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A dark romance hero saying “good girl” once does not automatically make a book a praise-kink romance.
That distinction matters more now than it used to.
“Good girl” has become such common romance dirty talk that readers regularly encounter it in books where approval is not actually part of the sexual dynamic. For this list, I wanted something more specific: books where praise, approval, recognition, or verbal reward noticeably changes the interaction between the characters.
Sometimes that means a dominant hero praising obedience.
Sometimes it is reassurance.
Sometimes the character visibly craves approval.
And sometimes the praise is disturbing precisely because it is being delivered by someone who is controlling, dangerous, manipulative, or morally impossible to trust.
That last category is where dark romance does praise kink differently from ordinary spicy romance.
If you want to understand how I score the books below, start with the Dark Romance Rating Methodology.
What Is Praise Kink?
Praise kink is an erotic or emotionally charged response to approval.
That approval can sound like:
- “Good girl.”
- “That’s exactly what I wanted.”
- “You did so well.”
- “Perfect.”
- “I knew you could do it.”
- “Look at you.”
- “I’m proud of you.”
But the phrase itself is not the kink.
The important part is what the approval does to the person receiving it.
If a hero says “good girl” because it happens to be trendy dirty talk, that is not particularly interesting.
If he realizes that the heroine practically melts when he tells her she has pleased him—and then deliberately starts using approval as reward, reassurance, control, or seduction—that is much closer to actual praise kink.
What Praise Kink Looks Like in Dark Romance
Dark romance tends to twist praise into several very different experiences.
There is obedience praise, where approval follows submission.
There is possessive praise, where “good girl” really means good girl for me.
There is reassuring praise, which shows up during frightening, overwhelming, or emotionally difficult scenes.
There is conditioning praise, where approval becomes one more way a controlling character shapes another person’s behavior.
And there is contrast praise—possibly my favorite version—where a hero is so demanding or emotionally withholding that one sentence of approval becomes far more powerful than constant compliments ever could.
That is why this guide is organized by what the praise is doing, rather than giving you eleven nearly identical book summaries.
What Praise Kink Is Commonly Confused With
Praise kink vs. dirty talk
Dirty talk is a broad category.
Praise is specifically about approval.
A hero can talk extremely dirty without giving a single piece of praise.
Praise kink vs. submission
Submission describes a power dynamic.
Praise may be one reward within that dynamic, but a submissive character could just as easily prefer punishment, humiliation, service, bondage, fear play, or something else entirely.
Praise kink vs. daddy kink
These frequently overlap because daddy-dom relationships often contain correction, reward, caretaking, and praise.
But praise kink does not require daddy kink.
Praise kink vs. possessiveness
“You belong to me” is possessive.
“You’re such a good girl for me” adds approval.
Readers who primarily want the ownership side may prefer 25 Dark Romance Books With Jealous Possessive Heroes or Dark Romance Books Where He’s Obsessed With Her Immediately.
Praise kink vs. degradation
They sound like opposites.
They are not always experienced that way.
Some characters want to be humiliated and then praised.
Some want approval specifically because a dominant character normally makes them work for it.
The common denominator may be less about whether the words are positive or negative and more about receiving extraordinarily focused attention from a person whose opinion matters.
Consent Changes What the Praise Means
Praise itself sounds gentle.
The relationship surrounding it may not be.
I think it is more useful to separate these books into several consent experiences.
Consensual praise: The characters knowingly participate in the power dynamic.
Discovered praise: One character realizes the other reacts strongly to approval and incorporates it into otherwise consensual encounters.
Praise within a major power imbalance: The encounter may be wanted even though the characters have unequal professional, financial, criminal, age-related, or social power.
Praise within dub-con/coercion: Approval can become part of psychological control, forced submission, or conditioning.
For a much deeper explanation of that boundary, read Dub-Con vs Non-Con: What’s the Difference in Dark Romance?.
