The criminal with a heart of gold, the victim-turned-vigilante, the rebel with a cause — these characters aren’t afraid to do what it takes to get what they want, no matter the cost.
Books with morally gray characters make for especially intriguing reads because the protagonists reject easy labels of “good” and “evil” and fall somewhere in between. More often than not, I find myself cheering on the antihero of the story, even if I don’t necessarily agree with their actions. In real life, people aren’t cleanly split into camps of good and evil and these characters reflect that.
1. Shaedes of Grey by Amanda Bonilla
Bonilla’s Shaede Assassin series kicks off with Shaedes of Grey, which introduces Darian, an assassin for hire who can melt into the shadows at will. Darian thinks she’s the last of her kind, but it turns out she’s not — and she’s just been hired to take out the King of the Shaedes.
Bonilla’s world-building is rich and immersive, and Darian is as badass an urban fantasy heroine as you would want.
2. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Kaz Brekker has all the trappings of a morally gray character readers can’t help but fall in love with: A dark and tragic past, the drive to get the job done no matter what it takes, and a secret love. The criminal prodigy leads an unruly crew of misfits to pull off the ultimate heist in the first of a dark and gritty duology. Between the kidnappings, thievery, and criminal shenanigans, Bardugo deftly weaves in stories of friendship and love.
3. Save Me from Dangerous Men by S. A. Lelchuk
Here’s a fantastic series for those looking for books with morally gray female characters.
Nikki Griffin is living the ultimate double life: By day, she runs a popular secondhand bookshop. By night, she works as a badass private investigator meting out karmic payback. Her specialized skill set (involving guns, karate, and lack of qualms when it comes to violence) and reputation as a fixer have made her popular with women seeking escape from abusive partners.
However, when a simple job trailing a disgruntled employee goes wrong, it’ll take everything the do-good vigilante has to stay alive.
4. The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough
McCullough’s sweeping historical fiction series is a must-read for lovers of ancient Rome. Two consuls, Marius and Sulla, come from very different backgrounds but are united in their ruthless ambition to build the world’s greatest empire. Love, murder, sex, and politics intermingle in the lives of the extraordinary men and women who stopped at nothing to gain and maintain power in the Roman Republic.
5. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Innocence and naivety give way to hedonism when Dorian Gray sells his soul to stay young and beautiful forever, letting his image in a portrait grow old instead. As Dorian sinks further into a life of depravity, his portrait begins to reflect the cruel and immoral nature of his actions.
6. She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
A lowly peasant girl resigned to a dismal fate from birth rises from the ashes to claim a new destiny. To do so, she assumes her dead brother’s identity as Zhu Chongba.
Zhu slowly climbs the ranks of a rebel army fighting against the Mongols and transforms from survivor to conqueror. However, her hunger for power also grows as does her willingness to engage in morally questionable and, at times, brutal actions. Mulan meets The Poppy War in Parker-Chan’s epic reimagination of the Ming dynasty.
7. The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
“The female of the species is more deadly than the male,” says Rudyard Kipling. So goes the story of Alex Craft, a high school student who’s not afraid to use her violent nature to exact revenge on her sister’s murderer. As she struggles with dark thoughts of vengeance, she resists friendships with Jack, the school’s star athlete, and PK, the preacher’s daughter.
McGinnis masterfully delivers a searing condemnation of rape culture and the frustrating double standards that affect boys and girls from a young age.
8. The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang
Kuang reimagines China’s history through the experiences of Rin, a peasant girl who gains entry into an elite military training academy and discovers she has lethal shamanic powers. Filled with rage at the injustices levied against her people by the Mugen Federation, Rin must use her newfound powers to tip the scales of war. But how far will she go and will it be enough?
Kuang’s debut is a graphic, no-holds-barred military fantasy that explores the horrors and atrocities of war.
9. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
Forbidden love, warring gangs locked in a vicious blood feud, and a mysterious contagion that causes the infected to rip out their own throats — it’s Romeo and Juliet 2.0. Set in 1920s Shanghai, Juliette of the Scarlet Gang and Roma of the White Flowers must set their rivalry aside to save the city from imperialist foreigners.
As its title suggests, Gong’s phenomenal debut is a romance book with morally gray characters that is packed with violence and action.
