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📚 Books That Took Over My Life (And Might Take Over Yours)
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items These are the books that completely pulled me in, stories that had me ignoring texts, staying up way too late, and saying “just one more chapter” at 3am 😭✨ Whether it’s fantasy, romance, thrillers or something in between, every book on this list did...
Sections
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Fantasy That Had Me Gasping, Kicking & Screaming
🔪📚 Murder, Thriller & Page-Turners
🖤 Books With Villains You Fell For
Fantasy That Had Me Gasping, Kicking & Screaming
Magic, romance, betrayal, dragons, dark plots, and fierce characters, this section is for the fantasy lovers who want it all. Whether it’s a brutal magical academy or an epic kingdom in chaos, these books pulled me in so hard I forgot reality existed...
This book??? SO GOOD I honestly couldn’t stop reading. It’s fantasy with dragons, danger, slow-burn romance, and a setting that’s intense in the best way. If you love books that fully pull you in---this is the one. The main girl? She’s not your typic...
11/10🖤 Book 1: Fourth Wing – by Rebecca Yarros
I picked this up thinking it would be a slow fantasy… but OMG I did not expect to get so attached 😭 This book has assassins, hidden secrets, a dangerous kingdom, slow-burn tension, and a main girl who’s sharp, deadly, and actually funny. Celaena (th...
10/10 🖤Book 2: Throne of Glass ✨
“They never saw her coming…” This book is a villain’s fairytale. No saving the world — she wants the throne, the man, and all the power. 😈
Why I Loved It:
🖤The main girl? She’s not your usual hero — she wants to seduce the Shadow King… then kill him and take his crown. ICONIC.
🖤No simpering, no helplessness — just deadly plots, flirty games, and knife-sharp ambition.
🖤The romance? Slow, dark, powerful. Not your sweet fantasy fluff — this is seduction and secrets wrapped in velvet and blood.
🖤One of the rare books where you root for the villain and LOVE it. 💅🏻
Why You Should Read It:
👑Dark royal court politics
👑A heroine who’s giving “I’m not like the other girls” but actually means it
👑Shadow magic, assassinations, betrayal
👑Standalone — so no dragging series commitment (but you’ll wish it was longer) ✨
True fantasy fans, beware:
If you like your heroines morally grey, your kings brooding and made of shadows, and your plots laced with poison and ambition, this will make your heart race.
👑 Slytherin-coded fantasy? 100%.
🖤 Villainous. Sexy. Addictive.
🔥 Rating: 9.5/10 — because I wanted to crawl inside this world and never leave.
Why I Loved It:
🖤The main girl? She’s not your usual hero — she wants to seduce the Shadow King… then kill him and take his crown. ICONIC.
🖤No simpering, no helplessness — just deadly plots, flirty games, and knife-sharp ambition.
🖤The romance? Slow, dark, powerful. Not your sweet fantasy fluff — this is seduction and secrets wrapped in velvet and blood.
🖤One of the rare books where you root for the villain and LOVE it. 💅🏻
Why You Should Read It:
👑Dark royal court politics
👑A heroine who’s giving “I’m not like the other girls” but actually means it
👑Shadow magic, assassinations, betrayal
👑Standalone — so no dragging series commitment (but you’ll wish it was longer) ✨
True fantasy fans, beware:
If you like your heroines morally grey, your kings brooding and made of shadows, and your plots laced with poison and ambition, this will make your heart race.
👑 Slytherin-coded fantasy? 100%.
🖤 Villainous. Sexy. Addictive.
🔥 Rating: 9.5/10 — because I wanted to crawl inside this world and never leave.
9.5/10 🖤👑 Book 3: The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller
🌶️ Villain Vibes: The broody, morally grey High Lords who make being bad look very good. 🧨 What You’ll Get: ✨ A magical fae realm 💋 Enemies-to-lovers tension 🖤 One of the best villain-to-lover transformations 🔥 Steamy, high-stakes romance 🎭 Pol...
