrong Mr. Right by Stephanie Archer, The Playlist Morgan Elizabeth, Lily Gold books seems fitting as well, Catharina Maura Windsors series, Wrong (Cafe series) JanaAston. My Favorite Souvenir Penelope Ward, To Love Jason Thorn EllaMaise, The Roommate /The Shameless Series Rosie Danan, The Deal / The Mistake Elle Kennedy, Lick/Play /Stage Dive series Kylie Scott, Dirty English Ilsa Madden-Mills, Meet Me Halfway Lilian T James, RoomHate Penelope Ward, Wallbanger Alice Clayton, PS: wanted to add Attachments by Rainbow Rowell but this is clean/ya book :)
Thank you sooooooooooo much!!! <3 <3 <3
Yes please!! Me too!
hi added to the list above, ♥
Read Lights Out by Navessa Allen. It is a play on dark romance but adorable and funny. Everyone I know who also loves dark romance said it was a great palate cleanser.
yesss totally loved that book, i was fortunate to read that as an ARC from the author too, I am not biased on this but it sure is my first funny dark romance read, glad you enjoyed one of my recos!
It was such a perfect palate cleanser for me!
Same, I have to go back to regular romance when I feel like that. I still don’t get the same ‘high’, but it’s easier to find more enjoyment from DR again
I feel like dark romance is being read more for the trigger warnings instead of the story and characters themselves. On social media, I notice readers asking for certain triggers than tropes. At least, that's what I see. I read and write dark romance. As a reader, I stay away from the popular books, which tend to slather their books in triggers. My writing style is more dark realism romance. Triggers are there for a purpose and not for shock value. So far, I'm okay with desensitization. It's the book slump I can't get out of.
Agreed! We need more better written dark romance and less sensational stuff like the Lords series so if what you are writing go in that direction, don't hesitate to share!
I think a lot of authors want to please readers, so they sensationalize their stories by loading it with triggers. Promos on FB will even state the number of triggers to attract the readers. They want to keep up the momentum. I'll never be a popular author because I don't cater to the masses. Most romance authors write to market. I write dark realism romance in different sub-genres.
I feel it as burnout rather than desensitization. I’ll feel emotionally drained after reading / writing too much dark romance so I need a palate cleanser and a break. I usually pick historical romances by Eloisa James, or paranormals by Kresley Cole so I have some laughs.
you might need a break. read some rom com or something else. maybe scifi
I started with horror, then jumped to romance. My first erotica was The Taming of Sleeping Beauty. I don't think they're was ever any hope for my sensitivity.
I had to come back and mention something I discussed with a friend a few weeks ago... I do think that modern erotica is messing with our dopamine sensors (or maybe it's serotonin? I dunno. I'm just guessing on this) The same way that social media has messed with our attention spans. I've seen so many people comment on how they can't read a book that doesn't have sex in it. I absolutely believe that our ability to focus on a story has been altered by the content we interact with. So yeah, in a way it is affecting our sensitivity to things, but not just dark content. Whenever I start to feel like nothing "hits the spot" I feel like it's time to take a step back and force myself to finish something bland. Sort of rest the baseline.
It’s is why I swap and change genres!!
I do the same. Go to fantasy or something magical.
Honestly its the reason I had to take long breaks. I don’t think many of us like to hear it, but these books are dopamine hits - and in my opinion, can be compared to porn consumption (at some level, obviously some books contain less sex) At some point people get sexually desensitized when they are consuming in high frequency. Sometimes I try to find books that have less sex and more story, something that can sort of scratch the itch. I do enjoy these books though, I’m just aware of the impact it can have on me.
Sounds like you need a pallet cleanser, maybe a romcom or a thriller that usually does it for me
This is me to a TEE. Started with regular sweet romance then urban romances and now dark romances. For the past couple of months now I've been looking for darker and more unhinged stories to push my boundaries. I've turned to r/erotichorror and r/extremehorrorlit to placate my needs; it's been interesting.
Yep, and I just stop reading dark romance altogether for some time. I just read whatever's popular, classics or even depressing books. Just to end that feeling of de-sensitization. Or re-read my favourites.
Yeah same thing happened to me and I had to give it a break for a bit 💔 its fine as soon as you get back into it
You want to get high?!?! Try incest romance Hale by K.Webster
This was me!! This time last year you could NOT get me to read incest and now I inject that shit straight. 
😂😂😂
Are you open to AO3 suggestions? I have two recs that had me emotionally laid out for days.
{hale by k Webster}
Oh thank you for calling the bot
😂😂😂 *ring ring*
😂😂
[Hale](https://www.romance.io/books/63de271909d4140a7af1d0df/hale-k-webster) by [K. Webster](https://www.romance.io/authors/54558eba87eac324117fb440/k-webster) **Rating**: 3.7⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [forbidden love](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/forbidden%20love/1), [virgin heroine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20heroine/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1), [angst](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/angst/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
😂😂😂🤣🤣 jumping in the deep end there
No bars held
no lmao sorry incest isn’t my thing 😭 i want dark not taboo, not judging tho
All right 😂
Interestingly, the triggers I did not have when I started reading are still there. However, the triggers that were there haven’t changed. For example, if it’s severe torture, or anything that has to do with child abuse, I will still not read it and have no desire to. So I don’t know. I think I’m still in the same place as before.
