15 Best Reverse Harem Books to Spice Up Your TBR!

We readers know that when we want a break from real life, a book boyfriend (or two!) can take us right into our fantasies. So how about five of them?

Reverse harem books are made for the daring among us, because not everyone can deal with not one, not two, but four or five insanely hot and attractive men even in our imagination. So for those who want to test out the trope or read more of it, here’s the list of best reverse harem books I’ve read.

Best Reverse Harem Books List

What’s reverse harem?

Reverse harem is the opposite of harem (a shocker, I know) where a girl gets it on with three or more guys, definition mine.

I’d say even two is plenty, but a harem is a lot of people, yeah? In fact, some of my best reverse harem book recs have multiple partners in one scene, so buckle up, you’re in for a treat.

I’ve added a spice meter to all my reviews so you know what you’re getting into.

• 🌶️– sexual language and a little on-page action
• 🌶️🌶️– a lot of sexual language and some on-page action, may be occurring couple times
• 🌶️🌶️🌶️– some explicit action and dirty talk, occurring frequently
• 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ – a lot of explicit action and dirty talk, occurring frequently
• 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ – super graphic and explicit, occurring very frequently

These books are best for mature audiences of 18+ years, especially the ones above 🌶️🌶️🌶️. I’ve added content warnings for each book as well, so I hope it will be easy for you to decide whether to read it or not.

Best Reverse Harem Books – Reviews

1. Broken Bonds – My Favorite

When I tell you this book was insanely good, I’m not giving it enough credit. I was hooked from the start, read it in one sitting, and managed to fall for not one, not two, but three new characters – including Oli, our extremely sassy, hot-tempered but kind-hearted FMC. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Broken Bonds is a good book to soft launch yourself into reverse harem so if you’re new to the trope, this is a great place to start.

Broken Bonds is a paranormal romance – PNR, to you fans of the genre – and a kind of urban fantasy. It’s about this girl called Oleander who gets involved in a tragic car crash, learns something terrible about her hidden powers, and runs away from her ‘Bonds’ to protect them from herself. The Bonds are five insanely attractive men who are hurt and and pissed at her – rightfully, IMHO – for running away and being tight-lipped about the reason for fleeing once they find her.

I LOVED Gabe and Gryphon the best out of the five men. Atlas was fine, but his vibes are a bit… off. I didn’t like North and Nox because controlling and arrogant aren’t really my type. BUT the angst was pretty good – made up for the lack of spice. I mean, it does have some smut like dirty talk and some off-page action, but nothing explicit happens.

This was probably my fifth reverse harem book and it ended up being my favorite of them all because of how their relationship grew and all the paranormal vibes. Normally, I am not a fan of cliffhangers but this one turned out to be the perfect set up for the second book, so I didn’t really mind it.

• Best for – Fans of paranormal romance and anyone looking to get into reverse harem
• Not for – Readers who are sensitive to sexual assault

2. Savage Bonds

So remember that cliffhanger I told you about? I HAD to pick up the next book in The Bonds That Tie series because I would have expired if I had to wait after how the first book ended.

Savage Bonds picked up where Broken Bonds ended, so that was a relief. Rightfully, as the second book of the series, we have more drama, more angst, more steam etc. in this one. It had this agonizing slow burn which was so, so satisfying when it finally exploded. 

Oli is bratty, doesn’t want to bond but I still like her because she’s just so thoughtful and smart-mouthed. She does have this savior complex going on for her which is a bit much sometimes, but she doesn’t come off overbearing because we know she has the best interests at heart. The boys are still moody – moodier, if that’s possible – and I’m warming up to North too.

We see Oli and boys getting closer despite her STILL not telling them why she had to run away from them. We also see some action (finally!) and the slow burn is totally worth it.

The book has some tropes that were not really my thing. I really don’t like the miscommunication trope and halfway through Savage Bonds, I was screaming at them to just talk to each other. The book also has that ‘I’m not like other girls’ thing which I’m not a fan of, but it didn’t ruin the book for me.

The writing is as beautiful as usual. That, the slow burn, and the cliffhanger (I mean, how does J. Bree write cliffhangers like that!?) were everything, so Savage Bonds is easy 5 stars for me.

• Best for – Fans of paranormal romance and fantasy romance
• Not for – Readers who are sensitive to school shootings

3. Hate

True to its title, this book has an FMC who absolutely hates the MMCs. I’m not talking about the lukewarm “Bob from accounting was mean to me this one time” hate but the “I’m hell bent on revenge and I’m going to burn your life down” hate. This is what I mean when I say I want enemies-to-lovers romance.

