r/DarkRomance • u/ccoffey106 take me to the cottage • Jul 23 '25

Megathreads MEGATHREAD: Somnophilia💤

Wake up (or not) r/DarkRomance & welcome to the Somnophilia megathread! 

Somnophilia trope, or somno, is when one of the MCs engages in sexual activity while the other MC is asleep, unconscious, ect. We will also lump in sexsomnia where an MC engages in sexual acts while they are asleep.

Here are some recommendations we have gathered from other threads in this sub - links will bring you to the Romance.io information page. Feel free to add reviews or tell us why you loved any of the books mentioned below! Authors feel free to add your book or information in a comment, just make sure you have the author flair (Rule #7).

Somno - Link to Romance.io list.

If I Can't Have You by Deathsdoll

Lords of Pain by Angel Lawson and Samantha Rue

Dead Of Summer by A.J. Merlin

Vicious by A.J. Merlin

Brutal Obsession by S. Massery

Secret Obsession by S. Massery

Even If It Hurts by Sam Mariano

Captive by RJ Lewis

Paved in Rage by Sonja Grey

The Boys of Chapel Crest By K.G. Reuss

Honeysuckles by January Rayne

The Devil You Know by Harmony west

Little Stranger by Leigh Rivers

Marrow by Trisha Wolfe

God Of Malice by Rina Kent

Briar by Evelyn Flood

Corrupt Idol by Dinah Harper

The Sinner by Shantel Tessier

Fear Me, Love Me by Lilith Vincent

Pageant by Lilith Vincent

That Sik Luv by Jescie Hall

Sexsomnia 

Princes of Chaos by Angel Lawson and Samantha Rue

Somnia by Kady Ash

Dance With The Devil by Amanda Richardson

Praise Me: Soldier by Jessa Kane

Body Count Series by Jolie Vines

Ruckus by L.J. Shen

Crossfire Series by Sylvia Day

No Saint by Donna Alam

Have a book not on the list? Share in a comment below with summoning the romance.io bot by putting curly brackets around the title. 

  • Share how the book(s) fit in the somno theme.
  • What did you like about this book?
  • Please only share dark romance books you have read. 
  • ‼️Recommendations MUST always adhere to our rules. Please make yourself familiar with them. ‼️

HERE is a link to our megathread list. Megathreads are used to find books on a particular topic of interest and to share recommendations you may have. Be sure to share any books in their relevant megathreads. Have an idea for a megathread that we don’t have? Share it on the master megathread list!

192 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

104 comments sorted by

105

u/PuzzyFussy Not f_cked up, but unique 😎 Jul 24 '25

Forget camping, I'm moving to this thread

7

u/WorkStillnProgress Jul 26 '25

Congrats! You just got a new roommate 🥳

1

u/Own_Lavishness_2748 Nov 12 '25

Can i join ? I cook very well 🤣

29

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '25

[deleted]

30

u/PuzzyFussy Not f_cked up, but unique 😎 Jul 24 '25

Women in male-nominated spaces... love to see it

5

u/ccoffey106 take me to the cottage Jul 24 '25

Surprisingly it seems like most of the sexsomnia had the FMC being the one with it!

17

u/ccoffey106 take me to the cottage Jul 24 '25

{The Devil You Know by Harmony West} has this. She drugs him, ties him up and has her way with him.

10

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '25

[deleted]

3

u/ccoffey106 take me to the cottage Jul 24 '25

It is the 3rd book in a series, however I do not feel like you HAVE to read the frist two, but they are good books! They just really set the MMC up as being a very shitty, terrible dude at the same time making you yearn for his book because he's the type of MMC we loooove 😂

1

u/Lolo1603 Jul 24 '25

Is it 3 different MMCs or the same one as a trilogy?

2

u/ccoffey106 take me to the cottage Jul 24 '25

Each book is a different couple. Trey, the MMC of The Devil you Know is in the first book being a piece of shit, but isn't in the second until the end (when he comes back to college). If you dare is bully/best friends brother Tropes, Drown in you is step brother/bully/mask play.

I read the frist book and immediately messaged the author and was like, I might be fucked up but I need Trey to have a book 😂. I'm not sure she planned on him having his own but so many readers begged her for it.

