Brutal Prince

Brutal Prince provides a quintessential example of mafia romance, a subgenre of contemporary romance that thrives on high-stakes conflict and competing power dynamics. These narratives typically feature a dangerous, morally gray protagonist from an organized crime family and a strong-willed love interest (often from a rival family) who challenges their authority, providing both internal and external obstacles to their love story. The subgenre finds its roots in classic dark romance and forbidden love stories such as Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. Brutal Prince draws inspiration from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, opening with a lavish party crashed by members of a rival family. However, unlike the forbidden love plight of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers, Lark’s protagonists are forced into an arranged marriage of political convenience that forces them into constant proximity—additional classic romance tropes that create an environment of intense friction and inescapable intimacy. Lark’s Brutal Birthright series sits alongside other contemporary examples of the mafia romance subgenre, including J. T. Geissinger’s Queens and Monsters series and Danielle Lori’s Made series, all of which have connected with large, book-based fandoms on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.