I also really like FMC, Madison, who was angry and vengeful. We are here for the angry girls because in most reverse harem books, the FMC is usually a pushover damsel in distress. In that aspect, I would say Madison is such a breath of fresh air because she wasn’t scared of raising hell if the situation demanded it. So this book and the next one in the series, Liar, are among my top choices for reverse harem book recommendations.

When the book starts, our FMC, Madison Kate, is shipped off to live with her aunt for rehabilitation after being framed for some violent stuff that broke out at a party. But then a year later, Madison is back and ready to get revenge on the three boys who framed her. Plot twist; one of them happens to be her future step-brother and all three of the boys happen to be living at her house. It is a bit of a stretch, plot-wise, but hey, I don’t read these for the plot 😆

What I loved most about this book were the characters; I really loved that Madison was fierce, tough and a prankster, and I love-hated Archer, Kody, and Steele because they are all annoying and overbearing while being super hot.

Unlike Broken Bonds, Hate gets deep into spice right from the beginning of the series, so if you’re in the mood to get your pulse racing in a reverse harem setting, this is the book to get started with.

• Best for – Fans of dark romance and thriller romance
• Not for – Readers who are sensitive to death of a parent and bullying

4. Liar

For a person who dislikes cliffhangers, I seem to be doing pretty good with them lately because – did I mention Hate ended in one? As did Liar, the second book? And I’m happily giving them 5-stars?

I’ll tell you why. The story turns out to be gripping and mysterious and even darker as we come to the second book. Now we have a stalker (who first made an appearance in Hate) and we get to see the boys’ overprotective side a lot as they try to take care of Madison. She remains a force to be reckoned with, and I loved how her relationship with the boys grew even with all the stalker drama and gangs and danger going on around here.

The steamy scenes contribute a lot to how her connection with the boys grows. Madison connects to each of them in different ways, and it’s great to see how it manifests physically. She finds safety and joy with Kody, Steele keeps her anchored and emotionally open, and Archer keeps her on her toes.

Yes, the sex scenes are raunchy, heat-inducing and yummy, but they are also soulful and add depth to character development and relationship arcs. Guaranteed, they are very, very hot.

The ending took me out just like with Hate and I will be starting Fake, the third book, soon because, man, that cliffhanger might be the one to end me. This is an awesome book to see how reverse harem relationships grow, giving space to all partners. So if dark romance is your thing and you want to try out reverse harem, this book’s a great choice. Just be sure to pick up Hate first and work your way here to Liar – the journey’s what makes it so good.

• Best for – Fans of dark romance and thriller romance
• Not for – Readers who are sensitive to stalkers

5. Den of Vipers

I know you’ve been waiting for this one, the book that took over booktok and probably threw many of you down your reverse harem rabbit holes. Since I’ve been a bit obsessed with the mafia ever since I binged Vincenzo, I decided to check out the Den of Vipers. They were all right from the start; this one was an absolute treat. I feel like the Den of Vipers is more gang-like than mafia-like, but the boss roles are there among the ‘Vipers.’ They have the leader, the assassin, the casino guy, and the enforcer – the whole nine yards.

So here’s the setup; Roxxanne, our FMC, is sold – yes, sold – to clear her father’s debts but she doesn’t go in without a fight. So the Vipers, our MMCs, have to step in to take her captive. She gives hell of a time to the Vipers and then falls for them, and so do they. There’s a bit of Stockholm syndrome going on so if you’re sensitive to that, read with care.

The book does NOT hold back in terms of spice and dark romance vibes, so you’re in for a LOT of steamy scenes including multiple partners at once. Roxxy is obsessed with the Vipers (who wouldn’t be – those men are hot as sin) and vice versa.

This story is a bit gory as well; there’s some fights, murders, interrogations, power shifts and amidst it all, Roxxy and the Vipers have some sexy-as-hell good times. I knocked off a star because sometimes there’s lack of consent when it comes sex, but I’m coming to understand that it’s pretty common in the reverse harem genre.

Den of Vipers is a standalone so if you don’t want to commit to a reverse harem series right away, or if you want to see a lot of action as soon as you get into it, this is the book for you.

• Best for – Fans of dark romance and erotica
• Not for – Readers who don’t like BDSM and are sensitive to sexual assault

6. Faking with Benefits – My first reverse harem book

I absolutely judged this book by its cover. I have a thing for cartoon/illustrated covers and when I saw Faking with Benefits, I went “awww” and immediately clicked the Kindle Unlimited button on Goodreads.

