I read a lot of romance and I occasionally come across a book that is so good I want to talk about it to everyone.

His Dark Game, (originally published as a duet: Marriage Games and Separation Games), went straight to my personal list of best romances of all time. It is an absolute classic. There are many reasons for that and I’m going to dive into them.

First of all, the topic of bdsm sometimes gets overused in the romance genre or is misunderstood. The reason for this is obvious: the three bestselling books of the last decade were the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. Many authors want to try their hand at it, for obvious reasons. Hey, I even wrote a book I called a “Dom-Com” that is a comedy with some bdsm elements. But what happens is sometimes you read a bdsm book and there is some eye-rolling and ‘is this how it would really happen?’ thoughts in your mind which take you out of the story. And it lacks the complexity and depth around the relationships to really make the pleasure meaningful.

I never thought that for a second in His Dark Game. Romance novels sometimes lean more toward escapism, but His Dark Game brings to the forefront topics that are so relatable, you can’t help but feel the reality brimming from the pages. Topics like hiding your sexual desires or feeling shame for them, from both the female and male POV. I’ve based conversations I’ve had with women on scenes from this book regarding submission, dominance, sexual shame and hiding and how it affects everyone.

Another reason I loved this book was that the male POV was absolutely phenomenal. I have read some male POV’s where the guy seems very caricature-like, or just more of a fantasy man, one-in-a-million type man. Which is fine, by the way. That’s fun to read sometimes too. And I’ve probably written characters like that. But His Dark Game was one of those books where I read and was left thinking for days after about the story and I still think about it sometimes. Also if you’re into Sebastian York, Mr. Unicorn reads the Audio so you are set.

If you’re looking for a complex, well written, and yet hot romance with some darker bdsm themes, I highly recommend His Dark Game. It’s a story that will keep you reading and thinking through out, you should definitely read this one if you haven’t already.

Mickey Miller is a contemporary romance novelist who has written 17 books. You can find his all time best seller The Lying Game on amazon here as well as all other books.