In the past, Heroes and Heartbreakers has covered why Ladies Do Not Prefer Blonds (as Romance Heroes), as well as The Ginger Hero: Romance’s Redheaded Stepchild. We haven’t done a post on dark-haired heroes, likely because they are so much more ubiquitous than the other two shades.
“Tall, dark, and handsome” is a common descriptor of what we look for in a man (which, one presumes, is what we look for in a romance hero). But it was interesting for us to see how much passion our commenters brought to the topic, when broached. And honestly, when someone starts saying Jamie Fraser from Outlander, it’s kind of the romance novel equivalent of a last word—you can’t argue with anything having to do with Jamie, can you?
He handed me the basket, and headed for the horse-sheds, sun glinting on his hair as though on a trove of gold and copper coins.
But of course we all have our preferences; let’s discuss!
Which color hair is your absolute favorite for a romance novel hero to have? Do you even have a preference?
We found an example of each type:
Dark Hair:
Adele Ashworth, Winter Garden
His skin, darkly bronzed, gleamed from sweat; his hair, thick and nearly black, fell in waves behind his ears and down his neck. With one structure perfectly proportioned in hard, set angles, his clean-shaven face drew attention to a deep, two-inch scar running vertically just to the right of his harsh, well-defined mouth. He looked like a warrior, sleek and untamed, sending signals of rugged masculinity as finely tuned as a concert piano.
Blond Hair:
J. R. Ward, Lover Eternal
The son of a bitch actually bent the laws of physics, he was so attractive. Blond hair was cut short in the back and left longer in the front. Teal-blue eyes were the color of Bahamas seawater. And that face made Brad Pitt look like a candidate for The Swan.
Red Hair:
E. L. James, Fifty Shades of Grey
He’s tall, dressed in a fine gray suit, white shirt, and black tie with unruly dark-copper-colored hair and intense, bright gray eyes that regard me schrewdly.
Please share your thoughts about this colorful topic in comments.
Megan Frampton is the Community Manager, Romance, for the HeroesandHeartbreakers site. Her favorite hair color for romance novel heroes is pitch-black, but in real life, she married a blond. You can find her at Twitter @meganf, or on her website, meganframpton.com.
