The good girl always falls for the bad boy. But it turns out the bad boy is just misunderstood or hiding the heart of gold that lies beneath all the angst and defensiveness. It’s a tale as old as time and I CAN’T GET ENOUGH! The popular YA fantasy bad boy makes for such an alluring read and adds so much tension to a story. No wonder books with this theme are so popular! It’s fun to watch a YA fantasy bad boy slowly reveal who he really is and have that be the catalyst to make the girl fall in love with him. Beautiful. I will give this slight warning on this post. I tried REALLY hard not to give spoilers for the series. But if you are sensitive to spoilers, I’d recommend just jotting down the title and author and trust me that you will love the bad boys you find. Anyway, if this bad-boy motif is your cup of tea, here are some recommendations on books with the best bad boys who end up being the dream boyfriend we all desire.
A Court of Thorns and Roses Trilogy
By Sarah J. Maas
Luna’s Note: I don’t want to inadvertently give away spoilers so I’m not specifying who the bad boy is, just know there are several in this series I would count as bad boys with hearts of gold. In my opinion, no one does the lovable YA fantasy bad boy better than Sarah J. Maas.
Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill. But when she kills a wolf in the forest, she learns killing something so precious comes at a price. Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor is hiding far more than he lets on. Feyre’s feelings for him quickly turn from hostility to passion as the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.
Caraval Trilogy
By Stephanie Garber
Luna’s Note: Again, another series with multiple bad boys. Add in a beautiful, thrilling, magic-drenched setting, and you simply could not ask for me. Julian and Dante are the bad boys and they are just exactly what you want in a YA fantasy bad boy. Dark, mysterious, moments of unselfish compassion. Catch me whilst I swoon.
You’ve been invited to Caraval. It’s the invitation of a lifetime, which is why Scarlett Dragna is ecstatic when she receives one. The only problem, this game that, remember, is only a game, feels way too real and way too dark. As Scarlett works with the charming and dangerous Julian to save her sister, sees Caraval for what it really is.
The Cruel Prince
By Holly Black
Luna’s Note: Prince Cardan was really something. In the back of my mind I always knew he was the bad boy who would turn good. But man, Holly Black really made me doubt it sometimes, which made the common trope extra interesting.
Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.
The Beautiful Duology
By Renee Ahdieh
Luna’s Note: You’ll be hard pressed to find a darker, more mysterious bad boy than Bastien in The Beautiful. He wears enticing intrigue like a black silk cloak. I can’t blame the poor protagonist one bit for falling for him.
Seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau is in New Orleans to flee her past life in Paris. Celine quickly becomes embroiled in the city’s glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group’s leader, the enigmatic Sébastien Saint Germain. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of La Cour des Lions, Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sébastien’s guilt. When more bodies are discovered, New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose. As the murders continue to go unsolved, Celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld.
Cruel Beauty
By Rosamund Hodge
Luna’s Note: This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, so a bad boy is an absolute necessity. And boy does Ignifex play his part of the beast well. I immediately fell in love with him even though I knew I shouldn’t. Poor, tortured soul.
Dads are totally clueless sometimes. Especially when they arrange a marriage between you and the evil ruler of your kingdom. That’s the situation Nyx finds herself in as she goes to live with Ignifex. Lucky for her, Ignifex is not at all who she expected.
Six of Crows Duology
By Leigh Bardugo
Luna’s Note: Kaz Brekker is my favorite bad boy ever. No joke. This is a bad boy who starts possibly legit bad, but morphs into something slightly softer throughout the series. I love that he never comes across as perfect. He’s flawed, but has good parts. That’s why he is the bad boy I daydream about the most.
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. A convict with a thirst for revenge. A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager. A runaway with a privileged past. A spy known as the Wraith. A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction.
Shadow and Bone Trilogy
By Leigh Bardugo
Luna’s Note: Yes, another Leigh Bardugo bad boy because she is just SO GOOD at writing them. This time…our bad boy has the ominous name of The Darkling. The thing I love best about him is throughout the series, I could never tell if he was actually bad, or hiding his goodness. Talk about a dark mystery…
Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters . Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of Aline Starkov. During an attack in the Shadow Fold, Alina reveals a dormant power that could be the key to setting Ravka free. Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. With darkness looming, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and herself.
Legacy of Orïsha Series
By Tomi Adeyemi
Luna’s Notes: I classify Roen as the lucious bad boy in this series. From the beginning we get the portrayal of a young man wrestling with his conscious, trying to figure out who he is while falling for the one girl he shouldn’t. If only that girl was me.
The soil of Orïsha once hummed with magic. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Throne of Glass Series
By Sarah J. Maas
Luna’s Note: Full disclosure, you have to read pretty far into the series to get to a character I’d call a bad boy, so I don’t want to name who it is, but you’ll appreciate him once you get there. The fun thing about this one is he’s not a main character. He’s a side character, but I grew to love him and his love story more than the others believe it or not.
After serving a year of hard labor for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before Prince Dorian, who offers her her freedom if she acts as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for four years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. The prince starts to show interest in her, but it’s Captain Westfall who understands her best. Then one of the other contestants turns up dead…quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim?
Defy Series
By Sara B. Larson
Luna’s Note: Prince Damian might not be the baddest of the bad boys. He’s more an enigmatic boy who borders on absurd at first glance. You think he doesn’t care a lick about things, but find out you couldn’t be more wrong.
Alexa Hollen is forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king’s army. She uses her wit and sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the prince’s guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alexa can’t prevent him from abducting her, her friend Rylan, and Prince Damian. While in captivity, Alexa realizes that she is not the only one keeping secrets. When her own secret is revealed, Alexa finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: Rylan, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she’s sworn to protect?
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