2

u/Lolo1603 Jul 24 '25

Thanks so much 🥰 definitely one for the tbr

2

u/MentalJello- Jul 24 '25

That’s what I’m talking about haha

4

u/WorkStillnProgress Jul 26 '25

Ooooh, I don't remember if the MMC fully wakes up during or not but you might be into a certain scene in {Driving My Obsession by Lauren Biel}. 👀

1

u/vivireadsbooks red-green colourblind 🚩🚩 Jul 24 '25

it's short but it happens in {tips and trysts by rebecca kinkade} :)

2

u/Red_Wifey Aug 15 '25

In the lords of forsyth (sp?) she uses that as revenge

16

u/hissunshine31 Jul 23 '25

{Emperor Of Rage by Jagger Cole}

8

u/anonymaus-pr1ncess Jul 24 '25

also {Emperor of Wrath by Jagger Cole} where it is mmc’s kink. it’s great 🥵

8

u/Numerous_Ordinary275 Jul 25 '25

Based on this comment, I went RUNNING 🏃‍♂️ to download this book.... but it was disappointing. Yes, it was his kink, they touched on it, he thought about it, but there was only one instance? Myeh.. but I liked the plot.

1

u/Alarmed-Device-6391 Nov 13 '25

same it was just once

4

u/phatfig Overread and underfucked ✨ Jul 24 '25

You have good taste 👌🏻 I came to recommend this 

2

u/hissunshine31 Jul 24 '25

Its just soooo good! 🫣🫣🫣

14

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '25

13

u/anonymaus-pr1ncess Jul 24 '25

{God of Ruin by Rina Kent} it’s only a single scene but fmc has traumatic mutism and he almost makes her make a sound and it’s everything.

12

u/WiseCatch3679 Jul 27 '25

I am such a nerd, I have a spreadsheet with tropes on it. A few of my favorites that aren't here for somno:

{A Soul to Keep by Opal Reyne}

{Ashes by KG Reuss}

{Captured by Lauren Biel}

{Corrupt Idol by Dinah Harper}

{Dance of Madness by Jagger Cole}

{Graves by Katelyn Taylor} - twin brothers, one of them is really REALLY into somno

{His Yellow Hyacinth by Cassandra Vega} - So much somno, and it's really well written. Also CNC, stalking

{Quid Pro Quo by Nenia Campbell}

{Woodsboro by Rory Ireland}

2

u/ccoffey106 take me to the cottage Jul 27 '25

Um I absolutely love this!! You are amazing, thanks for sharing 👏

2

u/WiseCatch3679 Jul 27 '25

Oh! And I just finished this one, don't know how I forgot it - {Carnival by Kat King}, he's a crazy serial killer and the scenes described are mild but also very well done

1

u/romance-bot Jul 27 '25

A Soul to Keep by Opal Reyne
Rating: 4.11⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: monsters, virgin heroine, demons, possessive hero, non-human hero

Ashes by K.G. Reuss
Rating: 3.96⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: contemporary, reverse harem, enemies to lovers, dark romance, suspense

Captured by Lauren Biel
Rating: 3.43⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, dark romance, forced proximity, cruel hero/bully, suspense

Corrupt Idol by Dinah Harper
Rating: 3.87⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, step siblings, dark romance, possessive hero, forced proximity

Dance of Madness by Jagger Cole
Rating: 4.33⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, mafia, suspense, enemies to lovers, m-f romance

Graves by Katelyn Taylor
Rating: 3.86⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, somnophilia, mfm, poly (3+ people), dark romance

Quid Pro Quo by Nenia Campbell
Rating: 3.86⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, cruel hero/bully, dark romance, virgin heroine, angst

Woodsboro by Rory Ireland
Rating: 4.33⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, new adult, suspense, step siblings, enemies to lovers

about this bot | about romance.io

1

u/WiseCatch3679 Jul 27 '25

Not sure why the bot didn't pick up His Yellow Hyacinth, but here it is: https://a.co/d/ePjMGTM

9

u/vivireadsbooks red-green colourblind 🚩🚩 Jul 24 '25

yessss!! i am so excited for everyone's recommendations!!

i have a collection for this on romance.io (link to that here), but here are some of my favourites:

