Under the Covers’ Top Ten Bad Boy Heroes

We romance readers all have a weakness…bad boys, the rock stars of romance, their wounded soul, ruthless deeds and smouldering good looks have a direct link to our hearts and our lady bits. We all know that all they need is a love of a good woman to mend their tortured psyche, kiss their boo boos and BAM you got yourself the perfect man, after all a reformed rakes are supposed to make the best husbands. So here are our Top 10 Bad Boys…

A man with the power to look in to your mind and see how you think, Packard would be the first to admit that he is the master of manipulation and not afraid to get his hands dirty. He can be a very bad boy.

Favorite Quote:

“It’s all very deliciously diabolical my friend.”

Fantasy Cast:

Simon Baker

 

Series Reading Order:

Mind Games # 1
Double Cross # 2
Kitten-tiger & the Monk (in Wild & Steamy anthology) # 2.5
Head Rush # 3
Devil’s Luck # 3.5

 

 

Purchase Links: Amazon

JUSTINE KNOWS SHE’S GOING TO DIE. ANY SECOND NOW.
Justine Jones has a secret. A hardcore hypochondriac, she’s convinced a blood vessel is about to burst in her brain. Then, out of the blue, a startlingly handsome man named Packard peers into Justine’s soul and invites her to join his private crime-fighting team. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal. With a little of Packard’s hands-on training, Justine can weaponize her neurosis, turning it outward on Midcity’s worst criminals, and finally get the freedom from fear she’s always craved. End of problem.

Or is it? In Midcity, a dashing police chief is fighting a unique breed of outlaw with more than human powers. And while Justine’s first missions, including one against a nymphomaniac husband-killer, are thrilling successes, there is more to Packard than meets the eye. Soon, while battling her attraction to two very different men, Justine is plunging deeper into a world of wizardry, eroticism, and cosmic secrets. With Packard’s help, Justine has freed herself from her madness—only to discover a reality more frightening than anyone’s worst fears.

9. Frances,
Viscount Rohan

Book: Ruthless
Series: The House of Rohan
Author: Anne Stuart

Depraved. Ruthless. Wicked. Viscount Rohan happily lives up to his wild reputation as the leader of the Heavenly Host, a group known for their scandalous parties where clothing is optional and the only goal is pleasure.

Favorite Quote:

“Oh, any sense of decency I possess is most definitely misguided,” 

Fantasy Cast:

Johnny Depp

 

Series Reading Order:

The Wicked House of Rohan # 0.5
Ruthless # 1
Reckless # 2
Breathless # 3
Shameless # 4

 

Purchase Links: Amazon

The first book in Stuart’s new House of Rohan historical romance trilogy, set in the 18th-century world of secret passions and tarnished pride. Original.

Few outsiders will ever witness the dark misdeeds of the Heavenly Host. And among this secret society, where exiled Georgian aristocrats gather to indulge their carnal desires, fewer still can match the insatiable appetite of their chief provocateur, the mysterious Viscount Rohan.

Pursuit of physical pleasure is both his preferred pastime and his most pressing urge, until he encounters the fascination of a woman who won’t be swayed. And while his dark seduction appalls the pure and impoverished Elinor Harriman, she finds herself intrigued…and secretly drawn to the man behind the desire.

8. Jack Winter

Series: Black London
Author: Caitlin Kittredge

Jack isn’t your typical hero, a homeless drug addict with hell and death covering him like a shroud. He is immersed in the dark and the twisted, with magic and ghosts driving him mad; get near him and they will twist you as well.

Favorite Quote:

 “I’m Jack fucking Winter.”

