Not every holiday romance needs to be swoony and sweet. Some of us crave a little darkness with our December romance.

If the only thing you want under your tree is a dangerously attractive antihero, welcome to the dark side of December. We’ve compiled a list of books filled with stalking, obsession, unhinged villains who don’t apologize, and holiday mayhem that’s more nightmare than Hallmark.

And remember: at Secret Pages Society, we don’t yuck anyone’s yum. Whether you like your Christmas romances sweet, spicy, sinister, or straight-up unhinged, your fictional kinks are safe here.

So dim the lights, pour something strong, and prepare for 12 dark Christmas romances that will curl your toes, and keep you up all night… in more ways than one 😈

1. Silent Night – M.L. Philpitt

**Stalker Romance • Criminal MMC • Obsessive Love**

We have a thief who thinks he’s untouchable and is repulsed by people’s greed at Christmas time. He spends the holidays breaking into houses taking whatever he wants because he believes we needs all of the stuff they buy more than they do. His next house should be like all the others. Until it isn’t. Until he’s caught in the house by the FMC. But this isn’t the first time she’s seen him. She thinks it’s a coincidence. He say it’s fate. And now, there’s one more thing he wants to steal. One thing he’s growing too obsessed with, too greedy for to release. **Her.**

2. A Very Stalker Christmas — Layla Fae

**Ex-Military MMC • Masked Stalker • Protective Obsession**

We have a masked ex-military recluse who has turned full Christmas guardian… and full stalker. The FMC thinks her life is blessed with holiday miracles — her driveway is always cleared, her home magically tidy, her chores mysteriously done. But it’s not magic. It’s him. Watching. Protecting. Breaking into her house every night because he’s convinced no one sees her goodness the way he does. She believes he’s just a quiet neighbor. He knows he’s been hers long before she ever noticed him. And when she finally turns her attention his way? He completely unravels.

3. A Very Killer Christmas — Layla Fae

**Serial Killer MMC • Reclusive FMC • Toe Curling Romance**

A serial killer on the run, ducks into what he thinks is an empty house only to find a shut-in gamer who doesn’t scream or run when she sees him covered in blood. She just… offers him eggnog. She’s curious, he’s lethal, and the chemistry between them is instant and unnervingly sweet. He doesn’t kill innocents, but she makes him reconsider every rule he’s ever lived by.

4. He Sees You When You’re Sleeping — Alta Hensley

**Stalker Romance • Firefighter MMC • He Falls First**

Our FMC is spending Christmas alone… or so she thinks. What she doesn’t realize is that two men have been watching her for very different reasons. One is a fan of her secret spicy online persona and he’s obsessed. The other is the firefighter who saved her after the accident that changed everything and he’s been quietly guarding her ever since. Both men think she belongs with them. Both think they’re the one she’s meant for. And only one is willing to cross every line to make sure she never slips away.

5. He Knows When You’re Awake — Alta Hensley

**Dark Billionaire Stalker • Forced Proximity • Morally Grey MMC**

Our billionaire MMC has been quietly watching the jewelry designer, Sloane for months. He's been studying her designs, her ambition, and the darkness she doesn’t show anyone else. When she desperately needs funding to launch her jewelry line, he swoops in with the perfect offer… and an even more perfect trap. Sloane ends up in his penthouse under the guise of “work.” He tells her the lines are professional. He knows they’re not. And when his enemies come for her, he becomes feral enough to burn the world down to get her back.

6. Mean One — Ab. Cynthe

**Dark Grinch Retelling • Monster MMC • Revenge Romance**

This is a dark, twisted Grinch retelling (we read and don’t judge 😅) and our MMC is exactly as unhinged as you want him to be. He’s mean, monstrous, and absolutely fueled by revenge.
Is it going to be a literary masterpiece? No, but sometimes we need something weird and wacky. Who knows you might just have fun!

7. Slaying the Holidays — Beatrix Hollow

**Killer MMC • Forbidden Chemistry • Morally Grey DILF**

This is what happens when a therapist jokingly tells her client to “find a new hobby”… and he chooses *murder.* Our MMC takes her offhand comment very literally and drags her straight into his holiday killing spree, all while she tries (and fails) to stay ethically and emotionally detached. She’s exasperated, he’s dangerously charming, and together they create the kind of morally questionable holiday romance you can’t put down.

8. Taken in the Tree Farm — Dana LeeAnn

**Kidnapping Fantasy • Cat-and-Mouse • Dark Fairytale**

She wakes up bound in a glowing, Christmas-light-covered tree farm with no memory of how she got there. Then a voice tells her to run and the chase begins. The MMC knows every turn, every hiding spot, every way her body responds when fear and desire blur. What unfolds is a twisted, wintery cat-and-mouse game where she realizes the most dangerous fantasies are the ones she secretly wanted all along.

9. Slay All the Way — Nova Kane

**Killer MMC • Horror Romance • Plus Size FMC**

Think killer clown + Christmas Eve + no escape. This MMC is a full-blown murderous nightmare, stalking his way through snowy streets with zero remorse. When Santa Johnny sets his sights on the FMC, she becomes the only thing he’s focused on, the one person he wants to chase, terrify, and claim. It’s violent, bloody, and strangely seductive in that “I should not enjoy this but I absolutely do” kind of way. Check your trigger warnings!!

10. The Coventry Carol — Ashlyn Drewek (MM)

**MM Romance • Dark Folklore • Guardian-Angel MMC**

Caspar hates Christmas so deeply he’s ready to end everything until he’s stopped by Nick, the reluctant son of Santa Claus who has quietly watched him for years. Their collision on Christmas Eve pulls them into a dark, folklore-laced connection full of grief, desire, destiny, and holiday mythology turned on its head. It’s heavy, emotional, and haunting in a way only MM dark romance can deliver.

11. Slaying for Sloan — Melissa McSherry

**Primal Play • Dangerous Game • Morally Grey MMC**

This novella is chaos in the best way. After a blowout fight with her boyfriend, the FMC wakes up on Christmas Eve to a box, a key, and rules for a game he wants to play — and every rule involves her getting caught and claimed. One catch means he tastes her. Two means she’s on her knees. Three means he gets everything. And if he beats her to the church after all that? Nothing is off-limits. It’s primal, filthy, and exactly the kind of dark holiday energy you read in one breathless sitting.

12. Christmas Bangers — Mila Crawford

**Dark Anthology • Criminal MMCs • High-Intensity Heat**

This anthology is four quick, filthy, dangerous holiday stories featuring killers, criminals, and morally corrupt men who fixate on their heroines with obsessive intensity. Each story is perfect for when you want instant gratification with a side of holiday mayhem.

If your holiday TBR is looking a little unhinged right now… good. That means you’re exactly where you’re meant to be. These dark Christmas romances are messy, obsessive, morally grey, and a little bloody in the snow — and honestly, that’s part of their charm.

If you’re need a palette cleanser after reading any of these, check out some of our other Christmas romance books lineup and build the ultimate festive TBR:

→ 🎄 12 Days of Christmas Romance — cozy, sweet, and full of mistletoe kisses
→ 🔥 12 Days of Spicy Christmas Romance - heat up your holidays with a bit of spice
→ 👹 12 Days of Monsters Under the Mistletoe — claws, fangs, tentacles… you get it

May your December be dark, delicious, and delightfully deranged,

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12 Days Of The Dark Side of Christmas Romance