Beauty Is in the Eye... Romances with characters who are homely, plain, scarred, or do not meet the standards of beauty for their time. This list was originally created in 1996 and reorganized in 1999 into two sub-lists, one for "less than beautiful" characters, the other for "less than perfect" characters. The latter featured characters with physical, mental, or emotional maladies. The lists were totally separated in 2003; click here for the "less than perfect" list. Plus-sized heroines got their own list in July 2004. List begun 07/96, updated 03/08

	Medieval Romances
	Regency Romances
	European Historical Romances
	American Historical/Frontier Romances
	Contemporary Romances
	Alternate Reality Romances

Medieval Romances

• The Irish Devil (2000) by Donna Fletcher - Faith is scarred on face, neck and breast.
• The Prize (1991) by Julie Garwood - Baron Royce has disfiguring facial scars.
• Tapestry of Dreams (1986) by Roberta Gellis - Hugh Licorne is a homely knight.
• Beauty and the Beast (1992) by Hannah Howell - Thayer Saitun is plain.
• From This Moment On (2002) by Lynn Kurland - Colin of Berkhamshire is loutish, uncouth, and smelly.
• This Is All I Ask (1997) by Lynn Kurland - Gillian Warewick is plain.
• To Kiss in the Shadows in Tapestry (2002) by Lynn Kurland - Lianna's face is marked.
• The Ransomed Bride (1990) by Elizabeth Lowther - Sabina Corbyn is plain.
• A Kingdom of Dreams (1989) by Judith McNaught - Jennifer Merrick is plain.
• Lady Gallant (1992) by Suzanne Robinson - Lady Eleanora (Nora) Becket is plain.
• The Devil's Lady (1994) by Deborah Simmons - Piers Montmorency has a scarred face.
• Lord of Danger (1997) by Anne Stuart - Simon Navarre has a scarred hand.

Regency Romances

• Dancing with Clara (1994) by Mary Balogh - Clara Danford is plain and unable to walk.
• Lord Carew's Bride (1995) by Mary Balogh - Hartley Wade, Marquess of Carew is ordinary looking, walks with a limp, and has a twisted hand.
• The Secret Pearl (1991) by Mary Balogh - Adam Kent, Duke of Ridgeway is hideously scarred.
• Emily and the Dark Angel (1991) by Jo Beverley - Emily Grantwich is plain.
• A Heart's Treasure (1993) by Teresa DesJardien - Xavier Ackerly wears an eye patch and has a scar.
• Her Other Thief (2004) by Glenda Garland - Lucy Bowes is quite plain.
• Gallant Waif (2001) by Anne Gracie - Jack Carstairs has facial scars and a limp.
• Tallie's Knight (2000) by Anne Gracie - Thalia Robinson is plain.
• Sprig Muslin (1956) by Georgette Heyer - Lady Hester Theale is plain.
• Miss Billings Treads the Boards (1993) by Carla Kelly - Lord Henry Grayson is balding and overweight.
• Hester Waring's Marriage (2000) by Paula Marshall - Hester Waring is plain and starving.
• Roses for Harriet (1995) by Patricia Oliver - Harriet, Lady Egerton is plain.
• The Rake and The Reformer (1989) by Mary Jo Putney - Lady Alys is tall and odd-eyed.

