I love to read. I have always loved to read, which came in handy as a teen because I spent a lot of time grounded. I can devour a book in a day, which never fails to amaze my husband. I have also always gravitated toward romance books. It appears that I had liked reverse harem books before I knew there was a term for it. All these are dangerous, and they will all stop at nothing to protect the women they love. Who wouldn’t want that? With the season of love upon us, I thought I would share some of my favorite guys I fell in love with.
Disclaimer: Most of my chosen book boyfriends are walking red flags. That sounds like my real-life guy choice, too. Spoiler alert: I have said that if you haven’t read the books or up to the point I am talking about, there might be a little bit of a spoiler, but not much of one. Let’s get into it.
Doyle, Merry Gentry series, Laurell K. Hamilton~ Doyle has been the right-hand assassin of two queens; he is death incarnate. With skin like obsidian, better stealth than a navy seal, and centuries to hone his lethal skills, you will never see your end coming. However, Doyle is more than that. Like everyone else, he has desires and passions (Merry is one of those passions and desires) and insecurities. But he has magick and all that hair. Doyle is over six feet tall, and his hair goes down to his ankles and is as black as his skin. He has bottomless black eyes and wears silver piercings all up his pointy ears and nipples. Doyle is deadly to those who are a threat to Merry. He understands that she can defend herself, she can even kill, but he wants to protect her from harm. He is probably the least problematic and the most pragmatic of her men. Doyle has always followed his queen’s commands, but where he did so out of fear with Andais, he follows Merry out of love.
Kitto, Merry Gentry series, Laurell K. Hamilton~ Kitto is Merry’s other unproblematic man. He is not lethal in the same way as Doyle. Hell, he is the weakest of Merry’s men when it comes to physical strength and combat prowess. He makes up for it in the quiet strength and day-to-day care he takes of everyone. Their family is not small. There is Merry and the triplets, plus all seven other fathers aside from him. Though Kitto is a caretaker, which in part comes from his life as a slave, his priorities are Merry and the babies. He is sweet but almost a doormat. He is beautiful, though. Kitto has the milky white skin of some of the Sidhe, long black hair, beautiful iridescent scales along his spine, and retractable fangs. He is working on becoming more assertive, and the guys are helping to teach him combat skills and how to strengthen himself.
Lucian and Nox, Corrupt Credence trilogy, Albany Walker~ I recently reviewed the whole Corrupt Credence trilogy recently, so go check that out. If you haven’t read the trilogy, I included Nox and Lucian in this slot because they are identical twins, down to their tattoos. Their personalities, though, are entirely different. Lucian is angry and violent. He doesn’t have a problem stirring the pot, setting someone up, or killing anyone. He demonstrates all of this centering around Nova. Nox is the more cerebral of the brothers. He thinks things through and plots. He is certainly more laid back. Nova is both men’s kryptonite. They are also a package deal, at least for Nova. They haven’t purposely shared a woman until her. They are filthy rich and have never wondered how they would pay a bill, eat, or how to get around best. That was Nova’s life before she came to live with her maternal grandparents. Lucian started as her bully, but things changed, and they complete each other now.
Silas, Bittersweet Memories, Catharina Maura~ OK, so Silas is the exception to the walking red flag comment. Silas and Alanna meet on the worst day of their lives and don’t see each other again for a few years. Things are complicated when they cross paths again. Silas is down on his luck, and things are going downhill for Alanna before she knows it, but they build a friendship. Finally, after years of torment, they are together, only for Alanna to be hit by a car and go missing for five years. In the meantime, Silas builds a whole company around finding her. When they cross paths yet again, she has no memories of her life before. She doesn’t remember Silas or anything about them. He does everything he can to care for her and meet her needs, and she is resistant to letting him or loving him. It centers around his brother’s words, who she was dating when she “met” Silas again. Silas is tall, dark, handsome, and irrevocably in love with Alanna. He is solely dedicated to her.
Yes. I do realize the following five are Anita’s men, but again, reverse harem. For a while, Merry’s harem was larger than Anita’s. Her harem included any of the Unseelie Court she wished, aside from the ones who already had a significant other. Well, she could have any of the men. Merry’s current harem only includes the fathers of her triplets, which is seven. Anita’s is twelve minimum. That doesn’t include the snacks she can have when the need arises.
Jean-Claude, Anita Blake series, Laurell K. Hamilton~ Jean-Claude is Anita’s fiancee and king of the vampires of North America. He is the head of the triumvirate with Anita, his human servant, and Richard, his animal to call. He is taller than Anita, which isn’t hard as she is five foot two like me, but not as tall as some of the others on this list. His voice is smooth and velvety, and he is a walking sex god. He is pragmatic, but he is also a survivor of abuse and has all the PTSD problems that go with it. He has more money than anyone needs and wants to buy Anita a whole new closet, but she is quite resistant to it. However, Jean-Claude doesn’t want to change her. She is precious to him as she is. He is quite vain but also highly insecure. He loves Anita with everything in him, which is both a blessing and a curse.
Richard, (today), Anita Blake series, Laurell K. Hamilton~ Before you call me crazy, my Anita Blake fans out there, hear me out. Richard has had therapy and is still going there. For those who haven’t read Anita, Richard is a werewolf and hated himself for it. He wanted Anita to be who she was but change everything about herself. He lost Anita when he callously shifted to wolf form and fed in a traumatic way in front of her. Even though he is part of the triumvirate with Jean-Claude and Anita, he was largely absent from the books for a while. Now, he is more at peace with who and what he is. He is no longer teaching children but is happier at the college level. He is more at ease in the bedroom, too. He is also working on accepting who he is there but has made leaps and bounds. It was a surprise to see, but welcome.
