Savage Bonds

The Darkest Night

Gena Showalter2008

A woman who hears voices meets a warrior possessed by a demon of violence. They recognize each other as a way to soothe their respective curses.

Same propulsive register, still paranormal romance

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Madame Bovary

Gustave Flaubert1856

A doctor's wife in provincial France seeks escape from her mundane life through expensive tastes and extramarital affairs.

propulsive → tense

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Paradise Logic

Sophie Kemp2025

A young woman follows advice from a magazine to become a perfect partner. Her quest involves surreal jobs and messages from the beyond.

propulsive → epic

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Mad Mabel

Sally Hepworth2025

An eighty-one-year-old woman with a history of killing people tries to hide her past when a curious young girl moves into the neighborhood.

propulsive → dark

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Electric Idol

Katee Robert2022

In a modern-day Olympus, Eros is ordered to kill Psyche but chooses to enter a fake marriage with her to protect her from his mother.

propulsive → playful, still paranormal romance

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Feral Sins

Suzanne Wright2013

Two shape-shifters from different packs enter a fake relationship to solve political problems. It focuses on their physical attraction.

propulsive → playful, still paranormal romance

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Big bad beast

Shelly Laurenston2011

A wolf-shifter Marine investigates a hybrid fighting ring while dealing with her persistent boss. It is a paranormal romance set in an urban world.

propulsive → playful, still paranormal romance

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Wicked All Night

Jeaniene Frost2021

A vampire and a siren enter a marriage of convenience to protect her from a supernatural threat. They hunt a dark god across the globe.

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Hounded

Kevin Hearne2011

A two-thousand-year-old Druid lives in modern Arizona and runs an occult bookshop. He must fight a vengeful Irish god who wants his sword.

propulsive → wry, still urban fantasy

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The Killing Dance

Laurell K. Hamilton1997

A necromancer with a bounty on her head seeks help from a professional hitman. She navigates a love triangle with a werewolf and a vampire.

Same propulsive register, still urban fantasy

pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

Ulysses

James Joyce1914

Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.

propulsive → playful

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Absalom, Absalom!

William Faulkner1936

The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.

propulsive → elegiac

pace-2·prose+3·bleak+2

Either/Or

Søren Kierkegaard1992

A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

propulsive → meditative

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Tess of the D’Urbervilles

Thomas Hardy

A country girl is sent to claim kinship with wealthy relatives. Her life is derailed by a sequence of social betrayals and rigid moral standards.

propulsive → elegiac

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

Brokeback Mountain

Annie Proulx1997

Two ranch hands begin a secret sexual and emotional relationship in 1963 Wyoming. The story follows their occasional meetings over twenty years.

propulsive → elegiac

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

Bright Side

Kim Holden2014

An optimistic college student moves to Minnesota for a fresh start while hiding a terminal diagnosis from her best friend.

propulsive → tender

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