5 Books With Morally Gray Characters You Won’t Know Whether to Love or Hate
Perfect heroes can be satisfying.
But sometimes the characters you remember are the ones who lie, manipulate, steal, betray people, make terrible decisions—and somehow still convince you to keep rooting for them.
That’s where morally gray characters come in.
They aren’t necessarily villains. They also aren’t reliably good people. Their motives can make sense even when their choices don’t, and sometimes the question isn’t “Are they doing the right thing?”
It’s:
“Why am I still on their side?”
For this list of books with morally gray characters, I wanted newer books rather than repeating the same romantasy recommendations I’ve already covered. These five were released between 2024 and 2025 and range from fantasy and romantasy to thrillers and grimdark fantasy.
Books With Morally Gray Characters at a Glance
| Book | Author | Why Read It |
|---|---|---|
| The God and the Gumiho | Sophie Kim | Trickster god + murderous fox spirit |
| The Wren in the Holly Library | K.A. Linde | Thief + dangerous monster |
| First Lie Wins | Ashley Elston | Professional liar and con artist |
| The Devils | Joe Abercrombie | Monsters doing terrible things for the greater good |
| Saltwater | Katy Hays | Wealth, secrets, betrayal + murder |
1. The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim
Best for: Morally gray fantasy characters with romance
A notorious nine-tailed fox and a fallen trickster god investigating murders together?
Neither of these characters was ever going to be particularly concerned with following the rules.
Hani is a gumiho with a dangerous past and a secret identity she absolutely cannot allow Seokga to discover.
Seokga is a fallen trickster god working as a detective as part of his punishment.
Then a demon begins killing people.
Hani becomes Seokga’s assistant—but she isn’t really there to help.
She intends to sabotage his investigation from the inside while preventing him from discovering exactly who she is.
Unfortunately, somewhere between the lies, murder investigation, demons, bickering, and attempted deception, the two begin developing feelings for each other.
Penguin Random House describes the novel as a contemporary fantasy rooted in Korean mythology, while Library Journal specifically praised its morally gray characters, action, romance, and supernatural mystery.
Why the characters are morally gray
Hani isn’t simply hiding a harmless secret.
She has her own history of violence and enters the investigation intending to manipulate the person she’s supposedly helping.
Seokga isn’t exactly a traditional hero either.
They’re both deceptive, selfish, dangerous, and surprisingly easy to root for.
Why you’ll like it:
- Korean mythology
- Morally gray heroine
- Trickster god
- Gumiho
- Murder mystery
- Enemies-to-lovers energy
- Forced proximity
- Banter
- Supernatural romance
Published: 2024
2. The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde
Best for: Morally gray romantasy
Kierse is a thief.
A very good thief.
Unfortunately, one night she breaks into the wrong house.
The Holly Library belongs to a monster—and by entering it, Kierse has violated the fragile treaty that exists between humans and monsters.
He would be completely within his rights to kill her.
Instead, Graves offers her a job.
That job eventually draws Kierse into a much larger world of monsters, ancient secrets, dangerous bargains, and magic.
The publisher describes The Wren in the Holly Library as an enemies-to-lovers romantasy set in a post-monster-war New York City, centered on a fearless thief and the terrifying creature whose home she invades.
Reader criticism has also specifically identified Kierse as a morally gray protagonist: she’s a thief who is willing to break rules and take serious risks, while still being fiercely loyal to the people she considers family.
Why Kierse is morally gray
Kierse steals for a living.
She lies.
She breaks agreements.
And survival sometimes matters considerably more to her than doing whatever society considers morally correct.
But she isn’t cruel simply for the sake of cruelty.
That’s the distinction that makes morally gray characters interesting.
There are lines she cares about.
They’re just not necessarily the same lines everyone else follows.
Why you’ll like it:
- Thief heroine
- Monsters
- Dangerous bargains
- Enemies-to-lovers
- Heists
- Post-apocalyptic New York
- Found family
- Morally gray romance
- Dark magic
Published: 2024
3. First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
Best for: Morally gray characters outside fantasy
This one gives the list a completely different kind of morally gray protagonist.
