Den of Vipers

Dark romance is a modern subgenre of the conventional romance genre that typically delves into darker themes, mature content, and taboo subjects. Though fairly new to the literary market, dark romance takes its roots from classical literature, such as gothic romance in the style of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights or Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, and older literature trends, such as Victorian sensation novels that delved into darker aspects of a character’s psyche, like Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret, or Newgate novels (also known as Old Bailey novels) that glamorized the lives of criminals. Dark romance, however, is not to be confused with romantic suspense: While romantic suspense looks to external dangers like crime or mystery as its driving romantic factor, dark romance uses internal struggles, toxic dynamics, and taboo relationships to foster romantic attachments.

Key characteristics of the subgenre typically include moral ambiguity, wherein the narrative promotes morally questionable characters who toe the line between hero and villain; uneven power dynamics (psychological, physical, or societal) in relationships that often involve elements of dominance and submission, manipulation, and/or betrayal; contextual trauma and themes of redemption; controversial settings that include kidnappings, captivity, Stockholm Syndrome, life-and-death situations, torture, and murder; and deep psychological insights into the motivations and impulses that dictate the actions of the characters. Taken together, writers of dark romance compound as much of this emotional intensity as possible to produce a shocking catharsis in their romantic resolutions by the end of their respective narratives.

Much like its literary roots, however, dark romance is not without criticism. Gothic romance and sensation novels were often ill-regarded for promoting horror and titillating sensations, which were seen as a moral failing in writers. Dark romance likewise faces criticism that its narratives romanticize toxic and/or abusive relationships and promote power imbalances and abusive and/or possessive behavior as models for real-life relationships. Dark romance novels also typically include graphic content that features violence, sexual assault, and/or intense psychological abuse between main characters. K. A. Knight’s Den of Vipers, for instance, sees Roxy, the protagonist, enter sexual relationships with the four Vipers under dubious conditions that do not promote proper sexual consent, given that Roxy is the Vipers’ prisoner, and they have promised to use her as they see fit—be she willing or not. Knight implies her characters engage in BDSM-toned relationships, as Roxy and Diesel, for instance, will ask one another if they would like to play, which is common parlance to start a BDSM scene, but none of the hallmarks that safeguard participants in a BDSM relationship— such as negotiations, safe words, hard and soft limits, and explicit and unmitigated consent—are included in the narrative. The lack of these safeguards raises ethical questions about the nature of their relationship, but for most fans of the dark romance genre, narratives in this style are understood as explorations of the human experience, mental-health struggles, and the depths of human connectivity and emotional complexity. Therefore, the dark romance genre allows readers to engage in the darker sides of love and desire in a way that typically subverts romantic ideals.