For those who crave passion tinged with darkness, February demands stories that haunt as profoundly as they beguile. Let us tempt you with forbidden romances, ambitious obsessions, and supernatural seductions from the shadows.
Surrender to the pull of these intoxicating tales, rich with Gothic mystery and academic intrigue. But be warned - such affairs of the heart come at a perilous price.
The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White
In this inventive reimagining, Victor Frankenstein’s adopted sister Elizabeth tells her side of the familiar story, weaving in neglected perspectives. As her devotion to Victor turns obsessive, the lines between love and madness blur in dangerous ways. Can she rescue Victor from himself or will his warped ambitions destroy them both?
Daughters of a Dead Empire by Carolyn Tara O’Neil
Amid the ruins of Russia's Romanov empire in the 1920s, a mysterious Anastasia arrives at an elite ballet academy that hides occult secrets and aristocratic rivalries. When she falls intensely for a female dancer, dangerous obsessions ignite, threatening to bring down the academy's facade of perfection. O'Neil's prose captures the obsessive, sinister underbelly of artistic passion.
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
In a repressive Puritan colony, young Immanuelle is drawn to the woods and her mother's forbidden “witchy” ways. When she ventures into the woods with the alluring new reverend’s son, they discover a Dark Wood full of unspeakable horrors that hunger for the living. This spine-chilling tale blends demons, religious oppression, and a tender romance.
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
In 19th century Malaya, Li Lan is offered a proposal...from the dead. She must become a ghost bride to honor a wealthy family's recently deceased son. But what begins as an eerie arrangement turns perilous as she finds herself haunted by the deceased man and entangled in the world of the Chinese afterlife. At once mystical and romantic, this dazzling tale will spirit you away.
As February draws to a close, we hope these darkly mesmerizing tales have captivated your shadowy romantic side. Stories that blend mystery, passion, and the supernatural have a way of haunting our hearts long after their final pages.
Now we invite you to keep the bewitchment going - share your own favorite mystical, gothic romances with us. And don't forget to explore our collection of candles crafted to burn alongside these genre-defining novels.
Let the magic continue as you kindle fireside affairs of the heart, reveling in February's most thrillingly taboo romances. The nights are still long, after all.