Circana Cites ‘Dark Romance’ Growing in US Market

Some 51 million units have sold in print romance titles in the United States market in 12 months, per Circana’s research.

Image – Getty: Victoria Kotlyarchuk

By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson

Romance Print Running 24 Percent Over First Half of 2024

As the Circana BookScan assessment on the first half of 2025’s print publishing market reaches news media today (June 5), there’s an emphasis on American consumers’ interest in what Brenna Connor, a US books industry analyst, calls, “another year of romance with a dark twist.”

“The market for romance books has been growing since 2021,” Connor reports, “and remains hot.”

Year-to-date print sales for romance books are up 24 percent vs. the same period last year, in her team’s tracking.

The volume of romance books “has more than doubled,” she says, “compared to four years ago, with 51 units sold in the past 12 months.”

It’s Not All Yarros; Think Paranormal and Anti-Hero Themes

“While Rebecca Yarros’ latest release Onyx Storm from Entangled became the fastest-selling adult title in its opening week in the 20-year history of BookScan,” Connor says, it’s a key factor in the romance sales growth—but “a lot of activity is happening beyond one major author.”

Even when excluding Yarros from the romance market, the category is still showing double-digit growth.

Authors HD Carlton, Rina Kent, and Elsie Silver “are among the top-growing romance writers of the year,” Connor says. “One key similarity among them is that their stories explore dark romance, including paranormal and anti-hero themes.”

Brenna Connor

Perhaps most meaningful to serious observers of what the market and what one change or another means, Connor’s way of putting the phenomenon is interesting: “A desire for dark subjects is surfacing in the romance book market,” she says.

“This trend aligns with other growing segments in adult fiction including:

• Psychological thrillers (+29 percent);
• Dark fantasy (+23 percent); and
• Horror (+13 percent).

“This year,” Connor says, “I’m watching a shift away from rosier romance subjects like romantic comedy and new-adult romance in favor of authors and titles with darker themes.

“Combined with the growth in other more intense fiction subjects like horror and dystopian,” she says, “a new trend has emerged that’s marked by darker escapist themes. These subject-matter areas provide an outlet for readers to safely explore negative emotions such as sadness, anger, or anxiety–allowing them to feel connected and perhaps even comforted.

“I expect to see continued interest in these darker subjects in the year ahead.”

Circana’s Top 10 Selling Books, 2025 Year-to-Date

The company’s research saw these titles leading in the US print market, year-t0o-date into April 2025.

Source: Circana BookScan, print only, US market only

More from Publishing Perspectives on industry statistics is here, more on Circana BookScan research is here, and more on children’s books and the markets for young readers is here. More on the United States book industry is here.