So, it’s true when I say I fell into the reverse harem genre a little accidentally because I went in for the cover and the fake dating (one of my fave tropes) and realized the FMC is fake dating not one, but three MMCs.

Layla is 28 years old and has never dated, so her friends/neighbors give her dating advice. It goes like this: she wants to learn how to date and the three men give her advice, and in exchange, she has to appear in their podcast. They teach her a little too well because Layla ends up falling for them. I’m a sucker for friends to lovers and fake dating so I just went on swooning and melting through the entire book.

As for the guys, we have Zack, the rugby player, who seems to be getting a lot of hate from readers because of his ‘pining-after-dead-lover’ thing, but hey, I liked him. We then have Josh, the perfect boy-next-door and then Luke, a divorcee who also happens to be Layla’s ex-professor. Do with that knowledge what you will. I might sound judgy, but trust me when I say I liked them all. They genuinely looked out for Layla and then started wanting her, which is super hot when it happens in that order.

It was so cute and steamy in the right places. There’s that dead lover drama which I felt dragged on a bit, but other than that, this book was all soft feels. If you want to kick off reverse harem with a cute romcom, this is definitely it.

• Best for – Fans of Chick Lit
• Not for – Readers sensitive to sexual harassment and death of a parent

7. Four Psychos

This is PNR with a hilarious premise – I immediately added it to my TBR as soon as I saw the blurb. Our FMC is Keyla (for now), a ghost/spirit girl plus the invisible protector of four hot guardians of hell. Our MMCs, like I said, are working in hell trying to stop damned souls from escaping over and they are also roommates where Keyla is kind of haunting. Keyla is initially invisible to the guys, but due to a freak accident, the men become aware of her, and hilarity ensues. They are immediately suspicious of her but they grow closer.

Keyla is the funniest, most ridiculous heroine I’ve read about in a while. It’s absolutely hilarious to see warriors of hell being made fun of by a girl ghost. She’s also trying to figure out who she is because she can’t remember being alive, dying, or anything about herself – all we know is that she has some powers that bind her to the hell boys.

I was expecting to see a LOT of smut but this is the first book of the series so there wasn’t as much. Still, Four Psychos was steamy, and funny with a fall vibe to it. There’s some world building as well, considering this is a PNR and a series at that, but the story flows without being overloaded by detail and makes you really just want to know what happens next. Which is what I did the minute after I finished the book. Five stars.

• Best for – fans of paranormal romance
• Not for – readers who are sensitive to on-page violence and suicidal ideation

8. Three Trials

We are at the second book of The Dark Side series because I couldn’t not pick this up after how Four Psychos ended.

Keyla is still trying to figure out who she is and figure out she does – spoiler alert, it’s delicious. She’s still bickering with and protecting her boys which was adorable to see considering she’s a snarky, sassy and no-nonsense kind of heroine.

We also get some insight into how the men are connected to Keyla and who they actually are. They are as moody as they were in the first book, but Keyla is growing on them so they are also less of jerks and more endearing in the Three Trials.

There are some trials which give us paranormal thriller vibes, and here’s where we find out the identities of the four men and how they are connected to Keyla. If Four Psychos left us with a lot of questions, Three Trials gives us a lot of answers. Not all of them, but just enough so we have the satisfaction of knowing what the hell is going on.

There’s a lot more smut as well because the boys can touch her and stuff, so the reverse harem kicks off with steam. But that’s not the only reason I’m sticking with this series. The FMC is truly badass – you’ll see why – and seeing four grumpy, murderous men soften to her in a world of ghosts, damned souls, and hell is extremely satisfying.

• Best for – Fans of paranormal romance
• Not for – Readers who are sensitive to sexual assault and cannibalism

9. Trickery

Come to think of it, I’ve read a lot of paranormal romance since I took up reverse harem. Trickery is the first book of another PNR series called Curse of the Gods, and I fell for it because I related to the FMC so hard. She’s an absolute klutz and walking disaster, and I loved her for it because I was like, girl, I get you. 

The story is set in a mythical world where there are gods-in-training (I know, I know, I was a bit dubious at first too but stay with me). These trainee gods are called sols, and our FMC, Willa, who is a ‘dweller’ – the lowest of ranks – is brought to serve five sol brothers at their school, Blesswood. They are notorious for bullying and trickery and they start a bet to see who can get Willa a death sentence first. Willa joins in on the bet and wins hearts along the way.

