Comments on: How Much Bad is…Good, Really Good?

By: Felicia M. Ciaudelli

Felicia M. Ciaudelli — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 18:08:27 +0000

Yes, the Bad Boys are always WAY cool – and that, for the most part, the Bad Boys have hearts of gold.

By: Tin

Tin — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 01:02:03 +0000

I love reading about unrepentant rakes and knights in less-than-shining armors, but the story must always remind the readers that there’s some good in the hero — I think there’s a point when redemption becomes implausible for a “bad” hero.

Favorite “bad” boys:
Christian Montcalm from Anne Stuart’s The Devil’s Waltz
Con Huxtable from Mary Balogh’s A Secret Affair

By: Elisabeth Roam

Elisabeth Roam — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 16:28:46 +0000

I think bad hero’s hit it off well with readers, we have to remember that Judith McNaught has been doing this for years. Her hero’s are blatantly human and make lots of mistakes, and yes it gives the novel an edge and adds to the alpha male persona that allot of women love. Way to go Kaily!

By: Chris Mead

Chris Mead — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 03:20:33 +0000

I love to read about a bad boy! I do draw the line at cheating, and any kind of abuse.

By: Beverley

Beverley — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 02:39:14 +0000

Hi Kaily, welcome to the blog.

I love a bad boy–who doesn’t right? But I do have my limits: physical abuse, emotional abuse, cheating on her in their current relationship and the regular stuff like murder etc.

I love a hero with an edge but not too much. Essentially, at heart, he’s a good guy who love the heroine like crazy.

By: bn100

bn100 — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 01:48:01 +0000

I like reading about bad guys. Any cheating would be off limits.

By: Lexi

Lexi — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 01:32:23 +0000

Great post, it is true we can’t resist the bad boy. But the bad boy who really is a good boy deep down. If he crosses the line into cheeting territory I am done, I have no amount of forgiveness for that. There are lots of other dangerous, immoral things a bad boy hero can do to push the limits. And I love reading about every one of them.

By: Melody May

Melody May — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 00:26:07 +0000

I love all types of heroes. Bad ones are always fun, because they have so much to prove. I haven’t found one I haven’t like. Love them.

By: Kaily Hart

Kaily Hart — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 23:20:16 +0000

Oh yeah, Mary, me too!

Crystal/Cathy, totally agree!

Karen, that’s why as a writer it’s challenging to achieve that balance. I think it can go too far before the guy just looks like an *ss permanently.

Samantha, I love that too and I ADORE the rebel . I think Nalini Singh said it well when I talked to her at a conference last year about bad heroes. She said that the hero can never be truly cruel to the heroine. I think that’s true. He might push the limits of that, but really wouldn’t be cruel to cause her distress on purpose .

By: Samantha

Samantha — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 22:34:54 +0000

I love a bad boy. It is the author’s ability to make him redeemable that is soooo appealing to me. I like to see how far he can push the heroine (not in a physical way) and how she can break him down. I don’t like physical abuse so that would be my limit. However, if he is a tortured character or a rebel, I love it.