Fantasy Cast:

James Marsters

Series Reading Order:

Street Magic # 1
Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go (in Huntress anthology) # 1.5
Demon Bound # 2
Bone Gods # 3
Devil’s Business # 4
The Curse of Four # 4.5
Soul Trade # 5
Dark Days # 6

Purchase Links: Amazon

Her name is Pete Caldecott. She was just sixteen when she met Jack Winter, a gorgeous, larger-than-life  mage who thrilled her with his witchcraft. Then a spirit Jack summoned killed him before Pete’s eyes—or so she thought. Now a detective , Pete is investigating the case of a young girl kidnapped from the streets of London. A tipster’s chilling prediction has led police directly to the child…but when Pete meets the informant, she’s shocked to learn he is none other than Jack. Strung out on heroin, Jack a shadow of his former self.  But he’s able to tell Pete exactly where Bridget’s kidnappers are hiding: in the supernatural shadow-world of the fey.  Even though she’s spent years disavowing the supernatural, Pete follows Jack into the invisible fey underworld, where she hopes to discover the truth about what happened to Bridget—and what happened to Jack on that dark day so long ago…

7. Blade

Book: Kiss of Steel
Series: London Steampunk #1
Author:  Bec McMaster

A  London slum lord in a dystopian world full of corruption and monsters, both flesh and mechanical, Blade is a killer who isn’t afraid to cut down anyone who gets on his turf, just be careful not to push him over into blood lust, it would be the last thing you ever regret.

Favorite Quote:

“Easy, luv. Don’t stir the devil, or you’ll ‘ave to pay the consequences.” 

Fantasy Cast:

Cam Gigandet

Series Reading Order:

Kiss of Steel # 1
Tarnished Knight # 1.5
Heart of Iron # 2
My Lady Quicksilver # 3 (coming Oct 2013)
Forged by Desire # 4 (coming 2014)

 

 

Purchase Links: Amazon

When Nowhere Is Safe

Most people avoid the dreaded Whitechapel district. For Honoria Todd, it’s the last safe haven. But at what price?

Blade is known as the master of the rookeries—no one dares cross him. It’s been said he faced down the Echelon’s army single-handedly, that ever since being infected by the blood-craving he’s been quicker, stronger, and almost immortal.

When Honoria shows up at his door, his tenuous control comes close to snapping. She’s so…innocent. He doesn’t see her backbone of steel—or that she could be the very salvation he’s been seeking.

6. Vlad

Series: Night Prince
& Night Huntress
Author: Jeaniene Frost

We can’t have a Top Ten Bad Boys without naming the big daddy of the vampires….Vlad Tepesh aka Dracula, although don’ t call him that he might just bite your head off, literally.

Favorite Quote:

“No, I do my torturing in the dungeon like any other respectable castle owner,”

Fantasy Cast:

Lee Kholafai

Series Reading Order:

Night Huntress:

Reckoning (n Unbound anthology) # 0.5
Halfway to the Grave # 1
Happily Never After (in Weddings from Hell anthology) # 1.5
One Foot in the Grave # 2
At Grave’s End # 3
Devil to Pay # 3.5
Destined for an Early Grave # 4
One for the Money (in Magic Graves anthology) # 4.5
This Side of the Grave # 5
One Grave at a Time # 6
Home for the Holidays (in The Bite Before Christmas anthology) # 6.5
Up From the Grave # 7 (coming 2014)

Night Prince Series:

Once Burned # 1
Twice Tempted # 2

Purchase Links: Amazon

She’s a mortal with dark powers…

After a tragic accident scarred her body and destroyed her dreams, Leila never imagined that the worst was still to come: terrifying powers that let her channel electricity and learn a person’s darkest secrets through a single touch. Leila is doomed to a life of solitude…until creatures of the night kidnap her, forcing her to reach out with a telepathic distress call to the world’s most infamous vampire…

 

He’s the Prince of Night…

Vlad Tepesh inspired the greatest vampire legend of all—but whatever you do, don’t call him Dracula. Vlad’s ability to control fire makes him one of the most feared vampires in existence, but his enemies have found a new weapon against him—a beautiful mortal with powers to match his own. When Vlad and Leila meet, however, passion ignites between them, threatening to consume them both. It will take everything that they are to stop an enemy intent on bringing them down in flames.

