My Dark Romeo by Parker S. Huntington Summary

My Dark Romeo is a standalone dark romance featuring an arranged marriage between Romeo Costa, a cruel billionaire heir seeking revenge, and Dallas, a feisty Southern heiress who refuses to accept her fate. After Romeo traps Dallas in a scandal at a debutante ball, he forces her into marriage to steal her from his rival, her ex-fiancé. The enemies-to-lovers story follows their journey from hatred and manipulation to unexpected love, featuring intense banter, steamy tension, and emotional healing.

My Dark Romeo is co-written by Wall Street Journal bestselling authors L.J. Shen and Parker S. Huntington. Parker S. Huntington holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from UCR and an A.L.M. in Literature from Harvard, bringing academic literary expertise to the collaboration. The seamless writing style makes it difficult to distinguish between the two authors' contributions, creating an elegant world with complex characters that feels cohesive throughout.

My Dark Romeo is perfect for readers who enjoy dark romance with arranged marriage tropes, alpha-hole heroes, and enemies-to-lovers dynamics. Fans of hate-to-love stories featuring possessive billionaires, strong heroines who fight back, and marriage of convenience plots will find this addictive. The book suits readers comfortable with trigger warnings, explicit content, and darker themes, while also appreciating laugh-out-loud humor and emotional depth beneath the surface.

My Dark Romeo delivers an entertaining and addictive reading experience for dark romance fans, with many readers praising its compelling banter, tension, and character development. The book earned 4-5 star ratings from readers who appreciated its perfect balance of hate-to-love dynamics, humor, and emotional depth. While some found the pop culture references and choppy emotional transitions distracting, most agreed it's a fun, engaging standalone that keeps readers hooked from the first page.

The central conflict revolves around Romeo Costa using Dallas as leverage in his revenge plot against his rival, forcing her into an arranged marriage after orchestrating a public scandal. Romeo's goal is to destroy his father's company and steal Dallas from his enemy Madison, viewing her merely as a chess piece rather than a person. Dallas fights back against her forced fate, attempting to make Romeo dump her while dealing with her father's betrayal and a society with outdated marriage expectations.

Romeo and Dallas's relationship evolves through a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers arc filled with intense sexual tension and witty banter. Initially, Romeo finds Dallas annoying, messy, and childish, dismissing her as vapid despite his undeniable attraction to her. Dallas actively tries to drive Romeo away, including tying him to a bed, while he struggles with trust issues and trauma. Their constant clashes gradually reveal deeper vulnerabilities, with Romeo ultimately falling for the woman who gets on his every nerve but makes him feel alive.

Romeo Costa is a domineering, cruel alpha-hole billionaire who doesn't believe in love, driven by revenge and shaped by past trauma that made him hard and unyielding. Dallas is a relatable, unapologetically messy Southern heiress obsessed with food and snacking, who refuses to conform to high society expectations. She's feisty, immature at times but resilient, standing up for herself against Romeo's cruelty with humor and determination. Romeo's best friends Oliver (the player) and Zach (the superior egotist) add dimension with their own distinct personalities.

My Dark Romeo combines multiple popular romance tropes including arranged marriage/marriage of inconvenience, enemies-to-lovers, hate-to-love, and billionaire romance. The story features a possessive alpha-hole hero, forced proximity, revenge plot, and emotional trauma healing. Additional elements include slow burn with high sexual tension, grumpy-sunshine dynamics (Romeo's order versus Dallas's chaos), and a fierce heroine unafraid to fight back against her circumstances.

My Dark Romeo contains explicit sexual content, darker themes, and trigger warnings that readers should be aware of before starting. The book features a cruel hero with questionable consent elements, including Romeo trapping Dallas through public scandal and forced marriage. Some scenes left readers uncomfortable, and the story includes references to past trauma, violence (including a robbery where Romeo gets injured), and psychological manipulation. Despite the dark elements, many reviewers noted it's a "lighter" dark romance compared to hardcore dark romance novels.

Dallas stands out as one of the most relatable female main characters in contemporary romance, celebrated for being unapologetically herself despite high society pressures. She's obsessed with food and snacking, messy, lazy, and unorganized—qualities that contrast sharply with Romeo's need for cleanliness and order. Rather than accepting her forced marriage fate, Dallas actively fights back, attempting creative schemes to make Romeo dump her and refusing to be ignored or dismissed. Her humor, resilience, and refusal to conform make her a refreshing protagonist.

My Dark Romeo balances its dark themes with laugh-out-loud humor through sharp banter, Dallas's antics, and Romeo's droll dark humor. Their first interaction involves Dallas crashing Romeo's table just to steal shortbread, leading to an argument that sets the tone for their relationship. Readers particularly enjoyed scenes like Dallas tying Romeo to the bed, their sarcastic exchanges, and amusing interactions between Romeo and his friends Oliver and Zach. The pop culture references throughout add contemporary humor, though some readers found them excessive.

The shortbread scandal is the pivotal moment that traps Dallas into marriage with Romeo. Their first interaction at a debutante ball involves Dallas approaching Romeo's table solely to get exclusive shortbread cookies, leading to flirtation and Romeo offering a hookup involving shortbread. Romeo orchestrates this encounter as a trap—they hook up in front of everyone without Dallas realizing they're being watched, creating a massive scandal. Romeo then leverages this scandal to force Dallas's father into agreeing to their marriage, using her ruined reputation to steal her from his rival Madison.