I hope everyone has been enjoying their weekend. In these here parts and many others across the country, we’re getting snow. This isn’t abnormal for winter in New York, but in my part of the state, we haven’t really had more than a dusting of snow in years. I find it really meaningful that it started on my late niece’s birthday, when I used to call her every year and tell her the story about the first time I saw her, coming out in a blizzard to see her in the hospital and getting snuck into the room in the maternity ward. I was thrilled that I got to hold her, and we had a really close relationship, more like sisters instead of aunt and niece.

In Jacquie’s honor, I want to talk about what draws us in when it comes to dark books. Dark books come in so many genres, but when I think dark, three options come to mind. Grimdark fantasy, dark romance, and dark mystery. I’m sure there are so many others, but that’s what comes up for me. 

What is it that appeals to us when it comes to horror, dark academia, and brutal, gory fantasy? What grips us when reading a dark crime story? And the one I’m most curious about, why is the kind of behavior featured in dark romance so alluring to so many readers, when those very same behaviors that are idealized in books but not sexy or appealing in any way in real life? 

I’m not as well-versed in dark romance, because I tried reading a couple but they were written really poorly. If anyone has suggestions as well as some insight, please let me know. I can only speak for myself, but when it comes to mysteries, I like seeing the good guys figure things out and save others from the bad guys. The only problem with reading some of the darker mysteries is that sometimes my brain can’t wind down until I know what happened in the end. This isn’t always a problem, just when I ignore my extensive history of starting mysteries or scary books in the evening, setting myself up to stay up way too late reading.

What do you think? Do you read dark books? What do you like and dislike about them?