Just when you thought masked men romance books were the same
You may have recently discovered a kink for Ghostface, or maybe you’ve had it bad for him since you watched Scream when you were in high school, but either way you now find yourself looking for more masked men romance books to fill that void. I get it, it can feel a bit weird to have discovered this about yourself. But don’t worry, we will explore this together. And that doesn’t mean you need to go off the deep end right away.
Sometimes the masked men you see on TikTok make it seem like the masked man was invented in contemporary romance. But did you know you can look outside of that too? This list has something here for everyone. Want mafia? Check. New adult. I’ve got it. Regency? Yes, that exists. And even out of this world. Plus, there’s options if you want lighter dark themes, not too much dark just the excitement of the mask, or take a plunge off the side of a cliff dark. Your choice.
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Before you start: check the content warnings
Masked men romance books can go pretty dark. Not all, for sure. But there can be a bit of stalking, dubious consent, knife play, home invasion, kidnapping. Some of them are not for everyone. I labeled the ones that are safer entry points.
Contemporary dark masked men romance books
This is certainly the most common and popular when someone says they want masked men romance books. Most of these will have the heavier red flags and content warnings. We are also going in order of lightest to darkest in this section.
Lights Out by Navessa Allen
This was kind of a starter book for me into thinking of this trope, even though I have read books in the past that had a masked hero of some sort. I feel it’s also the entry for a lot of people because it’s super popular and there are even cosplayers on BookTok that you can find. That being said, it’s a good balance of dark and humor which makes it a good entry point for someone that wants to explore darker themes.
Josh Hammond is our masked man stalker. He makes masked thirst traps online with knives and blood play. Aly is the ER nurse that is a massive fan of his account. She comments on his post and he decides to give her the fantasy she’s wishing for.
I don’t think this one is as dark or filthy as its reputation online. So don’t be scared of it. It’s genuinely a good time. I go into more detail in my Lights Out by Navessa Allen review.
Scream for Us by Molly Doyle
If you’re looking for a Halloween theme and especially a shorter read, this one is perfect for it. It’s a why choose horror novella set at a Halloween party involving three masked men. Needless to say, things don’t stay safe for long. I wasn’t sure how I would like this one, because there’s definitely a scarier situation that feels more unsafe than Lights Out, but I was pleasantly surprised. This also kicks off a series, so if you like what you get from the novella, and you want to explore more about each of these men and the relationships they develop, then you have a series to keep going.
Wicked Pursuit by Katee Robert
I added the whole Black Rose Auction series to my TBR when it first released and then I forgot completely to go back and read them. It happens. But I enjoy Katee Robert and this one takes us to a 3-day masked auction luxury event where rich people can do all the things they want and a mob princess that doesn’t do what they tell her and finds herself a stalker. This is a Little Red Riding Hood retelling and sounds fascinating. Plus, the whole event things has a series with 5 more books in it.
Leave Me Behind by K.M. Moronova
This is a super dark, military romance where the heroine Nell is the only survivor of the Riot Squad. She’s reassigned to the Malum Squad, a unit run by twin brothers, Eren and Bradshaw. She meets them before she knows who they really are. Bradshaw is the darker twin, scarred, grieving. He also wears a military tactical mask to cover his face.
This one isn’t about the illusion of not knowing the person behind the mask is, but it certainly adds to his darkness. The heroine, and you as the reader, can’t ever be certain how far he’s going to take something. And it goes pretty dark sometimes.
Grab Leave Me Behind on Amazon
Skin of a Sinner by Avina St. Graves
This one is on my to-read-soon list because I recently read two books by this author. But it might also be the darkest on this list. We have full on psychopath behavior with a foster brother that comes get the heroine after she’s built a life without him and things get a bit bloody. Some of the other books I read by her are a little wildly unhinged, so I’m definitely curious about how much darker this one will be.
Grab Skin of a Sinner on Amazon
New adult masked men romance
If you want younger MCs which also changes the type of problems they are facing, outside of the steamy bits, then these are great for that. One definitely lighter than the other, so pick your flavor.
