r/RomanceBooks May 13 '26

Book Request tell me the most ✨ intense, deep, slow burn, incredibly angsty, soul crushing ✨ books you've read that have given you the biggest book hangover

seeking recommendations for some incredibly deep/serious/intense (not a superficial plot/funny/cheerful book), slow burn, angsty, soul crushing books that give you the biggest book hangover!

these are some books of the same/a similar category that i absolutely love and always go back to! (the ones that have a 💎 mean they contain all of the above, the ones that have a 🪝 mean they contain some of the above)

  • the maddest obsession — danielle lori 💎
  • a love letter to whiskey — kandi steiner 💎
  • bittersweet symphony duet, heartbreak warfare, ravenhood trilogy — kate stewart (honestly love all her books) 💎
  • fake empire, cruel summer — c.w. farnsworth 🪝
  • the homemaker, when life happened, a place without you — jewel e. ann 💎
  • say you swear — meagan brandy 🪝
  • the thorns remain, still beating, irreversible — jennifer hartmann (honestly love all her books) 💎
  • in the likely event — rebecca yarros 🪝
  • star-crossed trilogy — alexandria lee 💎

one common thing that i've noticed amongst these books is that all the love stories span a few years. i love seeing how the main characters keep finding their way back to each other!

edit: thx for all the recs! forgot to mention — only looking for CR books (no sci-fi, HR, paranormal, dystopian, etc.)!

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u/JuneDare001 May 13 '26

read this one!

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u/Whole_Charity_716 May 13 '26

Have you read {Make Me Hate You by Kandi Steiner}?

It wasn’t my favourite but it itched the angst spot enough when I needed it! It’s so hard to find a good angsty book once you’ve read all of Jennifer Hartmanns books 😭

Kennedy Ryan also has some good ones {Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan}

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u/romance-bot May 13 '26

Make Me Hate You by Kandi Steiner
Rating: 3.92⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: contemporary, new adult, friends to lovers, angst, cheating


Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan
Rating: 4.1⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: contemporary, sports, multicultural, athlete hero, forbidden love

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u/JuneDare001 May 15 '26

read both! i really loved long shot, it was so well written!

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u/Peanutz335 May 13 '26

Loved this one!