Quick Recommendation Table
| Book | Best For | Praise Style | Darkness | HEA/HFN | KU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sinister Promise — Zoe Blake | Dark mafia praise | Punishment/reward + approval | 9/10 | HEA-ish ending with series continuation | Verify current availability |
| The Bratva’s Heir — Jane Henry | Praise + total obedience | Dom/sub approval | 8/10 | HEA | Verify current availability |
| Sin Too — S.J. Tilly | Protective possessive praise | Reassurance + claiming | 6/10 | HEA | Verify current availability |
| Scarred Regrets — Adelaide Forrest | Cruel mafia hero + praise | Hard-earned approval | 8/10 | HEA | Verify current availability |
| White Rose Painted Red — Elena Lawson | Why-choose praise | Multiple flavors of praise | 8/10 | HEA | Verify current availability |
| Filthy Little Lies — Measha Stone | Captor/mafia praise | “Good girl” + possessive reward | 8/10 | HEA | Verify current availability |
| Love and Loyalty — Meg Fitzpatrick | Praise as emotional regulation | Validation + bondage praise | 6/10 | HEA | Verify current availability |
| The Master — Kresley Cole | Dominant mafia energy | Obedience-earned praise | 6/10 | HEA | Verify current availability |
| Pretty When You Cry — Skye Warren | Psychological darkness | Intermittent possessive approval | 9/10 | HEA | Verify current availability |
| Perfection — Kitty Thomas | Psychological domination | Approval as control | 8/10 | HEA | Verify current availability |
| Play Me — Ker Dukey & K. Webster | Dark fantasy/CNC framework | Reassurance inside role-play | 8/10 | HEA | Verify current availability |
When Praise Is a Reward for Obedience
This is probably the closest thing to the classic dark-romance version of praise kink.
The hero gives instructions.
The heroine obeys—or eventually does.
Then the approval hits.
Sinister Promise by Zoe Blake
If you want your praise kink attached to an unapologetically problematic mafia hero, Sinister Promise belongs near the top of this list.
Pavel’s dynamic with Alina includes punishment, ownership, control, violence, and a recognizable Dom/sub undercurrent. Praise sits inside that framework rather than replacing the darkness.
The interesting part is the contrast.
Approval from a gentle character is nice.
Approval from a man who has established himself as dangerous and demanding feels much more like a reward.
Praise style: Obedience praise, possessive praise, reward after submission.
Kink note: The praise works alongside punishment and Dom/sub behavior. Pavel’s approval reinforces the fact that he wants Alina responding specifically to him.
Consent: Frequently messy. This is not a carefully sanitized BDSM romance.
Who should read it: Readers who want praise without sacrificing the morally black mafia hero.
Who should skip it: Readers who only enjoy praise inside fully negotiated power exchange.
HEA/HFN: The central relationship resolves positively, although the broader series storyline continues.
Kindle Unlimited: Verify current availability.
Content warnings/themes: Violence, murder, punishment, coercive behavior, possessiveness, questionable consent, anal content and criminal activity.
Eerie Ratings
- Spice: 5/5
- Darkness: 9/10
- Obsession: 9/10
- Psychological: 8/10
- Violence: 8/10
- Emotional Damage: 7/10
- Trigger Intensity: 9/10
- Romance Focus: 8/10
- Overall Intensity: 9/10
Praise-Kink Strength: 9/10
The Bratva’s Heir by Jane Henry
The Bratva’s Heir makes the relationship between obedience and praise extremely obvious.
Constantine is not interested in pretending he is an easygoing hero. Control is part of his personality both in and out of intimate scenes.
That means approval becomes meaningful because he expects a lot before giving it.
Praise style: “Good girl,” obedience praise, dominant approval and daddy-dom-adjacent praise.
Kink note: Submission itself becomes part of the erotic negotiation. Constantine recognizes Clare’s attraction to surrender and reinforces it with approval rather than treating praise as generic dirty talk.
Consent: Complicated further by captivity, criminal power and the fact that Constantine begins the story incarcerated while Clare works in the prison environment.
Who should read it: Readers who want a hero who is genuinely obsessed with control.
Who should skip it: Readers uncomfortable with kidnapping or very dominant heroes.
HEA/HFN: HEA.
Kindle Unlimited: Verify current availability.
Content warnings/themes: Bratva violence, kidnapping, captivity, daddy kink, BDSM, power imbalance and criminal activity.
Eerie Ratings
- Spice: 5/5
- Darkness: 8/10
- Obsession: 9/10
- Psychological: 8/10
- Violence: 8/10
- Emotional Damage: 7/10
- Trigger Intensity: 9/10
- Romance Focus: 8/10
- Overall Intensity: 9/10
Praise-Kink Strength: 9/10
When Praise Means “You’re Safe With Me”
Not all praise is about obedience.
