The shadow daddy trope is ubiquitous in romantasy, but some brooding baddies stand out far more than others. It’s a common trope that a romantic shadow daddy has to put on a dark, menacing front to hide his caring nature, or to survive a brutal world. A proper romantasy shadow daddy is unrealistic: unrealistically competent, unrealistically skilled, able to be soft and romantic, but ruthless enough to defeat his foes in battle, but also smart and strategic enough to lead armies and kingdoms. In other words, the quintessential romantasy shadow daddy is an impossibility.
But we love shadow daddies specifically because they are impossibly romantic and fierce, and, even though romantasy is often a flawed genre, shadow daddies have helped create some perfect romantasy books. I thought it would be fun to rank some of modern romantasy’s best-known shadow daddies and see how they stack up against one another. Of course, as a lighthearted ranking of fictional book boyfriends, this list is entirely unserious while still being seriously in love with our MMCs.
It’s fine to disagree with my ranking – after all, that’s the fun of a list! – but please be respectful if commenting on this article.
10
Kingfisher
Fae & Alchemy Series
A lot of shadow daddies in romantasy (and, to be honest, the heroine protagonists) start out as, well, dicks. Kingfisher from the Fae & Alchemy series is no exception. The problem with Kingfisher right now is that he’s simply not appeared in enough books yet to separate himself from other shadow daddies out there, so all we have right now is his rather questionably off-putting personality. He’s abrasive and terrifying, but has moments of softness, the “ruthless” villain who will almost undoubtedly turn out to be a cinnamon roll in the end.
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Even so, there’s enough potential in Kingfisher to make him one of the truly great shadow daddies of modern romantasy by the end of his series. Quicksilver was a huge hit, and it will undoubtedly be fun to see how his character development progresses in the next Fae & Alchemy book, Brimstone. There’s just not enough there there yet, which is why he comes in last place on the list.
9
Wrath
Kingdom of the Wicked Series
Wrath from the Kingdom of the Wicked series has a relationship with Emilia di Carlo that starts out as one of distrust and hate, spanning both the enemies-to-lovers trope and the forced proximity trope when they reluctantly agree to work together for their own ends. Wrath is one of the rare shadow daddies who isn’t merely pretending to be a bad guy when we meet him, he is a bad guy: wrathful, strategic, brutal, and utterly unflinching when it comes to doling out violence to get what he wants.
Wrath is one of the rare shadow daddies who isn’t merely pretending to be a bad guy when we meet him, he is a bad guy.
Of course, his hateful nature isn’t entirely his fault, what with him being cursed and all. Watching him slowly fall in love with Emilia allows his more playful and lighthearted side to reveal itself to viewers; unfortunately, that growing warmth doesn’t extend to other characters, a strike against him. Compared to some of the more popular names on this list, Wrath’s star doesn’t shine quite as bright, and that, combined with his cruelty, is which is why he’s second-to-last on the list.
8
Xaden Riorson
The Empyrean Series
I will undoubtedly enrage a few BookTok girlies by putting Xaden Riorson in third-to-last place on this list, and at first glance, they might be justified in their disagreement. Through the first two books in the Empyrean Series, Xaden was great in a lot of ways: smart, capable, absolutely devoted to Violet, and a fierce commander and leader of men. He did have issues with sometimes dipping a toe into problematic tropes, such as being way too controlling and overprotective, but Violet quickly put him in his place, and it seemed as though he would evolve.
Unfortunately, Onyx Storm completely destroyed that and set back any character growth he’s had to this point; Violet and Xaden’s romance is now outright toxic. Xaden was little more than a brooding shadow in the third book, regressing to their tired dynamic of him pushing her away and keeping secrets, a miscommunication cycle so worn out by Onyx Storm that even other characters commented on it. Xaden’s venin transition made his toxic alpha male tendencies even worse, which is a huge red flag no matter how much we might want to pretend it’s not.
7
Orion “Hunt” Athalar
Crescent City Series
Sarah J. Mass loves herself a tropey MMC shadow daddy, and thus, Hunt Athalar is just one of several of her creations on this list. Hunt hits all the romantic tropes: a reputation for being a monster that hides the fact he’s secretly noble, a beautiful face with dark hair and physically impossible eye color, deadly with a sword, and a murky past that has him searching for redemption. Naturally, he has a terrifying nickname that comes with his status as an infamous death dealer; in Hunt’s case, it’s the Umbra Mortis.
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Still, we love the trope for a reason, and Hunt is a great example of the archetype. He’s just self-loathing enough to be tortured, but not so much that the fight has burned out of him. He still abhors nobility and those who would crush the weak under their boots, and he backs that up with action. His sense of humor, led by his dry and snarky delivery, is underrated, and that is one of the best parts of seeing his relationship with Bryce evolve and deepen, which it will undoubtedly continue to do in Crescent City book #4.
6
Nyktos
Flesh and Fire Series
Nyktos, from Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Flesh and Fire series, is an underrated shadow daddy but fiercely loved by the fans in the know. Nyktos certainly has the unbridled power of the shadow daddy trope down pat, but, in an interesting twist, his powers have nothing to do with shadows. Instead, he has the power of empathy, which allows him to feel emotions in others. It’s a feminine-coded magical ability not often granted to male characters in heterosexual romantasy, whose powers tend to run toward traditionally “male-coded” magic associated with darkness or raw power.
It’s a feminine-coded magical ability not often granted to male characters in heterosexual romantasy, whose powers tend to run toward traditionally “male-coded” magic associated with darkness or raw power.
Unfortunately, despite his deep and unwavering love for and support of Sera, Nyktos can sometimes fall prey to the overplayed trope of being overprotective and not always accepting that Sera has full agency. It comes from his deep desire to keep her safe, but the trope grates, and it’s led him to make some foolish decisions. For that reason, I can’t place him higher on the list.
