I’m still working on “Everything I Know About Love, I Learned From Romance Novels,” in between cooking the stuffing and having nearly unconquerable urges to clean out closets instead (someone on Twitter called this form of distraction and procrastination “combing the yak hair” – SO apt.) Right now I’m working on what romance readers can and have learned about men from romance novels, and I wanted to ask you: who are your favorite heroes, and why? Which men from romances rock your world?
For me, my favorite heroes are a mix. Sometimes I love reading the abidingly constant lovinghornypants waiting-for-her-to-wake-up hero, or the “I don’t like you, you drive me nuts, I can’t stop thinking about your hair, DAMMIT” hero. One hero I love re-reading is Ethan from the Nora Roberts Chesapeake Bay series. Yet I would TOTALLY be wary of him in real life. Quiet but intense is fun to read about – “What’s going on under the surface? I can’t tell – a puzzle! Fun!” – but not so fun in real life – “I know there’s something going on under the surface but I can’t read it – a mystery, and possibly creepy!”
As usual, if I quote you, I can use your online pseudonym (the crazier the better, really. How much fun is it to quote “DreadPirateRachel” or “Anony Miss?” TOTALLY fun, I tell you) or a name of your choice. Or, if you don’t want me to quote you but you would like to be part of the discussion, just say, “Don’t quote me, you hose beast.”
And as usual, thank you thank you thank you for sharing your opinion with me.
Count me in for the geek love. I like the sweet nerdy heroes like Chuck Bartowski, and the geeks with a little more edge to them like Harry Dresden. I like brainy guys, in books and in real life, though the ones in real life can be harder to get to know (but worth the trouble).
I have problems with the term “alpha male” because so often it’s used to describe “heroes” who are overbearing, controlling jerks. I’ve always liked the hero who is smitten with the heroine and works to please her. I don’t like heroes who are full of themselves and their money. I like men who are strong but tender, smart and wise crack funny.
I love lawmen heroes when his job is actually part of the storyline. So often it’s written that he’s a sheriff or cop, but his attitude doesn’t convey that, and his job is more of an afterthought. Law men conduct themselves and carry themselves differently, so I can tell when a writer has done their homework and when they haven’t.
I love almost all the hero’s from Laura Kinsale’s books. Powerful, but somehow fatally flawed and rescued by the love of their women.
My fave of hers is Lord Winter from “The Dream Hunter”. I love it when a hero is so confident that he can exist in a realm totally outside his norm.
I like an alpha male, but he’s gotta want a really feisty woman … not to dominate, but to admire and help. I loved, loved, loved Shane from Agnes and the Hit Man by Crusie/Mayer, because he killed people yet still got her the air-conditioning unit of her dreams. Plus, she was prone to attempted murder. Which he liked in a woman. Also, in the movie 10 Things I Hate About You, I loved that can-not-dominate-but-can-woo thing they had going on. I think my preferences overlap in real life, a bit. I am a very smart mouth, feminist, redhead with a temper. My husband seems like such an easy-going guy, and he is always trying to do nice things for me, but if we fight he is more than a match for me. He sometimes wins! Which I still find startling, yet sexy. Plus he totally dominates the computer with his awesome code development. Other programmers tremble when he walks into a room. I’m getting hot just thinking about the way he utilizes his android apps.
I find Alphas tiresome in both romance books and in real life.
There are things that make me go weak in the knees in fiction—short, dark, twisty-to-borderline-psychotic geniuses are high on the list*—which would set off clanging alarm bells in real life. And things I love in real life that I don’t particularly want to read about; how can I NOT love a man who gave me a dictionary for Valentine’s Day and lets his mother lecture him about going to Hell and does the dishes without being asked?
There are pretty much only two areas where they overlap, and are as essential for a fictional boyfriend as a real one: the ability to laugh at himself, and the willingness to say “I’m sorry” and MEAN it.
*Hi, Miles V.! And Val Con. And Eugenides. And Locke Lamora. And…
Actually somebody did mention Jamie Frazier, so I guess I third him.
I want a bit of a Renaissance man. Somebody I can talk to and who know a lot of junk about everything. I love the English Dr on BONES .
And Wolf McKenzie, a shadow against the door in a thunderstorm. jeesh That’s 2 Scots for me!
Ethan Quinn…When her grabs Grace against a tree during 4th of July….WOW!!!. But he might be a bit too troubled to know, not approachable enough.