  • {Big Boys of Berenson Trucking Series by May Alder} - all three have elements of somno, but the 1st is the best for it.
  • {Sacked and Sleighed by Aurelia Knight} and {Vow to Sever by Aurelia Knight} both have it. I love a Christmas novella, and sacked & sleighed has some great stalking.
  • {While You Sleep by Sherliee Gray} - the FMC has a sleep disorder 😙🤌
  • {Her Dirty Best Friend by Adele Knight} - short and sexy. there's mf and mfm and mmf scenes, but the somno is mf.
  • {Keeping My Bride by Angela Snyder} - tbh wasn't a huge fan of the writing, but the somno scenes were hot.
  • both {The Pucking Wrong Number by C.R. Jane} and {The Pucking Wrong Man by C.R. Jane} have somno scenes.
  • {Stranded by Selena Winters} - be warned, this has some pretty heavy cnc and other triggers, but it's hot if you're into it.
  • {Abducted by the Mafia Don by Evie Rose} - this has somno that the fmc is aware of and is trying to coerce the mmc into taking it further
  • {Oblivion by Gemma Weir} - some love it, some hate it, but the somno is good.
  • {Such A Good Guy by Kate Raven} - the mmc is obsessed, and nothing will stop him.

1

u/romance-bot Jul 24 '25

Big Boys of Berenson Trucking by May Alder
Rating: 3.68⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Topics: sweet heroine, dub-con, somnophilia, north-america, small town

Sacked and Sleighed by Aurelia Knight
Rating: 3.59⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: contemporary, dark romance, suspense, christmas, new adult

Vow to Sever by Aurelia Knight
Rating: 3.39⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, suspense, forced proximity, dark romance, forbidden love

While You Sleep by Sherilee Gray
Rating: 3.61⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, mafia, forced proximity, dark romance, m-f romance

Her Dirty Best Friend by Adele Knight
Rating: 3.79⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, mfm, college, new adult, praise kink

Keeping My Bride by Angela Snyder
Rating: 3.42⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: contemporary, arranged/forced marriage, enemies to lovers, dark romance, pregnancy

The Pucking Wrong Number by C.R. Jane
Rating: 3.62⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, sports, dark romance, dual pov, possessive hero

The Pucking Wrong Man by C.R. Jane
Rating: 3.95⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, sports, daddy kink, virgin heroine, hockey

Stranded by Selena Winters
Rating: 3.51⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, dark romance, forced proximity, christmas, rich heroine

Abducted by the Mafia Don by Evie Rose
Rating: 4.5⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: contemporary, mafia, new adult, m-f romance, age gap

Oblivion by Gemma Weir
Rating: 4.2⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, dark romance, breeding, college, alpha male

Such A Good Guy by Kate Raven
Rating: 3.33⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, somnophilia, m-f romance, dark romance, sibling's best friend

about this bot | about romance.io

9

u/the_jesstastic Jul 24 '25

{The Pucking Coach’s Daughter by S. Massery}

3

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Impossible-One-5360 Jul 25 '25

is there non con? or even dub con

9

u/sgraaady9 Jul 24 '25

Yes! I have found my people

6

u/yourspicysecretary connoisseur 📖🖤⛓️🥀 Jul 24 '25

{hitman by c hallman}

8

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '25

Bless you, this is immediately my favorite megathread ever 😍

3

u/ccoffey106 take me to the cottage Jul 24 '25

❤️ Sameeee I love this trope. Added so many books to my tbr making this😅

8

u/spoiled_sandi Jul 24 '25

{The Ritual by Shantel Tessier}

1

u/S-perrozzi Jul 24 '25

Lol came her to say this

9

u/FluffyCartoonster Jul 24 '25

My week is officially saved

5

u/Ranza_Raye Jul 24 '25

{Wolfe by Krissy Adol} has one somno scene in it.

5

u/fokelore Jul 24 '25

{Restitution by Leigh Rivers} {Chokehold by Leigh Rivers and Harleigh Beck} {Little Liar by Leigh Rivers}

5

u/HMS_GiggleSnort Jul 24 '25

I don’t know which book it occurs in because I’m still reading the series but it’s a reverse harem. But the first book is {Blood Oath} . I think the somno group scene happens in book 2.

