Gothic Fantasy Trope
Find Gothic Fantasy Books
Anathema
The Eating Woods (Book 1)
Written by Keri Lake
Anathema by Keri Lake is a dark gothic romance of forbidden desire, religious corruption, and love that defies doctrine, guilt, and damnation.
Eldritch
The Eating Woods (Book 2)
Written by Keri Lake
Eldritch by Keri Lake is a dark gothic romance infused with cosmic horror, forbidden desire, and obsession where ancient power awakens and love turns monstrous.
Empire of the Damned
Empire of the Vampire (Book 2)
Written by Jay Kristoff
Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff is a dark fantasy filled with vengeance, political intrigue, and epic battles. Secrets, loyalty, and ruthless ambition collide as kingdoms rise and fall in a tale of war and betrayal.
Empire of the Dawn
Empire of the Vampire (Book 3)
Written by Jay Kristoff
Empire of the Dawn by Jay Kristoff is a dark fantasy prequel to Empire of the Vampire, exploring ambition, vengeance, and the rise of immortal powers. Secrets, bloodshed, and prophecy shape the fate of a world on the brink of darkness.
Empire of the Vampire
Empire of the Vampire (Book 1)
Written by Jay Kristoff
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff is a dark fantasy epic of vengeance, immortality, and war. In a world ruled by vampires, a lone warrior seeks justice, facing betrayal, bloodshed, and deadly secrets.
Enchantra
Wicked Games (Book 2)
Written by Kaylie Smith
Enchantra by Kaylie Smith is a gothic fantasy romance of dark bargains, seductive magic, and slow-burn desire where power, love, and control intertwine.
Gideon the Ninth
The Locked Tomb Series (Book 1)
Written by Tamsyn Muir
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is a genre-bending tale of necromancy, swordplay, and dark humour, set in a deadly contest within a decaying space empire.
Harrow the Ninth
The Locked Tomb Series (Book 2)
Written by Tamsyn Muir
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is a mind-bending sequel of necromancy, fractured memory, and devotion, where truth unravels through unreliable narration.
House of Hollow
Written by Krystal Sutherland
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland follows the Hollow sisters, who vanished as children and returned changed - with black eyes, white hair, and strange abilities. When the eldest disappears again, Iris must uncover the dark truth about what happened to them.
House of Roots and Ruin
Sisters of the Salt (Book 2)
Written by Erin A. Craig
House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig continues Sisters of the Salt with Verity sent to paint a young lord's portrait. This gothic sequel delivers atmospheric horror, dark secrets, mysterious estate, and Craig's signature lush prose in a standalone-adjacent story.
House of Salt and Sorrows
Sisters of the Salt (Book 1)
Written by Erin A. Craig
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig retells The Twelve Dancing Princesses with gothic horror as Annaleigh investigates her sisters' mysterious deaths. This #1 New York Times bestselling YA debut delivers maritime atmosphere, dark fairy tale dread, and supernatural mystery.
Juniper & Thorn
Written by Ava Reid
Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid reimagines a dark Grimm fairy tale in Imperial Russia-inspired fantasy. This standalone delivers gothic atmosphere, captivity, monstrous father, slow burn romance, and Reid's most intense literary prose exploring control and agency.
Nocticadia
Written by Keri Lake
Nocticadia by Keri Lake is a dark academia gothic romance of forbidden desire, obsession, and psychological horror set within a decaying, secretive university.
Nona the Ninth
The Locked Tomb Series (Book 3)
Written by Tamsyn Muir
Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is a haunting, tender chapter of The Locked Tomb, blending found family, identity, and apocalypse in a fragile world.
One Dark Window
The Shepherd King (Book 1)
Written by Rachel Gillig
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig is a gothic dark fantasy romance featuring forbidden magic, prophetic cards, a cursed heroine, and a slow-burn romance set in a haunting, mist-shrouded world.
Phantasma
Wicked Games (Book 1)
Written by Kaylie Smith
Phantasma by Kaylie Smith is a gothic fantasy romance of dark magic, obsession, and slow-burn desire, where love becomes as dangerous as the supernatural.
The Knave and the Moon
The Stonewater Kingdom (Book 2)
Written by Rachel Gillig
The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig is a dark gothic fantasy of trickery and devotion, where a charming knave and a moon-bound girl collide in a story of lies, fate, and forbidden desire.
The Knight and the Moth
The Stonewater Kingdom (Book 1)
Written by Rachel Gillig
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig is a gothic fantasy romance of fate and faith, where a cursed knight and a prophetic girl are bound by secrets, sacrifice, and forbidden love.
Two Twisted Crowns
The Shepherd King (Book 2)
Written by Rachel Gillig
Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig concludes The Shepherd King duology with dark magic, prophetic cards, shifting loyalties, a high-stakes quest, and a gothic fantasy romance driven by sacrifice and fate.