Still Beating

The Monster

L.J. Shen

A young woman is forced into a relationship with a ruthless criminal enforcer as part of a debt repayment.

pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Madame Bovary

Gustave Flaubert1856

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

Same tense register

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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.

tense → epic

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Scrap Metal

Harper Fox2013

A man fleeing a scandal takes a job on a remote Scottish island farm and falls for the local sheep farmer.

tense → tender, still contemporary romance

pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

Till There Was You

Marie Force2019

A man returns to his island home to recover from a tragedy. He finds comfort and a new relationship with a woman he has known for years.

tense → warm, still contemporary romance

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Paradise Valley

Robyn Carr2009

A disfigured Marine returns to Virgin River to heal while a newcomer with a criminal past tries to find a place in the community.

tense → warm, still contemporary romance

pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2

Tall, Tatted and Tempting

Tammy Falkner2013

A tattoo artist who communicates through sign language falls for a woman who enters his shop. The story follows their domestic courtship.

tense → tender, still contemporary romance

pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

I Dare You

Shantel Tessier2018

A high school student moves to a new town and becomes the target of a cruel secret society. She must complete dangerous dares to survive.

Same tense register, still dark romance

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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.

tense → propulsive, still dark romance

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

The Professional: Part 2 (The Game Maker, #1b)

Kresley Cole

A Russian enforcer continues his pursuit of a graduate student across Europe. The focus is on their sexual power dynamic and his mafia duties.

Same tense register, still contemporary romance

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

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.

tense → 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.

tense → elegiac

pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

Either/Or

Søren Kierkegaard1992

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

tense → meditative

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The Last Letter

Rebecca Yarros2019

A soldier returns from war to help his deceased friend's sister raise her twins in Colorado. The story is told through letters and prose.

tense → elegiac, still contemporary romance

pace0·prose0·bleak+1

Darkest Descent

Hazel Black2024

A woman is kidnapped and subjected to psychological and physical abuse, discovering a dark attraction to her captor.

tense → haunted, still dark romance

pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

Wuthering Heights

Emily Brontë1846

Two families on the Yorkshire moors deal with the arrival and subsequent revenge of an adopted orphan. The story is told through nested narrators.

tense → bleak

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