Take our quiz and see which beloved Harlequin villain you could be. We’ve played up some of our reader’s favorite villainous storylines, and while they’re favorites to us, too, now we’re looking for how they might be twisted and subverted to create something fresh and new! So after you take the quiz, let us know what kind of villain you are—and how that might have given you some ideas….
When you encounter your former sweetheart after several years, you:
A) Kidnap her as part of an elaborate plot to overthrow the government.
B) Eat her brains.
C) Greet her formally and politely, as society dictates, but wonder if she still remembers the secret passion you shared.
D) Try to be friendly, as this is a small town, but you don’t want him getting too close, or else he’ll discover your secret…
E) Are delighted that the revenge plot you’ve been working on for years can finally be put into action.
F) Start scheming how to get him back in your bed by any means necessary….
You see the telltale signs of love blooming between two people. You:
A) Use it to your advantage to turn the population of your tiny Mediterranean country against the prince and his new love interest.
B) Casually drop references to the fact that she gets a little hairy around the full moon…
C) Threaten to expose their relationship unless she marries you and gives you access to her £20,000 a year.
D) Throw a huge tantrum because you don’t want a new mommy!
E) Realize those two people are you and the person you are supposed to hate. There’s no way someone as arrogant as you could ever fall in love, so you must break her heart.
F) At the town fair, arrange for your rival’s prized pie to be ruined by escaping livestock.
You encounter a woman who has no memory of her identity or the father of her baby. You:
A) Pretend to be her friend, all the while making sure she remembers none of the details of your fiendish medical experiments….
B) Try to steal the baby for an evil ritual.
C) Lock her up in your castle’s dungeon because you recognize her as the wife of the neighboring laird and know he’ll give you a lot of sheep for his woman and bairn.
D) Even though it makes you seem like a cruel and maybe dangerous person, press her to remember details…such as your wedding day and the night you conceived that baby.
E) Start to wonder if your plan to ruin the person who destroyed your father went a little too far…
F) Can’t believe she managed to escape! But she’ll be yours again soon. Yours, and no one else’s….
The local plain Jane has suddenly transformed into a ravishing beauty! You:
A) Start sending her dead roses in the mail. Because stalkers are old school and still use snail mail.
B) Rub your hands together in glee—that demon blood you’ve been lacing her lemonade with is starting to work!
C) Start picturing her as the figurehead for your boat’s bow.
D) Are delighted that the first part of your matchmaking scheme has been such a success. Now for part two: getting her to fall for the single rancher who’s been a bachelor too long …
E) Sit up and take notice, but you still want your REVENGE!
F) Step up your plan to break up her and your son. She may be pretty, but there’s still no way she can throw a formal dinner for 200 overseas dignitaries!
The local sheriff is investigating a murder in his small mountain town. You:
A) Kill someone else to throw him off your scent.
B) Hope he thinks those two bite marks in the neck are from a really big spider.
C) Call him out in the saloon. This is the Wild West, after all, and if that dead guy didn’t have a fast enough trigger finger, that’s his problem.
D) Help with the investigation but secretly cover evidence. Because you fear the murderer may just be your brother….
E) Steal the body to really play with the sheriff’s mind. After what he did to you, you’re going to make him pay.
F) Insist as the forensic investigator assigned to the case that your past with the sheriff won’t hinder the investigation. But that doesn’t mean you won’t hinder the budding relationship between him and that pretty PI.
Someone with “corporate” written all over them is threatening what you most value. You:
A) Create a shell corporation to hide your shady business practices.
B) Try to convince your lycan pack to hunt him down, but someone among you seems to be helping him…
C) Can’t believe a commoner with no title is catching your daughter’s eye—you raised her to marry a prince, or at the very least a duke! You threaten to bankrupt him unless he leaves your country estate forthwith.
D) May just be a rancher, but you know a thing or two about fighting dirty!
E) Recognize her as the woman you had the steamiest affair of your life with before she left you without any explanation. She may be your business rival now, but you didn’t get to be a tycoon without learning how to be ruthless with your enemies….
F) Hope he convinces your ex-girlfriend that her real place is with you.
If you answered mostly A:
You are a true suspense villain. Cold, calculating and diabolical. The fact that you have no morals makes you a worthy adversary for any protagonist! You are usually found in such series as Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Harlequin Intrigue, and Love Inspired Suspense, but you’ve been known to make an appearance in almost all the Harlequin lines.
If you answered mostly B:
You are a supernatural villain, most often found in paranormal pages. You may not be exactly human, but sometimes you have the same feelings as humans do. And what may be seen as villainous behavior by some might just be heroic behavior to others….
If you answered mostly C:
You are a historical villain. Be you pirate, marauding clansman or a stuffy cousin who only wants the heroine’s money, your villainy can be as varied as the eras and places you come from. A series like Harlequin Historical publishes books from many different time periods.
If you answered mostly D:
You are not thoroughly a villain. You may seem to have dastardly intentions or dangerous secrets, but you often have very valid reasons. You could be a secondary character, like an overenthusiastic matchmaker or a child who isn’t quite sure you can let go of your mommy or daddy. Or you could be the hero or heroine, plagued by your inner demons. No matter what your inner torment is, the story will eventually lead to a happily ever after in a series such as Harlequin Romance, Medical Romance, Heartwarming, or Special Edition.
If you answered mostly E:
You just want revenge. While this could be part of the suspenseful villain’s motivations, this could also be the purpose of hero or heroine in a series like Harlequin Presents or Desire. And who doesn’t love seeing a deliciously arrogant tycoon or royal brought to his knees?
If you answered mostly F:
You are the villain that believes if you can’t have your beloved, no one will. And you are willing to go to some pretty drastic lengths to make sure your crush stays yours. This type of villainy is often embodied by an ex-husband or ex-girlfriend, but it can also be a nasty in-law or any other character that has been close to the hero or heroine. You could show up in pretty much any Harlequin series, from Love Inspired to Harlequin Desire. But as this trope is in danger of becoming too one-dimensional for many readers, nowadays you’ll also need to have some nuance or twist to your modus operandi.
Thanks for taking our quiz! Don’t forget to let us know which villain you turned out to be!
