Your Opinion Please: Romance Heroines of Awesomesauce

AdviceWe had a discussion of heroes – now I have to ask: who are your favorite romance heroines?

I have to say, romance heroines are fascinating creatures. As Lisa Kleypas said in an interview for the Bosoms, she’s often a creature of moderation – not too tall, not too loud, not too big, not too small. There’s a bit less wiggle room (no pun intended) with the heroine in some sub genres.

In other sub genres, like urban fantasy, she can be as Cranky Sue as she wants to be, ferocious and pissed off, uncomfortable and strong.

When I think about my favorite heroines, there is always an element of strength – and stubbornness. For example: I love Frances from Catherine Coulter’s “Midsummer Magic,” which occupies a soft and permanently fond place in my heart as the first romance I ever read. Frances is stubborn, daring, smart, and angry – and not afraid to scheme. The scheming part alone rocked my 15 year old world – you can have ambition, even if that ambition at present is to dress like a nearsighted dowdy zealot to avoid marriage to a guy who uses cream?! WHOA.

I also love Mercy Thompson and Anna Latham from Patricia Briggs’ series, because both are strong, and both are wounded. Their struggle to be strong while recovering from those wounds is one of my favorite things about those characters.

I like Daphne from Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series, specifically The Duke and I, because part of what stood in her way is that she was friends with so many of the gentlemen of the ton. She didn’t play games or flirt or simper – she was herself, and she had plenty of personality, and strength of her own. 

But of course, if I try to think of who I would pick if I could only pick one heroine, my mind goes blank and I forget I ever learned to read, much less which book and which heroine I’d pick. I don’t know if I can pick one – but I can ask you to do so!

Who’s your favorite heroine(s)? Why? Do you gravitate toward strength? Fearlessness? A smart mouth? Pursuit of perfection? Excellent swordfighting skills or dancing skills?

As usual, I’m looking to add your quotes to the book, so if you leave a comment, I could quote you in the manuscript. I’m free to use pseudonyms, so don’t worry about giving me your real name. (This is going to be the best works cited page ever.) But if you want to participate and do NOT want me to quote you, please do let me know. And as usual, thank you thank you thank you.

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Random Musings

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  1. Ell says:

    (trying to close earlier tag—how DOES it work?)

    Anywho. Just about an hour ago, after rereading The Good Parts Version of Briggs’s Were novels, it occurred to me that there are characters I totally do NOT want as a heroine, and started thinking about it. Then I find this….

    First, I love nesting novels—novels with people who are trying to find the right place to fit. They can be kickass, individualistic, all that, but there must be someone or somewhere where they can be comfortable inside their skins. Menolly, from McCaffrey’s Harper Hall series, goes from somewhere that’s totally wrong for her to totally right. Mercy figures out who she should be with, but more, she’s linking to people all over the place.

    What are some things I find uncomfortable? For one, the more people who are hopelessly in love with the heroine, the more annoying. Yes, Mercy has Stefan, and Ben doesn’t quite know what to do about actually LIKING a woman (ish!), but she knows who she is and who she wants, and Samuel really wanted her more for pack anyway. When Sookie’s “They like me! They really really like me!” count got too high, I bailed. (Not the only reason, but a significant one.)

    For another, there’s a kind of heroine (not usually romance) who’s got a lot of power or a driving need to do a job, and a lot of arrogance to go along with it. NOT comfortable.

    I didn’t read enough Anita Blake to know where she fits, but I sure wanted out of there fast enough.

    Still thinking about this….

  2. Ell says:

    Further… Books where I feel like I need a shower afterwards are definite negatives. I tried several other series of Charlaine Harris’s, and they *all* had the same effect—in one book, something I consider fairly vanilla—they find a nude picture of an older, heavyset, redfaced, rampant guy under someone’s mattress—came off feeling like the most disgusting thing in the universe. I mean, not appealing, but not sick either. The Laurell K. Hamilton’s (I also tried a Merry Gentry)—same deal.

    I can actually accept a fairly wide range of kink in my reading, as long as it doesn’t also have smarm.

  3. Tiblet says:

    1. Lillian—It Happened One Autumn (Kleypas)
    She is witty, has a sense of humor and manages to make you laugh at some of the ways she acts.

    2. Evie—Devil In Winter (Kleypas)
    Abused and has a stammer, she still manages to show the courage to get out of a bad situation by jumping out of the pan into the fire and making it work for her.

    3. Joanna—After Caroline (Hooper)
    She never gives up on her cause, regardless of the danger.

    4. Troy—Illegal Possession (Hooper)
    She is a female cat burglar with a conscience and a big heart. What more needs to be said?