Why Read It? You’ll start it thinking it’s just Beauty & the Beast with fae... then BAM! You’re emotionally destroyed, obsessed, and Googling “hot fictional fae men quotes.”
⭐ Rating: 9.3/10 — dangerously addictive.
Why Read It? You’ll start it thinking it’s just Beauty & the Beast with fae... then BAM! You’re emotionally destroyed, obsessed, and Googling “hot fictional fae men quotes.”
⭐ Rating: 9.3/10 — dangerously addictive.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
🔪📚 Murder, Thriller & Page-Turners
Welcome to the dark side of my bookshelf — where no one is safe, secrets spill like red wine on white carpet 🍷😨, and every book ends with you questioning everyone hehe. If you're into murder, twisted minds, shocking reveals, and gasping out loud at 3 a.m. — babes, you’re in the right crime ...
🩸 “A woman kills her husband… then never speaks again.” Sounds basic? It's not. This book is so psychologically twisted it’ll have you flipping pages like you’re in a race.
What I LOVED:
✨ That shocking ending — I dropped the book and stared at the wall. 🖤 The vibe is moody, mysterious, artistic, yet super disturbing. 🎭 The characters feel SO real, you’ll forget it’s fiction.
What I didn’t love: ⏳ It’s a bit slow in the middle — BUT that ending makes it worth every second. Smells like: Wet paint, cold air in a gallery, and secrets behind velvet curtains 🎨💀 🔥
Tempt Level: 10/10 would sell my sleep to read this again 💥
Rating: 9.5/10
Buy this if you want: To feel like a detective, gasp loudly alone in your room, and recommend a book so much your friends block you for spoiling the twist 😅
What I LOVED:
✨ That shocking ending — I dropped the book and stared at the wall. 🖤 The vibe is moody, mysterious, artistic, yet super disturbing. 🎭 The characters feel SO real, you’ll forget it’s fiction.
What I didn’t love: ⏳ It’s a bit slow in the middle — BUT that ending makes it worth every second. Smells like: Wet paint, cold air in a gallery, and secrets behind velvet curtains 🎨💀 🔥
Tempt Level: 10/10 would sell my sleep to read this again 💥
Rating: 9.5/10
Buy this if you want: To feel like a detective, gasp loudly alone in your room, and recommend a book so much your friends block you for spoiling the twist 😅
9.5/10 🧠 Book 1: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
🎬 "Imagine waking up every day... and not remembering anything. At all." Every night she forgets everything. Every morning, she has to trust the man in her bed who says he’s her husband. But guess what? He might be lying. And worse... so might she. ...
What I LOVED:
🧩 The suspense is SO thick, you’ll feel claustrophobic. 😱 Every chapter ends with a cliffhanger — seriously, your brain won’t rest. 🧠 The memory loss angle makes it extra twisty and unreliable — you won’t know who to trust.
What I didn’t love:
⚠️ A bit repetitive, but that’s kinda the point — and it adds to the tension! Feels like: Waking up in a stranger’s life... except it’s yours. 😰🛏️🩺
🧠 Mind Damage Rating: 10/10
💣 Plot Twist Factor: 9/10
📚 Overall Rating: 9/10
Buy this if you want: A psychological thriller that’ll have you whispering “wtf” every other page and triple-checking your memory before you sleep 😵💫🔐
What I LOVED:
🧩 The suspense is SO thick, you’ll feel claustrophobic. 😱 Every chapter ends with a cliffhanger — seriously, your brain won’t rest. 🧠 The memory loss angle makes it extra twisty and unreliable — you won’t know who to trust.