5. Javier Bernal

Series: The Artists Trilogy
Author: Karina Halle

The real bad boy that you can’t help but melt at his feet in all his fucked-up mess.  No, you shouldn’t want him.  Yes, you should run the other way.  Loving Javier is like balancing on the edge of a sharp blade, never knowing when you’re going to fall and die.  But it’s addicting.

Favorite Quote:

“I will always remain. I am the ink in your blood.”

Fantasy Cast:

Gael Garcia Bernal

 

Series Reading Order:

On Every Street # 0.5
Sins & Needles # 1
Shooting Scars # 2

 

 

Purchase Links: Amazon

When young con artist Ellie Watt decides to call herself Eden White and go after the drug lord who ruined her as a child, she never expects to fall for one of his henchmen. But Javier Bernal is no ordinary man. Subtly dangerous and overwhelmingly seductive, Eden finds herself passionately in love with Javier, the very person she’s set-up to betray. With her body and heart in a heated battle against her deep need for revenge, no one will walk away from this con a winner.

This 50K word (100+ pages) novella takes place six years before Sins & Needles. It can be read before or after Sins & Needles and may also be read as a standalone.

4. Dmitri

Book: Archangel’s Blade
Series: Guild Hunter
Author: Nalini Singh

Cruely sensual, Dmitri could either want to slit your throat or seduce you, either one would turn him on. With a tortured past and future that seems just as bleak Dmitri lives on  knifes edge and the smallest nudge could push him over.

Favorite Quote:

“I’m going to do things to you now that a good girl definitely shouldn’t let a man do to her.” 

Fantasy Cast:

Aiden Turner

Series Reading Order:

Angels’ Dance # 0.1
Angels’ Judgmemt # 0.2
Angels’ Pawn # 0.5
Angels’ Blood # 1
Archangel’s Kiss # 2
Archangel’s Consort # 3
Angel’s Wolf # 3.5
Archangel’s Blade # 4
Archangel’s Storm # 5
Archangel’s Legion # 6 (coming Oct 2013)

 Purchase Links:Amazon

Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux knows she is the best- but she does not know if even she is good enough for this job. Hired by the dangerously beautiful archangel Raphael, a being so lethal that no mortal wants his attention, Elena knows failure is not an option—even if the task is impossible.

Because this time, it’s not a wayward vamp she has to track. It’s an archangel gone bad.

The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other—and pull her to the razor’s edge of passion. Even if the hunt does not destroy her, succumbing to Raphael’s seductive touch just might. For when archangels play, mortals break.

3. Terrible

Series: Downside Ghosts
Author: Stacia Kane

The name says it all, an enforcer for a drug lord in the slums he has a reputation that has everyone scrambling out of his way. His only weakness, his complete devotion to a Chuchwitch with a bit of a habit.

Favorite Quote:

Terrible thought she was brave, and if he – a man whose name was Terrible, a man whose path people scrambled to get out of – thought so, it must be true.

Fantasy Cast:

Javier Bardem

Series Reading Order:

Finding Magic # 0.5
Unholy Ghosts # 1
Wrong Ways Down # 1.5
Unholy Magic # 2
City of Ghosts # 3
Home # 3.6
Sacrificial Magic # 4
Chasing Magic # 5
Close to You # 5.5

Purchase Links: Amazon

THE DEPARTED HAVE ARRIVED.

The world is not the way it was. The dead have risen, and the living are under attack. The powerful Church of Real Truth, in charge since the government fell, has sworn to reimburse citizens being harassed by the deceased.

Enter Chess Putnam, a fully tattooed witch and freewheeling ghost hunter. She’s got a real talent for banishing the wicked dead. But Chess is keeping a dark secret: She owes a lot of money to a murderous drug lord named Bump, who wants immediate payback in the form of a dangerous job that involves black magic, human sacrifice, a nefarious demonic creature, and enough wicked energy to wipe out a city of souls.

Toss in lust for a rival gang leader and a dangerous attraction to Bump’s ruthless enforcer, and Chess begins to wonder if the rush is really worth it. Hell, yeah.