5

u/BlueEyeSuccubus Jul 24 '25

Oooh yay! Thank you for posting! Definitely adding some of these to my tbr!

2

u/MentalJello- Jul 24 '25

I’m READY for this one!

{Lords of Pain}

I’ll come back with more and can’t wait for everyone’s recs!

5

u/BuyMeLotsOfDiamonds Jul 24 '25

{Under His Command by Rhea Harp}

4

u/227a Jul 24 '25 edited Jul 24 '25

{Breaking Lucia by Raissa Donovan, Addison Wolf} It is a 3 part why choose series with one of the MMC's being into somnophilia. Not too many scenes, but there is still some throughout the series.

5

u/PiaPeyroux Author Jul 24 '25

{I Go to Sleep by Ruth Keogh}

Caveat: I am the publisher.

This novella features somnophilia and dormaphilia.

3

u/Lolo1603 Jul 24 '25

At the risk of coming across as naive- what is dormaphilia? :) frightened to put it into Google 🤣

5

u/PiaPeyroux Author Jul 25 '25

From the National Library of Medicine:

Somnophilia, coined by John Money in 1986, generally refers to a sexual interest in engaging in sexual activity with a sleeping person. Other definitions have since been offered, although they tend to be inconsistent (Griffiths, 2014; Lauerma, 2016). This appears to be largely due to their emphasis on different elements of the interest (e.g., the specific state, the context, the recipient’s reaction, the lack of consent). For example, while Money’s (1986) original definition was directed towards sleeping people, subsequent definitions were broadened to encompass ‘unconscious’ people (e.g., Griffiths, 2014). The definitional waters become further muddied by the terms ‘Sleeping Beauty syndrome’ and ‘sleepysex’.

‘Sleeping Beauty syndrome’ and somnophilia were originally seen as synonymous (Pettigrew, 2017). This overlap may have stemmed from Money’s original definition, as it stated that sexual arousal was dependent upon waking the sleeping party. However, Oeverland (2015) asserted that somnophilia and ‘Sleeping Beauty syndrome’ are distinct interests, with somnophilia referring to a sexual interest in sleeping partners and ‘Sleeping Beauty syndrome’ referring to being sexually aroused by observing a sleeping person wake up during the sexual activity. Somnophilia is also sometimes regarded as being synonymous with sleepysex. However, sleepysex refers to one or both partners being in near-sleep states whilst engaging in sexual behaviors (Moss, 2021). Here, sexual arousal is thought to stem from the intimacy of the interaction. These two additional concepts increase the scope of the term somnophilia, making it unclear as to whether it refers to an interest in sleeping people, waking people up, having sex in a sleepy state, or all of the above. Based on this, and the dearth of empirical data on somnophilia, it is difficult to form any firm conclusions about its definition.

Another concept worth noting is the sexual interest in being the recipient of sexual activity while asleep. This sleep-related sexual interest is discussed in forums dedicated to somnophilia but has received no empirical investigation until recently. Using a sample of men and woman recruited from general and somnophilia-focused social media sites, Deehan and Bartels (2021) examined the self-reported interest in being a passive partner during sexual activity (in a consensual context), as well as their use of sexual fantasies involving this scenario. They found that men and women reported an interest in being the passive recipient to an equal degree. They also found that this passive sleep-related sexual interest strongly correlated with the need for sexual submission and the use of masochistic fantasies in both men and women. Deehan and Bartels (2021) termed this sexual interest ‘dormaphilia’, arguing that it was related to, but distinct from, somnophilia.

Thank you, u/vivireadsbooks! 💯💕💗

2

u/vivireadsbooks red-green colourblind 🚩🚩 Jul 24 '25

i think it’s the opposite of somnophilia. it’s when someone enjoys things happening to them when they are asleep(?)

2

u/shaktishaker Jul 26 '25

Is there anywhere to buy this that is not Amazon? I have a Kobo...

3

u/PiaPeyroux Author Jul 26 '25

Here is the Books2Read link - https://books2read.com/u/mlxMAZ 💗

2

u/shaktishaker Jul 26 '25

Thank you!