    5. Minerva—Mastered By Love (Laurens)
    She is compassionate, yet sensible.

    6. Laura—The Changeover (Mahy)
    Willing to go to any length for her younger brother.

    7. Flame (Iris)—Night Game (Feehan)
    With all the trials and troubles she faces, she manages to stay true to herself and make Gator miserable until she’s ready to forgive him. She refuses to be walked over.

  4. Jennifer says:

    I’m going to put in a plug for a different type of heroine.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Jess from Lord of Scoundrels, Cordelia from Cordelia’s Honor, Min from Bet Me, but they all lean towards one very definite definition of strength.  They are smart-asses and respond to threats physically.  But, I also really like many of the quieter heroines who grew up believing THIS PERFECT THING would happen, find that it doesn’t, and have to get on with their lives—and do it while remaining true to their quieter selves. 

    For example:
    Lauren Edgeworth from A Summer to Remember by Mary Balogh
    Lady Anne Peckworth from Hazard by Jo Beverley
    Katie Kramer from Instant Attraction by Jill Shalvis

    None of these ladies are pushovers, it’s just that they’re not as brash as many of the heroines listed above.  I think it’s pretty impressive when an author can write a contemplative character without them being boring or a push over or weakening their personality.

    Also, there’s an ordinariness about them that appeals to me—much like most of Carla Kelly’s heroines.  Most of us are not going to shoot the man who makes a fool out of us (unlike Jess) or behead the kidnapper of our child (Cordelia) and sarcasm gets annoying after awhile no matter who’s being sarcastic.  However, most of us have to deal with a sudden broken heart or tragedy that forces us to think “What if I stepped out of my comfort zone, just a little.  What would happen then?”

    It’s the subtlety about those characters that appeals to me.  Don’t get me wrong.  I would LOVE to be Cordelia but in reality, I’m more of a Lauren Edgeworth.  Or, to stay within a series, I would love to be wicked tough Elli Quinn like but I’m more like Ekaterin Vorsoisson.

  5. Holly says:

    I like the heroines who are scrappy, savvy, strong, smart, has a sense of humor, vulnerable, stands their ground yet can compromise when necessary, no simpering and someone who can grow – not a know it all.

    Historical romances – I liked Allison Lanes heroines – they are smart, deal with their issues and figure out the best way to survive/live.  I enjoy Julia Quinn and Mary Jo Putney’s books.

    For Sci-Fi Romances – I love most (not all) Linnea Sinclair – especially Command Games – Tasha “Lady Sass” Sabastian; and Finders Keepers “Trilby Elliot”.

    I like Eve Dallas – but I am getting a little tired of her issues – I actually enjoy Peabody more – someone who has gone outside the expected for her religious upbringing, efficient, and with a sense of humor.

  6. LaurieW says:

    Hmm… I tend to like the quiet ones, the ones who live in their own quiet little towns, they aren’t beautiful or rocket scientists, they don’t have perfect figures, but they are standouts because of what they do with what they have. They are who they are, they are totally fine with that, and they don’t care if others like them or approve of them, they just quietly go about doing the right thing, taking care of those around them, and healing the hurts they find along the way. They make themselves over if that’s what it takes, but they will not be defeated. They are sort of invisible to the world, and yet they are, inside, exactly what the rest of the world admires, but were just to shallow to notice, and totally underestimated. That quiet strength thing – I like that. These include Harriet in Ravished by Amanda Quick, Mary in Mackenzie’s Mountain by Linda Howard, Grace in Too Much Temptation by Lori Foster, and Grace St. John of Son of the Morning by Linda Howard. Yes they are mostly old-school romances, but they stand out in my mind over 35 years of reading romance because of their bravery in taking what few “weapons” they had and using them to the best of their ability. And the fact that they won some totally hot men in the process is just gravy.

  7. Margaret says:

    I like heroines who are strong, resourceful, funny and loyal but not drama queens – though blood thirstiness is acceptable.  So for me that’s the likes of Frederica and Venetia (in Georgette Heyer’s eponymous books) and also, Leonie in These Old Shades.  I also have a soft spot for Nell Ravenhurst, in Louise Allen’s The Disgraceful Mr Ravenhurst (incidently one of my favourite heroes too).  I like heroines who have a bit of maturity and life experience – not a huge fan of the exceptionally young or innocent.  Leonie is the exception, because although she’s young she has a lot of life experience and a very strong character!  I must have a soft spot for a French heroine, because I like Annique Villiers in Joanna Bourne’s The Spymaster’s Lady too.  She has a lot in common with Leonie!