What I didn’t love:
⚠️ A bit repetitive, but that’s kinda the point — and it adds to the tension! Feels like: Waking up in a stranger’s life... except it’s yours. 😰🛏️🩺
🧠 Mind Damage Rating: 10/10
💣 Plot Twist Factor: 9/10
📚 Overall Rating: 9/10
Buy this if you want: A psychological thriller that’ll have you whispering “wtf” every other page and triple-checking your memory before you sleep 😵💫🔐
9/10 🧠💀 Book 2: Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
💍 “The perfect marriage… or the perfect lie?” From the outside, Jack and Grace are #couplegoals — rich, beautiful, and hopelessly in love. But behind those perfect dinner parties, something’s terribly wrong. Grace never answers the phone. She doesn’...
🔒 What I LOVED: 😨 The psychological horror — no ghosts, just human evil. 🧠 The mind games Jack plays? Chilling. 📖 Short chapters that make you binge-read without realising.
What I HATED: 💢 It made me so angry at how real this could be. ⚠️ Very dark. Definitely check trigger warnings if you're sensitive.
Feels like: Getting trapped in a golden cage while everyone claps for your perfect life 🎭🥀
🖤 Disturbance Rating: 10/10
🔪 Creep Factor: 10/10
📚 Overall Rating: 9.5/10
Buy this if you want: A domestic thriller that’s so intense you’ll feel trapped in that house with her… and praying for a way out 🕷️🕯️👁️
🔒 What I LOVED: 😨 The psychological horror — no ghosts, just human evil. 🧠 The mind games Jack plays? Chilling. 📖 Short chapters that make you binge-read without realising.
What I HATED: 💢 It made me so angry at how real this could be. ⚠️ Very dark. Definitely check trigger warnings if you're sensitive.
Feels like: Getting trapped in a golden cage while everyone claps for your perfect life 🎭🥀
🖤 Disturbance Rating: 10/10
🔪 Creep Factor: 10/10
📚 Overall Rating: 9.5/10
Buy this if you want: A domestic thriller that’s so intense you’ll feel trapped in that house with her… and praying for a way out 🕷️🕯️👁️
9.5/10🕯️🩸 Book 3: Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
📓 "Some truths should stay buried… but she digs them up anyway." Lowen is a struggling writer. She's hired to finish the bestselling series of Verity Crawford — a famous author who’s had a mysterious accident. But inside Verity’s home, Lowen finds a...
📖 Why I LOVED it: 💀 Unreliable characters — everyone’s lying. ✍️ That hidden autobiography? Psychotic genius. The final twist — I GASPED. Literally looked around the room.
Why I HATED it: ⚠️ I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Like… even in the shower. 🚪 Made me scared of closed doors and basements forever.
😈 Revenge Rating: 11/10
🩸 Disturbing Level: 10/10
📚 Overall Rating: 9.8/10
Buy this if you want: That “I need to talk to someone immediately” feeling after finishing a book. Your trust issues? They’ll multiply 📉🧠💔
📖 Why I LOVED it: 💀 Unreliable characters — everyone’s lying. ✍️ That hidden autobiography? Psychotic genius. The final twist — I GASPED. Literally looked around the room.
Why I HATED it: ⚠️ I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Like… even in the shower. 🚪 Made me scared of closed doors and basements forever.
😈 Revenge Rating: 11/10
🩸 Disturbing Level: 10/10
📚 Overall Rating: 9.8/10
Buy this if you want: That “I need to talk to someone immediately” feeling after finishing a book. Your trust issues? They’ll multiply 📉🧠💔
9.8/10 🕷️🔥 Book 4: Verity by Colleen Hoover
📓 “If you leave a door half-open, soon you’ll hear the whispers spoken…” A father and son move to a quiet village for a fresh start… Problem? This town has a dark past — a serial killer who lured boys by whispering outside their windows. And now, th...
Why I LOVED it: 😨 Creepy kids, creepy whispers, creepy houses — 10/10 haunting atmosphere. 🧠 Layers of trauma, father-son bonding, police investigation — not just blood and guts. 📖 Slow burn but then BAM — it hits you with emotional punches and se...
Why I HATED it: 😵 I kept checking my window at night. 📵 Don’t read alone if your Wi-Fi ever glitches and you hear noises outside. No joke.
