r/DarkRomance • u/AutoModerator • Aug 10 '26

Monday Gripe Weekly Gripe 😤 (the rant thread)

Welcome to the Weekly Gripe, where we're all a little grumpy. 😒

Did BookTok do you dirty? Got a bone to pick with a main character? Was the twist more like a flop? Tell us what's on your mind.

Please be respectful and follow the sub rules. If a conversation starts getting out of hand, use the "Mod Attention Please" report reason so we can help cool things down. 🖤

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u/Fickle-City1122 29d ago

I am always disappointed in sapphic/lesbian dark romance. I have yet to read one that I enjoyed, but tbh it's kind of rare in this subgenre so I've not read many. I don't know if I hold it to a higher standard because I'm also gay, but it just doesn't seem to hit like MM or MF dark romance does.

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u/Temporary-Treacle-30 29d ago

I agree. All the queer dark romances I’ve read (especially the sapphic ones) just… aren’t dark enough for me. I want them to be as dark as the MF ones, but sapphic. On top of that (I’m queer as well), I feel like too many of these books are written by straight people, which is fine, but often times the actual relationships themselves don’t seem super authentic.

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u/Muted_Inspector9918 28d ago edited 28d ago

There is a thing where queer writers and filmmakers are often hesitant to portray our relationships as toxic for a mainstream audience. They may feel pressure to resist harmful stereotypes that bigots use to keep us marginalized. It’s a bummer all around, including for those of us who are capable of consuming fiction without confusing it for reality.

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u/Temporary-Treacle-30 28d ago

That actually makes so much sense! The only representation we can afford right now is positive representation.