  8. Overquoted says:

    While I enjoy a heroine with a strong sense of humor, the one quality a heroine absolutely must have is inner strength. I don’t mean women who bear the brunt of a brutish hero’s insults; that’s not inner strength, it’s just letting someone walk all over you. I’m talking about heroines like Claire Fraser from Gabaldon’s Outlander series or Sara Donati’s Boots. Heroines with souls of tempered steel. Even Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels has it. It’s the quality that makes heroines capable of doing what is necessary without breaking (whether for survival, protecting others or dying to save the world).

    I want my heroines to be so secure in their personality, their minds and their souls that even when the worst happens, they don’t break. They can cry and even hold short pity parties, but in the end, they have to be able to stand back up and keep going. There’s nothing I hate more than romances in which the hero seems to die and it turns the heroine into a shell of herself until he reappears. Makes for lovely Shakespearean drama, but it’s bloody nauseating to read such weakness. Life is full of hardship, and if the heroine can’t survive without everything going perfectly, then she’s not worth my admiration.

    Feel free to quote me – Tara Black.

  9. Blue Angel says:

    Hey, what’s the site of the list of best heroes?

    My favorites are Min from Jennifer Crusie’s masterpiece, “Bet Me.”  She’s funny, a great friend, and very realistic about herself and others.  Cursed with a mother who values only physical appearance, Min is subjected to constant, controlling, demeaning comments about her weight. I love that at the end, she gets the great (and handsome!) guy and she doesn’t lose weight!

    Another, entirely different heroine is Eleanor from “Morning Glory” by Lavyrle Spencer.  Illegitimate, she was terribly abused by her grandparents and community, yet she summons great courage to cope with life, having to overcome her residual fears.  She is a WONDERFUL, gentle mother who gradually falls in love with her “marriage of convenience” husband.

    I also love Suzanne of Lisa Marie Rice’s “Midnight Man” because she acts ethically.  By the end of the book, she is willing to sacrifice her normal life to do the right thing.  I loved that as an interior decorator, she is incompetent in dealing with an assassin.  Yes, she’s a little too beautiful, but she’s unsure of herself too. 

    Prudence in Anne Gracie’s “The Perfect Rake” is a favorite of mine because she’s so quick, so imaginative, and so witty.  I suppose she’s a little too perfect, but I love her anyway.

  10. Kirsten says:

    Sophie Dempsey, from Welcome to Temptation, is probably my favorite heroine in contemporary romance. I admire Cordelia Naismith, but I think Ekaterin is a great romantic heroine as well.

    I have only read a couple of Julia Quinn’s books but I’ve LOVED the heroines in all of them, although I wanted to shake the characters in The Duke and I. The heroines in Mary Jo Putney’s Fallen Angels books are favorites, too. I go back and read those over and over. I love Alys Weston in The Rake, too.

    But the first romances I read were these slim Regencies I found at the library, by Marion Chesney. She wrote mostly in series of six books. I don’t own many of them but I always love the main characters. They usually start off as timid, flawed, or underrated, and blossom amazingly during the book. Usually there’s some framing situation that ties the books in the series together. I love Clarissa from Finessing Clarissa, whose intelligence and beauty emerge as soon as her parents disappear from the scene. And the elderly sisters bringing her out, Abby and Effie, have their own little romantic triangle and are great characters themselves.

  11. ev says:

    @Barbara W.- Sorry about that! 🙂

  12. Hm.  That would be a tie between Bristol Adams, from Salem’s Daughter by Maggie Osborne, and Amber St. Clare, from Forever Amber.  Both historical romances.  Fire, bubonic plague, attempted murder, miscarriage, Newgate Prison, conviction of witchcraft—nothing stops these ladies LOL!

  13. Jen H says:

    I gotta go with my all-time favorite, Miss Scarlett O’Hara from Gone With the Wind.  From the opening line about her not being traditionally beautiful, to her various plots and schemes, sheer survival instinct, and efforts to preserve her own heritage, to the very last hopeful line at the end, she is a heroine for all time.  She breaks rules, yearns after the wrong man for far too long, treats the right one like crap for far too long, and is a terrible mother, but she perseveres. This heroine has flaws and layers, and always reaches for a better future. I read GWTW for the first time when I was 8, and Scarlett became the benchmark heroine for me. Yes, she can be wrong, but I always understand where she’s coming from and root for her. Plus, at the end, there is the eye-opening combo of Melly’s death, Ashley’s total wuss-ness, and Rhett leaving that jar her out of her dearly-cherished attempts to hold onto the past way of life, leading to a hopeful future—- not necessarily the one depicted in the execrable Scarlett novel, but I still believe that Scarlett and Rhett eventually got their happily ever after.