Sometimes approval tells a character:
I see what you are doing.
I know this is difficult.
You are doing well.
That can be even more powerful.
Sin Too by S.J. Tilly
Sin Too mixes praise kink with the protective-possessive hero dynamic.
Angelo is tasked with watching Beth.
That obviously doesn’t stay professional.
The attraction is not just that he wants her—it is that he becomes intensely attentive to her, particularly as danger from her past closes in.
Praise style: Reassurance, possessive approval and protective encouragement.
Kink note: This is a good option if you want praise that feels less like formal BDSM protocol and more like an obsessive man learning exactly what makes his heroine feel safe and wanted.
Consent: Primarily consensual relationship dynamics, surrounded by darker external circumstances.
Who should read it: Readers who like “mine” energy but don’t necessarily want nonstop punishment/submission scenes.
Who should skip it: Readers looking for extreme non-con or very heavy BDSM.
HEA/HFN: HEA.
Kindle Unlimited: Verify current availability.
Content warnings/themes: Drugging, kidnapping, violence, grief, car accident, criminal danger and possessive behavior.
Eerie Ratings
- Spice: 4/5
- Darkness: 6/10
- Obsession: 8/10
- Psychological: 6/10
- Violence: 7/10
- Emotional Damage: 7/10
- Trigger Intensity: 7/10
- Romance Focus: 9/10
- Overall Intensity: 7/10
Praise-Kink Strength: 8/10
Love and Loyalty by Meg Fitzpatrick
This is one of the more unusual recommendations because praise is connected to something deeper than sexual obedience.
Jenny struggles with rejection sensitivity, intrusive thoughts and the exhausting pressure of masking.
Joey’s approval becomes powerful because it quiets some of that internal noise.
That makes “good girl” land very differently from a hero tossing the phrase into a sex scene because BookTok likes it.
Praise style: Validation, reassurance and praise during bondage/submission.
Kink note: Joey recognizes that being controlled in a consensual sexual context can actually give Jenny relief from feeling mentally overloaded. His praise reinforces safety and surrender rather than humiliation.
Consent: Consensual kink within a relationship complicated by Joey’s connection to organized crime.
Who should read it: Readers who want the emotional reason behind a praise kink to matter.
Who should skip it: Readers looking only for extremely dark or cruel dynamics.
HEA/HFN: HEA.
Kindle Unlimited: Verify current availability.
Content warnings/themes: Mafia violence, bondage, anxiety/rejection themes, possessiveness and criminal activity.
Eerie Ratings
- Spice: 4/5
- Darkness: 6/10
- Obsession: 8/10
- Psychological: 7/10
- Violence: 6/10
- Emotional Damage: 6/10
- Trigger Intensity: 6/10
- Romance Focus: 9/10
- Overall Intensity: 7/10
Praise-Kink Strength: 9/10
When the Praise Has to Be Earned
Some praise-kink readers don’t actually want constant compliments.
They want scarcity.
A hero who rarely gives approval can make one piece of praise feel enormous.
Scarred Regrets by Adelaide Forrest
Scarred Regrets is useful for readers who want praise coming from a hero who is otherwise cold, damaged and difficult.
This is dark mafia romance with abduction, vengeance and cruel-hero energy.
So when tenderness or approval appears, it has contrast behind it.
Praise style: Hard-earned approval mixed with possessiveness.
Kink note: The praise works because the hero does not behave like a relentlessly supportive partner. Positive reinforcement becomes something the heroine can actually feel she has pulled out of a dangerous man.
Consent: Dark-romance consent framework with significant power imbalance.
Who should read it: Readers who want praise from a harder hero.
Who should skip it: Readers who want praise delivered primarily as nurturing caretaking.
HEA/HFN: HEA.
Kindle Unlimited: Verify current availability.
Content warnings/themes: Abduction, mafia violence, vengeance, trauma, scars/disability themes, cruel behavior and possessiveness.
Eerie Ratings
- Spice: 4/5
- Darkness: 8/10
- Obsession: 8/10
- Psychological: 8/10
- Violence: 8/10
- Emotional Damage: 8/10
- Trigger Intensity: 8/10
- Romance Focus: 8/10
- Overall Intensity: 8/10
Praise-Kink Strength: 8/10
The Master by Kresley Cole
Maksim has exactly the personality that makes praise work.
