I was born in Italy on the 1st of November 2008. When I was two and a half years old, my family and I moved to Switzerland. Throughout my childhood and teenage years, I tried various sports, including karate, dancing, volleyball, kickboxing, basketball, and netball. Music was one of my biggest passions, and I was also part of a children’s choir.

A few years ago, I dreamt of becoming an actress and begged my parents to enroll me in a theater course. However, they were reluctant to spend money on a course they weren’t sure I would stick with. So, I came up with the idea to create my own theater class. I shared my idea with my friends; some were uninterested, but others were excited and joined me.

After finding the perfect place to rehearse and creating flyers to advertise, we only needed a theater teacher. We found one and began preparing for our first show. At one point, we were even mentioned in the Zuger Newspaper, and I was very proud of myself.

When I was little, I often saw my mother on the couch, engrossed in one of her books. I always wondered why she spend so much time reading. One day, curiosity got the better of me, and I asked her about it. She explained that reading helped her to relax. She told me that if you really like a book, you can get so deeply into it that it feels like you’re experiencing exactly what you’re reading, like escaping from reality for a moment. She said that sometimes, that’s what we need to relax—an escape. Her words struck me profoundly, and I decided to start reading as well.

What better way to begin than with Wattpad? I started reading stories in the romance genre, the kind reminiscent of Hollywood movies where the princess waits for her prince charming. But right from the beginning, something felt off. There was an element missing, something darker, that I craved in the stories.

So I started looking for other stories—not necessarily romantic, but deeper, with themes that maybe not everyone would want to read. And there, I found the missing piece. I discovered a world of books that delved into more complex, darker themes. I then searched for books that combined both elements: romance and depth. That’s when I found the genre of Dark Romance.

I started locking myself in my room for hours and hours, reading book after book. Mom was right: sometimes you need to escape reality to relax. I told people that my passion was reading, but the problem arose when I was asked the question, “What do you read?” How can a 12-year-old girl explain that the books she reads wouldn’t be suitable for children her age—not because of the romantic scenes after the protagonists declare their love, but because one of the protagonists might talk about their childhood where they were mistreated? Or even sexually assaulted. If I had answered that way, adults would have looked at me like I had two heads, and I didn’t want to be judged for something that was my passion. So I simply replied, “Oh, just a love story.”

I kept my passion hidden until I got my first phone and discovered the world of BookTok. That day, a whole new world opened up for me, a world I was ready to explore, and so I did. For the past three years, I’ve been reading books of all genres, from romance to fantasy to mafia. I’ve finally decided to create this site to share my passion with others.