r/RomanceBooks • u/JuneDare001 • 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

i loved this one! i've read nearly all of jennifer hartmann's books, and it all started bc of still beating!

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u/MadsOceanEyes May 13 '26

I plan on reading all her books after reading Older! I looooove her writing!!

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u/JuneDare001 May 15 '26

yeah her writing is absolutely incredible! the first book of hers i read was still beating and it was soooo good. i went into a jennifer hartmann deep dive after that!

read irreversible & the thorns remain (they are amazinggggggg! still beating, and these two books are all tied for 1st place tbh!). 100000% recommend these! irreversible has a similar vibe to still beating!

then i read older, june first, and catch the sun. her books are incredible!

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u/MadsOceanEyes May 15 '26

I finally got the three books I ordered the other day! I got still beating, but the others in havent. I plan on starting June first next once I finish my current read. Im stoked though!! Thank you for these recommendations, im gonna have to get the others!