The most swoon-worthy heroes in romance

This book was my first Beverly Jenkins novel, and it made me fall in love with her historical romance novels. Before I read it, all the historicals I’d read were Regencies. I was thrilled to find a historical romance with black characters in the United States, which opened my eyes to a part of history I didn’t know much about.

But, the historical aspects were not the only thing that captured my attention. Galen, the Creole hero and free Black man who worked as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, is the reason I recommend this book. There is plenty of chemistry and sensuality between the couple, but his gentleness and love for Hester, a former slave, is unmatched. Galen is one of the best kinds of heroes, and Hester deserves all the love he showers her with. 

This book has everything I love about the billionaire trope—a filthy rich alpha male used to controlling every aspect of his life falling hard for one woman. 

Dante and Vivian were forced into a marriage of convenience because Vivian’s father blackmailed Dante—unbeknownst to her. In the beginning, Dante is rude and unkind, but as the story progresses, Vivian gets under his skin—in a good way.

I got a kick out of watching him slowly fall in love with her and the way that love manifested in acts of kindness—big and small. Dante softened toward Vivian and became willing to do anything to make her happy. His transformation from a hateful brute to a loving future spouse was not only enjoyable to watch, there were times when I actually sighed because Vivian was a lucky chica indeed. 

This was the first novel I read by Maureen Smith, and it sent me down a path to reading all the Wolf books. Not only that, I had to read her other books, too.

The way she writes her heroes, you can’t help but fall in love with them, and that was the case with Marcus Wolf. I simply fell in love with him. He’s a successful attorney who falls head over heels for Samara, a woman he initially meets at a fashion show. 

These two had great chemistry. Their relationship was hot and heavy right from the beginning, but what made Marcus swoon-worthy was how smitten he was with Samara, which resulted in a full-court press to make her his for all time. 

I literally could not stop reading this book. To this day, it’s my favorite book by Kennedy Ryan.

It is an achy, angst-ridden novel that I couldn’t put down. Both Iris and August were compelling characters, and when they first met at the bar, their chemistry was undeniable. But Iris was in a relationship, and each time she and August met in the story, I could feel the longing. 

The book covers tough subject matter involving domestic violence, and it’s quite graphic. I skipped over the parts that were “too much” and focused on the burgeoning relationship between Iris and August. He showed her in so many ways how much he loved her, and I spent the entire novel rooting for the happily ever after they both deserved. 

Diego is so very bad, which makes him swoon-worthy good. This book is a combination of two books which I read years ago (Mi Cariño and Mi Cariña), long before dark romance was an official subgenre in romance. 

Diego is wealthy, uber-alpha, and obsessed with Marcella. He’s so obsessed he kidnaps her and won’t let her go. Despite his outrageous behavior, he’s good to her and wants to build a life with her.

I set aside my reservations about his behavior, which I’d never tolerate in real life, and allowed myself to be entertained by a story with a hero who will stop at nothing to hold on to the woman he loves.