Nicky, Anita Blake series, Laurell K. Hamilton~ Nicky is Anita’s bride. He feels everything she feels, and his top desire is to make her happy. He must do her bidding even if it goes against what he wants. He is one of the short ones on the list. He has short brown hair and has a powerful build. He might be missing an eye, but he is still smokin’. He is a psychopath, literally. The only reason he has a conscience is because of Anita. When he makes Anita happy, he is genuinely happy, or at least as genuine as it can be as a bride.
Micha, Anita Blake series, Laurell K. Hamilton~ Micha showed up in Anita’s life when he was looking at a pard to lead at his abuser Chimera’s behest. He found a Nimir-Ra to his Nimir-Raj and took the opportunity. With Anita’s ardeur, they became, I don’t want to say, husband and wife, but they are romantically and magickally tied. He is the other short man in Anita’s harem. He is five foot two as well. With abuse, again, PTSD is a real thing in their relationship, and Anita has had to learn to deal with it with most of her lovers. She has done remarkably well, but with Micha, it helps that he is self-aware.
Nathaniel, Anita Blake series, Laurell K. Hamilton~ Nathaniel is beautiful. He is tall, but he isn’t as dark as some of the others on the list, and he is beautiful, not handsome. He has auburn hair and lavender eyes, without contacts. He is an accomplished dancer, both of the exotic and ballroom kinds. He dances at Jean-Claude’s strip club, Danse Macabre, and has a loyal following. Thankfully, he has a stage name, or I am sure he would be overrun with calls and DMs. He might be the youngest of Anita’s men. Even though he was of legal age when they met, Anita resisted falling in love or even giving into her carnal desires with him. However, he has become her housewife. She is the knight in shining armor, and Nathaniel is the princess. He has gone to therapy and is learning to handle himself in a combat situation. Nathaniel and Anita are tied like she is with Richard and Jean-Claude. Their triumvirate is completed with Damien, which is different from Nathaniel and Anita’s relationship with their third, Micha. It is not a triumvirate, but it is just as strong. Nathaniel loved Anita long before she returned that love.
Hoyt, Circle Trilogy, Nora Roberts~ Hoyt is a powerful wizard from the year 1128, so he is a Very different kind of man. Not only because he has no idea what anything is here but also because his worldview is a universe apart from things today. Plus, most people no longer believe in magick, much less practice it. Hoyt seems to be nothing besides magick. In the opening scene he is wielding a storm on a rock next to the sea, all elements were included in said storm. Plus, Hoyt is strong. You had to be, then. He rides horses and has long, dark hair. Mmmm, yummy. He is protective to a fault but gives his whole heart. He is commanding and demands respect because he knows he deserves it, but that comes in handy when you are leading an army to save worlds.
Hades, Goddess Summoning series, P.C. Cast~ Hades is a literal god. You would think that would make him cocky and full of confidence with women. Nothing could be further from the truth. Don’t get me wrong, he is confident and commanding, but where women are concerned, he is touchy. Hades has been hurt in the past by both goddesses and mortals, so he is oversensitive and prickly. Lena is a mortal playing the part of Persephone to fulfill her part of the bargain struck with Demeter. Lena teaches Hades how to love while demanding respect, and he turns out to be an enthusiastic student right up until he sticks his foot in his mouth. At least he knows how to grovel.
Rhysand, ACOTAR series, Sarah J. Maas~ Rhysand. What can I say? He is perfect. Again, he is tall, dark, and beautiful, but this time, he has wings too. Plus, he is fae to boot. He is sexy, sensual, and cocky but still believes in true love. Rhys loves Feyra so completely that he is willing to stand back and let Tamlin marry Feyra, his mate, if that is what makes her happy. Then, he gave her a place and space to heal without trying to push himself on her. He gave her purpose and supported her in everything. What more could a woman want? In doing this, he ensured she fell hopelessly in love with him.
Harry Dresden, The Dresden Files series, Jim Butcher~ Finally, we have Harry. His series is not a romance one. He’s urban fantasy but has had two girlfriends in the series. Jim doesn’t put a lot of focus on them, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t given clues as to the kind of boyfriend Harry would be. Harry is a gentleman. He holds doors open, puts your comfort before his own, is protective, and will defend your honor. He, like Hoyt, is a powerful wizard so that he can protect and defend with no problem. He is tall, around six foot five, I think, with longish dark hair, and while probably not the same handsome as, say, Silas, he is ruggedly handsome. He runs head-on into impossible danger and takes stupid risks, but he has come home so far.
It appears I have a type: tall, dark, handsome, red flag. Yeah, that tracks and explains past relationships. However, I want to say that the walking red flag I married has grown into a green one. Today, my husband loves me and all my craziness. He says I make sure his life is never dull. What? I never said that I am a green flag, but I digress. I want to say, and this is my PSA for the season, that my hubby is one of the exceptions, not the rule. In the majority of cases, don’t expect a red flag to change, especially if there is harm involved of any kind.
I could have picked so many more. Just Merry and Anita alone give me a multitude of them. However, I have read A LOT of books. Harlequin was my drug of choice for more than a decade. Hell, I could get a Harlequin book for a quarter at used bookstores for forever. I think now they are fifty cents, so it’s still not bad. I still read Harlequin once in a while, but not like I used to. My reading likes have taken a decidedly smuttier turn.
Do you agree with my choices? Who would you pick? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, have fun storming the castle!
