Reverse harem is one of those subgenres that would have been considered taboo a few years ago. Now, with the subgenre’s rising popularity on Booktok, and society’s growing awareness surrounding female sexuality, these steamy books are finally having their moment!
For those unfamiliar, reverse harem stories feature a female main character forming relationships with at least more than two male love interests. They also often fall within the erotica genre, but there are tamer stories out there. For brave-hearted readers ready to take on all these relationships, here are 10 of the best reverse harem books, ranked.
10. Lords of Pain by Angel Lawson
Fans of dark romance will love Lords of Pain. It follows a woman named Story, who, when she is at her lowest, finds herself on the doorstep of her half-brother Killian and his two best friends, Dimitri and Tristian. Three years ago they violated her but now the three men are just one element of Story’s dark past, and her last resort as she flees a violent stalker. This book features controversial themes like dubious consent and bully romance, and while it might be a lot for some readers, fans of these themes will definitely love it.
9. Broken Bonds by J. Bree
The Bonds That Tie series is a staple of the reverse harem genre on Booktok. It is a paranormal romance that follows a young woman named Oleander, who, after years on the run, is returned to her Bonds. Many reverse harem books include some variation of the concept of soulmates, and this falls into that category. Oli ran away for a reason, but now that she is back with her mates, North, Nox, Gryphon, Atlas, and Gabe, she has to earn their forgiveness for abandoning them.
8. Faking with Benefits by Lily Gold
Lily Gold is one of the most prolific reverse harem authors, and any fan of the genre should read at least one of her books. Faking with Benefits is one of her most popular, and follows a woman named Layla Thompson, who is in her late 30s, but has never had a boyfriend, or even her first kiss. She enlists the help of her three best friends, Zack, Josh, and Luke, to be her fake boyfriends and teach her the ropes. What she doesn’t plan on is catching feelings for all three.
7. Lola & the Millionaires by Kathryn Moon
Harem situations are fairly common in Omegaverse books, so it’s only right that there are reverse harem books in the genre. Lola & the Millionaires follows Lola Barnes, a beta woman who decides she is done with alphas, until she meets a pack of men she can’t resist. The pack consists of alphas Cyrus, Matthieu, Caleb, and Wes; sweet beta, Leo; and Leo’s flirty omega, Rake. To her surprise, Lola finds herself falling for all the men in this pack, but her dark past haunts their happily ever after as her toxic alpha ex is after her.
6. Sticks and Stone by Grace McGinty
Sports romances have been very popular lately, so it’s no surprise that there’s one on this list. Nova Stone’s story begins when she decides to take custody of her young half-brother, Huey, who she never knew about. However, becoming Huey’s guardian means she must now live with his overprotective uncles, NHL athletes, River and Rigby, and millionaire CEO, Devan. You know where this is going.
5. Hate by Tate James
Another Booktok staple, Hate is an enemies-to-lovers, college romance, reverse harem story. It follows Madison Kate who, after getting framed for a crime she didn’t commit, is back with a vengeance. What she doesn’t expect is for the men who framed her to be living in her house, and to find herself catching feelings for all three of them.
4. Four Psychos by Kristy Cunning
Four Psychos is a unique spin on the reverse harem trope as the main character, Keyla, is a ghost, watching over the four love interests, Kai, Jude, Ezekiel, and Gage. The story starts when, after five years of being unable to communicate with them, she finally makes contact. While there isn’t a lot of smut, it’s still steamy enough to satisfy readers looking for some spice.
3. Find Me by Ashley Rostek
Find Me also has an interesting premise, as it follows a woman named Shiloh who is just coming out of a year of Witness Protection after a stalker killed her entire family. Traumatized and starting over with a new identity, she meets Creed, Colton, Knox, and Keelan, her next-door neighbors, who help bring her out of her shell and heal.
2. Variant Lost by Kaydence Snow
Variant Lost is the first in the Evelyn Manyard trilogy. Set in a world where Variants, people with superhuman abilities, make up 18% of the population, Evelyn is just a human. However, her fate changes when she is accepted into the exclusive Bradford Hills Institute on scholarship. There, she meets Ethan, Josh, Tyler, and Alec, four powerful Variants who seem as drawn to her as she is to them.
1. Den of Vipers by K.A Knight
Den of Vipers is probably Booktok’s favorite reverse harem book. It includes some of the most popular tropes, from mafia romance, to BDSM. It follows Roxxanne who gets sold to the mafia to pay off her father’s debts. Now, although she is at the mercy of Ryder, Garrett, Kenzo, and Diesel, Roxxanne refuses to go down without a fight. The book comes with some content warnings for violence, gore, explicit sex scenes, and other kinds of graphic content, but for fans of this kind of content, Den of Vipers is a thrilling read.
Published: Aug 20, 2024 12:27 pm