My Dreadful Darling Summary: A Twisted Dark Romance of Trauma and Revenge
TL;DR: A Vengeful Game Turns Obsessive
In My Dreadful Darling, Reverie Adams hides her identity as the daughter of serial killer Lionel D’Amour.
Kellan “Dread” Sharpe, the son of Lionel’s last victim, spends months bullying her for revenge.
Their mutual cruelty shifts into a possessive, obsessive attraction.
- Reverie witnesses her father’s crime as a child and keeps the secret under threat.
- Dread’s revenge pranks escalate while he develops dark feelings for her.
- Lionel’s parole and a copycat killer drive the plot toward a cliffhanger.
- The novel mixes explicit sexual content, psychological manipulation, and violence.
You can find more of Carlton work summarized at H. D. Carlton’s book summaries on URSummary.
Characters In My Dreadful Darling
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Reverie Adams (born Charlotte D’Amour) | Protagonist and daughter of serial killer Lionel D’Amour who changed her name to escape her past. |
| Kellan “Dread” Sharpe | Male lead and Olympic swimmer whose mother was murdered by Lionel; he bullies Reverie before falling in love with her. |
| Lionel D’Amour (“The Locksmith”) | Primary antagonist and Reverie’s father, a serial killer released on parole who uses psychological games to reclaim his daughter. |
| Sabela “Sable” Vázquez | Reverie’s best friend and a mortician who provides her only source of stable emotional support. |
| Rogue Cameron | Dread’s best friend and swim teammate who helps Dread torture and later protect Reverie. |
| Severen Fox | Dread’s other best friend and a romance novel enthusiast who helps watch over Reverie. |
| Barry Jones | FBI agent and Reverie’s legal guardian figure who has spent decades trying to fully convict Lionel. |
| Roxi Jenkins | Student at HCU and Lionel’s young girlfriend who serves as a manipulated proxy for his influence on campus. |
| Regina D’Amour | Reverie’s deceased mother who suffered from postpartum psychosis and committed suicide on Reverie’s eighteenth birthday. |
| Georgia Farrell | Lionel’s third victim, whose murder Reverie witnessed at age six. |
| Katherine Sharpe | Dread’s mother and Lionel’s final victim prior to his arrest. |
| Mindy Sackler | Student whose disappearance and subsequent gruesome murder frame the book’s final act. |
| Creed | Highly trained agent sent by Barry to protect Reverie under the guise of being a student. |
| Octavia | Lacrosse player at HCU and Severen’s love interest who eventually befriends Reverie. |
My Dreadful Darling Summary: The Complete Story
Spoiler Warning: This section reveals major plot points and the ending.
Read the Full Chapter-by-Chapter Summary of My Dreadful Darling by H. D. Carlton
Reverie Adams is a senior at Hollow Canyon University in Colorado, living under a new name. Her real identity is Charlotte D’Amour, daughter of Lionel D’Amour, a serial killer called “The Locksmith.”
Lionel killed multiple people in Silent Mist, California, and dismembered his victims. Reverie witnessed one murder when she was six years old.
Kellan “Dread” Sharpe is a famous Olympic swimmer and the most popular student at HCU. His mother Katherine Sharpe was Lionel’s final victim before his arrest.
Lionel is granted parole after thirteen years in prison. Reverie secretly sent the parole board a statement about his crimes, hoping to keep him locked up.
Dread believes Reverie supported her father for years. He promises to make her suffer the way he did.
Dread stages a fake arrest and chains Reverie to a flagpole during a dangerous blizzard. He rescues her but then films her naked while writing the names of Lionel’s victims on her skin.
Reverie retaliates by drugging Dread’s drink before a televised swim meet, nearly ending his career. A student named Roxi Jenkins then introduces herself as Lionel’s girlfriend and says she plans to reunite the family.
Related Read: Hunting Adeline Summary
Dread’s hatred begins to mix with dark attraction. He stages a fake grave scene where Reverie must hear the names of victims. He forces her to admit she always believed his testimony was true.
After Lionel calls Reverie by her childhood nickname “Angel,” she confesses the truth to Dread. She saw her father dismembering Georgia Farrell in his shed and stayed silent because Lionel threatened to kill her mother.
Dread tells Reverie he loves her and promises to protect her from Lionel. He continues to use sex and humiliation as forms of control.
Objects are thrown through Dread’s window containing a note and two moss-green eyeballs that appear to belong to missing student Mindy Sackler.
FBI agent Barry Jones confirms Lionel is at his home in California. Someone else appears to be acting on Lionel’s behalf.
Reverie briefly suspects Dread staged the eyeball delivery as another prank, but they reconcile. While Dread is at a swim meet in Florida, police discover Mindy Sackler’s body in Dread’s dorm room.
Her body is arranged like furniture: skin draped over the bed, torso at the desk, and head hanging from the ceiling fan. Reverie is arrested for the murder.
The book ends with Reverie framed for a killing committed in the style of her father, the man she spent her life trying to escape.
Similar Books to My Dreadful Darling
- Haunting Adeline by H. D. Carlton — Another dark romance by the same author featuring a stalker dynamic and psychological intensity.
- Hunting Adeline by H. D. Carlton — The direct sequel to Haunting Adeline, continuing themes of trauma, captivity, and obsessive love.
- The Ritual by Shantel Tessier — A dark college romance centered on a secret society and a controlling, obsessive relationship.
- God of Wrath by Rina Kent — An enemies-to-lovers dark romance set on a university campus with power struggles and revenge.
- Corrupt by Penelope Douglas — A dark romance built around revenge, manipulation, and a group of powerful college men.
- Buttons and Lace by Penelope Sky — A dark romance involving captivity and a revenge-driven relationship.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does My Dreadful Darling end?
My Dreadful Darling ends on a cliffhanger with Reverie Adams being arrested for the murder of Mindy Sackler. The victim’s body is found staged in Dread’s dorm room in a style matching Reverie’s father’s methods.
Is My Dreadful Darling part of a series?
My Dreadful Darling is the first book in the Hollow Graves Duet by H. D. Carlton. The duet is structured as a two-book series, with the second book expected to continue the story after Reverie’s arrest.
Who are the main characters in My Dreadful Darling?
The main characters are Reverie Adams, the daughter of a serial killer hiding her identity, and Kellan “Dread” Sharpe, an Olympic swimmer seeking revenge for his mother’s murder. Lionel D’Amour, the serial killer called “The Locksmith,” is the primary antagonist.
What genre is My Dreadful Darling?
My Dreadful Darling is a dark romance and romantic suspense novel. It combines psychological tension, violence, and explicit sexual content within a revenge-driven love story.
Does My Dreadful Darling contain explicit content?
My Dreadful Darling includes explicit sexual scenes, violence, psychological manipulation, and themes of trauma. Reader discretion is advised for those sensitive to dark themes.