2. Zsadist

Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood
Author: JR Ward
Book: Lover Awakened

Like a caged animal Zsadist lashes out at anyone who comes near him without regard to who he will hurt. Lethal, cold and full of hatred Zsadist doesn’t want to be saved, he barely cares enough to live.

Favorite Quote:

“I’m not broken, I’m ruined. Do you understand the difference? With broken maybe you can fix things. Ruined? All you can do is wait to bury me.” 

Fantasy Cast:

Benjamin Radic

Series Reading Order:

Dark Lover # 1
Lover Eternal # 2
Lover Awakened # 3
Lover Revealed # 4
Lover Unbound # 5
Lover Enshrined # 6
Father Mine # 6.5
Lover Avenged # 7
Lover Mine # 8
Lover Unleashed # 9
Lover Reborn # 10
Lover At Last # 11
The King # 11 (Coming 2014)

Purchase Links: Amazon

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly war raging between vampires and their slayers. And there exists a secret band of brothers like no other – six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Of these, Zsadist is the most terrifying member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

A former blood slave, the vampire Zsadist still bears the scars from a past filled with suffering and humiliation. Renowned for his unquenchable fury and sinister deeds, he is a savage feared by humans and vampires alike. Anger is his only companion, and terror is his only passion—until he rescues a beautiful aristocrat from the evil Lessening Society.

Bella is instantly entranced by the seething power Zsadist possesses. But even as their desire for one another begins to overtake them both, Zsadist’s thirst for vengeance against Bella’s tormentors drives him to the brink of madness. Now, Bella must help her lover overcome the wounds of his tortured past, and find a future with her…

1. Lothaire

Series: Immortals After Dark
Author: Kresley Cole
Book: Lothaire

Lothaire, Enemy of Old, both insane and murderous, he is the bogeyman that the powerful Loreans warn their children about. With no morals or compassion and an ever expanding ego, Lothaire truely deserves our number one spot; he is a very naughty boy.

Favorite Quote:

“I often help others discover the outer limits of their hatred. It’s a talent of mine.” 

Fantasy Cast:

Brandon Stoughton

Series Reading Order:

The Warlord Wants Forever # 1
A Hunger Like No Other # 2
No Rest for the Wicked # 3
Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night # 4
Dark Needs and Night’s Edge # 5
Dark Desires After Dusk # 6
Kiss of a Demon King # 7
Untouchable (in Deep Kiss of Winter anthology) # 8
Pleasure of a Dark Prince # 9
Demon from the Dark # 10
Dreams of a Dark Warrior # 11
Lothaire # 12
MacRieve # 13

Purchase Links: Amazon

In this thrilling tale of the Immortals After Dark, #1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole reveals secrets of the Lore, fierce realm of the immortals.

 

All Fear The Enemy Of Old

Driven by his insatiable need for revenge, Lothaire, the Lore’s most ruthless vampire, plots to seize the Horde’s crown. But bloodlust and torture have left him on the brink of madness—until he finds Elizabeth Peirce, the key to his victory. He captures the unique young mortal, intending to offer up her very soul in exchange for power, yet Elizabeth soothes his tormented mind and awakens within him emotions Lothaire believed he could no longer experience.

 

A Deadly Force Dwells Within Her

Growing up in desperate poverty, Ellie Peirce yearned for a better life, never imagining she’d be convicted of murder—or that an evil immortal would abduct her from death row. But Lothaire is no savior, as he himself plans to sacrifice Ellie in one month’s time. And yet the vampire seems to ache for her touch, showering her with wealth and sexual pleasure. In a bid to save her soul, Ellie surrenders her body to the wicked vampire, while vowing to protect her heart.

 

Centuries Of Cold Indifference Shattered

Elizabeth tempts Lothaire beyond reason, as only his fated mate could. As the month draws to a close, he must choose between a millennia-old blood vendetta and his irresistible prisoner. Will Lothaire succumb to the miseries of his past . . . or risk everything for a future with her?

And there you have them, that’s our top ten all time bad boy heroes.  If you haven’t read these series….YOU MUST RECTIFY THAT IMMEDIATELY.  Who is you favorite bad boy hero?