“The Psychology of Obsessive Love: Why Readers Crave “Unhinged” MMC’s”

Let’s face it, we all love crazy, unhinged, psychopaths in dark romance novels like Zade Meadows, Killian Carson, Kade & Tobias Mitchell, Malachi Vize, the list goes on. Who would burn down the world for us, yearn for us, kill for us, and love us so intensely and obsessively that any other type of love lesser than that won’t give us that fix.  

But why? 

What is it about dark romance and the MMC’s that make us love them so much? No matter how pitch-black or taboo? Well, that’s what I’m here to debunk. I’m going to go in depth about the psychology of obsession and why us readers go feral for men we wouldn’t date in real life. 

Obsession is a fixation. An all-consuming, fervent feeling that blurs the lines between love, desire, and control, while also featuring possessiveness and the intense feeling of incompleteness without their person(s). This is where stalking and potential violence comes to play, mostly towards those that pose either a threat or as an obstacle in the stalker’s master plan. For example, the cat and the mouse (Adeline and Zade), the fox, and the rabbit (Killian and Glyndon). What these two men have in common is that they are so obsessed with their women they go out of their way to make over-the-top possessive acts to prove as such. And readers eat it up. Now, there’s a reason why women almost never want this kind of love in real life compared to in books and it’s because of how dangerous and unpredictable it truly is. And no stalker, serial killer, or mafia boss is over six foot, has tattoos, is Russian or Italian.  

Which brings me to my next point. Readers live vicariously through these books; they crave the visceral need to feel seen. Not literally. But feel seen in a way that doesn’t make them feel disgusting or weird for enjoying dark romance novels with unhinged themes and taboo ideologies. As an avid dark romance reader, reading these kinds of novels gives me an outlet to allow myself to enjoy the darker sides of love. The raw. Unfiltered. And the passionate side of dark romance “normal” people would turn their noses up at.  

While other readers read dark romance novels to feel seen and feel validated that they're not “disgusting”, others read it for a sense of catharsis, by allowing readers to confront their own past demons and feel secure within themselves. Obsession isn’t just having that control over someone; it’s also about loving them so unconditionally and fiercely that nothing else matters. Plus, who wouldn’t want a stabby MMC taking out all the men who hurt you in the past? It’s not toxic, it’s love.  

Finally, it gives the mind a break from the mundane and gives the readers an opportunity to explore the glories of obsession, taboo, BDSM, dub-con, etc. Half of the things I never knew I was into was because I jumped off that cliff, like most of us have, and now we’re feral for praise and degradation. It gives us freedom to dive deep into things we love reading about but would never do in real life. That’s what's so exhilarating about dipping your toes into the darkness.  

The psychology behind these is simple; we crave things we’d never want when it comes down to it. It’s human nature. You can tell someone you’d never enjoy horror movies or never get a tattoo. Then you’ll get that urge to watch a horror movie despite being scared or having an urge to get a tattoo because your friend got one. Once you taste the “don'ts” you’ll crave for more.  

That's what dark romance and obsession is.  

And that's why readers love reading about it; triggers are just pre-game snacks.  

While the book is a full course meal.