He expects control.
Catarina has exactly the personality that makes that difficult for him.
Their chemistry therefore depends on the gap between what he demands and what she is willing to give.
Praise style: Dominant approval and obedience-earned praise.
Kink note: Maksim reacts noticeably when Catarina follows his direction. Approval functions as part of the power exchange rather than casual complimenting.
Consent: Sexual encounters are primarily consensual, although the wider relationship includes extreme possessiveness and criminal-world power.
Who should read it: Readers who like dominant mafia heroes and heroines who push back.
Who should skip it: Readers who need praise kink to be the only major sexual dynamic.
HEA/HFN: HEA.
Kindle Unlimited: Verify current availability.
Content warnings/themes: Mafia violence, controlling behavior, past abuse, BDSM elements, forced proximity and threats.
Eerie Ratings
- Spice: 5/5
- Darkness: 6/10
- Obsession: 8/10
- Psychological: 6/10
- Violence: 6/10
- Emotional Damage: 6/10
- Trigger Intensity: 7/10
- Romance Focus: 9/10
- Overall Intensity: 7/10
Praise-Kink Strength: 8/10
When More Than One Person Is Doing the Praising
White Rose Painted Red by Elena Lawson
Why-choose changes praise kink because there is no single dominant personality shaping the entire experience.
White Rose Painted Red is a dark reverse-harem romance involving criminals, danger and multiple male leads.
That gives the heroine several different forms of attention.
Praise style: Multiple-partner verbal praise, approval and possessive reinforcement.
Kink note: This is a strong choice for readers who enjoy praise but get bored when every interaction has the exact same dominant/submissive rhythm.
Consent: Dark but predominantly relationship-driven rather than a straightforward captivity/non-con framework.
Who should read it: Readers who want praise kink in a why-choose setup.
Who should skip it: Readers who only want monogamous M/F romance.
HEA/HFN: HEA.
Kindle Unlimited: Verify current availability.
Content warnings/themes: Criminal activity, violence, dark romance themes, multiple partners, possessiveness and morally gray behavior.
Eerie Ratings
- Spice: 5/5
- Darkness: 8/10
- Obsession: 8/10
- Psychological: 7/10
- Violence: 8/10
- Emotional Damage: 7/10
- Trigger Intensity: 8/10
- Romance Focus: 8/10
- Overall Intensity: 8/10
Praise-Kink Strength: 8/10
When “Good Girl” Sounds More Like Ownership
This is one of the most dark-romance-specific versions of the kink.
The approval is not:
You are good.
It is:
You are good for me.
Filthy Little Lies by Measha Stone
Savannah makes an extremely questionable decision involving Gabriel.
Gabriel makes the even more questionable decision that she is now his problem.
That predator/prey energy turns praise into ownership surprisingly quickly.
Praise style: Possessive “good girl,” claiming and reward.
Kink note: Savannah’s response to praise is noticeable enough that Gabriel can lean into it deliberately. His approval works alongside the captor/obsessive-mafia energy rather than softening it.
Consent: Complicated by captivity and the enormous imbalance of power between them.
Who should read it: Readers who want an obsessive mafia hero who discovers exactly which words unravel the heroine.
Who should skip it: Readers who dislike captor/captive relationships.
HEA/HFN: HEA.
Kindle Unlimited: Verify current availability.
Content warnings/themes: Captivity, mafia violence, threats, coercive behavior, predator/prey dynamics and possessiveness.
Eerie Ratings
- Spice: 5/5
- Darkness: 8/10
- Obsession: 9/10
- Psychological: 8/10
- Violence: 8/10
- Emotional Damage: 7/10
- Trigger Intensity: 8/10
- Romance Focus: 8/10
- Overall Intensity: 9/10
Praise-Kink Strength: 9/10
If that ownership angle is what you actually want, rather than praise by itself, Dark Romance Books Where He Becomes Obsessed With Her is the better rabbit hole.
When Praise Becomes Psychological Control
Now we reach the books where praise stops feeling entirely comforting.
Approval can become incredibly powerful when someone has control over whether you receive affection at all.
Pretty When You Cry by Skye Warren
Pretty When You Cry uses praise in a much darker psychological environment than something like Love and Loyalty.