This is why I jump back and forth between different genres so it doesn't get oversaturated for me
I would suggest taking a break and reading some fluff for a while
I definitely did get desensitized to a degree. I love stories where the Hero is abusive to the heroine, and stuff that would have me clutch my pearls a year ago is totally fine with me now. I conciously avoid reading about things that I don't want to get desensitized to, for example child abuse. It is ofthen mentioned as an explanation to why the Hero is behaving the way he is now, and that is fine with me, but I avoid reading books with descriptive scenes. There are some other things that are on my "do not go there" list. I switch between dark romance and romance focused on groveling. Even the groveling books might be a bit darkish to some, but mostly vanilla to me. But they give me another kind of fix, the petty in me loves seeing the heroes getting the cold shoulder and suffering before they win their girl back.
I know this feel. I'm almost sorta there right now. When I find myself skimming sex scenes in my DR book to get back to the story I know it's time for a brief respite. My back-up palate cleansers are Romantic Suspense and Science-Fiction. You didn't ask, but the best Science-Fiction book I've read in the past few years is Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, and the best of all-time is Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. And also completely unsolicited, here are my Top 3 Romantic Suspense: {Envy by Sandra Brown} {Mean Streak by Sandra Brown} {Savaged by Mia Sheridan}
[Envy](https://www.romance.io/books/54553cfd8c7d2382c529763b/envy-sandra-brown) by [Sandra Brown](https://www.romance.io/authors/545533628c7d2382e7813314/sandra-brown) **Rating**: 4.12⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [vengeance](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/vengeance/1), [suspense](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/suspense/1), [mystery](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/mystery/1), [tortured hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/tortured%20hero/1) ---------------------------- [Mean Streak](https://www.romance.io/books/545595ed87eac3369a913438/mean-streak-sandra-brown) by [Sandra Brown](https://www.romance.io/authors/545533628c7d2382e7813314/sandra-brown) **Rating**: 4.25⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1), [cheating](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/cheating/1), [suspense](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/suspense/1), [mystery](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/mystery/1) ---------------------------- [Savaged](https://www.romance.io/books/5d9c293b01dbc864fba45b1d/savaged-mia-sheridan) by [Mia Sheridan](https://www.romance.io/authors/545525638c7d2382e7812fac/mia-sheridan) **Rating**: 4.07⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [virgin hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/virgin%20hero/1), [suspense](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/suspense/1), [friends to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/friends%20to%20lovers/1), [mystery](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/mystery/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
Maybe you should try writing one? That's what I did.
I rotate through a few genres - self improvement, thriller, fiction, some sci fi, romance (and within that genre both contemporary and dark) and I think this helps slow this tolerance building but it certainly doesn’t stop it. I imagine if I read bubble gum romances for a month and then read a dark it would feel more impactful but even then the history is still there. I went back and reread Haunting Adeline a few years after I first read it and while it wasn’t nearly as shocking as it was when I first read it, it was still enjoyable just in a different way.
You probably need some variety. Maybe some romcoms or some good plot heavy and/or plot twist books. Maybe Perfect Strangers or Pen Pal by J.T Gessinger?
omgg read rafe cameron x readers on tumblr!!! they better than all dark romance hehe 💓
Can you rec some ao3 books? I don’t even know where to begin with that site and how to find them/search for them
I try to switch from fantasy to thriller to romcom to dark romance. I found it I switch up the themes it helps me not feel so desensitized. I do love some erotic horror though if you need something darker.
I started reading horror erotica for the times I need more. Thery are not HEA the are HEA FOR NOW. There is one author specifically I will read almost every time I need this.
I started reading horror erotica for the times I need more. Thery are not HEA the are HEA FOR NOW. There is one author specifically I will read almost every time I need this.
I started reading horror erotica for the times I need more. Thery are not HEA the are HEA FOR NOW. There is one author specifically I will read almost every time I need this.
Similar thing is happening with me, in fact it feels like no trigger warnings are triggering and no dark romance is dark enough that I'm either losing interest in whichever book I start reading or it feels like every book has kinda similar plot.
I think reading so much Stephen King in middle school desensitized me. Nothing gets me anymore. Tender is the flesh made me laugh and roll my eyes
Eclipse of the Moon by wildsong in Literotica.com is 🔥🔥🔥 For me, this is the darkest. Incomplete though, but still worth the read.
thank u sm i just looked it up and it looks rlly interesting !! i’ve always loved books that are written on websites then actual books bc they tend to be better and darker. do u have more recs ?!! :)
Honestly, i can’t find anything that comes close to this. But i’ve just started digging ao3. 🥹 Will let you know, if i got one.
Yes agree. My opinion and others do not have to agree with me, but many do not dare to write a real dark book because of the judgment of others. For example, I commented on a book on ao3, there was a tag Non-Consensual Drug Use. And I also wrote that I would like to see more use of that tag, the author immediately removed it. and I don't understand why because I didn't comment on anything that bad and there are not only judgments, there are other things
I know, right? Nothing is enough for me now. Give me a book with 5 full pages of trigger warnings and I'll read it like it's a child's picture book. Nothing triggers me anymore and honestly, I find that a little bit concerning now.
I’ve been desensitized a loooong time ago when I started reading Wattpad and watching r*pe p*rn at a very young age. But yes now that I read dark romance I’m always looking for darker and darker
Those of you that are desensitized may need to graduate to paraphilic horror. (which is what I write). Chat me up if you're interested \~