2 men not in romance novels – strong, alpha at work, beta at home: Anne Perry’s Thomas Pitt and William Monk.
Then there’s Phin Tucker. Zack Benedict (PERFECT), Brent Michaels from DRIVE ME WILD by JUlie Ortolon.
I ALMOST forgot BOBBIE TOM! and the rest of the Chicago Stars and Ren Gage.
But most of all Jamie Frazier. I even call his name in my sleep—Sure shook thing up in our bedroom!
Now DH just says not him again, sigh.
Cait
ps Use my name if you need to.
I did manage to scrounge up some Americans after all
I like imperfect heroes. Yes, it’s nice every so often to read a book with the Perfect Man, whose Alpha and Beta and Whatever Else, who can do everything and look hot while doing it. But the hero who is physically imperfect, or who has a fundamental flaw that he recognizes and struggles with, that is the hero I love best.
Carla Kelly does Imperfect Heroes very well. Dorky, dumpy, career obsessed, emotionally stunted or flawed. And Bujold’s Miles Vorkosigan, while not strictly a romance novel hero (only A Civil Campaign would fall into that category), is The Benchmark Imperfect Hero for me. Physically different in a world that does not tolerate physical imperfection, he uses that difference to manipulate people and circumstances, running on guile and chutzpah. He loves tall, capable women, and when they leave him they are the better for having known him. *sigh* Time to go re-read Komarr.
My favorite romance hero is the take charge, caregiving type, with or without a title, who also has a vulnerability about him that makes him more like an everyman than a superhero. He’s the perfect Jamie Fraser with the scars on his back or the aging workaholic widower, Sir Ross Cannon in Lisa Kleypas’ Lady Sophia’s Lover. Colin Bridgerton in Julia Quinn’s Romancing Mr. Bridgerton also has this vulnerability. Underneath his roguish bravado, he’s a middle child in a big family and doesn’t feel like he has ‘something’ to make him stand out. Any of Sherry Thomas’ heroes fit my bill, like Camden in Private Arrangements or Stuart in Delicious. Both have a touch of poignancy about them that gets me. They just want a little happiness. They’re flawed, they’ve made dumb mistakes and have learned from them. They fear losing the love of their lives again forever. They’re emotional. They will do whatever it takes not to let it happen again. *sigh* To hell with the stiff upper lip!
I love all sorts of heroes but probably the cargiving alpha best. Top of my list at the moment?
Jamie Fraser
Roarke (he’s definitely a caregiving alpha)
Adam Hauptmann (Mercy Thompson series)
What all 3 definitely have in common is that they appear over a series so I felt I got to know them a bit better than in just one book and there’s more to come!
I have long thought that Fox O’Dell from The Nora’s The Hollow series is very aptly named. The man is a fox. Not totally he-man alpha, but smart and charming.
Will Parker from LaVryle Spencer’s Morning Glory is everything a Wounded Hero ought to be if that’s your type. In real life, fixer-uppers are not always really worth the time, but in romance novel land Will’s a keeper.
My favorite Austen hero is not Mr. Darcy, but Captain Wentworth. Intelligent, ambitious, a self-made man, and what a way with words. That letter he writes to Anne Elliot at the end of the book makes me weak in the knees every time I read it. “You pierce my soul.”
I also just finished Ripping the Bodice by Inara Lavey which I must mention because *SPOILERS AHOY!* Connor wins over Cassandra by pointing out that she only wants Rafael because he *looks* like the hero in a romance novel, whereas Connor, who doesn’t, is willing to *act* like one because that’s what she wants. If that is not a willingness to do what it takes to please his woman, I don’t know what is. Plus, a man who’s familiar enough with romances to know what kind of hero his heroine wants? Oh yeah. Lemme at him.
I am totally into the ‘alpha male with the heart of gold.’ My favorite character in this category? Jack Sheridan from Robyn Carr’s Virgin River.
We know he’s a war hero; he’s selfless; he’s a mentor to confused teenager; he helps his fellow Marines; he’s a successful business man who keeps the town happy and fed.
With regards to Mel, he respects her; he’s patient; he’s a magnificent lover *sigh* and he wants a commitment.
Oh and he’s tall and gorgeous. Damn.
If he were real, I’d leave my husband for him.
Jamie Fraser. In his kilt. Out of his kilt. Jamie Fraser in anything, really.