European Historical Romances

• My Darling Caroline (1998) by Adele Ashworth - Lady Caroline Grayson is plain.
• Friday Dreaming (1994) by Elizabeth Bailey - Frideswid (Friday) Edborough is plain and bespectacled.
• The Veiled Bride (2000) by Elizabeth Bailey - Lord Raith has a scarred face.
• Irresistible (1998) by Mary Balogh - Sophia Armitage is dowdy.
• Slightly Scandalous (2003) by Mary Balogh - Lady Freyja Bedwin is unattractive.
• Dreaming (1994) by Jill Barnett - Letitia Hornsby is plain.
• Secrets of the Night (1999) by Jo Beverley - Rosamunde has a scarred face.
• Bridal Favors (2002) by Connie Brockway - Lady Evelyn is referred to as a "golem" by others.
• Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre is plain and mousy.
• Beauty in Black (2004) by Nicole Byrd - John Sinclair, Marquess of Gillingham is disfigured by smallpox scars.
• Only in my Dreams (1998) by Eve Byron - Baroness Lorelei Winters is overweight.
• Stealing Heaven (1995) by Kimberly Cates - Norah Linton is plain.
• Lord of Scoundrels (1995) by Loretta Chase - Sebastian, Marquess of Dain is homely.
• The Sherbrooke Bride (1992) by Catherine Coulter - Alexandra Chambers is plain.
• The Perfect Rake (2005) by Anne Gracie - Prudence Merridew is plain and plump.
• Beauty and the Baron (2003) by Deborah Hale - Lucius Daventry is scarred.
• The Raven Prince (2006) by Elizabeth Hoyt - Edward de Raaf, Earl of Swartingham, is horribly scarred from smallpox.
• Beast (1997) by Judith Ivory - Charles Harcourt is blind in one eye, scarred, has a bad knee, and limps.
• Entwined (1997) by Emma Jensen - Isobel MacLeod is plain with carrot colored hair and large nose and Nathan Paget, Marquess of Oriel is scarred and blind.
• Moonlit (2002) by Emma Jensen - Trevor Robard, Viscount St. Wulfstan has a scarred face.
• Music of the Night (2005) by Lydia Joyce - Sarah Connolly has a scarred face from smallpox.
• The Mystery Kiss (2001) by Judith Lansdowne - Atticus Howard, Earl of Hartshire is abnormally large with huge ears and Fleur Avondale is very plain.
• The Cad (1998) by Edith Layton - Bridget Cooke has a scarred face.
• Secret Fire (1987) by Johanna Lindsey - Lady Katherine St. John is plain.
• With This Kiss (1999) by Victoria Lynne - Morgan St. James, Viscount Barlowe is disfigured by burns.
• Once and Always (1987) by Judith McNaught - Lord Jason Fielding has a scarred back.
• Heather and Velvet (1991) by Teresa Medeiros - Prudence Walker is plain and self-conscious.
• Yours until Dawn (2004) by Teresa Medeiros - Gabriel Fairchild was scarred in the war and is blind.
• The Rake (1998) by Mary Jo Putney - Lady Alys is tall and odd-eyed.
• Dangerous (1993) by Amanda Quick - Prudence Merryweather is plain and bespectacled.
• Ravished (1992) by Amanda Quick - Gideon Westbrook is disfigured and Harriet Pomeroy is bespectacled and plain.
• Scandal (1991) by Amanda Quick - Emily Faringdon wears glasses and does not fit the standards of beauty for her day.
• The Viscount Who Loved Me (2000) by Julia Quinn - Kate Sheffield is average looking and virtually unnoticeable next to her sister.
• Tapestry (1995) by Karen Ranney - Alex, Earl of Cardiff is terribly scarred.
• The Lover (2000) by Robin Schone - Anne Aimes is plain and Michel des Anges has scars on his hands and face.
• The Devil Earl (1996) by Deborah Simmons - HH-317 - Prudence Lancaster is bespectacled and plain.
• The Last Rogue (1998) by Deborah Simmons - HH-427 - Jane Trowbridge is plain and bespectacled.
• Dark Wager (1997) by Mary Spencer - Lady Clara Harkhams is plain.
• Midnight Bandit (1996) by Marlene Suson - Lady Daniela Winslow is plain.
• Midnight Lord (1995) by Marlene Suson - Megan Drake is plain.
• My Only Love (1993) by Katherine Sutcliffe - Olivia Devonshire is plain.
• The Charm School (1999) by Susan Wiggs - Isadora Peabody is plain and awkward.

