Uncrowned

by A. A. Dark, Alaska Angelini

Genres: Dark Romance, Dark

562 pages, Paperback

Published September 18, 2026

Reviews

[Lemon Loser]

Plot: 3/5 • Spice: 1/5 ➡️➡️➡️ there really are some dark aspects to this one. I did not see the triggers listed in the front. There may have been a website link?, but I don’t recall. Please note there are heavy mentions/acts of: abuse, murder, assault, kidnapping/held against will, r@pe, death, torture, stalking


Penelope is a pawn in every stage of her life. Under her parents wing where she abused, beaten and sold to the highest title. Under Vaughn’s wing where she’s held against her will, trained to be an emotionless soul, r@ped. When she’s held by Katia and crew, she’s held against her will, trapped in what is essentially a hotel/tower, sheltered from everything in the outside world. There’s really no winning for her.


This is heavily political too. Vaughn wants his crown title back. There’s a king in place currently that should not hold the title. Vaughn runs The Order. Which has so many damn rules it’s hard to keep up. Penelope and her Stockholm syndrome have their own plans as how to get Vaughn back in the palace. Vaughn wants the title and to remain in charge of The Order.


The political aspect is key to this story. Which is kind of a snooze fest for me. It’s a little bit of a runaround with trying to find “the proof”. To me? It gets a little repetitive and boring.


My journey ends here. I have no interest in book two. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Dani]

“What kind of man would I be if I didn’t at least try to woo my Intended? She wanted a funeral; I’ll give her one. It’s a gift. Am I not generous?”


As usual I was OBSESSED…but if you’re a long time follower you already know how in love I am with this world!

AA Dark and her twisted brain fascinate me. Always next level. This book gave me so much context. So many puzzle pieces but also left me with new questions. And like any good soap opera moment I am chomping at the bit for more. Good thing book 2 is out. But I have a feeling I’m gonna leave book 2 with more questions!!! In the best way.

I don’t wanna spoil anything but seriously if you e been wanting some extra info we gained from Garden of the Gods and 24690 and The Devil of Hollywood go right now and read this!

[Maria Franklin]

Meet Penelope and Vaughan.

Uncrowned sits firmly on The Edge darker than your typical dark romance, but close enough to pitch black.

Penelope comes from royalty, but from the beginning she is treated more like something to be used than someone to be loved. Her parents are ruthless and completely abusive, determined to marry her off for their own benefit. Then compromising photos from a college party surface, and King Lawrence wants nothing more to do with her.

Vaughan comes from nobility, and sadly, his entire family has been murdered. Now he must fight to reclaim his status and restore his family’s crown.

Vaughan runs The Order, a violent underground world tied to sex trafficking and some seriously dark shit. He is powerful, dangerous, morally black, and absolutely not a man who operates by anyone else’s rules.

Then he meets Penelope, and all that darkness becomes completely focused on her.

Vaughan doesn’t just fall for Penelope. He becomes completely obsessed with her. Protective, possessive, and madly in love. Once he sees firsthand how ruthlessly her family treats her, he rectifies the situation.

Then he kidnaps her.

And somehow, underneath all of that madness, this is still a beautiful romance story.

It is twisted, obsessive, all-consuming, and definitely not for someone looking for a light dark romance. Vaughan’s version of love is extreme in every possible way, but his devotion to Penelope—and his determination to reclaim what was stolen from his family is what drives the entire story.

If you like morally black men, obsessive love, royalty, revenge, kidnapping, and books that push right up against the edge of pitch black, Uncrowned absolutely goes there.

[SilentSpectra]

I can't even believe I'm about to say this...

But as well written as this is—I was so bored. The intrigue is there for a while, maybe about 30-35% mark but then it's just more of the same. And Penelope, the FMC, has no survival instinct. Mouths off when, and/or in front of people, she's been told explicitly not to. Keeps this big, bad attitude and has zilch to back up. Trembles and cries at every situation she's put in and I'm over here thinking, yeah, no shot she should or even could be queen of this dark world.

Vaughn, the MMC, the king-to-be, had control of nothing and spends the story playing catch-up or running around like a chicken with its head cut off. At this point, though book two is supposedly back to Whitlock dark, I don't think I care enough about the story to even give it a try. We'll see🤷🏻‍♀️

[Karen - Kazza's Books Blog]

A new world has been born with a new order to follow.
Will the rules be broken and trust ruined?

A. A. Dark brings us another fantastic read with new main players (briefly reavealed in past books) and old ones that just bring so much more to the mystery.

This book sets the tone, kept me intrigued while the new players establish themselves.
I’m chomping at the bit for the next instalment in this duet

[Cami Rush]

If Alaska writes it I’m reading at five freaking stars. I love how it brought the devil of Hollywood together with this book. Can’t wait for the next one.!!!

