The best dark fantasy books about rebellious characters with a villainous twist of fate

Why am I passionate about this?

I write what I see. Dark Fantasy has been the escape I have needed my entire life. It helped me understand hard topics such as war, greed, and loss. Working through a character's struggles has saved me from the darkest parts of my mind and guided me to where I can love myself.


I wrote...

Rebellion

By S. G. Blinn,

Book cover of Rebellion

What is my book about?

In this war, no one is innocent, no one is safe, but one will change everything. Heaven and Hell’s endless feud traps countless victims within the carnage. The never-ending bloodshed permanently stains the hands of all in existence. 

Armed with a secret, she will change the course of this war and finally guarantee a victor. But can she do it alone? Even if she can’t fully trust the others, an enemies’ weakness is gained when allies form.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Darkest Night

S. G. Blinn Why did I love this book?

Gena Showalter brought to life creatures that were deemed as evil. They were exiled from their home and forced to survive in a world they didn't understand. Each character has a unique ability and emotional journey that defines their future. Even if they have done horrible things in their lives, they still deserve to be loved. 

I found that those the world see as evil can be the key to saving all that remains.

By Gena Showalter,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Darkest Night as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Though they carry an eternal curse, the Lords of the Underworld are irresistibly seductive—and unimaginably powerful… Don't miss a single book in this stunning paranormal series from New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter!

All her life, Ashlyn Darrow has been tormented by voices from the past. To end the nightmare, she has come to Budapest seeking help from men rumored to have supernatural abilities, not knowing she'll be swept into the arms of Maddox, their most dangerous member—a man trapped in a hell of his own.

Neither can resist the instant hunger that calms their torments…and ignites an irresistible…


Book cover of Pretty Painful

S. G. Blinn Why did I love this book?

The strongest creatures have tried and failed to fulfill their destiny. Rather than succumb to the fallout of their actions, they ran away and hid amongst the world separately. All it took was one glance from a stranger to turn their world upside down. Can love break the curse that is their existence?

I found that the bond of family, found or born, can create a bearable existence when all hope is lost. 

By K.A. Knight,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Pretty Painful as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Seven sons, each with a bloodline of supernaturals that can be traced back to them, but where did they go? Humiliation, pain and hunger become Dabria’s everyday life as a captive but when she is forced to watch the one person in the world she loves die...what will she become?Rising from the blood and ashes, Dabria is tossed into a cell and left to rot...only she isn’t alone. A monster so feared they locked him up and threw away the key...and now, he has his sights set on her. Nothing is safe from him, not her body nor her mind,…


Book cover of Frankenstein

S. G. Blinn Why did I love this book?

Love knows no bounds. A creature created by the ambition of another sparked a war within their very souls. To be loved is the goal of anyone's existence. It could be by the one who gave you life, another who looks like you, or yourself...love can conquer or shatter one's existence. 

I found that love can come in many forms. Without it, we are all doomed to suffer.

By Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley,

Why should I read it?

42 authors picked Frankenstein as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'

'That rare story to pass from literature into myth' The New York Times

Mary Shelley's chilling Gothic tale was conceived when she was only eighteen, living with her lover Percy Shelley on Lake Geneva. The story of Victor Frankenstein who, obsessed with creating life itself, plunders graveyards for the material to fashion a new being, but whose botched creature sets out to destroy his maker, would become the world's most famous work of horror fiction, and remains a devastating exploration of the limits of human creativity. Based on the third…


Book cover of Dance Upon the Air

S. G. Blinn Why did I love this book?

Your choices do not have to be your downfall. The love inside you can be your savior. To have a connection with another is a bond that will keep us whole. It could be family, friends, or a lover. Never let another tell you what you can and cannot do. 

I found that the bond of a found family can be the strongest bond of all. To be accepted for who or what you truly are can be the salvation we need.

By Nora Roberts,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Dance Upon the Air as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When Nell Channing arrives on Three Sisters Island, she hopes she has finally found refuge from her abusive husband. But even in this peaceful place, she feels haunted by fear. Then she discovers the island is suffering under a terrible curse and that she must find the power to save herself. Pbk: ISBN 0749932775.


Book cover of A Quick Bite

S. G. Blinn Why did I love this book?

A world exists around us that we never knew existed. When all you want is to be accepted, it is hard to find love.

I found that two people can find love regardless of what creature bore them. Family may not always understand what you want, but as long as there is trust and a little bit of humor, anything is possible. 

By Lynsay Sands,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Quick Bite as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

True love: good from the first bite ...

Etienne Argeneau can turn one human into a vampire in his lifetime - an honour his kind usually reserved for their life mates, to let their love life forever.

But it's all a bit more complicated than that. Rachel Garrett, a beautiful coroner, has just saved his life and now she's about to lose hers. Etienne has a choice: he can save her life in turn, and thus doom himself to an eternity alone, unable to create his own life mate. Or he can watch his saviour die in the name of…


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Wrightsville Beach

By Suzanne Goodwyn,

Book cover of Wrightsville Beach

Suzanne Goodwyn Author Of Wrightsville Beach

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been writing all my life, but was never able to find my voice until I had my daughters. It was for them I wrote “Wrightsville Beach”. I wanted to show them what a good relationship should look like and how their decisions make a difference in where they will go. I want my readers to relive that feeling of falling in love and to be sent in unexpected directions, as life so often does to us. I want you to enjoy it so much, you don’t want to put the book down until it’s finished and once you do, to sit and reflect on it, savoring the feeling it has left behind.

Suzanne's book list on smart women trying to figure it all out

What is my book about?

Two years ago, devastated by the sudden death of his older brother, Hank Atwater went on a drinking rampage that ended in his being arrested. Since then, he has been working to rebuild his reputation in his hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina, with little luck. But everything changes after a chance meeting with Jess Wade, a UNCW student studying to be a marine biologist. Hank and Jess feel connected to each other in a way neither has ever felt before.

But when Hank’s past leads to a frightful incident, it ends their relationship. Jess leaves to work on the beach…

Wrightsville Beach

By Suzanne Goodwyn,

What is this book about?

Two years ago, Hank Atwater made a terrible mistake. Devastated by the sudden death of his older brother, Rob, he went on a drinking rampage that ended in his being arrested for aggravated assault. Sober since then, he has been working to rebuild his reputation in his hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina, with little luck.

Working a dead-end delivery job, Hank uses surfing and running to deal with being ostracized as he waits for his probation to end. But everything changes after a chance meeting with Jess Wade, a UNCW student studying to be a marine biologist. Hank and Jess…


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