Davy Dempsey (con man with a heart of gold) from Jenny Crusie’s Faking It. Life would never be boring with Davy.
Suzanne Brockmann’s seals are an impressive bunch, but I think I’ve fallen in love with them en masse. Can’t pick just one to highlight.
Robert Grey from Joanna Bourne’s The Spymaster’s Lady. I don’t know. Amy I in love with the character or with the prose?
I love the drawling, sarcastic rakes of Georgette Heyer, the Earl of Worth, and the Duke of Avon is a particular favorite and I also love intelligence in a hero, so I’d add Francis Lymond and Niccolo, but then there are the military heroes like Suzanne Brockmann’s Navy SEALS…
So it depends on my mood.
What I like is that whatever type of man I want to read about at that particular moment, I know I’ll be able to find him in one of my romance novels 🙂
Kate4queen
In real life and fiction, and after 34 years of marriage, the most enduring, endearing and important characteristics of a hero for me are these: Is he someone to be trusted with all the things that matter? Does this person have the respect of his peers? Is he someone others count on?
The fictional hero-type that fits this bill for me is Cosmo Richter from Suzanne Brockmann’s Hot Target. He is equal to all situations except the emotional ones. He has a plan, a course of action; he is prepared and ready. People count on him and know their lives are safe in his hands.
In one word: capable. And constant. OK, that’s two words. Make it three: honorable.
My husband is all this. And you can quote me.
I love so many of the hero types already mentioned. Variety is the spice of fiction! I’m surprised nobody had mentioned Dain from “Lord of Scoundrels” His snarling self-sufficiency starts to melt at his first contact with Jessica and despite all of his blustering denial he is clearly captivated. Watching him realize it and struggle to regain his equilibrium is so satisfying. It is the story of his journey to becoming the hero worthy of Jess’ strength and love. Sigh!
Intelligence and integrity does it for me. Lord Peter Wimsey, Edward Rochester, Roger Mac in the Outlander books (Jamie is too wounded for me), Rabbi David Small (I know they’re mysteries, but he makes me all tingly in my lady parts), Faramir, Heyer’s Duke of Avon, Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall, Rhett Butler.
They don’t have to be aggressive or domineering alphas, I prefer gentleness in my gentlemen, but they have to be smart and witty if they want to put their shoes under my bed.
Literary Slut (Kilian Metcalf) OK to use either name.
I seem to love The Sidekicks and the Unlikely Heroes. A prime example of the latter is Freddy from Georgette Heyer’s “Cotillion”. But most of all I love the heroes whose primary characteristics are Intelligence and a Sense of Humor. The two men in all of my romance reading that I seriously, seriously wanted to have all for my very own are Declan Fitzpatrick in Nora Roberts’ “Midnight Bayou” and Mr. Henry Tilney from Jane Austen’s “Northanger Abbey.”
I love me a dark, not-so-pretty, slightly-broody-with-a-sense-of-humour-and-nutso-wife-locked-in-the-north-tower Edward Rochester type, but I also dig a smart-assed wiser-cracker who makes me laugh out loud, with or without Izzy Zanella Navy SEAL Brockmann brawn. I think it comes down to a man who tries to do the right thing.
I love heroes who appear to be bad boys in the beginning, but whom the heroines discover are unusually caring and gentle, even if they’re not the most sensitive of beings. Heroes like CL from Jennifer Crusie’s Tell Me Lies. He was a bad boy in high school, and heroine Maddie just can’t believe that he might have changed in 15 years. His frustration with trying to convince her to trust him is endearing, and Maddie has a legitimate reason to drag her heels (for once). I love watching the trust grow between the H/H while simultaneously finding a deeper understanding of the hero’s character.
How much do I love this kind of hero? I married one. You may quote me if you like. Who am I to deprive you of my awesome screen name? 🙂
Any gay hero. Why? Simple (or not so). It requires infinitely more courage, integrity, devotion—and, sometimes, sacrifice—to be a gay man in love than a straight man in love.
I’m a sucker for the flirtatious, worldly rakes even though in real life I would not want to be with a player. I also like the beauty and the beast type stories even though again, dealing with a brooding hottie may not be what I want in real life. I think that there’s an appealing fantasy of a man being redeemed by the love of a good woman (especially if it’s written well) even though most intelligent women know that trying to “change” a man is not the best idea in practice.
I have a secret softness for the prince characters (whether actual royalty or having princely traits) linked to my secret softness for the world of Disney Princesses and unicorns.
