Morally gray heroes are my absolute favorite kind. Whether it’s Batman, Dean Winchester from Supernatural, or the heroes on this list—if he’s not dark and stormy, well, I’m not interested. There’s a depth to these characters that others often lack, and I find it so fascinating. Especiallywhen there’s romance involved. The books on this list are nearly all polar opposites, and yet... they each stretch our capacity to love to the very breaking point—and then make us catch our breath. How far into the darkness can he go, and still come back with a heart left to give to his heroine?
This book will grip you in its fist, and never let you go. I read this book nearly a decade ago, and it still stands out in my memory as a fierce example of love conquering all. A bad past, a bad beginning, and all the messed-up hurts a person can accumulate over the years? Liadan and Bran will wreck you in the best possible ways. The fact that it’s wrapped in mythological goodness and a healthy dose of magic? That only made me love it more. The entire series is worth a read, but this one is far and away my personal favorite.
Son of the Shadows is the sequel to Juliet Marillier's evocative first novel Daughter of the Forest.
It continues the saga of beautiful Sorcha, the courageous young woman who risked all to save her family from a wicked curse and whose love shattered generations of hate and bridged two cultures.
It is from her sacrifice that her brothers were brought home to Sevenwaters and her life has known much joy. But not all the brothers were able to escape the spell that transformed them into swans, and those who did were all more--and less--than they were before the change.
Tenebris Rache. I hated him, I really did. But, there was also something niggling at the back of my mind. I devoured all nine books, and by the end, I was cheeringfor this man, and one of my favorite female characters of the series. Buroker writes the complexities of life and relationships so well, you don’t even see the moment it all changes coming. And then you’re hooked, because deep down, we all know the best bad guys have a wound in need of healing.
Casmir Dabrowski would laugh if someone asked him that. After all, he had to build a robot to protect himself from bullies when he was in school.
Fortunately, life is a little better these days. He’s an accomplished robotics engineer, a respected professor, and he almost never gets picked on in the lunchroom. But he’s positive heroics are for other people.
Until robot assassins stride onto campus and try to kill him.
Forced to flee the work he loves and the only home he’s ever known,…
This is the kind of series you have to read twice to catch all of the depth. Love as thou wilt—such a simple concept. But in reality, it’s full of spies, intrigue, angelic magic, and danger, the depths of which go so deep, you’ll get lost in the pages. But Phedre knows in her soul, that there is a love that can see her through it all. The question is, can Josselin, a warrior priest no less, follow her to the darkest depths, and make it out on the other side with his heart intact? Make sure you bring a flashlight because this series isn’t afraid to go dark.
The lush epic fantasy that inspired a generation with a single precept: Love As Thou Wilt
The first book in the Kushiel's Legacy series is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal, and deeply laid conspiracies. A world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, deposed rulers and a besieged Queen, a warrior-priest, the Prince of Travelers, barbarian warlords, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess...all seen through the unflinching eyes of an unforgettable heroine.
A nation born of angels, vast and intricate and surrounded by danger... a woman born to servitude, unknowingly given access to the secrets of the realm...
There is nothing about this book, and the heroine in it, that isn’t fun and hilarious. Jen is mouthy and wild, and more than willing to tempt Decebel—a hunky, dangerous werewolf—to throw all his rules against getting involved with humans to the wind. This grumpy and sunshine book hooked me before the grumpy/sunshine trend was even a thing. But don’t let the fun fool you—dark magic is at work, and they will be up against life-and-death odds if they’re going to make it as a couple.
Jennifer Adams, best friend to a werewolf and a gypsy healer, is spicy, outspoken, a little crazy, and completely human...or so she thought. Jen has just found out that human DNA isn't the only thing that resides in her veins. She happens to share that little pesky werewolf gene, although it isn't more than just a drop. Now that she and her friends are living in Romania with Fane's pack, she is oh-so-conveniently stuck with the object of her affection, the broody furball, Decebel. Drawn to each other by something…
This book is so underrated, it’s painful. A truly engrossing read. Han Alister must rise up from the slums of the city to embrace his magic, and find revenge for his innocent sister’s death. She was his heart, and when her life is extinguished, so is that part of himself. Or so he thought, until Raisa. A princess by birth, she’ll have to overcome her so-called privilege to have a chance at real happiness with someone less than a commoner—a reformed thief and gang leader. Or is he? Will revenge prove a more powerful conviction than love? Magical twists and surprises abound, and the depth of this world will suck you right in. If you’re not cheering for Han by the end, do you even like morally gray heroes?
New York Times bestselling author Cinda Williams Chima presents the first installment in a thrilling new fantasy series, in which the lives of Han Alister and the brave Princess Raisa collide in a magical and dangerous adventure. One day Han Alister catches three young wizard setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes an amulet away from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to ensure the boy won't use it against him. The amulet once belonged to the Demon King, who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. With a magical piece so powerful at stake, Han…
When a brand new mage—and magical screwup—leaves her tiny town to find her missing talisman, the last thing she expects is to meet a handsome water elf on the Mage Road. What she expects even less is to go on the adventure of a lifetime with a cold-blooded and ridiculously attractive assassin as her only companion.
That is, until they run into a magical forest that tries to eat them, a vengeful dryad queen, soldiers beating up on defenseless baby griffins, and, you know... a sentient hedge full of forest sprites. Will she find her talisman, and right the wrongs causing the magic to crumble? Or will the elven assassin steal her heart—and her head?
Growing up in New England, my mother had a set of books that she kept in the living room, more for display than anything else. It was The Works of Edgar Allen Poe. I read them and instantly became hooked on horror. In the seventh grade, I entertained my friends at a sleepover by telling them the mysterious clanking noise (created by the baseboard heater) was the ghost of a woman who had once lived in the farmhouse, forced to cannibalize her ten children during a particularly bad winter. And I’ve been enjoying scaring people ever since.
In 1939, on a remote Pacific island, botanical researcher Irene Greer plunged off a waterfall to her death, leaving behind a legacy shrouded in secrets. Her great-niece Julia, a struggling journalist recovering from a divorce, seeks answers decades later.
Tasked with retrieving Dr. Greer’s discovery–a flower that could have world-changing properties–Julia unearths a story rife with hidden agendas and a missionary community unwilling to share the truth. As she confronts the eerie legends and a fellow traveler with his own motives, Julia finds that the longer she stays, the thinner the line between reality and the fantastical becomes until she…
From the award-winning author of Dead Souls and Poe comes an all-new bone-chilling novel where a mysterious island holds the terrifying answers to a woman's past and future.
In 1939, on a remote Pacific island, botanical researcher Irene Greer plunges off a waterfall to her death, convinced the spirits of her dead husband and daughter had joined the nightmarchers-ghosts of ancient warriors that rise from their burial sites on moonless nights. But was it suicide, or did a strange young missionary girl, Agnes, play a role in Irene's deteriorating state of mind?