She is attracted to all five brothers and there’s so much angst and sexually charged conversations all over the book. The smut isn’t as strong, probably because it’s the first book, but we get all the steamy feels from the pining and the tension.

One thing I didn’t like was how the book couldn’t settle on a context. It started off as a mythical world with god and servants but there’s some urban fantasy and even academia vibes coming off. It doesn’t really get in the way, I can live with a mesh of genres, but I feel like it could have been executed better.

But if you’re in for a smartass yet clumsy heroine and five god-like heroes tricking each other, you’ve found the right book.

• Best for – Fans of BTTM and contemporary romance
• Not for – Readers who are sensitive to murder and bullying

10. Persuasion

I picked up Persuasion, the second book of the Curse of the Gods series, a few books after I finished Trickery. It didn’t matter the time it took me to get to this because it sucked me right into this mythical world with prankster gods and sassy servants in college.

Willa is still chaos personified; she keeps setting fire to things, tripping over nothing (and ending up losing her clothes somehow) and the boys are so into her. Their relationship has grown from the first book, so we get a lot of fun banter and sexual tension. There are some over-the-top situations as well but they are hilarious and provide a fun distraction from all the side plots that are developing.

This book goes into politics of gods and the Sols (gods-in-training) and some gods’ interest in Willa and the Sol brothers’ relationship. Even the steam is taken up a notch and the power dynamics among them are shifting, so things start getting really good.

I was more acclimated to the setting of the book, so I didn’t feel it was jarring like in Trickery. In fact, I realized I’m becoming interested in learning how the Sols grow and how they contribute to the world outside Blesswood – which I will hopefully find out in the next book.

If you’re a fan of fantasy and college romance, you should definitely take up this series. Read Trickery first and then jump over to Persuasion more steam and more drama. 

• Best for – Fans of paranormal romance
• Not for – Readers who are sensitive to death and kidnapping

11. Lilac

I picked up this book because it was a rockstar + music band + touring kind of a story and sounded angsty. It delivered, big time.

Lilac starts with Braxton, our FMC, auditioning for the rock band ‘Bound’ after their guitarist dies under mysterious circumstances. The other band mates don’t like her, but they have no choice but to take her in because they are supposed to go on tour in three months.

At first there’s a lot of tension; there’s door-slammings, angry outbursts and a super tense atmosphere which then turn flirtatious. They go on tour in this decked-out tour bus (which was a plus for me because I love road trips in books) and they connect over past baggage, insecurities, and care they have toward each other.

Out of the bandmates, I liked Lauren the best because he’s light-hearted and fun, and the book needed some light-heartedness at times. Houston, the band leader and Rich, the drummer, weren’t too bad either but I found the former a bit too grumpy and the latter a bit too sensitive. Braxton was okay for me as an FMC. She’s great – she takes care of the boys and doesn’t give up on them, but I couldn’t relate to her character much.

Even so, this is a good book to explore the reverse harem genre with, especially if you’re into the music scene.

• Best for – Fans of strong FMCs, fans of rom coms
• Not for – Readers who are sensitive to substance abuse and bullying

12. Triple-Duty Bodyguards

Another Lily Gold book on my list because I simply swooned over Faking with Benefits. This book is about a Hollywood star, Briar, supposedly a diva but definitely a hated actress, and her ex-military bodyguards.

Briar has a stalker who is getting closer and closer to her, so she needs to have her bodyguards around her 24/7. The problem is that the guys – Glen, Kenta, and Matt – are incredibly hot and Briar finds herself attracted to them. The three men though, are dutiful and responsible and only look at her as their charge. Until they don’t!

There’s so many blush-inducing glances and heated moments and of course, a LOT of steamy scenes – Lily Gold doesn’t hold back with the smut. There’s something super hot about three overprotective men with baggage of their own falling head-over-heels for a sweetheart of an FMC whom they thought first was a diva.

Unlike Faking with Benefits which was all fluff and smut, Triple-Duty Bodyguards has some suspense and angst – given the whole stalker scenario and past trauma – but that doesn’t stop it from being cute as hell.

The ending is sweet (this is a romcom, afterall) if not a bit too unrealistic, but hey, you don’t see me complaining. If you want to try out a reverse harem a little closer to home than PNR or fantasy, this Hollywood diva’s story might do the trick.