Specific names:
Mr. Darcy
Sir Percy from the Scarlet Pimpernel
Adam Hauptman from the Mercy Thompson series
Mr. Rochester
Roiben from Tithe by Holly Black
You can use my pen name.
I don’t know if I’d categorize them as “dark” and “ tortured” heroes, but I am drawn to stories with emotionally or physically scarred heroes who (re) discover their inner ”Alpha” in the story, rather than being an Alpha from the get-go.
Perhaps it has something to do with the heroine getting to be a bit of a rescuer ( and not just someone who gets rescued) when she helps the hero discover he was wrong in thinking he was broken or undeserving of love/happiness.
@Laurel
Read your comment after I posted mine and got super excited that some of our man list matched.
That is all.
I have to disagree. Being an out gay man is certainly more difficult than being an out heterosexual man, but depending on where the gay couple live, being in love is no more ‘courageous’ for them than for anyone else.
Though I do love my gay heroes 🙂
My ideal romance hero is the Quiet Man of Strength (to steal a label from a past discussion about the subject). He’s solid, capable, and honorable, always does what’s right because it’s right, and has his shit together enough that he doesn’t jerk the heroine around for no good reason. Carla Kelly and Diane Gaston write really honorable heroes really well (Philemmon Brittle from The Surgeon’s Lady is my favorite). Ruck from For My Lady’s Heart also comes to mind. This is the kind of guy I’d love to find in real life: someone who’s solid and understanding enough to deal with a girl who’s a bit of a mess.
I also have a weakness for heroes with hidden depths—the repressed stoic who gradually learns to open up to the heroine, or the prickly, somewhat unpleasant hero who is a secret softie. There just has to be a strong enough hint of what’s underneath early on, to keep me from giving up on them before those hidden depths are shown. The ever-popular Wulf from Slightly Dangerous is my favorite of this type of hero.
Oh, interesting question!
I find a couple of interesting disjuncts. Like many others, what I like in fiction may not match up with anything I desire in real life (alpha males can be fun to read about, but tend to make me want to hit them over the head with a frying pan in real life). Also many of my favorite romance stories don’t have my favorite romance heroes and vice versa. There are several cases where I like the hero but find the heroine or the resulting relationship, or the general storycraft not nearly as satisfying. An example of the latter is Mary Jo Putney’s The Bargain, where I’m very fond of Major Lancaster, but find Lady Kendel a bit annoying at points.
As for what I do like, it’s split between bad boy alphas (I enjoy the redeeming the rake plot, despite, or perhaps because, I think it’s almost entirely fantas) and rather more subdued sorts, whether they were alpha sorts who have been knocked out of that cycle of behavior by circumstance, or whether they tend toward the more cerebral and introverted naturally. In any event, I want the smart, competent in their area of expertise and emotionally aware of others without being emotionally manipulative, especially of the heroine. I also have a deep fondness for heroes who are unaware of their attractiveness. I also like them to have a sense of honor, but I want it to be an informed one, not a knee-jerk sort. My very favorites tend not to be in books that are found in the romance section. Cazaril in Bujold’s The Curse of Chalion is probably my current ideal.
I love the bad boys who turn (almost) good once they find the right woman: Dominic Alastair (Devil’s Cub) and Jasper Damerel (Venetia) are my absolute all-time favourites. Both of them are fun, clever, surprisingly caring, and utterly drop-dead gorgeous.
But in terms of men who I’d actually love to meet in real life, I go for the strong, competent type: Peter Wimsey and Jamie Fraser, for instance.
I am a total fixer, so I needs me a tortured dude to make over emotionally. AND I loves me (in fiction) the kind of guy who would kill/die to be with his woman. I’m talking alpha to the max. The kind of guy who wants to drag his woman off to the cave by her hair because he needs her that bad, but doesn’t because damn it all, he respects her way too much to ever want to dominate her. This is why I’m totally adhicted to J.R. Ward’s BDBs. I think she built it right into the ‘species’, when she made them all alpha warriors who have mega-baggage, but turn to putty in their females’ hands. In their marriage ceremony, the males pledge themselves wholly to their females and they are basically genetically coded to do their bidding, but in a totally hot and non-weenie way. That’s what I need; a guy who would do anything to protect me, anything to be with me and anything for me. And well, they’re built for sex, right? Yeah.
