đ©He is not the love of your lifeđ©
"He is literally just a guy. Hit him with your car."
AKA, a selection of "book boyfriends" that actually suck. Featuring red flags ranging from an emotionally unavailable Irish lad to a man who locks up his wife in an attic.
Recommendations welcome. No judgment if you enjoy these books; this list was inspired by my own obsession with Heathcliff, toxic lover extraordinaire, as a teen.
created by sailorsoftgirl
last updated January, 2026
Comments
I misread Furyborn as Furryborn and I was like, âgo onâŠâ đ
should I make a request in the pb club asking for books about furries? đ€
lol I donât know if Iâll ever get to that sub genre but I was definitely like, âI mean⊠sure, Iâll read it.â Iâm still just dabbling in dragonshifters at this point.
the amount of these books i've read is not concerning. the amount of these books i've read is not concerning. the amount of these books i've readâ
Just as long as the toxic men stay in the books, you've got nothing to worry about âșïž
I figure that as long as my âoh hey thatâs hotâcontinues to be balances by âi wish a MFer wouldâ Iâm probably fine đ
Hey no one hereâs judging đ why are we all like this is the question hehe
but ellie... i can fix him
đ
đ
but leah, he should want to fix himself. only then will he even come close to being worthy of you đđ
âđ»âđ»âđ»
Wait, what does it say about me if I have a 55% overlap with your list đłđ©
lol, you're well read so you can spot red flags in real life? đ
Yup thatâs it, weâre all here for the training hehe
That's very smart, I'll think of it this way instead of me being a red flag đ
Coming to say the exact same thing, except I have a 70% overlap đ«Ł
đ± let's hope we also have green flags in our libraries
Girl SAME đđŹđ«Ą
Iâm at 61% overlap so hopefully good things!
Same đ 60% here⊠oopsie đ
Itâs probably fine, right?
75% đ«Łđ«Łđ«Ł
It's ok I married a green flag so that's my excuse
That's the best of both worlds đ
Fun fact he is asking me what I'm reading this year/ man has benefitted in the best way and now he wants tips- he will NOT be reading this list of books đ đ
There are definitely better lists for him to get tips, this one is for us đ€Łđ€Ł
Ooh I'm stealing that excuse!
Indie nooooo but also yesssss đđđ
I see a few loves of my life here, actually. Yall just donât know them like I know them
I know right, like I swear theyâre different with me đđ
"I'm special" hits different.
I love this list sm lol
the housemaid (freida mcfadden) would absolutely fit this list!
added!!
WOAH so quick, that's iconic! thank you queen đ€©
of course! i'm basically on here 20 hours a day đ
omg you're just like me fr. i've found my people
since so much of my job is reader's advisory, i consider hanging out on here professional development đ
at least you have an excuse, my job has literally nothing to do with books, but i'm always on here anyways LMAO
Haha same my job is real life people so this is my eskahpeh
my job is also real life people!
God, yes, ACOTAR, I was late to the party and read that book last year. I hate Rhysand so much it's not even funny, and the other one (that guy's name is mf Tail? I don't even remember) by the end of the book he's just kind of... there. Spoilers for any other slow person like me who hasn't read the book yet The fact that I know that Rhysand will be the main love interest is what deters me from reading the rest of the books. I can't stand that guy and I refuse to forgive and forget all the things he did đ€ he can choke.
Apparently Rhysand is based on SJM's husband...
That is⊠telling đ«€
good lord
Pause. Huh???? Well... good for her, I guess? Hey, if that's what she likes, who am I to judge, but I really hope the only comparison is because he's handsome.
no shade to her husband, but Iâve seen photos of him and he literally just looks like a dude
đ đ đ
Truly a certifiable Dude. To be honest, if I were him, I don't know if I would be flattered or offended to be seen as the inspiration for Rhysand. I hope it was the former.
i think if i were him i'd want to crawl into a hole, but that assumes that he's self-aware and knows what goes on in the books
incredible list
The fact Twilight is the first book god bless đđ
Listen, I love Twilight in a way I feel only an elder millennial emo can, but Edward is a creep đ đ
Heâs so creepy!!!
I remember reading a line in that series about how for her Jacob was like the sun and Edward was like a drug and thinking girl. Girl. GIRL.
Girl youre in high school pls đđ
The only thing that makes me feel better about my overlap with this list, is that I realised every one of those men were not worth it!
Love that!! đđ I feel like these books are basically therapy/research so we can identify/cut out toxic men in real life
HIT HIM WITH YOUR CAR.
Please, this list is perfect. đ€©
i'm so glad you love it!!
part of me feels like a court of mist and fury should be on here bc both rhysand and tamlin belong on this list LOL
you know, i was avoiding putting sequels on here, but you make a very good point since ACOTAR and ACOMAF have different love interests
EDIT: added ACOMAF because rhysand should also be on here, especially given some of the shit he pulls later in the series
I was about to ask what is wrong with Hawk from FBAA. But then I realized what he did to Poppy in the beginning. đ
Insert a deception, disgrace gif in here from Lion King 2. Can't be bothered to troubleshoot my markdown rn. Hawk was a bad boy. đ
He should be on this list for ruining cantaloupe if Iâm being completely honest. đ
we take crimes against produce very seriously on pagebound đââïž
I mean, he was very attentive and loving towards the produce if that helps đ
đ€Łđ€Łđ€Ł
love the reference!! iâm going to have that stuck in my head the rest of the day đ
It's such an earworm, the songs in LK2 went so much harder than they needed to
I love this list đââïž I feel like God of Malice by Rina Kent and that whole series is a great fit for this listâŠreally anything written by Rina Kent could be on here
Added! Thank you for the rec!