Evie Porter has a handsome boyfriend.
A beautiful home.
Nice friends.
A seemingly perfect life.
There’s just one problem:
Evie Porter doesn’t exist.
Her identity was given to her by a mysterious employer known as Mr. Smith.
Once Evie receives a new identity, she studies the town, learns everything she can about her target, gets close to them, and completes whatever job she has been assigned.
Her newest target is Ryan Sumner.
But this job starts becoming much more complicated when Evie develops genuine feelings for him—and when someone else appears using Evie’s real identity.
Penguin Random House’s own reader guide explicitly describes Evie and Ryan as morally gray characters, asking readers to consider the ethical lines Evie refuses to cross despite the fact that her entire career is based on crime and deception.
Why Evie is morally gray
She’s a professional liar.
She commits crimes.
She manipulates people for a living.
She creates entire identities designed to trick her targets.
And yet Evie does have boundaries.
She cares about certain people.
She has rules she won’t break.
That combination makes it very easy to understand her without necessarily approving of what she does.
Why you’ll like it:
- Con artist protagonist
- Secret identities
- Cat-and-mouse game
- Twists
- Deception
- Morally gray heroine
- Thriller pacing
- Romance subplot
Published: 2024
4. The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
Best for: Characters who have almost completely abandoned the moral scale
Joe Abercrombie may have taken the phrase “morally gray” as a challenge here.
Europe is collapsing under plague, famine, political ambition, and supernatural threats.
The solution?
Apparently, send in the monsters.
The Chapel of the Holy Expediency assembles a group that includes cursed fighters, convicted heretics, supernatural creatures, and people whose approach to solving problems generally involves doing things respectable heroes wouldn’t even consider.
Their mission may technically serve the greater good.
Their methods?
Not so much.
Hachette’s description says the Chapel turns to people willing to take the dark paths the righteous won’t, while Abercrombie’s own announcement for the adaptation describes the story as an epic battle between good and evil where it’s frequently impossible to determine which is which.
Why practically everyone is morally gray
This is the extreme end of the list.
The characters aren’t merely breaking rules because circumstances force them to.
They’re killers.
Monsters.
Heretics.
Opportunists.
People completely willing to do appalling things if they believe the end result justifies them.
And yet they’re being asked to save people.
That’s where the moral question gets interesting.
If awful people accomplish something good through awful methods…
Does that make them heroes?
Probably not.
But it makes them fun to read about.
Why you’ll like it:
- Grimdark fantasy
- Antiheroes
- Monsters
- Black humor
- Violent quests
- Political intrigue
- Found-family-ish chaos
- Characters making terrible choices
- Almost no traditional heroism
Published: 2025
5. Saltwater by Katy Hays
Best for: Morally gray characters in a twisty family thriller
Not every morally gray character needs magic or a sword.
Sometimes all you need is an extremely wealthy family with something terrible to hide.
For decades, the Lingate family has returned to Capri following the mysterious death of Sarah Lingate.
Then evidence resurfaces that suggests Sarah’s death may not have happened the way everyone believed.
And suddenly an old family secret becomes dangerous again.
The deeper the story goes, the harder it becomes to determine who is telling the truth—and who is willing to destroy someone else to protect the family.
Penguin Random House explicitly describes Saltwater as combining a dark, glamorous atmosphere with morally gray characters and mind-bending twists, centered around generational wealth and the extreme lengths people will go to protect their legacy.
Why the characters are morally gray
Money complicates everything.
So does family loyalty.
So does resentment.
And nearly everyone seems to have an agenda.
Characters lie because telling the truth might destroy them.
They protect people who perhaps shouldn’t be protected.
They manipulate one another.
They justify choices because they’re protecting the family.
Eventually, you start wondering whether anyone deserves your loyalty.
Which is exactly the kind of thriller I want when I’m reading about morally gray characters.
