Verdict: A dark, spicy sapphic romance between a cold, inexperienced assassin and the warm secret-service agent she’s sent to get close to — morally grey and combustible.
Best for: Readers who love assassin heroines, enemies-with-a-mission dynamics, morally grey leads, and dark romance that still lands a happy ending.
Heat: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (4/5 — explicit and charged)
Rating: ★★★★ 4.11/5 average across 1,537 Goodreads ratings — a strong reader signal in the dark-romance space.
Tropes: Assassin · Enemies to lovers · Morally grey · Forced proximity · Emotionally cold heroine · Dark romance
An assassin who’s never felt love, a mark who looks at her with unexpected warmth, and a job she swore she’d finish — Don’t Hate Me by Eden Emory is a dark, spicy sapphic romance about the worst possible person to fall for. If you’re building the best dark sapphic romance books, this Club Pétale standalone earns a look.
What Is Don’t Hate Me About?
Don’t Hate Me is narrated by a cold, methodical assassin who has her process down to a science — and who sometimes even lets herself enjoy the work. When she’s assigned to infiltrate the adult Club Pétale and get close to a target, she expects a routine job. Instead, everything shifts.
The target is Blake, a secret-service agent with a mysterious past who was supposed to be an easy mark. But when Blake looks at her with genuine warmth, the assassin — who has never felt love — begins to wonder if what she’s feeling might be exactly that. A job is still a job, though, and she’s determined to see it through, no matter what it costs. The result is a tense collision between duty and the first real feeling she’s ever known.
What Makes This Dark Sapphic Romance Work
Emory leans into morally grey territory and makes it work. What stands out:
- An emotionally cold heroine. The assassin’s numbness makes her slow thaw around Blake genuinely affecting rather than instant.
- A dangerous premise with real stakes. The “get close to the target” setup keeps a lie ticking under every tender moment.
- Two flawed leads. The author is upfront that these aren’t good people — and that honesty gives the romance its edge.
- Charged, high-heat chemistry. The pull between assassin and agent is intense and physical.
- A standalone with an HEA. Despite the darkness, it delivers a complete arc and a happy ending — rare for this corner of the genre.
Book Synopsis
Years into her career, the assassin has killing down to a science — efficient, detached, occasionally even satisfying. Her latest assignment sends her undercover into Club Pétale to draw close to a target she assumes will be simple to handle. She’s wrong. The mark is Blake, a secret-service agent whose warmth cuts straight through the assassin’s carefully maintained cold.
As the two grow closer, the assassin confronts a feeling she’s never allowed herself: love. But her orders haven’t changed, and the closer she gets to Blake, the more impossible it becomes to reconcile the job with what her heart is doing. Set in the interconnected Club Pétale world, this standalone follows two deeply flawed women toward a reckoning — and, ultimately, toward a hard-won happy ending.
My Review
The assassin-falls-for-the-target setup is catnip for me, and Don’t Hate Me does the version I like: the heroine isn’t a softie in disguise, she’s genuinely cold, and Emory earns every degree of her thaw. Watching a woman who has never felt love try to make sense of it around Blake gives the book an emotional core that a lot of “dangerous woman” romances skip. Blake’s warmth and her own mysterious background make her a worthy match rather than a passive prize.
I appreciate that Emory doesn’t pretend either of these women is a hero. The author says outright that they’re full of flaws, and the book commits to it — the lie at the center of the relationship carries real weight, and the darkness isn’t just aesthetic. The heat is high and well-integrated, and the Club Pétale setting gives the whole thing a sleek, adult atmosphere. It also, refreshingly, lands an HEA, so the darkness has somewhere hopeful to go.
Fair warning: this is a dark romance with an unconventional pairing and a real content-warning list, so it won’t suit everyone — go in knowing you won’t find a conventional hero. A few readers may also find the cold-assassin voice keeps them at arm’s length early on. But if you want morally grey, spicy, and emotionally satisfying dark sapphic romance, this is a strong, popular pick that earns its 4.11 average.
| Element | In Don’t Hate Me |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Cold assassin & Blake, a warm secret-service agent |
| Core tropes | Assassin, enemies to lovers, morally grey, forced proximity, undercover mission |
| Setting | Club Pétale — an adult club at the heart of an interconnected series |
| Heat level | 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (4/5) |
| Series | Club Pétale — a standalone within the interconnected series (each with an HEA) |
| Content notes | Dark themes, violence, morally grey leads — check the author’s trigger warnings for the full list |
How Spicy Is Don’t Hate Me?
