From a young age, we’re taught that the hero of the story always wins. He slays the dragon. He outwits the bad guys. He gets the princess.
But, as you get older, you realize that some things aren’t so black and white.
Some authors can craft villains so charming, sexy, and undeniably compelling that you find yourself wishing the princess would give in to the dark side just this once. You know, to see where it goes.
Maybe she can find Prince Charming later.
If this feeling resonates at all with you, reader, then check out these dangerously addictive romance books where the villain gets the girl.
Also, we should probably make better choices.
Want more romance recs? Check out this list of some of the spiciest romantasy books on the market!
The Top 20 Romance Books Where The Villain Gets The Girl
Hooked by Emily McIntyre
In Emily McIntire’s Hooked, the inaugural novel of the Never After series, the villain not only gets the girl, but he redefines what it means to deserve her. This dark contemporary romance reimagines the Peter Pan mythos through the lens of James “Hook,” a brooding crime lord whose quest for vengeance is derailed by an unexpected connection.
In this book, Peter is responsible for James’ family’s ruin and makes it his personal mission to destroy Peter however he can. This includes using Peter’s daughter, Wendy, as a pawn. But his feelings get in the way of his ultimate goal, and Wendy draws near to his mysterious and dark allure.
A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair
In A Touch of Darkness, Scarlett St. Clair flips the script on Greek mythology by giving Hades, the feared god of the underworld, not just a love story, but a chance at redemption through it. Often painted as the villain in classic tales, Hades becomes the brooding, complex love interest who captures the heart of Persephone, the goddess of spring.
Their relationship is rife with tension, temptation, and emotional battles, especially as Persephone struggles with her growing powers and the fear of being consumed by the very darkness Hades represents. But in St. Clair’s retelling, it’s the so-called villain, the god feared by all, who not only wins the girl but is transformed by her love.
Pestilence by Laura Thalassa
In Pestilence, Laura Thalassa takes the concept of an apocalyptic villain and turns it into a gripping, slow-burn romance where death and desire walk hand in hand. As the first of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Pestilence arrives to purge the world of humanity, spreading plague wherever he goes. He’s not just the villain of the story, he is the end of it.
When Sara, a firefighter, makes a desperate attempt to kill him in order to save humanity, she fails and becomes his captive. What follows is a harrowing journey through a decaying world, as Pestilence drags her along on his mission of judgment. But amidst the devastation and the cruelty, something begins to shift. Sara sees glimmers of mercy, confusion, and even pain in the seemingly merciless being. And Pestilence, untouched by human emotion for eons, finds himself intrigued and affected by the woman who dares to defy him.
Their relationship evolves from hate to tolerance to something undeniably intimate. It’s not an easy romance—there’s blood, heartbreak, and fury—but as Pestilence grapples with the strange new feelings Sara awakens in him, it becomes clear: the monster the world fears is capable of love.
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
When Feyre survived the horrors Under the Mountain, she emerged changed, not just in body, but in soul. Though she’s returned to the Spring Court with Tamlin, her once-beloved savior, the happily-ever-after she imagined begins to feel like a gilded cage.
Enter Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court, once seen as manipulative and untrustworthy. In A Court of Thorns and Roses, he played the role of a morally gray antagonist, but in Mist and Fury, Maas cracks open the shell to reveal the deeply loyal, broken, and fiercely empowering male beneath. As Feyre spirals from the trauma she endured, it’s Rhys, not Tamlin, who sees her pain, respects her power, and offers her a choice.
Read the first installment in the series, along with the second, for some of the best romance books where the villain gets the girl.
If you’re as obsessed with the ACOTAR series as we are, check out this guide on some of the most iconic characters in Prythian, including fan art of what your favorites look like!
King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair
In King of Battle and Blood, Scarlett St. Clair crafts a fierce, seductive tale where the feared villain, the vampire king himself, doesn’t just get the girl, he earns her heart in the middle of a war-torn world.
