2026 has been an enormous year for dark romance, and 2027 is already shaping up to be worse for our sleep schedules. Rina Kent is finally giving us Cyrus, Ana Huang is closing out the Kings of Sin, Shantel Tessier is heading back into the Lords world, RuNyx is returning to Verenmore, Brynne Weaver is finishing off Cape Carnage, and H.D. Carlton has two books on the way that she is refusing to tell anyone anything about. Here's everything confirmed for 2027 so far, in publication order. We'll keep adding to this list as titles, covers and dates are announced, so bookmark it and check back.
Arkana (The Verenmore Volumes #2) by RuNyx
Expected publication: 5 January 2027
Series: The Verenmore Volumes #2
A rumoured sorceress, a villainous scoundrel and an ancient castle, which is exactly the sentence that made every Gothikana reader lose their minds. Lenore Emmeranne arrives at Verenmore in hiding, wanting nothing more than to keep her head down and move on; Draven Constantine knows every crack and crevice of the castle, and finding her breaks an ennui he has worn for years. Set in 1872 at the University of Verenmore, with death, deceit and something far worse than either crawling down the mountain. Gloomy, grotesque, gothic and easily the most anticipated dark romance of January.
A Court of Forgotten Melody (A Court of Thorns and Roses #7) by Sarah J. Maas
Expected publication: 12 January 2027
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses #7
Subtitled The Valkyrie Cycle: Movements II & III, this is the second half of the story that begins in October 2026's A Court of Splintered Harmony, and it lands barely eleven weeks later. Sarah J. Maas confirmed both books together, which means for once nobody has to wait years for the follow-up. Not dark romance in the strictest sense, but with Koschei the Deathless stirring and the Fae territories fracturing, this one is expected to be the darkest the series has gone. Read the whole series in order.
Become the Dark by K.M. Moronova
Expected publication: 9 February 2027
Series: Standalone
Everyone has bodies in their attic. Five years ago Vivian Covington and Noctus Graves made each other a promise: your bodies stay in my attic if mine stay in yours, and they were never supposed to see each other again. Then a ritualistic serial killer drags them both back to the town they swore they'd never return to. Once inseparable, now bitter enemies, forced to hunt a killer who has been watching them for years and is turning every crime scene in Grimsdale into a message. The Grimsdale Reaper doesn't want to be caught, they want Vivian and Noctus to pay. K.M. Moronova's second appearance on our radar after Bulletproof, and this one is biting.
Champagne Problems (In the Paddock #1) by Hannah Grace
Expected publication: 16 February 2027
Series: In the Paddock #1
Glamour, fast cars and scandal. The number one Sunday Times bestselling author of Icebreaker launches a brand new sports romance series set in the fast-paced, glittering world of Formula One, with a whole new cast and some very familiar faces along for the ride. She has sworn off athletes, he says game on. Swoony, funny and openly designed to make you cry, and nowhere near as dark as most of this list, but 2027 is clearly the year romance discovered the paddock. Read it alongside Luna Mason's Redline the following week if you want both ends of the grid.
Redline (Beneath the Grid) by Luna Mason
Expected publication: 22 February 2027
Series: Beneath the Grid
Formula One meets the mafia underworld, and if that combination does not immediately do something to you, this is not your book. Henry Crowe is not just chasing championships, he is closing contracts in blood. Racing, organised crime and secret societies in the same lane, from an author whose readers have been waiting for exactly this. Fast, filthy and deeply unwell about a man in a fireproof suit. Strictly 18+.
Stoleman (Dark Desert #1) by S.J. Tilly
Expected publication: 23 February 2027
Series: Dark Desert #1 (an Alliance spin-off)
You have met him before. In passing, at a restaurant, breaking into an apartment, standing in the dark outside an airplane hangar. Now it is time for his story. S.J. Tilly spins off her hit dark mafia series The Alliance into the new Dark Desert series, and Stoleman opens it. If you have been in the Alliance world you already know why this is a preorder rather than a maybe. Strictly 18+.