[Lily Foster]

3.75⭐️ - 1🌶
☆ Virgin FMC
☆ Secret society
☆ Captor/captive
☆ Touch her and die
☆ Insta lust

In this brand new series, we are continuing in the A.A. Dark universe while we explore The Order of the Unavowed. We met them briefly in The Devil of Hollywood, but now we get their story. Vaughn is the Unavowed and he has chosen Penelope as his queen.

Let me start by saying that I am the biggest fan of A.A. Dark. I was feral when I heard we were getting this duet. I have loved most of what she has written, she truly opened my eyes to the erotic horror genre.

Now this book was different and she has said so herself. It is her first "romance" driven book. And I'm not sure if that was a great decision. I always enjoyed her unapologetic horror books. This was... tame.

While it's still dark, it felt like the darker elements were really from The Devil of Hollywood story, which kind of left the rest of this book to be just a man obsessed and determined to make this woman his whether she wants it or not.

Was it really romance? Well that's debatable. Was it a good book? Absolutely. Will I read the second book as soon as it comes out? Also yes. I may have been disappointed in what this is, but that's a me issue.

This book is considered a standalone, but in order to get the full effect of this story, please consider reading through the universe. You will be lost at the multiple references to events in other books if you have not read them. And check your triggers.

[Gracie]

"You have been summoned."
A must read for all you dark readers!! A.A Dark does it again! She has managed to create a new society with new rules and new players. In this underground world, " A kingdom in disguise." Titles are the prize and loyalty is the bedrock of this story. This is the first book in this duet where Penelope Taylor, Vaughn Masterson and The Order take center stage. (We met them in "The Devil of Hollywood") This book laid down the foundation of this new world and it was soo good. I fell in love with both Penelope and Vaughn and am excited to see where their story goes. It can be read as a stand alone, but if you are familiar with her other books/book I think you would enjoy it more. I would visit her website for trigger warnings. It does fall under her Mad Love:The Edge rating. It is a must read!!
Side note: We see some oldie but goodie characters...Ahhhh so good.

[Brooke Rader]

This book is not for the faint of heart. Tread lightly in the darkest mind of Alaska Angelini, but don’t worry, where there is darkness, light can always be found. Alaska had a way of stringing you along in fear, and becoming obsessed with intense world building, and the depth of her characters pulls you into their grasp and holds onto you long after the book is over.

This is a story of loyalty, royalty and complete and utter darkness sprinkled all over it. Get ready to be obsessed with Penelope & V, in this new world. A big game of push and pull, longing, and the slowest burn, and the twistiest game of cat & mouse. Uncrowned, is filled with secrets, surprises, obsession, and the best of characters, and a fight over a crown.

For some reason it gave me a very old world vibe, which is kind of cool after you read the story because of the history of the order but is told in current time.

This book is dark as ever but get ready to fall in line and love with Penelope & V.

[Kari Chappell]

The love story is fantastic! The plot, storyline was well written.
A beautifully crafted dark romance love story is absolutely soothing to my soul and this hit the mark.

A.A. Dark is on phenomenal. She has written a book that I wish I could read again for the first time again.
Penelope oh poor Penelope. This woman has been through it all. Her parents are sh*t.
This story is set in England and pay close attention the hierarchy within it. There are secrets. There are traitors to the crown. People stripped of titles and the aftermath of murder.
This has all the things you need to a dark romance. Dark themes, dark souls, dark places and absolutely soulless characters.

At the heart of this story is love and what you would do for it.
I gave Uncrowned 5 stars because it was just phenomenal. It had me in all my feels. From anger, sadness, happy and joyous. Jealous that I don’t have a Vaughn in my life.

[Octotatt]

After reading Devil of Hollywood, I didn’t know what to expect when Uncrowned dropped. This read blew me away with completely different perspectives that ties into her previous books. Plus with all the MMCs AA Dark has put me through, we’ve reached a new direction, instead of complete overwhelming obsession, we find duty that leads into the potential for love and admiration. Vaughn has outdone himself and Penelope is the FMC that I find is outstanding with character development that gives me someone to root for and the danger around them is real!! This gives a cat and mouse suspense. There are players and pawns. It’s not obvious who is winning and the stakes are higher than ever. It was light and dark meet to forge characters to become who they were meant to be. This kept me awake all night and I could not put it down.

[Cayce Maidens]

Oh, Alaska, I am going to have faith that you are going to give us their happy ending.

Another world has opened up. First there was Whitlock, then the Garden of the Gods, then the Red Island, and now The Order. But where Whitlock was about a slave's desperation to gain freedom, the Gardens about an evil that breeds more evil and control, and the Island love in the least likely place, the Order is the obsession of blood and power and what people sacrifice to get it. And Vaughn and Penelope their obsession with each other is just as depraved as the place where they live.

"The Order...

It was the home of the depraved, built on the unjustifiable. Vaughn kissed me like I was his world and then introduced me to hell."

The only way you could understand the depravity she speaks of is if you read the horrors of Whitlock and the Gardens. Another great one and it's on to the next one.

[Tiffany]

Very different for AA Dark!

