The Nora Theory

*If you are related to me exit this page immediately. You have been warned*

Sometimes it’s nice to read a sweet romance that makes you cry and makes your heart warm and fuzzy. Other times it’s nice to read one that makes you blush, makes your jaw drop, and gives you a couple of new kinks to contemplate for good measure. Many of these I’ve talked about before, but it was time to compile them together. These books are truly filthy but still maintain an element of character and plot that is interesting and compelling, which can sometimes get lost in erotica. But not for these gems.

Riches to Riches by Ames Mills

This group of criminals gives a whole new meaning to teamwork. There are six love interests in this why choose romance, many of whom have sexual relationships with each other, as well as the female main character. Orgies abound. BDSM is a factor. It’s a veritable mafia bacchanal (how many times can I use this word in this listicle and get away with it?).

Riches to Riches does not feature the greatest writing that has ever been published but it is just so much fun to read. The first two books in the Abbs Valley series have been professionally edited and re-released since I read them, so they are potentially even better than I remember. Either way, these books are delightfully entertaining, fast-paced reads, and so filthy that you’ll want to make sure that you’ve written down instructions to erase your Kindle library in case of untimely demise.

Losers by Harley LaRoux

A group of misfits, now all grown up, has the opportunity to get revenge on their high school tormentor, the queen bee of the school. The problem is they are all attracted to her, and each other. It makes for quite a sexually adventurous journey in this why choose, polyamorous romance.

When you read enough romance, kinks that would be shocking to some are utterly normalized, and in my little universe most of it ceases to be new, but, wow. This book really took it to a new level, and does it incredibly well.

The characters in Losers are very well developed, each of them unique in their personalities and the damage they bring to the group. Their dynamics, while obviously unusual, really make sense. The plot mostly surrounds their relationships with each other, but it’s there and it works. Expect a ton of MM content, enemies-to-lovers dynamics, and a lot of wild kinks that are damn fun to read about.

Pucking Around by Emily Rath

Pucking Around is somehow the tamest on this list, and it is not tame. There’s a polyamorous relationship, some light dom/sub stuff, a breeding kink, and a tentacle dildo. And that’s just what I remember off the top of my head.

This kinky hockey romance is an MFMM romance in which the team doctor falls for the goalie, the star player, and his best friend the equipment manager. While the dynamics are complex and messy, they don’t seem that way once the story gets going. The relationships between the four of them feel authentic, even though this is not a situation most of us would ever find ourselves in. There are just as many deeply romantic moments as there are toe-curling ones, and it makes for an ideal romance read.

New Camelot by Sierra Simone

I always find Sierra Simone’s books so well-written. They are consistently unapologetically kinky, but somehow still feel classy and tasteful, even when someone is tied up and whipped. New Camelot is an MMF romance retelling of the story of King Arthur, reimagined as the president of the United States, and a dominant. The Vice President is his best friend and occasional submissive. Their lives are turned upside down when a woman from both their pasts re-enters their lives.

Of the books on this list, this series is by far the most emotional. I am still so attached to these characters and was so excited when some of them were briefly referenced in Salt Kiss, Simone’s latest book set in the same universe. If with a gun to my head, I had to pick a favorite contemporary romance novel series of all time, this one just might be the one.

Thornchapel by Sierra Simone

There is some ritualistic, bacchanalian revelry going on in this one that makes it a truly one-of-a-kind read. I have never read anything close to it. This series is not technically a retelling (that I’m aware of) but plays with Celtic myth and ritual in a way that is fascinating.

The Thornchapel series has some wild plot twists that you will never see coming. At times, this series is deeply uncomfortable, but by the time I got to that point in the series, my thought process was: good lord fuck it nothing matters anymore I’m going to keep reading anyway. That said, check trigger warnings before embarking on this journey. At various points, this series is an MM, MMF, and FF romance. Everybody in this friend group is having a ritual orgy at one point. I don’t even know how to categorize this one. But it’s good. And so unique.

The Ritual, The Sinner, or The Sacrifice by Shantel Tessier

The LORDS series is a series of interconnected standalones following a vicious and nefarious secret society. It’s heavily patriarchal, violent, and full of red flags. These books will make readers, especially those newer to dark romance, think: holy shit there’s no way people actually do that right?

There is extremely psychotic behavior on the part of the male protagonists. They are all truly sick and twisted individuals. I don’t even know if these books are well written, or if the characters are well-developed, because almost every page in these books it’s just eyes wide, jaw on the floor, dark and kinky things. Of all of the books I’ve read, these are the ones where I’m left thinking that it went too far. But then I read the next one anyway.

Legacy of Gods by Rina Kent

Legacy of Gods is a six book series of interconnected standalones, each featuring a different couple within the same set of two warring friend groups. All of the books in this series have some form of an enemies-to-lovers trope, with most of the plot centering around the relationships themselves. There is some mafia stuff going on, but unlike a lot of dark romance, it’s more college-based with wild kinks and a light mafia overlay which I actually like.

Legacy of Gods doesn’t shy away from even the most taboo of kinks. Most of the books involve some level of consensual non-consent (aka rape fantasies) and other similarly intense moments like primal scenes and BDSM with very few limits. God of Wrath also features the hero using a gun on the heroine as a sex toy, which occurs in so many dark romance novels and is among my least favorite tropes, but oh well.

Four Horsemen by Sarah Bailey

The Four Horsemen is a four-book series in which the main character, Scarlett, starts working for four very wealthy best friends at their successful company. All the main characters grew up together, until Scarlett disappeared from their lives, turning up to work for them years later with no memory of them.

This is a rich, layered story with lots of flashbacks and a very intriguing way of revealing information to the reader, along with heavy kink and polyamory. There’s primal play, bondage, blood kinks, and BDSM in all its forms. Read the content warnings for this one because it is a lot. Like so much. But if you can handle it, it will be a read to remember.

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