Dead Things by Jennifer Hartmann
Expected publication: 23 February 2027
Series: Standalone
From the author of BookTok-viral survivor romance Still Beating, a taut romantic thriller about a forensic assistant who lives among the dead and the man she once idolised. Miller Banks was the brilliant pathologist she watched with adoring eyes, until seven bodies landed on her table and every trail led back to him. He vanished three years ago, presumed dead. He is not in the grave, he is in the woods, and now so is she. Guilt and innocence, predator and protector, and the very thin line between them.
Drawn Under by Elliott Rose
Expected publication: 23 February 2027
Series: A new series in the Crimson Ridge universe
Pack your bags for Hayes Ranch. Elliott Rose launches a brand new series in the Crimson Ridge universe, where love runs wild and secrets run deeper. Cowboy romance rather than pitch-black dark romance, but with mature content, a full content-warning list on the author's website and the kind of small-town rot Crimson Ridge readers turn up for. One for the spicy western shelf.
Cardinal Rule (Wilder Woods #1) by Liz Tomforde
Expected publication: 2 March 2027
Series: Wilder Woods #1
A brand new series from the TikTok phenomenon behind Mile High, and the tropes alone did the marketing: brother's best friend, forced proximity, forbidden romance. Lighter than most of this list, but Liz Tomforde writes yearning like a physical injury and her readers have been waiting for a new world since the Windy City series wrapped. If you want angst without the body count, start here.
Bad Idea by Elle Kennedy
Expected publication: 16 March 2027
Series: Briar University
Back to Briar U. Ivy Di Laurentis wants one thing from sophomore year: keep her head down, survive, and get back to the ballet career she walked away from. AJ Connelly is her brother's former best friend, a certified golden boy whose friendships are in ruins, and the last person she expected to find her crying on a roof at two in the morning. She propositions him for experience, he cannot work out how to say no, and the whole thing quietly becomes the worst best idea either of them has had. Hockey romance, not dark romance, but the angst is doing serious work.
Crave the Villain (Villain #3) by Rina Kent
Expected publication: 17 March 2027
Series: Villain #3 (Legacy of Gods spinoff)
The one the Rinaverse has been screaming about since the final page of Hunt the Villain. Crave the Villain is Cyrus and Eduard/Jethro's book, an angsty dark MM romance in Rina Kent's Legacy of Gods spinoff world. After Kiss the Villain set up the world and Hunt the Villain gave us Vaughn and Yulian in all their unhinged glory, this instalment continues the dark, dangerous mafia universe that has become one of the most obsessed-over corners of romance. It can be read as a standalone, but read Kiss and Hunt first. Comfortably the biggest dark romance release of the first half of 2027. Strictly 18+; check content warnings before reading.
Hunting Season (Seasons of Carnage #3) by Brynne Weaver
Expected publication: 6 April 2027
Series: Seasons of Carnage #3
It's open season on love, and Harper Starling is ready to kill. Brynne Weaver closes out the Seasons of Carnage trilogy with Harper hunting down her traitorous ex-boyfriend Nolan Rhodes, except the clues don't add up and by the time she understands the game she is playing it may be too late to save her quarry. Weeks of captivity, a serious injury, an impossible bargain and a sacred vow broken, with a manipulator pulling every string. Dark romantic comedy meets thrilling suspense, in a town where love is both the weapon and the wound. Check content warnings at the front of the book.
Untitled Lords World Book by Shantel Tessier
Expected publication: 16 April 2027
Series: The Lords world
Shantel Tessier has confirmed an all-new dark romance set in the Lords world for April 2027, with the title, cover and blurb all being kept under wraps for now. Given that Chaotic opened 2026 by proving there is still plenty of pitch-black story left in this universe, the announcement alone was enough to send the fandom into meltdown. Expect the usual Tessier formula: obsessive, controlling men, brutal secret-society politics and an emotional gut-punch you will absolutely not be ready for. Strictly 18+.