Why you’ll like it:
- Wealthy dysfunctional family
- Capri setting
- Murder mystery
- Family secrets
- Generational privilege
- Betrayal
- Twists
- Morally gray characters
- The White Lotus vibes
Published: 2025
Which Morally Gray Book Should You Read First?
| If you want… | Read… |
|---|---|
| Fantasy romance | The God and the Gumiho |
| Dark romantasy | The Wren in the Holly Library |
| Twist-heavy thriller | First Lie Wins |
| Grimdark antiheroes | The Devils |
| Messy rich-family secrets | Saltwater |
What Is a Morally Gray Character?
A morally gray character lives somewhere between traditional hero and villain.
That doesn’t simply mean they’re flawed.
Almost every interesting fictional character has flaws.
A truly morally gray character usually does things that are genuinely difficult to defend.
They might:
- Lie
- Steal
- Manipulate people
- Betray allies
- Kill
- Break laws
- Seek revenge
- Protect the wrong person
- Use questionable methods for a supposedly good cause
- Put their own goals above everyone else’s
But they also usually have something that stops them from becoming straightforward villains.
Maybe they’re loyal.
Maybe they’re protecting someone.
Maybe the system they’re fighting is worse than they are.
Maybe their motivations make complete sense even when their actions don’t.
The best morally gray characters make you think:
“I know this is wrong… but I understand why you did it.”
Morally Gray vs. Villain: What’s the Difference?
This is where the term sometimes gets used too loosely.
A character isn’t morally gray just because he wears black, threatens everyone, and is rude to the heroine.
Likewise, having a tragic past doesn’t automatically make someone morally gray.
The interesting part is the choice.
Morally gray characters repeatedly face situations where doing the “right” thing conflicts with survival, loyalty, ambition, revenge, love, or power.
And sometimes they knowingly choose the wrong thing.
A villain may know they’re hurting people and simply not care.
A traditional hero tries to do what’s right.
A morally gray character makes you argue with yourself about which category they belong in.
Why Are Morally Gray Characters So Popular?
Because they’re unpredictable.
If the hero will always do the honorable thing, you already know roughly how many situations will play out.
Morally gray characters don’t give you that security.
Will they save their friend?
Probably.
Will they betray an entire kingdom to do it?
Possibly.
Will they lie to the person they love because they think it’s necessary?
Almost certainly.
That uncertainty creates tension.
It also makes the characters feel more human.
Most people aren’t completely good or completely evil.
We make decisions based on circumstances, loyalty, fear, ambition, and what we think we can live with afterward.
Morally gray fiction takes that messiness and turns the volume up.
Are Morally Gray Characters Only in Fantasy?
Definitely not.
Fantasy and romantasy love them because assassins, kings, thieves, warriors, rebels, monsters, and political schemers naturally create complicated moral decisions.
But First Lie Wins and Saltwater show why the trope works just as well in thrillers and contemporary fiction.
You don’t need a sword to make a questionable decision.
Sometimes a fake identity, an inheritance, or a family secret works just fine.
More Books With Dark and Complicated Characters
If you’re here because your favorite morally gray characters usually come with magic, monsters, and dangerous romance, you may also like:
5 Books Like One Dark Window for Your Next Gothic Fantasy Read
10 Best Dark Romantasy Books for Gothic Fantasy Lovers
5 Gothic Fantasy Romance Books for Dark, Atmospheric Reading
I’d use those three as the main internal links from this article.
That gives this page a broader morally gray characters focus while directing fantasy readers deeper into your existing dark-fantasy content.
Final Thoughts
Morally gray characters make reading uncomfortable in the best possible way.
You know they shouldn’t lie.
They lie anyway.
You know revenge is making things worse.
They do it anyway.
You know trusting the terrifying monster, professional criminal, murderous fox spirit, or deeply dysfunctional rich family is probably a bad idea.
And somehow you’re still turning the page.
If you want fantasy romance, start with The God and the Gumiho.
For romantasy, try The Wren in the Holly Library.
For a thriller, First Lie Wins gives you a protagonist whose entire life is built on deception.
If you want characters considerably closer to the dark end of the spectrum, pick The Devils.
And for a glamorous story where nearly everyone seems capable of something terrible, try Saltwater.
Sometimes you don’t need characters you can admire.
You just need characters you can’t stop watching.