5
Dorian Havilliard
Throne of Glass Series
Speaking of the ubiquitous Sarah J. Maas shadow daddy, Dorian Havilliard of the Throne of Glass series is sixth on the list, thanks to him being a great character that hasn’t quite truly embraced his full shadow daddiness yet. He does, of course, have the obligatory tragic sadboi backstory, a vital component of becoming a true shadow daddy. He’s also the king of sass, and we do love a sassy, intellectual man.
|
Sarah J. Maas Romantasy Series |
Book #1 |
Publication Date |
|---|---|---|
|
Throne of Glass |
Throne of Glass |
August 2, 2012 |
|
A Court of Thorns and Roses |
A Court of Thorns and Roses |
May 5, 2015 |
|
Crescent City |
House of Earth and Blood |
March 3, 2020 |
What makes Dorian great is that he has arguably the best character arc in the Throne of Glass series; rather than going from trope to trope, he shows real growth as a person. And, in a rare departure from too many male love interests in romantasy, when Celaena rejects him, Dorian doesn’t try to manipulate her or let the heartbreak destroy him. Instead, he respects her decision and remains her loyal friend. Still, as the first of SJM’s shadow daddies, Dorian lacks some of the qualities of her later ones, so he remains in the middle of the pack.
4
Azriel
A Court of Thorns & Roses Series
Azriel is the first of two Court of Thorns and Roses men on this list, which might be a cheat, but it’s impossible not to make a list of current romantasy shadow daddies and not include the shadowsinger himself. While Rhysand can wield the night, Az can control actual shadows, making him a literal father of shadows. In truth, Azriel could have gone higher or lower on this list, because his mysterious nature means each of us can project anything we want onto him as a character.
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Still, while we don’t know as much about him as others on the list, what we do know is that he’s a beautifully broken boy and a disaster when it comes to picking romantic partners. First, there’s Mor, a closeted gay woman he’s pined over for centuries, and then there’s Azriel’s pining for Elain, who is mated to someone else. Azriel is peak tortured soul tormented by unrequited love, and let’s be honest, we’re all a sucker for a beautiful, deadly guy who is fiercely loving and damaged inside. The next book will likely be his time to shine, and he may prove to be the most interesting of all ACOTAR‘s bat boy trio of Rhysand, Cassian, and Azriel.
3
Asar Voldari
Crowns of Nyaxia Series
Putting Asar Voldari, a character who has only appeared in one book so far, in third place on this list will be a controversial move for most. But author Carissa Broadbent has jokingly referred to Asar as the “biggest simp” out of all her male book love interests, and there’s a reason for that. In Asar’s case, he took the hand he was dealt and used it to build himself a kingdom in the underworld, showing he cares as deeply for the lost and the dead as he does for the living.
Unlike the other mostly flawless men on this list, the dark curse that might have mangled Asar only made him more beautiful. He helps heroine Mische to break free of the abusive relationship with her god in a way that isn’t a bit overbearing, avoiding the toxic tropes so many other MMCs unfortunately fall into in romantasy. Plus, any shadow daddy that has a Very Good Girl in the form of a resurrected ghost dog is someone I’ll never not love. Basically, protect Asar at all costs.
2
Rhysand
A Court of Thorns & Roses Series
No romantasy book shadow daddy is more of an impossibly perfect being than Rhysand from the Court of Thorns and Roses series. Rhysand is compassionate and smart, capable and powerful enough to run two entirely different kingdoms, one above and one below, and hide them from each other. He’s a devoted lover and friend, and he has one of the biggest hearts in romantasy.
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If there’s one issue with Rhysand, it’s that he falls into the toxic trope of being overprotective and possessive, and his decision to hide the truth from Feyre that she would likely die in childbirth is one that still rubs many the wrong way. For a man who gave his love so much agency, it was jarring to see him take it from her in that way. Still, he’s second on this list for so many reasons, not the least of which that he’s a genuinely good man who hasn’t let his trauma break him or make him cold.
1
Aleksander Morozova/The Darkling
The Grishaverse Series
Is the Darkling a hero? Absolutely not. Does he get the girl in the end? No, he doesn’t. Still, Aleksander Morozova, a.k.a. the Darkling, is the literal shadow daddy to end all shadow daddies. The character archetype has been around for ages, and it wasn’t until recent years that the term “shadow daddy” was coined to describe a specific type of brooding, beautiful, quasi-immortal, powerful love interest – who may or may not have actual shadow magic. Even though he existed before the term really took off on romantasy BookTok, the Darkling is the blueprint for the current romantasy shadow daddy.
Note: The closest we get to a shadow daddy pre-modern BookTok era is the “Byronic hero” archetype: brooding and too intelligent for his own good, morally complex or ambiguous, often harboring a dark past and self-destructive tendencies.
As the Darkling, Aleksander is a fascinating example of what the vast, unchecked power of a shadow daddy can do if it’s not tempered by a romantic love interest like the rest on this list. He is the quintessential cautionary tale of how absolute power corrupts absolutely. Unlike most of the other shadow daddies, his darkness isn’t a front to hide his compassionate nature, but who he is, which makes his flashes of being human and vulnerable all the more fascinating. He’s the “I can fix him” meme personified, and we love him for it.
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Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the preternaturally gorgeous Ben Barnes brought him to life in Netflix’s Shadow & Bone, criminally canceled too soon. Hearing him drop the famous line “Fine. Make me your villain.” from the books was so worth the wait. It might not be the most famous line in romantasy books, but it was the one that started an eternal love affair with shadow daddies for many of us.