  14. Corrinne says:

    Like many of you, I have a lot of love for the Bridgerton ladies, particularly Daphne and Penelope. 

    I agree with Christina that Mary Challoner is one of my favorites, as well.  I see a lot of Leonie on the board, but I always found her too larger than life for me (which has a certain element of irony for a drama queen like myself, believe me).  Mary was always very down to earth.  And she shoots Vidal when he’s being a jackass. Love.

    Who was the Amanda Quick heroine who had things falling apart around her?  Her ribbons would come untied, her lace flounces detach, etc.?  Things fall apart around me a lot and I always think of that.

    My top favorite is probably Isadora Peabody from The Charm School.  She was such a disaster at the beginning and found herself by rebelling against everything she knew….but only after a fight…with her own conventions.  As someone who has been her own worst enemy many times, I love to hold the idea that someone will love her even witnessing all her hot-messy-ness.

  15. orangehands says:

    Overall, I like smart, witty, flawed heroines. I like heroines who are strong in some kind of way, and take such pride in it. I like that they like themselves, and expect others to like them too. I like that they have a fuck you attitude and meet life head on, either with quiet dignity or in loud shouts.

    The first heroines to come to mind weren’t from romances, but thinking about it I would say:

    Daphne (and other Loretta Chase heroines): They’re smart. They know what they want, they know what they’re up against, and they’re figuring out ways to live with what they have instead of what they expected.

    Min (and other Jenny Crusie heroines): They’re wickedly funny, they know the importance of their friends (and their friends know the importance of them), and they’ll fight tooth and nail for happiness. Special shout out to Agnes: I completely get Agnes and her anger, because life keeps screwing her over, but she’s not standing for it and she’ll steam roll what’s in her way to get it. They’re real and loud and full of life; these are the people that my friends and I are turning into. 🙂

    JAK heroines: I tend to like her heroines for the same reason I like her heroes. They’re sure, smart, and strong, and they realize being with someone who shares those characteristics is a powerful thing.

    While I fluctuate between liking and disliking the In Death series (and disliking Roarke the majority of the time), I definitely do like Dallas. She gets huge fucking bonus points for being a survivor; the fact that in her life she has become so fiercely loyal and strong is amazing. 

    There’s more. Like Jan, I like Jax (so flawed and selfish) and Lee (sarcastic and practical), and so on. And like teshara I like broken heroines, I just don’t think I’ve as many good ones as good broken heroes.

  16. Mary G says:

    I adored Rosemary in Just One Taste by Louisa Edwards.
    She is a sweet combination of passion & logic, nerdy, funny, adorable, accidentally sexy. I either wanted to be her (Wes is awesome in bed) or be her friend. I liked her that much.

  17. DiscoDollyDeb says:

    If there is one word that sums up the heroines I most admire it would be “decency”—women with very strong senses of honor and courage and the determination to do the right thing, even when it will make things uncomfortable for them.  Generally speaking, I prefer heroines who are a little older (late-twenties/early-thirties) and a bit more experienced (in historicals, this is usually accomplished by making the heroine a widow).  I also like a heroine who knows herself well enough to acknowledge (and work to overcome) her character flaws, but will not allow herself to be cowed by small-mindedness.

    You may quote me.

  18. Theresa I says:

    My favorite heroines are Penelope from “Romancing Mr. Bridgerton” and Beth from “The Madness of Lord Ian McKenzie”. 

    I like heroines that aren’t perfect and in which I can see some of my own traits or characteristics.  I can definitely see myself in Penelope’s awkwardness and it makes me wonder how I would have done in that environment (hopefully able to find my niche and flourish like she did). 

    For me strong heroines are also the ones who find a hero who isn’t perfect either.  It’s easy to love a rich, Duke but being able to fall in love with someone with a disability (especially in historical romance novels) or anyone outside the norm (at the time) means more to me in terms of character.

  19. John says:

    I have to agree with Jen. 

    There’s something to say for reading your first ‘romance’.  Gone with the Wind, while certainly not like the romances of today (or, probably ever, considering it was published in the early 1900’s) in that the heroine is so incorrigible and flawed.  The first line, if I can remember correctly, was along the lines of ‘Scarlett O’Hara was not beautiful.”  Her attitude was crass and bold, and no matter how constricting her skirts, she always managed to do more than the men around her!  I can remember so many scenes from that novel in such a vivid light.  Partially because of the movie adaptation, but also because it was just so iconic for me as a reader of 12 years of age.