🧠 Psychological Damage: 9.5/10
🔪 Serial Killer Chills: 10/10
💭 Vibes: Mindhunter x The Babadook
📚 Overall Rating: 9.6/10
Buy this if you want: A mix of haunting suspense, police procedural, and sinister childhood fears. It’ll stay in your head like a whisper you can’t ignore. 👂🌑
Why I LOVED it: 😨 Creepy kids, creepy whispers, creepy houses — 10/10 haunting atmosphere. 🧠 Layers of trauma, father-son bonding, police investigation — not just blood and guts. 📖 Slow burn but then BAM — it hits you with emotional punches and se...
Why I HATED it: 😵 I kept checking my window at night. 📵 Don’t read alone if your Wi-Fi ever glitches and you hear noises outside. No joke.
🧠 Psychological Damage: 9.5/10
🔪 Serial Killer Chills: 10/10
💭 Vibes: Mindhunter x The Babadook
📚 Overall Rating: 9.6/10
Buy this if you want: A mix of haunting suspense, police procedural, and sinister childhood fears. It’ll stay in your head like a whisper you can’t ignore. 👂🌑
9.6/10 🪓🕷 Book 5: The Whisper Man by Alex North
📍 From the creator of The Killing — Scandi noir at its finest 🧸 A killer leaves handmade chestnut dolls at the scene of each brutal murder. Inside one? A fingerprint… Of a girl who’s been missing for a year. And declared dead. Let the twisted game ...
Why I LOVED it:
🕵️♀️ Dual detectives with sizzling chemistry trying to outsmart a genius killer.
🧠 The killer is methodical, calculated — and always a step ahead.
👀 The plot twists? Unhinged. I gasped at 3 separate points.
Why I HATED it:
💥 The tension is SO HIGH you might sweat reading.
😵💫 You'll suspect everyone — and still be wrong.
🎯 Cat-and-Mouse Thrill: 10/10
🧩 Plot Twists: 9.8/10
💀 Murder Level: Cold. Brutal. Clinical. 10/10
📚 Overall Rating: 9.7/10
Buy this if you want:
✅ An intelligent, deadly killer who leaves clues like it’s a sick game ✅ Heart-thudding detective drama
✅ Dark autumnal European vibes 🍁☁️
Why I LOVED it:
🕵️♀️ Dual detectives with sizzling chemistry trying to outsmart a genius killer.
🧠 The killer is methodical, calculated — and always a step ahead.
👀 The plot twists? Unhinged. I gasped at 3 separate points.
Why I HATED it:
💥 The tension is SO HIGH you might sweat reading.
😵💫 You'll suspect everyone — and still be wrong.
🎯 Cat-and-Mouse Thrill: 10/10
🧩 Plot Twists: 9.8/10
💀 Murder Level: Cold. Brutal. Clinical. 10/10
📚 Overall Rating: 9.7/10
Buy this if you want:
✅ An intelligent, deadly killer who leaves clues like it’s a sick game ✅ Heart-thudding detective drama
✅ Dark autumnal European vibes 🍁☁️
9.7/10 🐾🔪 Book 6: The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup
🔍 A psychological thriller told from the POV of the stalker. He watches you. Follows you. Loves you. Obsessively. But the scariest part? He's charming, funny, and… disturbingly relatable. Plot: Joe Goldberg works at a bookstore in New York. Then Bec...
🖤 Why it's DISTURBING:
🧠 You're inside a sociopath’s head. It’s intimate and terrifying.
😳 You’ll catch yourself agreeing with him — until he kills someone.
🤯 It’s obsession, delusion, romance, and horror mashed into one messed-up masterpiece.
