Shadow Falling

Zero at the Bone

Jane Seville2009

A hitman refuses to kill a surgeon who witnessed a mob hit. The two men flee together and develop a romantic relationship while in hiding.

pace0·prose+1·bleak0

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

pace0·prose+3·bleak+1

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

pace0·prose+3·bleak+1

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

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

Drop Dead Gorgeous

Linda Howard2006

While planning her wedding, a former cheerleader survives a hit-and-run and tries to convince her detective fiancé she is being targeted.

propulsive → playful, still romantic suspense

pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

Don't Look Down

Jennifer Crusie2007

A director struggles to film an action movie while dealing with her ex-husband and a rigid military consultant.

propulsive → wry, still romantic suspense

pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

First Lie Wins

Ashley Elston2024

A professional con artist takes an assignment to infiltrate a man's life in a small town. She must balance her job with her growing feelings.

Same propulsive register

pace+1·prose+1·bleak-1

Ruthless People

J.J. McAvoy2017

The heirs to the Irish and Italian mobs marry to end a war. They compete for dominance while eliminating shared enemies.

Same propulsive register, still romantic suspense

pace+1·prose+1·bleak0

Savage Prince

Meghan March2018

A powerful man in the New Orleans underworld becomes obsessed with a woman and pursues her despite the danger of his lifestyle.

Same propulsive register, still romantic suspense

pace+1·prose0·bleak0

Burn for Me

Ilona Andrews2014

A private investigator with the ability to tell truth from lies is hired to find a fire-user. She is forced to work with a dangerous billionaire.

Same propulsive register, still forced proximity

pace+1·prose+1·bleak0

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

pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

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

pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

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

pace0·prose+1·bleak+2