And that fixer thing goes for regular contemps and historicals, too. Loves me Ethan and the other boys from the Chesapeake Bay series and any of Elizabeth Hoyt’s guys, especially from the Princes trilogy. Yup, give me a project and I’m a happy lady.
(use whatever you like here if it helps)
When I think about my favorite romance novel heroes, the specific names all seem to be Nora Roberts characters. And my favorites never seem to have all that much in common with each other. I really liked Gage from the Sign of 7 trilogy. He is absolutely the tall, dark, handsome, and OMG DANGEROUS type from whom I would feel inclined to flee in real life. But wow, did I ever want to leap into the book and be his heroine…
On the other side of the coin, I became a bit of a fangirl for Macallister Booke (even aside from the nerdy appreciation of “Mac Booke” as a punny nickname for a rich geek) in the Three Sisters Island trilogy, and he doesn’t have a “Dark and brooding” bone in his body.
All of Nora’s delectable men aside, though, my heart will forever belong to Jamie Fraser, the hero of Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” series. If I were going to use a fictional character as a measuring stick for future relationships, he’d be it. She doesn’t gloss over his flaws. He’s not a perfect specimen of humanity, physically or in his personality. Their relationship has its ups and downs, but the bond is deeper than “They’re the hero and the heroine, and therefore they shall live happily ever after according to the laws heretofore set forth by the romance gods.”
Captcha: company68 – I could probably think of 68 men whose company I’d like to have.
I have to add one to my three favorite heroes- Roarke, Ranger and Joe Morelli. Harry Dresden. He’s quirky, flouts authority to do the right thing even if it’s not what everyone else wants him to do, doesn’t think with his dick but can’t help protecting women and kids no matter what, but the bad guys be damned. And he has the most sarcastic comments at the most inopportune times. He just can’t help himself. And he wears a really cool kick-ass black duster and has a Chinese Foo Dog.
While I agree with several of the men listed here, my first pick is Vane from Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Night Play. I know part of my love for him is because his heroine, Bride, is no skinny twig of a woman. He loves that about her, and his admiration of her surprises her and helps her feel better about herself. She’s a character I can identify with, so I loved him loving her. And then there’s the part where he just wants to protect her and make her happy, even when he’s at a bit of a loss at how to do so. I love it!
When I read the first comment to this post, I thought ‘yes, that’s it’. The caregiving alpha is also my alltime favourite, though I should say, Stephanie Laurens’s heroes, classic caregiving alphas, usually don’t do anything for me. There is a fine line between caregiving and being horribly overprotecting because you completely disregard the heroine’s own capabilities.
On a more general note – as a historical romance fan, I love how attentive and polite romance heroes are. I miss the times when men as a rule would open doors for you, carry heavy burdens for you, rescue you from runaway horses, knew how to waltz … Alpha males in real life might be a little scary and undesirable, but they could definitely make up for some of it if they pulled out my chair for me at dinner :p.
My likes keep changing all the time and because of that, for me, it ends up being all about the writing and the story. How the hero is portrayed trumps the “type” of hero he is. Some writers can really make the Angry Boner Guy work for me, even though I usually don’t like heroes with irrational character traits (irrational jealousy, followed by irrational lust, followed by irrational asshattery…). And although I don’t always like Beta heroes, I will read a book if it’s by an author I especially like, where they are caring and strong as opposed to dishrags. Plus, sometimes authors manage to overdo Alpha male characters to the point of caricature. So I like to keep my mind open.
That said, I’m definitely partial to the Strong Silent types. Ethan is one of my favorites too.
What I have learned about men from romance novels is that they come in many MANY various kinds of packages (*snort* packages) and to never under/over-estimate any particular package. What’s underneath might just surprise you…
*silently mutters* If you know what I mean…
Oooh, great post/question. I don’t read historicals anymore (please don’t throw anything at me, ladies) so my “man-favorites” tend to come from contemporaries. I read so much that they all kinda blur into one – the alpha-male that’s flawed but still utterly irrisistable to the heroine.
One of my all-time favs was Lucky Tyler from Sandra Brown’s Texas Trilogy. Anyone remember him? Long, lanky, hot, stubborn, seriously flawed but still smart, caring and a good lover. He’s the kind of man I’m attracted to in real life so I guess that’s why I liked him so much.
Not that I offered much, but feel free to quote.
