The other day, I was asked an interesting question. Do I think that a protagonist or love interest can have too many flaws? For me, I think it depends on what the flaws are. Is this person selfish? Are they a bad person? Or are the flaws more of the wound variety? Can the flaws be overcome (not with true love – it’s not a Disney movie)?
I can honestly say that if this were true – if someone who had too many flaws couldn’t find love—I’d be single because I have lots. I’m impatient, quick to anger, judgmental, lazy, a people pleaser, and I have a laundry list of mental health issues. There are probably other things, but this is supposed to be a short post. But, deep down, I try to be a good person and I think that’s what matters. I think that’s what my husband sees.
Here are 10 flawed characters I want to see fall in love:
Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean) – This is the first person who comes to mind as a likable flawed character. He’s a rogue who cares about no one but himself. I think he’d sell his own mother to be out on the open sea. Yet, we’re drawn to him. We care about what happens to him because of his self-deprecating humor and his begrudging willingness to help others.
Severus Snape (The Harry Potter series) – Severus Snape is one of the best written characters of the modern literary age. Deeply complex and shattered inside from the loss of the woman he loves, he risks everything to save her son, to keep him safe from the master he once served. Not until the final book was his true nature revealed and despite his youthful sins, I would love to have seen him survive and find love.
Daryl (The Walking Dead) – Daryl has the bad-boy image down. He rides a motorcycle, wears leather, has a bad attitude—he’s a Hell’s Angel of the Apocalypse. Despite the fact that I’m desperate to wash and cut his hair, I think he’s a good guy. He’s ruthless when it comes to protecting himself and his friends, but he’ll take a lost girl under his wing in a heartbeat.
Haymitch Abernathy (The Hunger Games) – Haymitch is a drunk who wants nothing more out of life than to crawl into a bottle and forget the games in which he survived. But year after year, he’s paraded out to mentor the new batch of lambs being led to slaughter and lives through his trauma again and again. He has an acerbic wit that he uses to charm sponsors for his tributes, but I’d want to see him fall in love with another survivor of the games—someone who could understand and share his pain, from which they heal together.
AXL Pendergast (The Pendergast series) – FBI Special Agent Pendergast treats the entire world like its beneath him, sarcastic and condescending, he’s enough to make anyone want to shoot him, But the fascinating contrast in his character is the desperate loneliness you see in his life. This is a man who works alone, reads alone, drinks alone, and spends his life alone. One of the best moments in the series came when Pendergast forced himself to realize his love for Constance and travel to the monastery to bring her home.
Monk (Monk) – Because of his deep-seeded guilt over the loss of his wife, Adrian Monk developed severe OCD along with several phobias. He’s quirky and lovable, but has strong commitment issues. I’d love to see if falling in love again would help heal his emotional trauma.
Bruce Banner (The Avengers) – Bruce Banner has “breath-taking anger management issues”. His ambition cost him a life with Betty Ross (depending on what version you’re watching). He finds love again with Black Widow only for her to be killed off in Endgame. He can save the world, but he can’t get a date.
Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock) – Sherlock is played masterfully by Benedict Cumberbatch, bringing his ego, addiction, and condescension to a startling level. Underneath, you can see a hint of vulnerability peeking out when he plays his violin or when he’s scared for John Watson. While it’s not canon, I’m sure I’m not the only one who would like to see Sherlock and Watson ride off into the sunset together.
Spencer Reid (Criminal Minds) – A drug addiction and stint in prison has tarnished the young genius, forcing him out of his Peter Pan-esque life and into adulthood. He’s taken on a harder edge and is far less trusting than the boy Jason Gideon always introduced as doctor. With JJ’s confession simmering around the edges of the season break, I’d love to see Spence end up with a Maeve-like love who appreciates not only his brain, but his beauty. And for God’s sake, is this kid ever going to get laid?
Jack McCoy (Law & Order) – While he has his failings, McCoy will do anything to put a bad guy behind bars. Sometimes, going outside the law to do so. It’s come back to bite him on the ass a few times, but he still ended up being elected DA. His humor and passion make me want to see him fall in love with someone within the judicial system with a good heart and warm smile.
JP Barnaby is an award-winning gay romance novelist and the author of over two dozen books. Her heart and soul, the Survivor Series, has been heralded by USA Today as one of their favorites. She recently moved from Chicago to Atlanta to appease her Camaro (Jake) who didn’t like the blustery winters. JP specializes in recovery romance but slips in a few erotic or comedic stories to spice things up. When she’s not working on her latest novel, she binge watches superheroes and crime dramas on Netflix with her husband and Jack Russell Terror, Chase.
A physics geek, she likes the science side of Sci-Fi, and wants to grow up to be Reed Richards.
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A Pocketful of Stardust by JP Barnaby & Rowan Speedwell
Noah Hitchens loves the New York City life he worked hard to build. But when his father dies and leaves him a bankrupt bookstore in their sleepy Georgia hometown, Noah knows he has to save it. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know anything about business. He finds unlikely help in Henry, the man who owned Stardust Books before his 1966 murder, and Kyle St. James, a shy but kind-hearted out-of-towner with a past almost as mysterious as Henry’s.
Kyle came to Aster, Georgia, looking for redemption. On the run and out of hope, he’s just trying to get on with his life. Then he meets Noah, a ghost, and a big sloppy lab named Jake who redefine his idea of living. But his past is closing in, and when it finds him, they could lose everything.