    But what about Scarlett?  I think it’s because that, no matter her description, she is beautiful.  I never pictured her as anything less, because she has that aura that pertains to inner beauty.  She is selfish yet practical and hysterical yet together.  Her flaws are so numerous, yet as a reader you fall in love with her and her many pitfalls to romance.  She reconstructs Tara into a presentable living space.  She fashions curtains in a fashionable dress just to spite the man she needs money from – while he’s in jail.  She gets married 3 times, all for convenience, yet you don’t hate her for it.  She resents the most moral person she knows, who is pretty much her best friend.  We can relate to this.  She throws away women’s conventions of the era – mourning for a lost husband, being quiet and “respectable”, managing and creating her own business empire with lumber mills and a successful general store. 

    Scarlet O’Hara is so flawed that she’s a memorable character, and she’s so astounding in her self assured nature that the reader wants to BE her, flaws included.

    Haha, I think I’m do for a reread of this book.  You can use ‘John of Dreaming in Books’ or whatever.  I’m not picky.  Doubt this long fanboy rant will be of major use, though.  😀

  20. Malin E says:

    Eve Dallas, for the many reasons mentioned above.
    Kate Daniels and Mercy Thompson, my two favourite paranormal fantasy heroines (closely followed by Elena Deveraux). They kick ass, but have a lot of interesting flaws as well.
    Claire Beauchamp Fraser from the Outlander series
    Kate from The Viscount Who Loved Me. Daphne and Penelope always get the most attention, I think Kate is a seriously underrated heroine.
    Daphne from Mr. Impossible. She’s just so very smart, and she sees qualities in Rupert that he successfully hides from everyone else
    Lydia from The Last Hellion. Like Chase’ other heroines she’s smart and capable, but she’s so wounded and vulnerable, and hides it so well, and she matches wits with Vere so beautifully.

  21. Lyssa says:

    Hum…glances through my books for the female protagonist that bring me back time after time.

    Mercy Thompson is a big “Yes” because beneath the grease and oil of her day job she wants to be feminine. She shows that being a woman does not rely on looking good all the time, but being herself.

    Another in that same vein, Kate Daniels from the “Magic ….” Series by Ilona Andrews. I think the scene that made me appreciate her was after she had saved the day (again) she is recouperating and gets out of bed to go to the bathroom. When another character comments on her attire she (after a mental face palm) states, “I’m secure enough in myself to wear panties with bows on them. Besides, they are comfortable and soft.” A great little insight, big bad UF heroine who again combines the feminine with strength.

    Rev. Clair Furgerson from Julia Spencer-Fleming moves into place beside these women…and I see the theme.

    Eve Dallas also fits that same theme though she fights it.

    I like Steel Magnolias, women who are strong and have not rejected their feminine aspect while cultivating that strength (internally as well as externally). They remind me of the women that I most want to emulate in my real life, and so I am drawn to them in my reading. Strength combined with compassion and an innate sense of self yet feminine with out making that word imply weakness.

  22. sugarless says:

    I might have mentioned this as part of another one of those questions, but my favorite heroines are always a little nuts. Not crazy-psycho-bitch nuts, but more in the sense of Agnes from Agnes and the Hitman and Willa from to Wed a Scandalous spy. An amusing internal monologue is always going to win me over. I love it when I’ve followed her train of thought and other characters are going “umm… what?”

    Actualy, Agnes has to be one of my favorite heroines for so many reasons – her slight insanity, her internal monologue, her sense of humor about herself and her anger so that her anger and even slight bitterness becomes an asset to her character, not a detraction (more like an extension of her wit), and most definitely her sense of the ridiculous.

    It’s incredibly important that the heroine be strong and intelligent. Her strength doesn’t always have to show in the traditional ways, but it has to be there. I’d like to think that goes without saying, but with some of the books out there… it bears repeating.

    I can go on forever about different things about different characters that I like, but I think the most important thing is just how it’s packaged and presented to us. I can forgive a lot of things that would normally drive me nuts if they’re presented to me as understandable or sympathetic – some of Meg Cabot’s YA heroines fall on both sides of that equation.

    I could never deal with a heroine who just sits there are lets life steamroll her. If she’s done that in the past, fine, but she’d better start trying to take control of her life and situation by the time the plot of the book gets underway. She doesn’t have to be able to control everything around her (it’s usually better if she can’t, actually. Otherwise where’s the plot?) but I’ll be damned if I’m going to put up with a heroine who sits there and bemoans her fate and doesn’t do anything about it. Same goes even for someone who sits there uncomplaining and plays martyr until help comes along.

    Now if she wants to bitch about it and do something, that’s fine. Actually that can lead to some quality bitter humor.

