Reading Recs: Favorite Damaged Heroes

Although I tend to have more of an appreciation for charming, charismatic, somewhat irreverent heroes, every so often a beautifully damaged hero comes along in a novel that absolutely sweeps me off my feet.

Maybe it’s that innate romantic in me that loves the idea of epic love being the one thing that can heal a tortured soul.

Anyway, here is a short list of my very favorite damaged heroes and the novels in which they exist:

Lance Romero

Pucked Off (Pucked #5) by Helena Hunting
Oh, my sweet, sweet Lance! Lance’s book is second-to-last in the Pucked series and it came out of nowhere for me. His story was heartbreaking and intense and he loved so fiercely despite having such a hard time in life. Of all the guys in this list, Lance is the one whose story surprised me the most because my perception of him from the other books were nowhere near how he ended up.

Caden Grayson

Hearts in Darkness Duet by Laura Kaye
It’s not until the second book in these novellas do you realize just how broken Caden is, but because of the epic love that develops between the two characters in the first book, you are just as willing to fight for him as Makenna.

Grayson Pierce Sullivan

Darkly, Madly Duet by Trisha Wolfe
I mean… Grayson is a serial killer, so… You don’t get much more damaged than that. His book is by far the darkest out of all of these books and it certainly is not for the faint of heart. Grayson is also, in his darkness, alluring and intensely compelling.

Rhysand

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas
I hesitate to say much about Rhys’ story because it would be riddled with spoilers for those who haven’t read the first two books in this series, but just know that he 100% deserves to be on this list.

Zsadist

Lover Awakened (Black Dagger Brotherhood #3) by JR Ward
Zsadist’s story was actually the first true broken hero story I’ve ever read and it completely slayed me. I was not prepared. I’ve re-read this story over and over and though nothing will compare to how it made me feel the first time I read it, the story still hits me where it counts every time. Of all the damaged heroes on this list, no one is as broken as Zsadist. But it just makes his story that much better.