🧠 Psychological Madness: 10/10
📖 Obsession Level: 11/10
💀 Murder Level: Personal, chilling, slow-burn — 9.5/10
👁 Creepy Factor: 10/10
📚 Overall Rating: 9.6/10
Buy this if you want:
✅ To crawl inside the mind of a charismatic serial stalker
✅ A thriller that reads like a romance — until it turns to pure horror
✅ To feel unsettled for days after you close the last page
🖤 Why it's DISTURBING:
🧠 You're inside a sociopath’s head. It’s intimate and terrifying.
😳 You’ll catch yourself agreeing with him — until he kills someone.
🤯 It’s obsession, delusion, romance, and horror mashed into one messed-up masterpiece.
🧠 Psychological Madness: 10/10
📖 Obsession Level: 11/10
💀 Murder Level: Personal, chilling, slow-burn — 9.5/10
👁 Creepy Factor: 10/10
📚 Overall Rating: 9.6/10
Buy this if you want:
✅ To crawl inside the mind of a charismatic serial stalker
✅ A thriller that reads like a romance — until it turns to pure horror
✅ To feel unsettled for days after you close the last page
9.6/10🧠🖤 Book 7: You by Caroline Kepnes
🖤 Books With Villains You Fell For
Not all villains wear capes—some wear smirks, whisper lies, and steal your heart while burning the world down. 😈💔 This section is dedicated to the morally grey, the seductive masterminds, and the enemies who made you question your sanity. These are...
✨ Genre: Dark Fantasy / Supernatural Revenge
🦹 Villain You’ll Fall For: Victor Vale
⚔️ The Premise: What if superpowers didn’t make you a hero—but a villain? Victor and Eli were best friends... until they discovered how to give themselves powers. Now one is a self-made god, and the other is out for revenge.
😈 Why You’ll Love the Villain: Victor isn’t your typical bad guy. He’s cold, brilliant, broken—and you’ll root for him anyway. He doesn't want to save the world—he wants to burn it just right. He's what happens when genius meets pain—and refuses to ...
Highlights:
🖤 Morally grey characters
💥 Enemies to death-level enemies
🧠 Powers born from pain
📜 Intense, sharp writing
⏳ Fast-paced, short chapters (you’ll fly through it)
🌪️ Read If You Like:
Villains as main characters X-Men vibes with darker twists
Stories where revenge feels delicious
Dark academia + supernatural + enemies with history
⭐ Final Spell: Once you meet Victor Vale, you’ll question what makes a villain... and secretly wish you were him. 🖤 This book doesn’t ask for your sympathy hehe
🦹 Villain You’ll Fall For: Victor Vale
⚔️ The Premise: What if superpowers didn’t make you a hero—but a villain? Victor and Eli were best friends... until they discovered how to give themselves powers. Now one is a self-made god, and the other is out for revenge.
😈 Why You’ll Love the Villain: Victor isn’t your typical bad guy. He’s cold, brilliant, broken—and you’ll root for him anyway. He doesn't want to save the world—he wants to burn it just right. He's what happens when genius meets pain—and refuses to ...
Highlights:
🖤 Morally grey characters
💥 Enemies to death-level enemies
🧠 Powers born from pain
📜 Intense, sharp writing
⏳ Fast-paced, short chapters (you’ll fly through it)
🌪️ Read If You Like:
Villains as main characters X-Men vibes with darker twists
Stories where revenge feels delicious
Dark academia + supernatural + enemies with history
⭐ Final Spell: Once you meet Victor Vale, you’ll question what makes a villain... and secretly wish you were him. 🖤 This book doesn’t ask for your sympathy hehe
9.5/10 🔥 Book 1: Vicious by V. E. Schwab
✨ Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.2/5 on Goodreads)
🔥 Villain-Lover Vibes: Morally grey witch hunter x chaotic, sarcastic witch
📚 Genre: Fantasy, enemies-to-lovers, forbidden magic
💫 Why You’ll Obsess: This book burns with slow-burn chemistry, magical secrets, and sharp-tongued banter. Lou is wild, clever, and hiding her witchy truth. Reid? A cinnamon roll dipped in holy fire—torn between duty and desire. They’re forced into m...