    Quote if I’m quotable

  23. Becca says:

    1. Brenna O’Toole—Tears of the Moon (Roberts)
    2. Jasmine DuMaurier—Creole Captive (Pellicane)
    3. Maria Addams—The Valentine’s Day Ball (Carroll)
    4. Adrienne de Simone—Beyond the HIghland Mists (Moning)
    5.Nell Channing—Dance Upon the Air (Roberts)
    6. Ripley Todd—Heaven and Earth (Roberts)
    7. Lisa—The Highlander’s Touch (Moning)
    8. Chloe Zanders—The Dark Highlander (Moning)
    9. Emma—Once Upon a Scandal (Smith)
    10. Aisling Grey—You Slay Me (MacAlister)

    No particular order, some are favorites simply because they were one of my first romance novels, others are ones I have read over and over again. Number two in particular just has so much (omg wtf bbq!) that I have to reread it once a year just to get my requisite dose of ridiculousness. Number one (Brenna) is a character who I absolutely fell in love with and wanted to be and know.

  24. JamesLynch says:

    Am I really the first to suggest Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice?  She;s intelligent.  She’s independent.  She’s more like her studious father than her emotional mother.  While all the other women in her family are frantic to get married, she turns down someone who’s not right for her.  She turns down Darcy when she thinks—correctly—that he ruined her friend’s chance at marriage and happiness.  And at the end of the book she admits her own, er, pride and prejudice along with Darcy before accepting his proposal.

  25. JayneWayne says:

    Min from Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie is my favorite heroine, although I definitely also love Mercy Thompson from Patricia Briggs books. 

    Min is my favorite heroine because she’s smart, sassy, fierce, loyal, and not afraid to stand up for people she loves.  She’s an intriguing mix of vulnerability and capability.

    Mercy is wounded but also driven to fight for what she feels is right. Not in a sanctimonious way, but in a human rubber meets the road, doing my best in the moment with what I’ve got kind of way.

    I think all of us hope we can do some good right where we’re planted. That with all our faults and weaknesses, we can reach deep down and overcome the everyday bullshit and our genuine woundedness and be inspired to love and also be inspired by love.

    That’s what I find appealing in a heroine.

  26. JBHunt says:

    It’s very tough to narrow it down, but here’s the shortlist…

    Mina from Meredith Duran’s Written on Your Skin
    (She never stops surprising you or her hero.)

    Tracy Shapiro from Suzanne Brockmann’s Troubleshooter series
    (I didn’t start out loving her, but she surprised the hell out of me in Dark of Night!)

    Annabelle from SEP’s Match Me If You Can
    (I’m a sucker for disheveled heroines.)

    Matilda Goodnight from Jenny Crusie’s Faking It
    (Disheveled, with glasses!)

    Kallista in Gail Dayton’s The Compass Rose
    (She’s powerful, takes care of everybody, has a hard time letting other people take care of her.)

    Francesca Bonnard from Loretta Chase’s Your Scandalous Ways
    (She’s one of the few courtesan heroines I’ve warmed up to.)

    Maggie (Doyle’s Maggie) from Joanna Bourne’s The Forbidden Rose
    (A down-to-earth spy!)

  27. Staplegun says:

    The kind of heroine I gravitate to is strong but in an understated way. She doesn’t go find the villain to slay him, but if he heads her way, she can deal with him or knows who to go to for back-up. I also like when they have a strong dedication to family whether biological or of her own making.
    The heroines that come to mind are Yelena from Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder, Sorcha from Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier, and Rose from On the Edge by Ilona Andrews.

  28. OdetteLovegood says:

    This is an interesting question for me, because when I find a hard time liking the heroine, it is a huge dealbreaker- unless the hero is super, super awesome.

    I very much like Mercy Thompson. She is smart, she’s brave, she’s resourceful, and she survives. A mechanic heroine who turns into a coyote and can get away with sassing dominant werewolves, including the local alpha? How can you NOT like her?

    Claire from Outlander was another great heroine for me. Claire is very competent; I believed wholeheartedly that she was an army nurse.

    Kitty Norville from Carrie Vaughn’s series is a female alpha werewolf, which is a nice fresh breath of air after reading so many novels where the alpha has to be male, or the alpha female is only alpha because her mate is alpha male. She’s compassionate, sensible, and determined to get to the bottom of things. And she can stand up to army-trained, slightly crazed werewolves.

    Zoe Lexham from Don’t Tempt Me by Loretta Chase is also refreshing. She can’t resist a dare, she was a tomboy and a hoyden, and she’s naive despite knowing all sorts of things a proper lady oughtn’t. She’s very sweet, she says the most outrageous things, she’s vivacious, and she glows when she’s happy.