Isolde de Lara, a fierce and defiant princess, agrees to marry Adrian Aleksandr Vasiliev to protect her kingdom, despite the fact that he is the bloodthirsty vampire king who conquered her lands and inspires terror across nations. To Isolde, this marriage is a sentence, a cage meant to contain her. Adrian, with his cold eyes and brutal reputation, seems like nothing more than a monster in royal clothing.
But as their uneasy alliance turns into something darker and deeper, Isolde begins to see layers beneath the villainous facade. Adrian is powerful, yes, ruthless, even, but also protective, honorable in his own way, and irresistibly drawn to her strength. Their relationship blazes with intensity, built on battles of will and undeniable chemistry.
Vicious by L.J. Shen
In Vicious, L.J. Shen delivers a sizzling enemies-to-lovers romance where the antihero doesn’t just win, he claims what he believes was always his. Baron “Vicious” Spencer is cold, cruel, and dangerously charismatic, the kind of man who lives up to his nickname. He ruled his elite prep school with a toxic mix of arrogance and anger, and no one felt the sting of his wrath more than Emilia LeBlanc, the artsy, spirited girl he couldn’t seem to leave alone.
Years later, their paths cross again in New York City. Emilia is older, wiser, and desperate for a fresh start, while Vicious is a powerful businessman with unfinished business and unresolved obsession. When he offers her a job she can’t refuse, Emilia steps back into the orbit of the boy who once tormented her, now a man who seems dead set on possessing her.
But underneath Vicious’s cruelty is a lifetime of pain, betrayal, and buried vulnerability. And Emilia, despite every reason to run, finds herself drawn to the man behind the monster. Their chemistry is undeniable, their history messy and painful, but what unfolds is a romance forged through fire: intense, chaotic, and utterly consuming.
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
In The Cruel Prince, Holly Black plunges readers into a decadent and dangerous world of Faerie, where power is everything and cruelty is currency. At the center of it all is Jude Duarte, a mortal girl raised in the world of the fey, where she’s despised for her humanity and constantly underestimated. No one loathes her more openly than Prince Cardan, the arrogant, wickedly beautiful youngest son of the High King.
Cardan is the ultimate antagonist: cruel for sport, venomous with his words, and infuriatingly captivating. He makes Jude’s life a living hell at court, targeting her with games and threats. But Jude is no damsel. She’s cunning, ambitious, and determined to carve out her own power in a realm that would rather see her kneel.
As the story unfolds, the animosity between Jude and Cardan crackles with a dark, magnetic tension. Their battles turn into something twisted and intimate, each pushing and pulling, testing the other’s limits. And beneath Cardan’s cruelty lies something fractured and unsure, a boy shaped by trauma and courtly manipulation. Jude doesn’t just stand up to him; she sees him, challenges him, and ultimately holds power over him in ways no one else dares.
Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa
In Rhapsodic, Laura Thalassa blends fantasy, danger, and desire into a gripping romance where the dark, mysterious Bargainer, a man feared across realms, wins the heart of the siren he could never quite let go.
Despite his feared reputation, the Bargainer, Desmond Flynn, is not the villain he seems. He’s protective, dangerous, and maddeningly possessive, but beneath the shadows, he carries a quiet devotion that has never wavered. And Callie, powerful and sharp-witted in her own right, is the only one who has ever seen the man beneath the mask.
The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller
In The Shadows Between Us, Tricia Levenseller delivers a deliciously dark romance where both the hero and heroine are unapologetically ambitious, morally gray, and dangerously irresistible. And yes, the villain absolutely gets the girl.
In The Shadows Between Us, the villain doesn’t get the girl because he’s redeemed. He gets her because they’re perfectly matched in their darkness. It’s not a story of light saving dark, it’s about dark finding its equal, and love growing not despite their flaws, but because of them.
The Contortionist by Kathryn Ann Kingsley
Vance isn’t human. He’s something far older, far darker, and utterly in control of the nightmare realm he’s built. As Delilah is pulled deeper into his world, it becomes clear she was always meant to be part of it. Theirs is a connection forged through madness and curiosity, danger and temptation. Vance is possessive, manipulative, and intoxicating, but he also sees the fractured parts of Delilah and embraces them, not in spite of her darkness, but because of it.