• Best for – Fans of Chick Lit and contemporary romance
• Not for – Readers who are sensitive to stalking, gun violence, and PTSD

13. Find Me

This book was an immediately-add-to-TBR because of its interesting premise. Find Me is a lot of suspense and tension, but the tragic start to the story is captivating. When the FMC Shiloh’s entire family is murdered by her stalker, she is in Witness Protection with a new identity scrambling to put her life together. The present day story starts with Shiloh settling in a new home with four hot brothers next door.

Shiloh is starting her senior year and she gets a lot of support from her neighbors; one thing I like about how they become friends is that there’s a lot of found-family vibes, which I’m a sucker for. I mean, it’s reverse harem alright, but can’t it be sweet and soulful at the same time?

I loved our MMCs because they are thoughtful and they respect Shiloh’s boundaries. They realize she’s dealing with some past horrors when she wakes up screaming from a nightmare, but they don’t probe and just support her, especially when kids at school start to bully her, until she is ready to be open with them.

The romance is slow, which I didn’t mind because it gave Shiloh time and space to get to know the boys individually. I love that they become friends first, instead of diving into smut right away.

Actually, nothing steamy happens until the second book, but beware of the content warnings because there’s some graphic, on-page violence and language that may be sensitive to some readers.

• Best for – Fans of romance suspense, thriller, and contemporary romance
• Not for – Readers who are sensitive to death of family, stalking, and bullying

14. Gypsy Blood

Another PNR! This time, we have our Violet, a half-gypsy girl who can see ghosts – except she hasn’t known her entire life that ghosts, vampires, werewolves and all those monsters exist in her world. She moves into a small town, and bam, there’s myths, urban legends and gruesome tales all coming true.

I honestly thought she was a bit too naive about the whole thing given that she knows she isn’t an ordinary kid, but I’m not judging. Sort of. What redeemed Violet in my eyes is Anna, the friend, sidekick, and sassy ghost. She kept the banter going with a smutty remark or two that had me smiling and rolling my eyes at times.

As for the guys, we’ve got a monster killer (Vance), a werewolf (Emit), an incubus (Damien), and a vampire (Arion). As you can see, there’s a lot of variety and I liked them because they have distinctive personalities, motives, and a lot of issues between the four of them. Each interaction they had with Violet was interesting and made me long for more, but we don’t get much swoon time in the first book.

It’s mostly about worldbuilding and setting up characters so there’s hardly any plot development, but I liked the mesh of urban fantasy, the paranormal, and the gypsy world so I’m going to continue with the next book. Keep an eye out for a review on the next entry!

• Best for – Fans of paranormal romance and small town romance
• Not for – Readers who are sensitive to death of a parent, violence, and graphic injury

15. Groupie

A book with rockstar + music + pining heroes, Groupie – not to be confused with Lilac – is an extremely smutty romance thankfully doesn’t end in a cliffhanger. All good stuff in one book.

Lilith, our FMC, is left broke after her father passes away. Hoping to sell her ticket for some cash, she goes to this concert by the band ‘Beauty in Lies’. But once she’s there, she meets the 5 band members and one thing leads to another and she ends up going on tour with them. The meet is a bit unrealistic truth be told, but let’s be honest, I’m not exactly reading reverse harem romances for realism.

There is a lot of smut – and I mean a LOT. To the world, Lilith just looks like a groupie (hence the title) but her connection with the boys grows as they start confiding in her and protecting her. The smut is not just searingly hot, but also painstakingly emotional and heartfelt. With her presence, Lilith manages to bring the boys closer together while dealing with some painful issues herself and it’s just beautiful to see how the angst and hurt turns into mutual respect and well, hots for each other.

If you are in the mood for some jaw-dropping smut and plenty of steamy scenes with two and more partners, you’ve come to the right book.

• Best for –  Fans of erotica and contemporary romance
• Not for –  Readers who are new to erotica and sensitive to death of a parent, violence, and miscarriage

Some Final Thoughts on Reverse Harem Books

I’m hoping you’ve found your next read (or two!). And if you’re new to the trope, I hope you’re convinced to try out one: I recommend either Broken Bonds or Faking with Benefits.

If what you need is a break from day-to-day or a smutty read to get your pulse racing, you’re sorted on both accounts with a reverse harem book.

What to read next

I came out of these reverse harem books with a spice-induced blush on my face and I still wasn’t ready to move on. So I picked up some super smutty books to satisfy my spice cravings, and I think you’d like them too. Check out my list of best smut books.

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