    I also enjoy Mirabel Oldridge from Chase’s Miss Wonderful. She is a woman who can run an estate all on her own, who has more influence in her community than a lot of her male neighbors, and who makes herself a bigger nuisance to poor Alistair than anyone would ever imagine she could- and not just because she makes him want to spout poetry and/or redesign her clothes every time he sees her. She doesn’t melt or waver no matter how much she likes him, she still believes that a canal would be bad for her home and does everything in her power to stop him.

    A heroine doesn’t need to kick butt physically in order to kick butt as a character. In fact, I very vividly recall some heroines from my early forays into romance who supposedly were tomboys or strong heroines that annoyed the piss out of me, and I still think of as some of the weakest, most spineless chits I have ever read about.

    Examples of heroines that did NOT do it for me: Reina from Johanna Lindsey’s Defy Not the Heart, Brenna from Lindsey’s Fires of Winter (probably my least favorite heroine EVER), Lily Chalmers from Lily and the Major by Linda Lael Miller, and Dr. Jane Darlington from Nobody’s Baby But Mine by SEP. All of these heroines were presented as strong, competent, and in some cases brilliant or even genius, but failed to live up to it at every turn.

  29. Castiron says:

    My favorite heroines have generally been mentioned above—Daphne from Mr. Impossible, Mary Challoner, Elizabeth Bennet, Cordelia Vorkosigan.  I also love Anne Elliott from Persuasion, Fanny Price from Mansfield Park, and the Dashwood sisters.

    What’s important to me in a heroine: intelligence, courage, and basic human decency.  She doesn’t have to shoot someone to be courageous (though I have no objection if it’s a deserved shooting, e.g. Challoner or Trent); Fanny Price, given her circumstances and the society, shows more courage in refusing a marriage proposal than the average UF heroine shows in fighting a demon.

    I’m happy for a heroine to be better than me.  If I’m going to self-insert, I want to imagine myself stronger and cooler and more noble than I actually am.

  30. Stefanie says:

    I don’t have a particular type of heroine that I look for (I generally choose books on story and if the main characters’ names are nice [super shallow, I know >.<]), but I know what annoys me: super perfection, wimpiness, and stubbornness.  I always get frustrated when the heroines know a million languages and traveled all over the world at the age of 19, but don’t want to try to help themselves and then continue to hate the hero until the bitter end of the book.  I do end up loving strong heroines who can stand up for themselves any way they can, appropriate to the time period and personality of the heroine.  I like Jessica Trent, who shoots Dain when he ruins her, but I also like Sara St. James (from Garwood’s The Gift) because she’s a girly girl who would shoot someone only by accident when defending her husband from pirates.  Johanna McBain from Saving Grace managed to protect herself against her ex-husband without suddenly becoming proficient with arrows or knives, having perfect faith her husband would come to rescue her—a situation appropriate to the characters and the time period. 

    I also like a heroine who surprises me, like Samantha Kingsley from Heart of Thunder.  She was the first heroine I read who was amazingly proficient with guns and I thought it was really cool (she also is the only one who gets a pass on the stubbornness thing).  Laren from Lord of Raven’s Peak was a storyteller and a secret princess, which was something new.  Venetia surprised me because she was so collected and mature around Dameral, becoming his equal in every way. 

    Other heroines I like: Hyacinth Bridgerton, Charlotte Wilmot (His mistress by morning), Madelyne from Garwood’s Honour’s Splendor, Hannah McGarry from Pearl Cove, Dr. Jane Darlington (because she was the first romance heroine I read who was brilliant with a career of her own), Leonie, and Anya Seton’s Katherine (as a heroine who loved her hero without becoming pathetic).

  31. Alexys R. says:

    One of my favorite heroines whose book I can read over and over and never get tired of is Miss Calpurnia Hartwell. Yeah, she’s a spinster. She’s accepted it and moved on. Now, she feels like she should at least get the right to do all of things she wants. She’s not stupid and now she’s standing up for herself.  Her list was all the oppression she’d felt being a spinster still seen as someone who needed to be shielded like a child. She felt like she needed to find the Calpurnia she’d lost when she’d let people put her down. By accomplishing her list it gave her the confidence to go after the man she’d loved for years (Sure Ralston was a dick, but what hero isn’t? And does it really matter if they end up being awesome?). Rising up to bullies. Sticking it to the ton. All while catching the man? Calpurnia Hartwell= Grade A Badass.

