Meet the "Shadow Daddies" of Romantasy

If you're a reader of romantasy, even a casual one, you're familiar with this character. He's a particular type of enemies-to-lovers male love interest: a morally gray bad boy with a heart of gold, deadly to his enemies but sweet to his lover. He's the type to ask, "Who did this to you?!" He's tall, dark, and handsome. He might be a fae, a god, a vampire, or some other kind of supernatural creature. Most importantly, he has the power to magically wield shadows. What more could a beautiful (but she doesn't realize it) 18-to-22-year-old heroine want?

This archetype has been lovingly nicknamed the "shadow daddy," and he's everywhere. In particular, he's currently sitting right at the top of the New York Times bestseller list in the form of Xaden Riorson, the male love interest of the Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros (that's "Fourth Wing," "Iron Flame," and the just-released "Onyx Storm").

Xaden is the son of a rebel leader who was executed before the start of the series, making him a sworn enemy of Violet, our heroine and the daughter of the general who ended the rebellion. (Of course, when he and Violet meet as young adults, sparks fly and the enemies-to-lovers plotline begins.) Xaden has onyx eyes with gold flecks, black hair, and tawny skin — and his signet, or unique signature power, is shadow summoning.

Shadow daddies like Xaden blend violence and love, outer darkness and inner light. One Redditor on r/fantasyromance gave this succinct definition: "A shadow daddy is OLD, like 500 years +, but looks young, has scars and tattoos, usually darker skin and dark hair, has shadow powers, like can control darkness or shadows, is HOT, male an [sic] morally grey and has *issues* and always falls in love with the main female character." (Not all shadow daddies fit every single one of these traits, however. For example, Xaden is in his 20s, but hits every other mark.) A top reply adds another important trait: "Don't forget that said shadow daddy may also do certain things with those shadows."

Xaden has this trait, too. Throughout the series, he uses his shadows to kill enemies and caress Violet, sometimes at the same time. For example, in chapter two of "Onyx Storm," Xaden comes to rescue Violet in the midst of a battle, and this happens: "Shadows explode around us, immediately devouring every speck of light in a sea of endless black I instantly recognize as home. A band of darkness wraps around my hips and yanks me backward, then brushes my cheek gently, steadying my galloping heartbeat and quieting my power. Screams fill the chamber, followed by a pair of thuds, and I know without a doubt any threat to my life's been extinguished."

For romantasy fans, these sexy, deadly shadows are familiar. In fact, there's another shadow-daddy book also currently on the New York Times bestseller list: "A Court of Thrones and Roses" by Sarah J. Maas. A trio of the series' male characters fit the archetype: Rhysand, Cassian, and Azriel. The main love interest, Rhysand, doesn't actually control shadows, but he's grumpy, immortal, and the ruler of the Night Court. Then there's Azriel, Rhysand's lead spymaster and "shadowsinger" — he's the one with the power to control shadows. Azriel hasn't yet been the male love interest in one of the ACOTAR books, but fans suspect he'll be the subject of the next one.

In fact, there have been dozens and dozens of shadow-daddy books released over the past 15 years: There's the Fae & Alchemy series by Callie Hart, the Flesh and Fire series by Jennifer L. Armentrout, the Shadow and Bone series by Leigh Bardugo, and the Bonds That Tie series by J. Bree. Want more? A Goodreads Bookshelf titled "Shadow Daddies Books" contains 347 titles.

Haters might suspect that romantasy writers are all copying each other, but powerful and sexy characters linked to darkness are present throughout many different mythologies and folklores. Think of gods of death like Hades, Pluto, and Odin, and even fallen angel Lucifer (at least the "Paradise Lost" version). Many romantasy writers credit mythology as inspiration: "I love all sorts of world mythologies," Maas said in a 2022 Good Reading interview. "There's Norse mythology and Celtic mythology in there, along with dashes of Greek and Roman culture."

There's a reason why I said Hades and Odin but not Anubis. Descriptions of "tawny" or "bronzed" skin means that many of the shadow daddies can be read as racially ambiguous. On Reddit, there are frequent discussions over whether a shadow daddy is Asian, Middle Eastern, Black, Mediterranean, or just a white guy who spent some time in the sun. (Yarros has said that Xaden is a person of color but hasn't specified beyond that.)

The vast majority of the most successful authors in the romantasy genre, including Yarros and Maas, are white. One exception is N.K. Jemisin. Though she's best known for her sci-fi series, Broken Earth, her first novel, "The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms," is shadow-daddy romantasy: The lead character, a warrior named Yeine, falls in love with Nahadoth, the god of chaos and change. Jemisin has frequently spoken out about the barriers Black writers face in the fantasy world. "It's still easier for a white person to write a book with an all-black cast set in fantasy Africa and get it published than for a black person," she told The Guardian in 2020.

Although there are authors who innovate on the shadow daddy character type (for example, later books in Jemisin's Inheritance trilogy reveal that Nahadoth can change gender and has even given birth), some romantasy fans are starting to get bored of reading all these variations on a theme. Some fans have even complained about shadow-daddy burnout. But there's a reason why this archetype keeps popping up: It sells. "Onyx Storm" sold nearly 3 million copies in its first week alone, making it the fastest-selling adult novel in 20 years. And with money like that on the table, it's safe to say that shadow daddies aren't going away anytime soon.

Erika W. Smith (she/her) is a freelance writer and editor who covers astrology, sex, relationships, lifestyle, and more. Her book series Astrosex was published in 2021.