This one runs hot — around a 4 out of 5. The adult-club setting and the charged assassin-and-agent dynamic drive frequent, explicit scenes that are tightly woven into the power play between the two women.
It leans intense and sensual, with the danger heightening the heat. If you want spice that’s baked into a morally grey dark romance, this delivers.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you enjoy assassin heroines, morally grey leads, undercover-mission tension, and dark romance that still delivers a happy ending.
You may want to skip it if: you want a clearly heroic lead, dark themes are a limit for you, or you prefer a gentler tone.
In short: a spicy, morally grey dark sapphic romance for readers who like their heroines dangerous and their endings earned.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Don’t Hate Me a standalone?
Yes. It’s a standalone within the interconnected Club Pétale series. You don’t need to read the others first, though the author recommends starting the wider series with Don’t Stop Me.
Is Don’t Hate Me a true sapphic romance?
Yes. It’s a fully f/f dark romance centered on the assassin narrator and Blake, the secret-service agent.
How steamy is Don’t Hate Me really?
Quite steamy — around a 4 out of 5. The adult-club setting and the charged dynamic between the leads make for frequent, explicit scenes.
Does Don’t Hate Me have a happy ending?
Yes. The author confirms the Club Pétale standalones each deliver an HEA, so despite the dark themes, this one lands a happy ending.
How dark is Don’t Hate Me?
Fairly dark. It features morally grey leads who the author says are “not good people,” plus violence and an unconventional pairing. Check the author’s trigger-warning list before starting.
If You Loved Don’t Hate Me, Read These Next
If the assassin heroine, morally grey tension, and dark-but-satisfying arc worked for you, you’ll find more to love in our roundup of the best dark sapphic romance books — from mafia obsession to enemies-to-lovers with a body count.
The Bottom Line
Don’t Hate Me is a spicy, morally grey dark sapphic romance that pairs a genuinely cold assassin with a warm agent she’s not supposed to fall for. It commits to its flawed leads and dark premise but still lands a hard-won HEA, and Eden Emory delivers the emotional thaw and high heat the setup promises — a popular, satisfying pick for dark-romance fans.
Check Don’t Hate Me on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
Our house scorecard, weighing the book across the dimensions that matter most to dark sapphic romance readers.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall — ★★★★ 4.1/5
- ✓ Anchored to a strong 4.11 average across 1,537 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ A satisfying morally grey assassin romance
- ✓ Commits to its dark premise but delivers an HEA
- ✓ Cold-heroine voice may hold some readers at a distance
Romance — ★★★★ 4.0/5
- ✓ Slow thaw of a genuinely cold heroine
- ✓ A worthy, warm counterpart in Blake
- ✓ The lie at its center adds real tension
- ✓ Built on morally grey ground — by design
Characters — ★★★★ 4.0/5
- ✓ A compelling, methodical assassin lead
- ✓ Blake’s warmth and mystery balance her
- ✓ Both leads believably flawed
- ✓ Not written to be conventional heroes
Writing — ★★★★ 3.9/5
- ✓ Confident dark-romance prose
- ✓ Strong sense of danger and atmosphere
- ✓ Effective emotional arc for the heroine
- ✓ Cold POV can feel distant early on
Emotional Impact — ★★★★ 3.9/5
- ✓ The first-love thaw lands hard
- ✓ Real stakes from the undercover lie
- ✓ Earned, hopeful resolution
- ✓ Emotional payoff rewards patience
Heat Level — ★★★★ 4.0/5
- ✓ Frequent, explicit scenes
- ✓ Adult-club setting amplifies the spice
- ✓ Heat tied to the power dynamic
- ✓ Intense and sensual rather than gratuitous
Ending — ★★★★ 4.0/5
- ✓ Delivers a hard-won HEA
- ✓ Complete standalone arc
- ✓ Satisfying resolution to the central conflict
- ✓ Sets up the wider Club Pétale world
Re-read Value — ★★★★ 3.8/5
- ✓ Addictive, re-readable dark romance
- ✓ The thaw rewards a second read
- ✓ Standalone HEA makes it satisfying to revisit
- ✓ Gateway into the interconnected series
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