American Historical/Frontier Romances

• Bitterleaf (1983) by Lisa Gregory - Meredith Whitney is plain.
• Patterns of Love (1998) by Robin Lee Hatcher - Inga Linberg is plain one in a family of gorgeous sisters.
• Blue Moon (1999) by Jill Marie Landis - Noah LeCroix lost and eye and has facial scarring.
• Once a Princess (1991) by Johanna Lindsey - Prince Stefan Barany is scarred.
• Courting Miss Hattie (1991) by Pamela Morsi - Hattie Colfax is known as "horse-faced Hattie."
• The Love Charm (1996) by Pamela Morsi - Armand Sonnier is short and plain.
• The Promise of Jenny Jones (1997) by Maggie Osborne - Jenny Jones is plain and mannish.
• Denim and Lace (1996) by Patricia Rice - Samanatha Neely is plain.
• Nobody's Angel (1992) by Karen Robards - Susannah Redmond is plain.
• Forgiving (1991) by LaVyrle Spencer - Sarah Merrit and Noah Campbell are both plain.
• Morning Glory (1989) by LaVyrle Spencer - Ellie Dinsmore is plain.
• His Secondhand Wife (2005) by Cheryl St. John - Noah Cutter is scarred.
• Land of Dreams (1995) by Cheryl St. John - HH-265 - Thea Coulson is over 6 feet tall with red-orange hair.
• Forever in Texas (1995) by Jodi Thomas - Sanford Colston is the ugliest person in town.

Contemporary Romances

• Going Back (7/1988) by Judith Arnold - HAR-255 - Daphne Stoltz is plain.
• An Unexpected Love (1998) by Andrea Boeshaar - Renna Fields has a large purple birthmark on one cheek.
• Get Lucky (2002) by Suzanne Brockmann - SIM-991 - Sydney Jameson has average looks, small breasts, and a butt that's "double wide."
• Over the Edge (2001) by Suzanne Brockmann - Stan Wolchonok is unattractive, self-described as "butt ugly."
• Be My Wife (5/1991) by Marcy Gray - SR-792 - Adam Neil is scarred.
• Terrific Tom (7/1998) by Martha Hix - SSE-1186 - Tom Tillman has facial scars and a crippled hand.
• Rumor Has It (11/1989) by Tami Hoag - LS-304 - Katie Quaid has body scars.
• Wild Rain (3/1995) by Donna Kauffman - LS-732 - Jillian Bonner is flat-chested and plain.
• Infatuation (6/1984) by Charlotte Lamb - HP-700 - Judith Murray is plain.
• Miss Emmaline and The Archangel (3/1993) by Rachel Lee - SIM-482 - Gage Dalton has facial scars and suffers pain from a previously broken back.
• Heaven, Texas (1995) by Susan Elizabeth Phillips - Gracie Snow is flat-chested, badly dressed, and has bad hair.
• Night Magic (1987) by Karen Robards - Jack McClain is box-faced, squash-nosed, and large-chinned.
• Always a Lady (2/1993) by Sharon Sala - KIS-130 - Lily Brownfield has a scarred face.
• High Stakes (11/1989) by Dana Warren Smith (Lisa G. Brown) - SSE-563 - Ren Garrett is unattractive.
• Night of the Phantom (7/1991) by Anne Stuart - HAR-398 - Ethan Winslow has a port wine birthmark.
• Out of the Darkness (11/1989) by Binnie Syril - HT-276 - David Carter is facially scarred and has to use crutches.
• Shadow Prince (1994) by Terri Lynn Wilhelm - Jonah has facial burns.

Alternate Reality

• Miles Vorkosigan Series (1986-) by Lois McMaster Bujold - Miles Vorkosigan is a "four-foot-nine-inch, black-haired grey-eyed hunchback."
• Remembrance (1994) by Jude Deveraux - Hayden Lane is plain.
• Frankly My Dear (1996) by Sandra Hill - Selene, a present day supermodel, is not considered beautiful when she is transported back to 1840 New Orleans.
• Whispers in the Woods (1/1994) by Helen R. Myers - SS-23 - Dunndrogo is genetically malformed.

This list currently closed for submissions
(AAR uses BYRON for its romance reference needs)