What makes The Contortionist stand out in the villain romance genre is its bold refusal to redeem its male lead in the traditional sense. Vance is still terrifying. He’s still the monster. But he doesn’t need to change to be worthy of love because Delilah doesn’t want a savior. She wants someone who matches her.
The Bad Guy by Celia Aaron
In The Bad Guy, Celia Aaron delivers a bold, dark romance that unapologetically leans into obsession, captivity, and the dangerous allure of the villain. Sebastian Lindstrom isn’t just a morally gray love interest, he’s the textbook definition of the bad guy. A brilliant, calculating biotech CEO with a chilling calmness and a penchant for control, Sebastian doesn’t fall in love. He decides to love. And once he sets his sights on Camille, there’s no turning back.
But The Bad Guy is more than a tale of forced proximity, it’s a deep dive into psychological obsession, emotional unraveling, and the terrifying beauty of someone loving you so much it breaks every rule. Camille should hate him. She tries to hate him. But Sebastian, despite his methods, reveals a vulnerability and devotion that’s as unsettling as it is seductive.
Blood of My Monster by Rina Kent
In Blood of My Monster, Rina Kent crafts a razor-sharp, dark romance where obsession, danger, and raw chemistry ignite in the most forbidden of ways. And yes, the villain absolutely gets the girl.
Kirill, the feared and ruthless Bratva heir, is a man forged by blood and vengeance. Cold, calculating, and capable of monstrous things, he’s the kind of villain no one escapes. But when he crosses paths with Sasha, a girl cloaked in secrets and sorrow, something shifts. He doesn’t just want to control her—he wants to possess her. Completely.
What makes this villain romance so compelling is that Kirill never pretends to be anything other than what he is, a monster. But in Sasha, he finds something pure, something worth burning the world for. And Sasha, against every instinct, discovers that sometimes the most broken love is the only kind that makes you feel alive.
If you like romance books where the villain gets the girl and still keeps his evilness, check out this selection!
Scarred by Emily McIntyre
In Scarred, Emily McIntyre reimagines The Lion King with a seductive, morally gray twist—where the scarred prince in the shadows isn’t just the villain of the tale… he’s the one who captures the girl’s heart.
Tristan Faasa was never meant to be king. His older brother Michael is the golden boy—the chosen one, the future ruler. But Tristan, marked by both physical and emotional scars, lives in the shadows of the palace, his bitterness and ambition simmering just beneath the surface. He’s dangerous, cunning, and unrepentantly ruthless. He’s also planning to take the throne by any means necessary.
Enter Sarah, an innocent, wide-eyed young woman with secrets of her own, sent into the palace as a spy. Her mission is clear: get close to Tristan, gather information, and report back. But nothing prepares her for the magnetic pull between them. Tristan is everything she should fear: manipulative, cruel, unpredictable, but also captivating, fiercely intelligent, and surprisingly vulnerable.
As their twisted game of seduction deepens into something more, Sarah is forced to question where her loyalties truly lie. Because beneath his villainous armor, Tristan harbors a deep ache for power, yes—but also for love. And the more Sarah sees behind his sharp edges, the more she wonders if the monster is the only one who truly understands her.
Assistant To The Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
The Villain doesn’t try to become a hero for her, he remains fearsome and flawed. But with every glance, every moment of dry banter and simmering tension, it’s clear: his interest in Evie goes beyond business. And Evie, stubborn and compassionate, begins to see the man behind the title.
In Assistant to the Villain, the bad guy doesn’t just get the girl; he finds in her someone who laughs in the face of his threats, calls him out on his ego, and makes him want to be better… but only a little. Because let’s face it: she didn’t fall for a prince. She fell for the Villain, and she likes it that way.
