Leather & Lark

Dark romance is a subgenre that explores romantic relationships within an ethically compromised and inherently violent world, and such stories often contain elements of suspense and horror. In most cases, dark romances often focus on more tension-driven themes like revenge and forbidden love, and one or both of the protagonists may have a penchant for controversial activities such as stalking, sexual assault, kidnapping, and violence. In some cases, scenes featuring dominance and submission take center stage, and many dark romances feature morally gray protagonists who are murderers, assassins, or criminals.

Historically, the romance genre has often conformed to patriarchal patterns and plotlines, usually developing dark and brooding male protagonists who eventually find themselves “tamed” by pure, innocent female protagonists. A prime example of this dynamic can be found in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, which follows the fraught relationship between the moody Rochester and the titular character. More recently, the dark romance genre has been complicating this traditionally gendered pattern, and many female protagonists—such as Lark in Weaver’s Ruinous Love series—are just as prone to violence and darkness as their male counterparts. 

Dark romances still generally conform to the expectation that the two main protagonists get together by the end of the novel. However, while the characters do tend to grow and heal through their complex love for one another, finding a new sense of authenticity, the “happily ever after” ending is often discarded in favor of a much edgier resolution. In Leather & Lark, for example, Lark and Lachlan find love because they allow each other to see the “darkest” parts of themselves; Lachlan accepts and appreciates Lark’s deepest secret—that she kills predatory men—and he actively supports her by helping her kill a predator from her past. While Lachlan relinquishes the role of assassin at the end of the novel, there is no indication that Lark’s or Lachlan’s taste for violence will be dulled by their romantic relationship. Instead, they support each other’s goals and interests, regardless of the morally questionable behavior patterns that characterize their relationship and their approach to life in general.