I don’t know that I have any one type (although I do love bad boy heroes). What matters most to me in a hero is confidence in himself and in his heroine. That’s why my favorite heroes tend to be guys like Clay and Lucas (Kelley Armstrong) or Zoe Archer’s heroes. They always have their heroines’ backs, but at the same time they trust them to take care of themselves. I like the guy who respects a woman’s abilities, and thinks its hot that she can kick ass. Plus I think these character types tend to have a more equitable/trusting relationship, which makes me more likely to believe in their HEA.
hundred33: actually, I only need one of these men, thanks
Oh, and you can quote if you want.
I haven’t read buckets of straight-up romance, but there is a strong romantic element in almost everything I read, so that may qualify me to comment.
I have to agree with everyone who has said: “What works on the page would not work in real life.” Seriously. I love me some brooding, Possible Interesting Secret Damage in a book, but in life: yikes. No. (Although, I have to admit that after some Real Life Drama last year, my tolerance for angsting—even in fiction—is greatly diminished.)
My real life this-does-not-work example: my sister keeps dating these lovely musicians who come off either mysterious or playful (with a hidden something), but to a man, they live with their parents in their mid-late 20s. Under the smoldering, reading of philosophy, and talent, the immaturity is VAST. She’s care-taking, and they may or may not pick up the ball when she needs them to.
I understand the attraction, but no. (Also…this is our father. Just. No.)
I want a guy who will drive me to work when the roads are icy and wash the dishes—partnership and small care-taking …and still think that spontaneous sexoring on the stairs is a really good idea. (I ALMOST have it. It’s a work in progress.)
Thus, what I like most is a friendship (implied loyalty and equality) with Chemistry. I think someone above hit it on the head with Gilbert Blythe. ( Another in this vein might be Teddy from Little Women before Jo rejects him.)
Also (to hit another book first read in my pre-teen years) Taran, from Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain Chronicles. This guy spends an entire book trying to discover his true roots in hopes that he might be revealed noble, so he can ask his friend and adventuring companion, Princess Eilonwy, for her hand. In the process, he grows up and learns a lot about himself. He loves quietly for the last three books of the series (isn’t even a jackass to Eilonwy’s betrothed), and though the books are about Taran’s maturation process, I’ve always found the relationship lovely.
I think it says something that my favorite heroes are all from books (arguably) aimed at 10-14 year-olds. Takes the needy, physical attraction—and all its possibility to lead to Great Big Mistakes—right out.
I just made a list of books I must read LOL
Favorite hero..My number one is Jamie Fraser. I read above he is listed a few times. Jamie Fraser has basically ruin all other men for me.lol (my poor husband) With Jamie it is a combination of numerous things. His love of family, his tortured back, devotion to Claire and his friends, the romancey lines that Diana Gabaldon gives him, his values, the steamy hot kisses and love, his humour, his patience, its just so many things that Diana G has wrote. It’s like if I wrote a list of my favorite qualities Jamie meets every one. Also the bonus for Jamie is that DG has wrote so many books on Jamie and Claire that I have had more than just one book to become in love with him. I did fall in love after just Outlander but that I had so many more adventures to share and enjoy really stacks up the obsession!
I’ve got a thing for physically scarred heros. Blind, missing a limb, deformed facial scar, whatever. So many heros are classically handsome, it’s always nice to ready about people that don’t quite fit the physical “hero” mold. I think that it makes the story more realistic and relateable. The thought of overcoming adversity and going against the social norm has always seemed especially romantic to me.
I too love an alpha but only up to a point. My favorite hero must realize when to let his heroine do her own thing, even if it is dangerous or causes him anxiety. He just has her back while she does it, without being controlling. A man, who is protective, yet has faith in his woman’s ability to take care of herself.
As for specific heroes, I just finished The Fiery Cross and I always find myself in a Jamie Fraser/Roger Mac daze after one of those books.
Reggie Davenport from Putney’s The Rake is another memorable favorite. Call me biased but, being a friend of Bill W. myself, I have a soft spot for Reggie and I just plain loved this book. Reggie is not perfect by any stretch, but he is so very real. He’s a man capable of great things, in life and in love, once he finally surrenders himself. What I really liked was that he knew that he had to get sober for himself, and went for true recovery rather than being “redeemed” or “saved” by falling in love. Oh, and his heroine wears breeches! I’m always a fan of that. 😉
Jo Beverley’s Rothgar. A man who can be the epitome of masculinity in heels and makeup. Enough angst for the whole family. Plus, gotta love the Georgian setting.