Ivan’s attention can shift between intimidation, possession, caretaking and approval.
That inconsistency is precisely what makes approval powerful.
Praise style: Intermittent possessive praise and approval.
Kink note: This is less about constant “good girl” dialogue and more about the heroine responding to rare moments of recognition from the person who also holds enormous power over her.
Consent: Dubious and intertwined with captivity and conditioning.
Who should read it: Readers who want praise to feel psychologically dangerous.
Who should skip it: Anyone seeking clean, negotiated BDSM.
HEA/HFN: HEA.
Kindle Unlimited: Verify current availability.
Content warnings/themes: Captivity, coercion, religious/cult themes, sexual manipulation, psychological control and violence.
Eerie Ratings
- Spice: 5/5
- Darkness: 9/10
- Obsession: 9/10
- Psychological: 10/10
- Violence: 7/10
- Emotional Damage: 9/10
- Trigger Intensity: 10/10
- Romance Focus: 8/10
- Overall Intensity: 10/10
Praise-Kink Strength: 8/10
Perfection by Kitty Thomas
Kitty Thomas is particularly good at writing situations where the reader cannot neatly separate desire from psychological control.
Perfection begins with coercion and blackmail.
That changes the meaning of every later power exchange.
Praise style: Approval used within domination and psychological conditioning.
Kink note: The appeal is not an endless stream of “good girl.” It is the dominant character establishing expectations and then providing—or withholding—the approval Vivian increasingly responds to.
Consent: Begins coercively and evolves.
Who should read it: Readers fascinated by approval as psychological leverage.
Who should skip it: Anyone uncomfortable with blackmail-based sexual coercion.
HEA/HFN: HEA.
Kindle Unlimited: Verify current availability.
Content warnings/themes: Blackmail, coercion, murder, BDSM, psychological manipulation and threats.
Eerie Ratings
- Spice: 5/5
- Darkness: 8/10
- Obsession: 8/10
- Psychological: 10/10
- Violence: 5/10
- Emotional Damage: 8/10
- Trigger Intensity: 9/10
- Romance Focus: 7/10
- Overall Intensity: 9/10
Praise-Kink Strength: 7.5/10
When Praise Makes a Dark Fantasy Feel Safe Enough to Explore
Play Me by Ker Dukey and K. Webster
Play Me approaches darkness differently because the frightening sexual scenario is deliberately explored as fantasy.
That makes reassurance and approval essential.
Praise style: Praise and reassurance during negotiated dark role-play.
Kink note: The dominant character needs to preserve the illusion of danger without losing awareness of the person underneath the fantasy. Approval therefore becomes one of the signals connecting fear, trust and surrender.
Consent: Negotiated dark fantasy/CNC framework.
Who should read it: Readers interested in consensual exploration of fantasies that resemble non-consent.
Who should skip it: Readers triggered by sexual-assault themes or CNC.
HEA/HFN: HEA.
Kindle Unlimited: Verify current availability.
Content warnings/themes: Sexual-assault trauma, CNC fantasy, fear play, BDSM and violence themes.
Eerie Ratings
- Spice: 5/5
- Darkness: 8/10
- Obsession: 6/10
- Psychological: 9/10
- Violence: 6/10
- Emotional Damage: 9/10
- Trigger Intensity: 10/10
- Romance Focus: 8/10
- Overall Intensity: 9/10
Praise-Kink Strength: 8/10
Which Praise-Kink Book Should You Actually Read?
If you want praise + the darkest mafia hero, read Sinister Promise.
If you want obedience and dominant approval, read The Bratva’s Heir.
If you want protective praise rather than punishment-heavy BDSM, read Sin Too.
If you want approval from a cold, difficult hero, read Scarred Regrets.
If you want multiple partners praising the heroine, read White Rose Painted Red.
If you want captor/mafia ownership mixed with “good girl,” read Filthy Little Lies.
If you want praise to have an emotional-regulation component, read Love and Loyalty.
If you want classic dominant mafia energy, read The Master.
If you want approval tangled with captivity and conditioning, read Pretty When You Cry.
If you want praise used as psychological leverage, read Perfection.
If you want praise inside negotiated CNC/dark fantasy, read Play Me.
That is much more useful than pretending every praise-kink reader is searching for the same thing.
Which Books Have the Strongest Actual Praise Dynamic?