🖤 Bonus Feels:
✨ Forbidden love
Hidden magic + dangerous truths
👀 Glare-stare-kiss-repeat energy
🔥 Knife-to-throat romance moments
🔥 Villain-Lover Vibes: Morally grey witch hunter x chaotic, sarcastic witch
📚 Genre: Fantasy, enemies-to-lovers, forbidden magic
💫 Why You’ll Obsess: This book burns with slow-burn chemistry, magical secrets, and sharp-tongued banter. Lou is wild, clever, and hiding her witchy truth. Reid? A cinnamon roll dipped in holy fire—torn between duty and desire. They’re forced into m...
🖤 Bonus Feels:
✨ Forbidden love
Hidden magic + dangerous truths
👀 Glare-stare-kiss-repeat energy
🔥 Knife-to-throat romance moments
9.2/10🐍 Book 2. Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
✨ Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.3/5 on Goodreads) 🌒 Villain: Dacre – ancient, cruel, addictive god of war
📚 Genre:
Mythic fantasy, tragic romance, poetic pain
💫 Why You’ll Obsess: Dacre is everything a dark villain should be—powerful, wicked, and whispering words that make you tremble. This isn’t your usual fantasy romance—it’s epic, laced with doomed letters, destiny, and soft-hearted tragedy hiding unde...
🖤 Bonus Feels:
💌 Love through letters
💀 Death, fate, and divine betrayal
🔥 “Touch me and die” x “Then let me burn” vibes
🗡️ The villain might break you—and you'll beg for more
📚 Genre:
Mythic fantasy, tragic romance, poetic pain
💫 Why You’ll Obsess: Dacre is everything a dark villain should be—powerful, wicked, and whispering words that make you tremble. This isn’t your usual fantasy romance—it’s epic, laced with doomed letters, destiny, and soft-hearted tragedy hiding unde...
🖤 Bonus Feels:
💌 Love through letters
💀 Death, fate, and divine betrayal
🔥 “Touch me and die” x “Then let me burn” vibes
🗡️ The villain might break you—and you'll beg for more
9.3/10⚔️ 3. Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross
🩸 Villain-Lover: Adrian – vampire king, brutal, ancient, and devastatingly seductive
🕯️ Vibe: Forced marriage, vampires, kingdoms at war, and a heroine who doesn’t bow easily ✨ The Premise:
Isolde is forced to marry the vampire king to stop the slaughter of her people. She plans to kill him. He plans to… own her. But something darker brews beneath the blood and battle. And this king? He’s more dangerous in love than at war.
🔥 Why You’ll Fall: Adrian is pure, deadly charisma—dominant, cruel, and yet fiercely protective. Isolde is fire in a queen’s body, and their push-pull is electric. When the claws come out, so do the feelings.
🖤 Bonus Vibes:
🔥Dark fantasy with spice
☠️ Vampire royalty
🦇 Power dynamics, slow burn, obsession “I’d burn the world for you” energy
⭐ Rating: 4.1/5 – For readers who like it dark, bloody, and utterly delicious
🕯️ Vibe: Forced marriage, vampires, kingdoms at war, and a heroine who doesn’t bow easily ✨ The Premise:
Isolde is forced to marry the vampire king to stop the slaughter of her people. She plans to kill him. He plans to… own her. But something darker brews beneath the blood and battle. And this king? He’s more dangerous in love than at war.
🔥 Why You’ll Fall: Adrian is pure, deadly charisma—dominant, cruel, and yet fiercely protective. Isolde is fire in a queen’s body, and their push-pull is electric. When the claws come out, so do the feelings.
🖤 Bonus Vibes:
🔥Dark fantasy with spice
☠️ Vampire royalty
🦇 Power dynamics, slow burn, obsession “I’d burn the world for you” energy
⭐ Rating: 4.1/5 – For readers who like it dark, bloody, and utterly delicious
9/10 🔥 4. King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair