Heroine Addiction
While heroes make romance novels delicious to read, heroines make or break books for me. Part of that is the desire to see strong female characters. The other part is… How can I respect a hero who falls for a TSTL heroine? If he’s a hot badass, then his girlfriend should kick ass too. Here are a few traits I associate with strong female leads and the series that match up to the ideal.
1. Smart – Sirantha Jax (Sirantha Jax by Ann Aguirre) Jax is rough around the edges, but you would expect that from a woman who puts her sanity at risk every time she employs her gift—the ability to jump ships through grimspace. She’s also whip-smart and a smart ass.
2. Brave – Elena Michaels (Women of the Otherworld by Kelly Armstrong) Elena was an emotionally scarred human when a werewolf decided she was his mate—whether she wanted to be or not. He turned her, making her the only living female werewolf and a prize for any wolf stupid enough to think her mate, Clay, would ever give her up without a fight. It took a lot of bravery for her to survive not only the change, but her new life among otherworldly creatures she had no idea existed.
3. Clever – Dante Valentine – (Dante Valentine by Lilith Saintcrow) This series fascinated me. Dante is a necromancer for hire and finds herself in league with the devil. The way she communes with the dead was beautifully written and interesting since it had Egyptian roots, which I haven’t seen all that often. Anyone who makes a deal with the devil must be clever in order to survive the bargain.
4. Dangerous – Jacinda Valchek (The Bloodhound Files by DD Barant) Jace is a profiler for the FBI who gets tossed into a parallel universe where vamps, were, and interestingly enough, golems, live alongside humans. I have a weakness for UF police procedurals, and this is a good one. Jace is one dangerous lady with an affinity for firearms, and I don’t blame her. Being ripped from the fabric of your world would give anyone a hair-trigger.
5. Resourceful – (Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs) Mercy is a coyote shifter, a walker, who knows she isn’t a heavyweight like her husband the werewolf or her friend the vampire or any number of the Fae and demons populating her world. She’s a hard-working, no-nonsense VW mechanic with the sense to call in the big guns when needed. See, she has a nasty habit of sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. Lucky for her, she’s wily enough to bargain herself out of almost any situation.
Share a favorite heroine or attribute with me and you’ll be entered to win your choice of one title from my backlist in any digital format.
A Time For Dying
by Hailey Edwards
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Heat Level: Mainstream Heat
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Publishing Date: 7-31-2013
Series: Araneae Nation, Book 3
Format: digital
Words: 75 k
They just might survive…if they don’t kill each other first.
Araneae Nation, Book 3
Once the future Segestriidae maven, Kaidi lived a privileged life. Now she spends her nights haunting cities ravaged by the plague. Spade in hand, she stalks rows of freshly dug graves for corpses…and then she takes their heads.
Her new life is caked in blood and spattered with gore, but it’s hers. At least until—to her fury—she’s caught napping.
A plague survivor by the skin of his teeth, Murdoch risks his neck to solve the mysteries left in its wake. Bodies have gone missing. Guards have left their posts and never returned home.
When he rouses a female dozing among the dead, he’s unprepared for the violence of her response. Or his. Beneath the grime, she’s lovely. Too bad the blood under her fingernails belongs to his clansmen.
He has no choice but to follow this alluring creature deeper into her world of winged beasts and flesh-eating monsters. She holds the knowledge he craves, but the price is high—and they may both pay for it with their lives.
Warning: This book contains one heroine in desperate need of a bath and one hero willing to wash away her sins. Expect threats, swears and general cursing. Love is a slippery slope, and these two are sliding.
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**BP Note: Check out our late post today to see what E thought.**
Meet Author Hailey Edwards:
Born in the Deep South, Hailey is a lifelong resident of Alabama. Her husband works for the local sheriff’s department and her daughter is counting down the days until she’s old enough to audition for American Idol. Her doxie, Black Ilex, helps Hailey write by snoozing in his recliner in her office.
Her desire to explore without leaving the comforts of home fueled her love of reading and writing. Whenever the itch for adventure strikes, Hailey can be found with her nose glued to her Kindle’s screen or squinting at her monitor as she writes her next happily-ever-after.
I love Kate Daniels and Mercy Thompson – they’re both tough but not Mary Sues.
Gah! I love Mercy, but found out the next book in that series won’t release until March 2014. I could cry.
I’m a huge fan of all the leading ladies you’ve named but also Kate Daniels. A woman who despite having a father with blood on his hands has managed to prosper and be stronger. I love books featuring a leading heroine because they truly do make a story.
Thanks for the fun post! I’m also a big fan of Kate Daniels and Mercy Thompson! The only one that I’d have to add would be Gin Blanco from Jennifer Estep’s Elemental Assasin series. They are all strong but down to earth 🙂 Congrats on the new release!
CHARLOTTE CAISSIE is my favorite heroine in the Moonlight series by Nancy Gideon. She is a cop that got catch up in a paranormal world where werewolves exist. Not only does she have to protect and serve, she also have to keep the werewolves existence a secret since her lover is a werewolf.
The only strong female I recognized was Mercy, who I love not only for her bravery and kind heart but for her unwavering humor even in the darkest times and from what I’ve read so far I think that I’ll love Kaidi.
The heroine can make or break a book for me too. The above characteristics are important and I would add independent to the list.
I love Honoria from Bec McMaster’s Kiss of Steel. She’s intelligent & trying her best to survive & protect her younger brother & sister.
I’m kind of wondering about the significance of the shovel on the cover.
I would choose courage as one of the favorite traits for an heroine.