The Never King by Nikki St. Crowe
Every generation, the Darling girls disappear on their eighteenth birthday. And every time, they’re taken by Peter Pan—only he’s not the mischievous, boyish hero of bedtime stories. He’s The Never King now: brooding, cursed, and dangerously powerful, ruling over a twisted version of Neverland. Peter has spent centuries searching for the key to breaking the curse that’s eating away at him. And he’s sure that the latest Darling girl, Wendy, holds the answer.
Limerence: A Dark Romance by HC Dolores
Audrey is a survivor. She’s spent her life trying to stay unnoticed, out of reach, and far away from anything or anyone that could hurt her again. But when she catches the attention of Rhys, a mysterious and dangerously intense man, her quiet world begins to unravel.
Rhys is not a hero. He’s possessive, manipulative, and driven by a hunger he barely understands, a hunger for her. From the moment he sees Audrey, she becomes his fixation, the object of his obsession, the missing piece he never knew he needed. He watches. He waits. And when the moment is right, he takes her.
What follows is a dark descent into a relationship built on control, desire, and a warped kind of devotion. But as Audrey struggles to understand Rhys’s madness, she’s also forced to confront her own darkness, and the unsettling truth that some part of her doesn’t want to run.
Want more recs similar to romance books where the villain gets the girl? Dive into this list of some of the best enemies-to-lovers books!
There Are No Saints by Sophie Lark
Cole Blackwell is a wealthy, brilliant artist with a sinister edge. In the glittering world of San Francisco’s art elite, he’s known for his genius… and his disturbing darkness. What they don’t know is that Cole harbors a monstrous secret: he’s not just inspired by violence, he commits it. Cold, calculating, and remorseless, Cole doesn’t form attachments. Until he meets Mara.
But his obsession with Mara isn’t sweet, it’s brutal. He stalks her, manipulates the people around her, orchestrates her world like one of his exhibits. And when a rival artist targets her, Cole’s possessive instincts explode. He doesn’t rescue her because he’s noble—he does it because she’s his.
Sophie Lark recently had a book pulled due to some choice language. If you want more information on the topic, check out this podcast.
A Dawn of Onyx by Kate Golden
Arwen Valondale is a healer, trained to mend bones and soothe pain, but nothing prepares her for the heartbreak of losing her brother in the war between her kingdom and the mysterious, feared Onyx Kingdom. When she’s captured by the enemy and taken across enemy lines, she expects cruelty, imprisonment, maybe even death. What she finds instead is the enigmatic King Kane.
Ruthless Creatures: A Queens and Monsters Novel by J.T. Geissinger
Five years after her fiancé vanished without a trace, Natalie is finally starting to put the pieces of her life back together. She’s not looking for love, definitely not the dark, brooding kind that walks into her world in the form of Kage, a towering, mysterious stranger with deadly eyes and a past wrapped in secrets.
Kage isn’t just a man, he’s a weapon. A ruthless enforcer for the criminal underworld, he arrives in Natalie’s life with a mission he doesn’t intend to fail. Cold, calculated, and terrifyingly efficient, he’s everything she should run from. But there’s something about her that chips away at his brutal exterior. He doesn’t want to hurt her, he wants to own her. Protect her. Obsess over her.
Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
Emilia is a witch, born into a secret world of spells and shadows. But when her twin sister is murdered under horrifying and mysterious circumstances, Emilia’s grief turns to rage, and she vows to hunt down whoever is responsible. To do so, she summons something she shouldn’t: Wrath, one of the seven demon princes of Hell.
Wrath is dangerous, arrogant, and everything Emilia has been taught to fear. But he’s also her only hope for uncovering the truth. As they form a tenuous alliance, their bond deepens into something sizzling and volatile. Emilia swore to never trust a demon—especially one who oozes power and temptation, but Wrath isn’t just a villain. He’s her match. He challenges her, protects her, and ignites a fire she can’t ignore.
The more Emilia uncovers about the underworld and her own past, the more she realizes that good and evil aren’t so black and white. And Wrath, dark, deadly Wrath, might just be the only one who sees her for who she truly is.
That wraps up our list of the best romance books where the villain gets the girl! Have anything to add? Drop your favorites in the comments!