  32. cate says:

    I love Catherine Wodeway from Liz Carlyle’s   No True Gentleman, but then she is perfectly matched with my all time favourite hero Max de Rohan.
    Also Melke, from Emily Gee’s The Thief With No Shadow.  She’s fabulous, – fragile, flawed, but with a spine of steel.
    And Abby Radford from Stella Riley’s A Splendid Defiance, is an absolute delight of a heroine. Her personal growth through that book will have you cheering her on, as she fights her way to her HEA

  33. Diane says:

    So many that everyone have named!  But here’s another (from my favorite guilty pleasure books) –

    Blair Mallory, To Die For and Drop Dead Gorgeous by Linda Howard

    You just don’t mess with a southern woman.

  34. Corrinne says:

    @ Staplegun – Yelena!  LOVE!  She is so badass!

  35. Christine Derrick, poor widow in Mary Balogh’s Slightly Dangerous.  I am a sucker for a heroine who is full of fun and punctures the pompousness of the hero, and no one needed to be loosened up more than Wulfric.  She’s not a virgin (hurray!) and I liked their first sexual encounter in that she grabbed the opportunity to live a little fully knowing what was happening, and then refused to be his mistress or his wife (until he groveled sufficiently).

    Daphne from Mr. Impossible has already been mentioned, but I also love how she is whip-smart and very can-do.  I love most of Loretta Chase’s heroines, though.

  36. jody says:

    You just don’t mess with a southern woman.

    Hahaha!  No you don’t!

    Count me among the Leonie fans.  Despite a terrible childhood, living in disguise for a while and in fear of her life for longer, she maintained her independent spirit and sense of humor.  I read These Old Shades 35 (cough cough) years ago, and I still use “pig-person” to describe those for whom the description is apt.  Hers is one of the great love stories of all time.

    As is Peter Wimsey’s and Harriet Vane’s. 

    Has no one mentioned Susan Silverman?  Smart, independent, and a clothes-horse, she and Spenser have something so special.  When Spenser and Hawk risk their lives to rescue her in A Catskill Eagle… Sigh.

  37. Sycorax says:

    If I have to name an ultimate favourite it is Clare Ferguson from Julia Spencer-Fleming’s series. No, they’re not technically of the romance genre, but contain one of my favourite romances. I love Clare’s strength, her vulnerability, her occasional kickarse moments and the way she sometimes totally screws up. She feels like a real person not a romance cliché. I’d like to have her as a friend, and occasionally I even want to be her, which is amusing, because I’m an atheist and she’s a priest. I have issues with Christianity, but Clare’s faith is such an important and natural part of her, and obviously has such a positive effect on herself and her community, that I have to love it as well.

    Other favourites are Lydia from Loretta Chase’s The Last Hellion, Lydia from Meredith Duran’s Bound by Your Touch, Sorcha from Juliet Mariller’s Daughter of the Forest and Evie from The Devil in Winter. These characters are all fairly different, ranging from articulate to stammering, or even mute, extrovert to introvert, radical to conservative. The main thing they have in common is strength in the face of adversity, and a kind of bone deep integrity. They also have loyalty, not just to the hero, but to family and friends. Sorcha (whose story is based on a certain fairytale) has to keep silent until she has sewn shirts out of starwort to free her brothers from a transformation. Lydia (BbYT) clings stubbornly to her love and loyalty to her father. Evie stands by her friends. Lydia (TLH) is a protector and champion of the weak.

    My least favourite heroine types are the Old Skool ingénue (too often paired with the Alphole hero) and the kickarse Mary Sue. Both become tedious, as they tend to remain cardboard cut-outs.

  38. Savannah says:

    I have to agree with RTam, Kresley Cole’s heroines are the best. They are all strong confident women in their own right.  My personal favorite is Sabine from Kiss of a Demon King.  Her character is interesting enough that she could have been a book on her own without a hero.

  39. Terry Odell says:

    Add me to the Eve Dallas roster. I think all the more so because we’ve been able to watch her grow over the series. She’s kick-ass at her job, but she’s not a kick-ass heroine. She’s learning that there is life outside her job, and it’s those scenes of vulnerability that make me eager for the next installment.

    In general, I think the best characters are those who have to deal with things they’re NOT trained for, and not particularly good at.

    Terry
    Terry’s Place
    Romance with a Twist—of Mystery

  40. sweetfa says:

    Yes to most of the above suggestions, but what I really like in a heroine is the suggestion that, having won her man (or vampire, or whoever), HER life will carry on. Nothing depresses/nauseates me more than those afterwords full of domesticity and baayyybeeees. On this, Ista and Eve win hands-down. Fine, enjoy the domesticity, plus or minus the kids, but keep doing the things that made me interested in you as a heroine in the first place. Please?

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