Dying for stories with high stakes and deep passion?Enter dark romance, where vigilantes, mafia bosses and stalkers go hand in hand with happily ever afters. Romance is among the few genres growing in sales, and readers are increasingly shifting away from rom-coms toward romances with darker themes, according to Circana BookScan.Despite memes pointing out these love interests are people fans “would pepper spray in real life,” many readers say dark romance is misunderstood. So what is it about morally gray men that has them swooning?What is dark romance?Like the broader romance genre, dark romance guarantees a happily ever after. But it’s a messier journey. “There’s a heavier kind of backstory that tends to happen for a lot of the characters,” says Brynne Weaver, author of “Butcher & Blackbird," a dark rom-com and USA TODAY bestseller. “There’s a bit of murder and mayhem and chaos. It might be a toxic relationship … there might be a childhood story of trauma. It's just got these heavier, adult content themes for the characters to explore.”Dark romance deals in taboo, whether that be power dynamics between lovers or danger lurking beyond a relationship. Serial killers and stalkers find love, sometimes with their targets. Popular tropes include forced proximity, alpha males, and enemies-to-lovers (“It really increases the tension and stakes,” Weaver says). Dark romances often blend genres and may include hints of dark academia, fairytale or fantasy. Mafia romances are especially popular, delving into the gritty underworld of organized crime. Arranged marriages can be a winning trope.Why readers are obsessed with dark romance and morally gray menLia Lan, 25, is a longtime romance reader and adding books with a thrilling element keep her “engaged,” and “also giggling and kicking (her) feet.” It’s all about taking love to extremes. “It’s really so romantic, all of the things that these men are willing to do for the women they’re in love with,” Lan says. Forget flowers, the men of dark romances maim as a grand gesture. In “The Finisher” by RuNyx, a favorite of Lan’s, the male lead character proclaims, “I cut the hand of a man who touched your hair, Zephyr. What do you think I will do to the one you move on with?”But let’s go back to the “someone you would pepper spray in real life” point. This is where the dark romance genre catches the most flak. Isn’t romance supposed to be something you dream about? Who dreams about a stalker?It’s a crucial misunderstanding of the genre, says Weaver. “Nobody is saying that they want to experience any of this in real life. It's very much like horror and thriller,” Weaver says. “I don't want to go and get chased down by a clown, but do I want to watch a movie about it or read a book about it? Sure.”These morally gray characters blur the lines between good and evil. They’re rebellious and unexpected. But they come from a place of love. In mafia romances, actions are often derived from rules about honor and survival.“Things are very stressful on many fronts – personal, political, financial,” says Stacy Boyd, executive editor at Harlequin. “Reading about men who can take care of people – ‘I'm just going to take care of that. It's going to not be a problem anymore because I'm going to go get rid of that person’ – there's an appeal to that.”How dark is too dark?Dark romance novels often include a list of trigger warnings at the start of the book. This is because dark romance also dabbles in some topics, namely abuse and sexual assault, that are disturbing for some readers. It can also be healing for others. “It helps them to process that trauma safely because they know that they can close the book and walk away,” Weaver says. “There are a great number of readers that have had negative experiences and find it quite healing to then open a dark romance and experience those feelings again ... without having to live them again.”There’s a name for this. Some therapists use bibliotherapy, the act of “prescribing” books as medicine, to help patients work through their experiences using literature.But for some, dark romance can get too dark.Since she got into the dark romance genre, Lan has been on the hunt for what she calls “respectful dark romance MMCs” (male main characters). She knows that some readers might not mind misogyny in their heroes, but it makes her uncomfortable. She’s had some trouble finding dark romance books that prioritize consent and respect toward women. When she posts videos about this mission, sometimes the comments “spiral out of control.” “As someone who's part of the dark romance community, I wish we were a little bit better at having conversations without immediately trying to, I guess, 'cancel' or trying to come for someone’s throat,” Lan says. “A lot of people will comment on my videos like, ‘Oh my God, you don't even like dark romance. Why are you critiquing it?” And I'm like, ‘No, you don't understand. I like dark romance. I just like certain dark romances.’”Best dark romance books to read firstBoth Weaver and Lan agree the best place to start if you’re new to dark romance is comedy. Lan suggests “Lights Out” by Navessa Allen, which has a comedic “buffer” to start readers off feeling comfortable.Here are other recommendations for your dark romance journey:Sadie Kincaid, author of “The Perfect Fit” and the Chicago Ruthless seriesRina Kent, author of the Royal Elite and Legacy of Gods seriesDanielle Lori, author of “The Sweetest Oblivion”B.B. Reid, author of “Lilac” and the Broken Love seriesStacia Stark, author of “We Who Will Die” (for a more fantastical read)Navessa Allen, author of “Lights Out”Brynne Weaver, author of “Butcher and Blackbird” and “Tourist Season”J.T. Geissinger, author of “Ruthless Creatures”RuNyx, author of the Dark Verse seriesKelly Kilburn, author of the Heirs of the Organized seriesNaima Simone, author of “Sin and Ink”Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you’re reading at cmulroy@usatoday.com.