Rebecca came home from school last week declaring she'd "joined the dark side" after discovering BookTok recommendations for paranormal romance. My normally sensible fifteen-year-old was suddenly texting me gothic book aesthetics and demanding I read "actually dark" stories. I laughed, but she had a point—sometimes you need to dive into the shadows to find something real. Heartless Heathens: A Gothic Romance is exactly that kind of deliciously dark, unapologetic read.
Plot Summary
Heartless Heathens: A Gothic Romance by Santana Knox is a standalone why-choose dark gothic romance set in a modern dystopian world where the church controls everything. Romina (Mina) has been imprisoned in the bell tower of NotreDame Parochial College by the archbishop Frollo her entire life—isolated, abused, and told she's dangerous. When three dangerous outcasts—Sonny, Corvin, and Silas—infiltrate the school, they discover Mina and become obsessed with freeing her. As she learns the truth about her imprisonment and her own power, Mina must navigate forbidden attraction, demonic intrigue, and the question of whether these heathens will destroy her or set her free. Loosely inspired by Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame, this is not a retelling—it's a dark, atmospheric descent into gothic romance.
Why I Love This Book
I love how Heartless Heathens commits fully to its darkness without apology. Romina's journey from isolated, traumatized captive to a woman claiming her power is genuinely compelling—she's not a damsel waiting for rescue; she's learning to burn the world down on her own terms. The three men are complex, dangerous, and deeply flawed in ways that feel earned, not forced. Sonny's cold resistance to love, Corvin's protective intensity, and Silas' mysterious presence create electric tension. The gothic atmosphere is lush and immersive—bell towers, satanic rituals, religious abuse, and demonic intrigue blend seamlessly. Yes, the spice is abundant, but it serves the story. Most importantly, this book doesn't shy away from hard truths about institutional abuse and religious trauma. It's heavy, it's unsettling, and it's exactly what dark romance should be.
Who Will Like This Book
If you crave dark gothic romance, why-choose romance, paranormal romance, and morally gray antiheroes, Heartless Heathens delivers. This is for readers who loved the gothic atmosphere of Gothikana, the found-family dynamics of dark academia romance, and the paranormal edge of BookTok favorites. If you enjoy stories where the heroes are unhinged, the heroines are rising from trauma, and love is as dangerous as it is divine, this book doesn't hold back. Fair warning: this is unapologetically dark and explicit.
⚠️ Trigger warning: childhood abuse, religious trauma, psychological abuse, grooming, institutional abuse, explicit sexual content, demonic themes, satanic rituals, violence, graphic descriptions, dark themes, dubious consent elements, grief, loss, manipulation, non-consensual situations.
Tagged As
dark gothic romance, why-choose romance, paranormal romance, dark academia, gothic atmosphere, demonic, satanic themes, religious abuse, psychological thriller, standalone, morally gray, antiheroes, found family, abuse recovery, insanely hot, explicit, open door, paranormal fantasy elements, dystopian setting, indie published, HEA, BookTok, paranormal romance
Steam Level
This book is steamy. Very steamy. The intimate scenes are explicit, frequent, and absolutely integral to the story—not gratuitous, but deeply woven into Mina's journey of reclaiming her body and agency. Multiple love interests mean multiple perspectives on desire. If you want paranormal romance with open-door scenes that don't fade to black, this delivers.