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Good Game by Madison Fox
Listen, you can read most of Madison Fox if you want masked men. The System trilogy features 3 masked gamers and I enjoyed very bit of it. Here Stevie comes out of a break and decides to spend one night with Blade, a video game streamer famous for the mask and no one knowing what he looks like. He wants more than that. It’s all about him trying to stay anonymous but still being around her and obsessing over her. If you’re a gamer, this series is a must read. And she also has a short Halloween novella called Beg For It. Excellent pick for this trope.
Corrupt by Penelope Douglas
This is one of the mistakes I made a few years ago, and that was not starting this series. I’ve read so many of her books and I missed this one. She’s in college and dating his younger brother, she’s also been obsessed with him for years. And she happens to be the reason a few of his friends ended up in prison. Penelope Douglas can write angst, dark and taboo so well, and I really need to rectify not reading this series.
Sci fi and fantasy masked men romance
Now here we start exploring things past the contemporary romance shelves. There are a surprising numbers of masked men that are out of this world (or time).
When the Universe Sings by Gillian Eliza West
This is a space opera, dystopian vibes romance where Juniper lost her home planet and the eleven years to a mechanical prison world. She gets out by joining a crew and the job is stealing a cosmic weapon for Captain Asher Ruciyah. His motives stay unreadable for most of the book and she’s running her own agenda. This one is so fun because it’s a space heist think Reylo vibes mixed with Ocean’s 11. She’s a silks dancer and he is a yearner.
Grab When the Universe Sings on Amazon
River of Shadows by Karina Halle
This one is on my list to read and one of the few Karina Halle books I haven’t read yet. This is a Finnish underworld where Hanna goes into Tuonela to get her father back and the hero is the God of Death, who wears a mask to conceal his identity and ends up tangled in a marriage bargain. Besides the mythology, this one is also all about the creepy and gothic nature of the underworld. It’s a perfect Fall read and a Hades and Persephone retelling. And it’s a now completed series to binge.
Grab River of Shadows on Amazon
Historical masked men romance books
Surprised? Yeah, some of these exist. And granted, some make the mask a new persona and some are just about hiding identities during special moments. Either way, they bring an edge of darkness to an otherwise soft genre. These are still on the lighter side so they are great beginner friendly to darker themes in romance.
Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt
This is a regency historical romance and part of the Maiden Lane series. Now here’s the thing, you can read this one as a standalone, but I would recommend reading the series. Because this is the book about the masked vigilante, but we’ve been seeing this evolve in the previous books in the series. That being said, Maximus (the hero) runs Parliament by day and transforms into the Ghost of St. Giles by night, masked and costumed and hunting the man who killed his parents. Artemis is a lady’s companion he rescues from an attack. She figures out who is the man under the mask and blackmails him into freeing her brother. Elizabeth Hoyt is such a talented and I feel sometimes underappreciated author. She should be up there with the Julia Quinn’s and the Lisa Kleypas’s.
Grab Duke of Midnight on Amazon
Ruthless by Anne Stuart
When it comes to thinking of dark historical romances, I always go back to my OG the House of Rohan series. This is where we are introduced to the Heavenly Host, a secret society of exiled Georgian aristocrats who meet to do things their reputations would not survive. That means at their parties, everyone is masked. Viscount Rohan runs the joint. Elinor is impoverished, principled and wants nothing to do with him or that place. But she goes anyway because her mother is inside. There is something fascinating about the appeal of this series, the heroes are not soft or nice most of the time, but you’re in for every second of their rides.
So which flavor is right for you?
Are you surprised that there is so much variety when it comes to masked men romance books? I know if you only look at Booktok it may seem all one note, but hopefully you’ve added a few things to your TBR from this list that are coloring outside the lines. Let me know in the comments what are some of your favorite ones.
If you want to keep exploring dark romance, check out my list of serial killer romances and stalker romance books.
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I’ve not heard of half of these so I’m glad to see your list.
I discovered a whole new world lol