15 Must-Read Dystopian Romance Novels

I first read this book when I was 15, and it’s often hovered at the back of my mind. It features Seth, a gay teenager who should be dead. But when he wakes up after drowning, he finds himself in a strange new deserted place. Where on earth is he? And what happened to him? More, the rules of this new place don’t seem that great…

This is a book which is probably improved by being read without any major knowledge of the plot. Though it is romantic, romance is an element which forms part of Seth’s backstory, rather than necessarily being present while reading.

Mafi’s ultra-popular series features Juliette, a teenaged girl who’s been imprisoned for murder by the shadowy Reestablishment, thanks to her fatal touch. Outside the bars of her cage, the world is being battered by drought and disease. The paucity of survivors has enabled a fascistic regime to take control – and, they realise, Juliette could be one of their weapons.

This one seems to be a bit of a Marmite book: you either love it or hate it. The writing style is flowery, and I did think it bordered on the unreadable at times, but it certainly appears to be up many people’s streets. Warren, the villainous love interest, is another draw.

A fever dream of a book. It’s set in Mega City, a dystopian capitalist nightmare where gangs toil away in the hopes of moving from slums to the luxurious Towers. Although violence is everywhere, it’s all perpetrated by women: men are second-class citizens, employed only as labourers or as papi chulos, club dancers.

Nalah is the leader of Las Mal Criadas, a girl gang who’s this close to moving into the Towers. But before they can make it in, Déesse – the charismatic female leader of Mega City – tasks them with seeing off the Ashé Ryders, another gang suspected of encroaching on the city. The journey teaches Nalah a lot about power, responsibility, and herself. It’s a bittersweet book, and like More than This the romance is more ‘what could have been’ than what was, but it’s a memorable read.

The United States is gone and in its place is the Republic, which – a la 1984 – is constantly at war with its neighbours. June was born into the Republic’s ruling circles, making her a prodigy groomed for military success. Meanwhile, Day is a slum-dweller and a wanted criminal. When June’s older brother is murdered, Day is the chief suspect. But meeting him makes June realise that there’s more to the crime than she thinks.

Cain is notoriously poor at finishing series; only one of her many series has actually been completed, and even then the ending was left open, so she could continue the characters’ storyline in a sequel series. This – plus the length of time she leaves in between installments, and their high cost:length ratio – means I’ve stopped recommending many of her books. However, this particular novel is a standalone, and it fits the dystopian romance bill in a deliciously creepy way.

In Cain’s post-apocalyptic world, some unnamed moron of a US President started a nuclear war that’s devastated the landscape. Women are in short supply, many having been sexually assaulted and murdered by the gangs of roving, lawless men. Enter Eugenia. She was essentially sold into sexual slavery by her companion, and is now the property of Aaron, a man who’s carved out a little niche of relative peace on an abandoned cruise ship. To keep his community going, however, he effectively runs a prostitution ring. Men toil in exchange for sex with the ship’s women; the women in turn will only obtain their freedom once they’ve had enough sex to pay off their debts.

As you can imagine, there are a lot of dark – even demoralising – themes in the novel. Although it is a romance, it’s heavily coloured by the bleakness of the surrounding dystopia.

This one is incredibly unique, and one of my favourite books. Don’t let its length (over 200k words, I think) put you off.

Years ago, Azrael – lord of death – rose to take over the world. Absolutely immortal, he also has the power of reviving the dead, turning them into zombies. Articulate and elegant zombies, but zombies all the same, subject to his utter control. Now he lives in his walled territory of Haven with his dead servants and a select group of humans. Outside the walls, the rest of humanity is tearing itself to pieces. Lan – determined, desperate, and with nothing left to lose – smuggles herself inside Haven. Though she becomes merely one of Azrael’s many mistresses, her impact on his existence ends up being unforeseeable.

This series really needs no introduction. It’s set in a post-apocalyptic Atlanta where magic wars with technology for supremacy. Through it all, Kate Daniels – mercenary, magic-user, and snark dispenser – navigates the chaos which is her life.

Although it’s the fourth in a series, I don’t think you absolutely need to have read the preceding installments in order to enjoy this one. It features Grif, an ‘interrogator’ who’s one of the Condemned – a group of criminals sentenced to serve out their terms on a prison planet. It’s a brutal place, with little to eat, and nothing to do except fight with each other. Though he and his friends are slowly making themselves a liveable community, they’re aware of how precarious it is. That’s where Nayla comes in. She’s a member of a hostile tribe, and Grif has been tasked with extracting her secrets from her…

Dallas is the king of Sector Four, a slice of territory known for both hedonism and its thriving liquor business. Lex is his right-hand woman – but can she be more?

I remember this series making waves years ago, for its gritty depictions of a gangland-type dystopia and plentiful sex. Though Lex and Dallas are the main couple, Lex also hooks up with a woman, and there are some ménage scenes.

This story is set in the summer of 2022 – a parallel 2022 where horrific levels of pollution and global crises have resulted in a dystopian world with rising sea levels. Seven years ago, the ship Atargatis was sent out to the Mariana Trench by entertainment conglomerate Imagine Studios to look for mermaids. Then all communications are lost with the ship, and it’s discovered adrift at sea many months later. Everybody on board has disappeared. The only thing recoverable is a scrap of film showing the crew members being torn to pieces by terrifying part-humanoid, part-fish creatures.

Victoria, sister of a woman who vanished on that ship, is determined to uncover the truth. So she accepts the offer to travel on the Melusine, which is being sent out to see exactly what happened. Also on the ship is Olivia, an autistic lesbian with whom Victoria strikes up a relationship that seems touchingly innocent amongst the horror and gore in the rest of the novel.