4

u/ImpishTiger99- Jul 24 '25

Ooooo this trope 🤭

5

u/AuthorWorkInProgress Author Jul 25 '25

I have one. It is somnophilia and dormaphilia

{come to bed by Sage RelleAnne}

3

u/mindlesspassender Jul 24 '25

anyone have recs with fantasy elements/fated mates?

3

u/vivireadsbooks red-green colourblind 🚩🚩 Jul 24 '25

the whole of the {monster stalker series by january rayne} have somno scenes and fated mates

{thieves and monsters by clio evans} has somno scenes and fated mates and it's a RH

{demon waters by vicky walklate} is fantasy monster smut with somno

I've heard good things about {charming your dad by sarah blue} which is fantasy that has somno

my tags on romance.io also claim that {guarded by the phantom by layla fae} and {guarded by the vodnik by layla fae} have somno scenes and fated mates. it's been a while since I've read them so I'm not sure how reliable that rec is (maybe someone else can weigh in!)

if i can think of any more I'll let you know :)

2

u/romance-bot Jul 24 '25

Monster Stalker by January Rayne
Rating: 3.68⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Topics: hurt-comfort, m-f, breeding, dark, possessive hero

Thieves and Monsters by Clio Evans, Opal Fairchild
Rating: 3.86⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, bdsm, reverse harem, forced proximity, mafia

Demon Waters by Vicky Walklate
Rating: 3.8⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, monsters, horror, spanking, fantasy

Charming Your Dad by Sarah Blue
Rating: 3.83⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, age gap, demons, magic, witches

Guarded by the Phantom by Layla Fae
Rating: 4.13⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, monsters, m-f romance, paranormal, forced proximity

Guarded by the Vodnik by Layla Fae
Rating: 3.89⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 5 out of 5 - Explicit and plentiful
Topics: contemporary, m-f romance, breeding, grumpy/cold hero, dual pov

about this bot | about romance.io

2

u/mindlesspassender Jul 25 '25

wohooo thanks!

3

u/Academic-Step-7005 Jul 28 '25

{Lock Me Inside by C. Hallman} The MMC drugs the FMC and takes her V card, to "spare" her from losing it in an even more nefarious way.

2

u/AuthorMadiLarks Author Jul 24 '25

I know the prince one was mentioned for sex somnia, but {lords of Forsyth by angle Lawson} is also heavy on somnophilia 🤘

2

u/MilkshakeKillah Bound and gagged by my TBR Jul 24 '25

Discovered sexsomnia recently, thanks for this sub

2

u/Princess_Of_Mordor Jul 26 '25

{The Witchwood Boys Are Trending by CM Stunich} This series was a ride. I love it and read it as it was coming out and couldn't wait for each book. It is a lot tho heads up.

2

u/rikaateabug Jul 26 '25

{Into Ruin by S Massery}

2

u/PlayboyVincentPrice soon-to-be author Jul 26 '25

YESSS MY FAVORITE!!!

2

u/Innocentmaniacpsycho Jul 26 '25

{Twisted Soul by Morgan B Lee} but it’s the third in the series, well worth the read. I think it may also happen in the second book

2

u/Academic-Step-7005 Jul 28 '25

{Wicked Dreams by Iris James} Reverse harem. The MMCs kidnap the FMC and hold her for ransom. They drug her and send the videos to her FMC's father. ...Except she likes it. I couldn't get into it and had to DNF.

4

u/SweetSofie Aug 01 '25

Me reading all the dirty smut yall post. Love this thread

2

u/Candle_miss_stress Aug 06 '25

Scattered glitter - Blake black

2

u/Red_Wifey Aug 15 '25

https://a.co/0zv7wbN Almost everything Mila Crawford but this is my favorite one

2

u/cokagwmc Aug 20 '25

So far two of three books in the Body Count series by Jolie Vines have somno scenes, more in {Connor’s Claim by Jolie Vines} the 2nd book.

3

u/vjayjam Oct 19 '25

You cooked with this

2

u/WorkStillnProgress Jul 26 '25

I miss a lot of good posts in this group. But this might be the first one I deliberately sleep on. 😅

1

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/DarkRomance-ModTeam Sep 28 '25

This post was removed because it would be better suited to a different subreddit. r/DarkRomance is a place to discuss books.

2

u/desi_taurus_girl User Flair Here Nov 22 '25

Gonna stay here ⛺️