After
The Untouchables
J.J. McAvoy2015
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
Same propulsive register, still mafia romance
- pace0prose0bleak0
Ruthless Creatures
J.T. Geissinger2021
Five years after her fiancé vanishes, a woman becomes involved with a dangerous stranger who has ties to the local mafia.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
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.
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Alexei
Roxie Rivera2016
A Russian mobster protects a woman from his own violent world. The story follows their relationship as he navigates a gang war in Houston.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
Black Sheep
Meghan March2019
The unacknowledged son of a crime boss risks his position and safety when he falls for a woman who seeks a job at his club.
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
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.
Same propulsive register, still romantic suspense
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
Middlemarch
George Eliot1800
Interconnected families in a 1830s English town navigate marriage, debt, and political change. The focus is on social realism and internal life.
propulsive → elegiac
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace0prose+2bleak+1
Lolita
Vladimir Nabokov
A middle-aged professor documents his obsession with his twelve-year-old stepdaughter. He uses complex prose to justify his crimes.
propulsive → tense
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+2bleak+1
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+2·bleak+1
- pace0prose+2bleak+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+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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+1·bleak0
To recover
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Brutal Prince
Sophie Lark2020
The heirs of two rival Chicago mafia families are forced into an arranged marriage to prevent a gang war.
propulsive → sardonic, still romantic suspense
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Assistant to the Villain
Hannah Nicole Maehrer2023
A woman takes a job as an administrative assistant to a local villain to support her family. She manages his office while ignoring his evil deeds.
propulsive → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Fearless Fourteen
Janet Evanovich2008
A bounty hunter searches for a missing bank robber while a stoner guards a cop's house. The plot involves a hidden nine-million-dollar fortune.
propulsive → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Ride Steady
Kristen Ashley2015
A single mother reconnects with a man from her past who is now part of a motorcycle club. He helps her rebuild after her life falls apart.
propulsive → warm, still romantic suspense
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Ivan
Roxie Rivera2013
A Russian mob enforcer is sent to collect a debt from a woman but chooses to protect her instead. He moves her into his home for safety.
propulsive → earnest, still romantic suspense
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+1prose0bleak0
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 mafia romance
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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·prose-1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
The Risk
S.T. Abby2016
A serial killer seeking revenge on her childhood tormentors falls for the FBI profiler hunting her. She kills while he investigates.
Same propulsive register, still romantic suspense
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Breaking Point
Pamela Clare2011
A journalist and a deputy sheriff are targeted by a drug cartel in the Colorado mountains. They must survive the wilderness while being hunted.
propulsive → tense, still romantic suspense
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
Quantum Radio
A.G. Riddle2023
A scientist at CERN discovers a signal from a parallel universe. He must flee a conspiracy while exploring the implications of the data.
Same propulsive register
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
Dhalgren
Samuel R. Delany1975
An amnesiac wanderer enters Bellona, a city cut off from the world where time and geography shift. He joins a gang and writes poetry.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
Gödel, Escher, Bach
Douglas R. Hofstadter1979
An exploration of how cognition emerges from hidden neurological patterns. It uses math, art, and music to explain self-referential systems.
propulsive → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
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+2·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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+2·bleak0
Heavier
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
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.
propulsive → bleak
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose0bleak+2
A Farewell to Arms
Ernest Hemingway1929
An American ambulance driver and a British nurse conduct a love affair during the Italian campaign of World War I.
propulsive → elegiac
pace-1·prose0·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
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+1·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+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·prose0·bleak+2