Midnight Rush (Emerald Lake #2) by Elsie Silver
Expected publication: 20 April 2027
Series: Emerald Lake #2
The second Emerald Lake book from the queen of the small-town cowboy romance. Details are still thin on the ground, which has stopped precisely nobody from preordering. Softer than most of this list, but if you came to romance through Chestnut Springs and stayed for the emotionally constipated men in work boots, this is your April.
King of Lust (Kings of Sin #7) by Ana Huang
Expected publication: 27 April 2027
Series: Kings of Sin #7
The seventh and final book in the Kings of Sin series, following Killian and Tate. Ana Huang closing out the series that turned her into a global phenomenon is a genuine event, and after King of Gluttony raised the bar in 2026, expectations for this one are somewhere in orbit. Expect the possessive, single-minded hero energy the series is built on, plus the emotional payoff of a seven-book arc finally landing. Can be read as a standalone, but it is better in series order.
The Wolf Queen (The Wolf King #3) by Lauren Palphreyman
Expected publication: 18 May 2027
Series: The Wolf King #3
"I won't be a pawn, Blake. Not again." "Darling, we're the ones who move the pieces." Aurora has spent her life being a pawn to men, to alphas and to gods, and now she intends to rule, which means going through the Night God first. Enemies to lovers paranormal romantasy with real teeth, and a heroine finally done being moved around the board.
Unrivaled (Game Changers #7) by Rachel Reid
Expected publication: 1 June 2027
Series: Game Changers #7
Everybody's favourite hockey players are back, and this is the last time. Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander continue the romance that started with viral sensation Heated Rivalry, now a TV series, in the final Game Changers book. After more than a decade of hiding, they are out, married and playing on the same team, and the support is incredible. Most of the time. The backlash from parts of the hockey world is getting louder, and standing in the light turns out to be its own kind of challenge. Not dark romance, but one of the biggest MM releases of the year and the end of an era.
Battle for Hercules (Villains of Lore #3) by Jasmine Mas
Expected publication: 22 June 2027
Series: Villains of Lore #3
Female rage, dark academia, dangerous men and dragons. The third Villains of Lore book drops Hercules and Medusa back into Rhodes Olympian University while the Titans multiply, Zeus mobilises his troops and Medusa's new bodyguards refuse to leave her side despite the mutual loathing. Next-level forced proximity with villains, rivals to lovers, Greek mythology and a body count. Things are about to get very violent.
Python (The Heart #2) by H.M. Wolfe
Expected publication: 27 July 2027
Series: The Heart #2
The explosive and highly anticipated sequel to Daggermouth, and that is very nearly all anyone is being told. Cover to be revealed, blurb withheld, dark dystopian romantasy world firmly intact. H.M. Wolfe's readers came out of Daggermouth in pieces and have been counting down ever since. Keep it on the radar and expect the details to land closer to release.
The Brat by Sara Cate
Expected publication: 2027, date to be confirmed
Series: To be confirmed
Sara Cate has The Brat slated for 2027 and, based on the title alone, we have a fairly confident guess about the dynamic. Cate has spent the last few years building one of the most reliably filthy, emotionally intelligent back catalogues in the genre across the Salacious Players Club, Salacious Legacy and Sinful Manor worlds, and every new announcement moves instantly onto the preorder list. Details still to come. Strictly 18+.
TEOI & TCDO by H.D. Carlton
Expected publication: To be confirmed
Series: New duology
H.D. Carlton has announced a brand new duology centred on Sibby, and so far the two books are known only by their acronyms: TEOI and TCDO. That is genuinely all we have. No titles, no covers, no blurbs, no dates. Given that Carlton has sold over twelve million copies worldwide and that Cat and Mouse readers have been asking about Sibby since the moment she appeared on the page, the reveal is going to be an event in itself. If you loved Haunting Adeline and the Hollow Graves duet, keep this one on your radar. Strictly 18+
That's everything confirmed for 2027 so far. Expect this list to grow quickly as authors announce titles through the back half of 2026, particularly in dark mafia, dark romantasy and MM romance, where the release calendars fill up the fastest. In the meantime, our monthly release round-ups will keep you covered for the rest of 2026.
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