For the kink itself—not overall book quality—I would put the strongest matches in this tier:
Praise is a major part of the dynamic
Praise is noticeable but shares space with other kinks
Praise matters more psychologically than verbally
This is why I would not sell every book on this list as “300 pages of good girl.”
Some aren’t.
But they may actually do something more interesting with approval.
Does Praise Kink Always Mean “Good Girl”?
No.
This may be the biggest misunderstanding surrounding the kink.
“Good girl” is merely efficient shorthand.
Praise can be:
“You’re perfect.”
“You did exactly what I asked.”
“I knew you could handle it.”
“That’s my girl.”
“Look how well you’re taking it.”
“You make me proud.”
“I love what you do for me.”
And sometimes the strongest praise isn’t sexual at all.
Being praised for bravery, intelligence, resilience, obedience or vulnerability can create the emotional foundation that makes later erotic praise matter.
If the character could replace every “good girl” with “nice job” and nothing about the scene changes, the kink probably isn’t being written particularly deeply.
Why Praise Hits Differently in Dark Romance
Scarcity.
That’s a huge part of it.
A relentlessly affectionate hero praising someone is sweet.
A cold, terrifying or controlling hero who almost never expresses approval suddenly telling the heroine she did perfectly?
That feels exclusive.
She gets something no one else gets.
Dark romance already relies heavily on the fantasy that an objectively dangerous person has one exception.
Praise can reinforce that fantasy.
He may be cruel to the world.
He may even be cruel to her.
But her approval matters to him, and his approval matters to her.
That emotional exclusivity is one reason the kink overlaps so naturally with obsession.
For more of that dynamic, see Dark Romance Books Where He’s Obsessed With Her Immediately and 25 Dark Romance Books With Jealous Possessive Heroes.
Can Praise Kink Exist in Dub-Con or Non-Con?
Yes.
But you should not treat it as equivalent to consensual praise kink.
In consensual BDSM, praise is usually a reward inside a chosen dynamic.
Inside coercive dark romance, praise can become:
- conditioning,
- behavioral reinforcement,
- manipulation,
- forced submission,
- intermittent affection,
- or psychological ownership.
That distinction is why Love and Loyalty and Pretty When You Cry may both appeal to praise-kink readers while delivering wildly different emotional experiences.
The words can look similar.
The consent framework changes everything.
Is Praise Kink the Opposite of Degradation?
Not necessarily.
A reader can enjoy both.
A character can enjoy both.
A dominant partner can humiliate someone during one portion of a scene and then provide intense approval afterward.
For some people the central appeal is not whether the language is kind or cruel.
It is having the dominant partner’s complete attention.
Praise says:
I see you.
Degradation can also say:
I see exactly what affects you.
Dark romance thrives in that uncomfortable overlap.
What Should You Read After Praise Kink?
If the strongest part for you is ownership, move into obsessive and possessive heroes.
If it is obedience and reward, BDSM-heavy romance is the obvious next step.
If you like verbal claiming combined with reproductive possession, read 15 Dark Romance Books With Breeding Kink.
If the consent negotiation itself is what fascinates you, compare praise with Dark Romance Books With Somnophilia Kink and Dub-Con vs Non-Con.
For the wider map of dark-romance dynamics, use Every Dark Romance Trope Explained.
And if you are still figuring out just how intense you want your next read to be, the Dark Romance Spice Scale is a useful companion guide.
My Final Ranking for Praise-Kink Readers
This is not a literary-quality ranking.
It answers one question:
If someone specifically searches “dark romance books with praise kink,” which books would I hand them first?
- Sinister Promise — Zoe Blake
- The Bratva’s Heir — Jane Henry
- Filthy Little Lies — Measha Stone
- Love and Loyalty — Meg Fitzpatrick
- Sin Too — S.J. Tilly
- Scarred Regrets — Adelaide Forrest
- The Master — Kresley Cole
- White Rose Painted Red — Elena Lawson
- Play Me — Ker Dukey & K. Webster
- Pretty When You Cry — Skye Warren
- Perfection — Kitty Thomas
And that ranking illustrates the most important point of this entire guide:
Praise kink is not a magic phrase.
A hero can say “good girl” once and have no praise dynamic at all.
The kink begins when his approval becomes something she wants badly enough for the reader to feel it too.