I have always loved AA dark. She writes some of the darkest horror erotica I have ever read. It is up there with Life of Anna. It’s always made me very squeamish, but the horror side of things was horrifically fascinating. This series is mostly divergent from her previous stylistic choices. Where in the Whitlock series we had a sort of dystopian, bunker society, and people who… owned other people, in this we have a modern day society that she somehow makes feel like a Regency era. It feels very coming-of-age at first and the introductions are really interesting, but we start to see the connections between the series and her other series and learn the horrors along with Penelope. I didn’t have the visceral reaction to this one – in a good or bad way – that I had with her other series, but I love where this is going, and I can’t wait for the next book. Proceed with caution!

[Stephanie Pate]

I was a beta reader for this book and once I got it in my hands I could not put it down. I would recommend A. A. Dark version of Devil of Hollywood. This book is about the unavowed and Penny. They are introduced first in that book. This book goes through how they met and their romance. Which was beautifully written and I fell in love with Vaughn right away. Please check trigger warning. I promise you this book is fantastic reading and I also promise you won’t be able to put the book down until it’s over then it’s going to leave you wanting more and luckily you only have to wait 1 wk for book two unmasked.

[SandraBarg]

Yet another great book from A.A. Dark. This book started in The Devil Of Hollywood, which I highly recommend but is not required to read. As always with her books this is fast paced, fully flushed out characters, and great world building. We get to meet new characters and spend time with old favorites too. Watching this crazy love story unfold has been pretty exciting! Just remember it is dark romance so of course more goes on and you need to mind your triggers. This is the first part of a duet so when you are throwing your kindle across the room at the end of this book, keep in mind this isn't really the end of the story. I highly recommend this book.

[Linda]

Dark, Ruthless, and Drowned in Red🩸

*Please check triggers - very dark read. If it’s not your thing, don’t open the door.*

This story is dark. Ruthless to the core. What this woman endures to become a queen — abuse within her family was just the steppingstone into the darkness. There are elements darker than dark, abuse was mild compared to the slaughter within The Order. You can feel the fear coming off the pages. When the darkness grew I knew we were in for a story drowned in red. I was on the edge and didn’t want to put it down. And the ending… wow! On to Book 2 — I hear it goes to pitch black. 🤓
5/5⭐️

[A.M.]

A new world!
A new order!
The past that comes back!
Who will rule?

If you want to fully experience this story I would suggest you read all the backlog of the Withlock stories. If you want just a glimpse of the story I suggest The Devil of Hollywood but if all you want is to dip your toes into AA Dark’s world that this is a great start.

It’s dark, twisted, keeps you on your toes wanted more. I would suggest you check your trigger warnings as this can have scenes that would be hard for people who aren’t used to pitch dark romance.

Per usual A A Dark’s pen doesn’t disappoint.

[Heather]

RESOUNDING 5 stars!!!
A.A. Dark is my insta-buy for anything Erotic Horror. Even though this book is romance forward it sets it up perfectly for the rest of the story and still has plenty of the dark horror we all love so much. Vaughn, to me, is the perfect mix of Bram and Drayton and Penelope has all of the qualities of Everleigh, although she doesn’t know it yet. I’m delving into book 2, Unmasked, today. I cannot wait to see how Penelope develops into the Queen she is.

[Ayesha Stephens]

When I first started reading the book it felt really promising. Then half way through I realized not so much, the fmc is not smart at all, She makes one dumb decision after another. The mmc is not intimidating or scary for running a slave trading sacrificing cult thing. Like for the amount of shit this girl gets herself in, she needs a damn spanking! I don’t know I just feel like I’m reading a vanilla book trying to be dark and both of the main characters are annoying as hell

[Everything Bookish Blog]

emotional, dark, angsty, enthralling, unexpected and an artfully crafted masterpiece.

The writing is impeccable. The characters have depth, are easy to connect with and immediately pull you in. By the end of the first page I was hooked. Vaughn and Penny take you on the ride of your life. Their journey isn’t a straight path. There’s twists and unexpected turns. I really enjoyed seeing so many familiar faces and getting to know Penny and Vaughn better. The chemistry between them is insane, their chemistry unmatched. The angsty build up is perfection. It’s emotional, dark, angsty, enthralling, unexpected and an artfully crafted masterpiece. After that ending you might want to throw pillows instead of kindles because you only have a week to wait until part two of the duet!

[c_g.77]

the unavowed

So I have completely devoured all of AA books since I first read 24690. Whitlock was so different than anything I’d read before. And then GotG’s did not disappoint. The worlds that intricately connect and intersect keep me locked in and committed to her every written word. The Unavowed are just another chapter that I’ve been starving for.

[Amanda Anderson]

The Unavowed

A fantastic introduction to the Unavowed, his Intended, and the role everyone will play moving forward. I loved the storyline continuing with several characters I was already familiar with, and I cannot wait for the second book!

[Amanda Vawter]

4.5⭐️