Yooo i didnât make it past like page 30 in that book. I like a toxic man as much as the next girl but it turns out i have limits even in book form. Did not see that coming.
Sameee omg I like to think I have a very high threshold when it comes to dark romance but man I think I didnât make it past 5 chapters of that book. I simply couldnât find a single passable quality in either of them
I was reading like is he the MMC? Heâs not the MMC. He canât be. Oh wait maybe he is. He is? REALLY? How does it end? Googles spoilers and clearly Iâm not feeling it. DNF đđ
I read god of fury and absolutely loved it and did not expect to call it quits on this one as early as i did.
I called it quits on the whole series lmao I couldnât push thru after such a horrible start in book 1
I donât know that i would have read god of fury had i started book one first but a friend recommended it as a standalone so I started with that one. It has a disclaimer that itâs not as dark as her other books and man she was not kidding đ
Ooh thatâs interesting! Didnât know that, perhaps Iâll give that one a shot after moving past that first one like nothing happened haha
yeahâŠthat series has quite a lot of red flag guys đ
This feels like the perfect list to bring out for raging with a passion rants (and denying guilty pleasures if I want fictional toxicity as a little treat from my other reads)
for real. i'm guilty of enjoying a toxic man in a book every now and then. but in real life? nah, miss me with that ish.
Yeah and I can only do it if the book doesnât take itself too seriously. Otherwise I will be crying or screaming instead of giggling & kicking my feet
The title of this list plus the quotation is just GIVING! I love it!
IKR!!! I snort laughed out loud when I saw the list title and then opened it and saw the first line of the description XD
I forget the title of the book, but it bothered me so much back in 2016 that it became the first book I ever DNF'ed. The rich douchey MMC in his efforts to "woo" the girl he wants to bang, buys the building her apartment is in, the building+restaurant where she works, and coerces her into sleeping with him.
I do not know any further than this, because when they were on the beach for their first "date" and she started finding him attractive, that was the moment I dropped the book. That was the end of my teenage era of reading toxic billionaire romances lmaooooo XD
Why does that sound like most of the stuff I read on Wattpad as a teen (aka in my âšY/n eraâš) đ đ
gosh, same- my teen wattpad era is best left undiscussed.
I was just a starry eyed teen who thought territorial, boundary-crossing behaviour in a man was peak romance. For the most part, it wasn't too bad, just minor red flags, but this book and its MMC changed my mind on the topic forever.
VALID. If you remember the book, it sounds like the MMC deserves a spot on this list.
If I ever recall the name of the book from the deepest abyss of my mind where I've banished it, I'll be sure to revisit this list and suggest the addition!! XD
Immortal Longings is like that, huh? good to know deletes from interested shelf
I haven't read it yet, but I have a friend who had a lot to say on the matter. Hence, its inclusion on the list.
nod, shrug I trust your friend (if that's not weird to say)
Not at all, they've honestly never led me astray when it comes to books
44% overlap, I feel attacked đđ
It's been too long since I read Lisa Kleypas, so I forget.. what's the deal with Devil in Winter?
In general, she has a number of books with problematic behaviour from the male leads lol, I completely agree đŻ just curious about what I've forgotten from this particular book
i put this one on there because it's technically his book, but it's really more his behavior in the preceding books that earned him a spot here. he's obviously a rake, but his behavior towards lillian is so bad to the point where it's kind of impossible to suspend disbelief when he changes upon meeting evie.
ahhh understood!
Yep, makes sense!! Def earns a spot on the list!
All these years later, I mostly just remember this book to be about a 180 degree shift in this guy's behaviour after meeting the girl who had a stuttering+social anxiety issue, and then marrying her.. Even as a teen reading this it felt unlikely for a person to have such a radical personality transformation right after meeting their soulmate/whatever, lol
I love that the devil in winter makes this list đđ i was shooketh when i read that after the way the previous book in the series ended. He returns as a parent and grandparent in the ravenels series and is notably less toxic
The second book from Kingmaker Chronicles by Amanda Bouchetâ Breath of Fire. Please see my long as hell 1-star review. Griffin is deplorable to Cat within the first few chapter , terrifies her, destroys an entire room around her because heâs angry, grabs her arm until it hurts, then gaslights her the rest of the book⊠I was reading thinking OK so whereâs the real leading man! Was waiting for him to come the rest of the book. đŹ nope.
Well, he sounds perfect for this list... ADDED! Thank you for the rec
Thanks- yeah, I went from rating the first book 5 stars to rating the next one 1 star because of how awful he was. He storms off and says âi canât do this anymore!â And then later in convinces the FMC she misinterpreted what he meant by that đ Iâm still seething about it hahaha
75% overlap?!! All can say is......I read them as a psychological case study so that I can see what redeems them in the end đ€đ«Łđââïž
Okay keep adding books it's helping lower my number đ
this list it taking me outtttt đđđ
