New Rec League is on deck! This one is right up my alley and I can’t wait to see what the Bitchery suggests. Big thanks to Mara for sending us this request:
I just finished Tamara Morgan’s Stealing Mr. Right, and while I loved it, it left me a little frustrated. I loved the hero and heroine, but I didn’t love how the hero seemed to always be one step ahead. It reminded me of some of Kristin Ashley’s heroes, where the heroine says “no” and the alpha guy says “yes” and guess who wins that battle?!
I’m looking for recs where the heroine outsmarts or successfully resists the hero. but still with a HEA. I want some wily, intelligent heroines and heroes who don’t mind losing a few battles of will to them.
Sarah: A lot of Julie James’ books follow that pattern. The last one, The Thing About Love, is essentially about two points of view of the same story, and the hero has to adjust his way of thinking to the heroine’s POV, as she does the same.
The hero and heroine alphas facing off is one of my favorite tropes, too, so I’m looking forward to this one.
Carrie: I would suggest Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) which has two really strongwilled protaganists. As a supporting characters says, in most relationships there’s a “kisser and a kissee” and they are both “kissers.”
Amanda: Wicked Abyss by Kresley Cole ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) is fantastic for this. Hero and villain are both physically stronger than the heroine and the heroine manages to outsmart them both. It’s my favorite of the Immortals After Dark series.
Sarah: The valkyries in the early books in the IAD series are similar. The one with the paranormal Amazing Race?
Amanda: I think the “amazing race” one was No Rest for the Wicked ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au | Scribd )? Vampire hero and valkyrie heroine.
Sarah: Yes
A suggestion from me that shocks exactly no one: Laurenston’s Crows books also feature heroines who are Not To Be Fucked With – as do the heroines of the Dragon book under GA Aiken and her other shifter books.
Amanda: Lothaire by Kresley Cole ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Scribd ) is also really amazing and I wasn’t sure about that book at first. The hero is this big bad vampire and his mate turns out to be a backwoods human woman. But there’s this one scene where he tries to win her back and she sends him her middle finger in a box. I’ll never forget it.
A Gentleman in the Street by Alisha Rai ( A | BN | K | AB ) has an amazing heroine who is incredibly in touch with her sexuality. She’s also a billionaire and what I’d like to think of as a “boss bitch.”
Sarah: YES. She is entirely the boss.
What kickass heroines and outsmarted heroes would you recommend? Tell us in the comments!
Julie James books was the first thing I thought of. But Sarah beat me to it! Can’t wait to see what others recommend
Johanna Lindsey’s Once A Princess. The hero is sent to go fetch a long lost princess who is having none of his shit. There’s kidnapping. She escapes from his clutches so much that they have to find a way to incentivize her to voluntarily go with them (imagine that!).
The Russian’s Ultimatum by Michelle Smart is a Harlequin Presents in which the heroine is caught breaking into the hero’s office because she’s trying to prove her dad innocent of imbezzlement. He has secret shit in there that she’s seen so he demands she go with him to an isolated island untill an important business dealgoes through. She shouldn’t be in control here but she is. There’s a later scene where he’s butthurt and she lays out how all of his problems are his own fault, drops the mic, and walks the fuck out. It’s a truly beautiful thing.
Julie James and Kresley Cole immediately came to mind. Ilona Andrews’s Edge series has some great kickass heroines. I think in the 3rd book of that series, the heroine rescues the hero at the end. Oh, and Courtney Milan’s heroines are almost universally ass-kickers, though usually in a more mental than physical sense.
Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels. The hero—rich, titled and entitled—is being an alphole so the heroine—impoverished, exasperated bluestocking—shoots him.
The heroine of my Max Seventeen does the same to my hero when he’s being an asshole, too. She also saves his arse once or twice, and she’s clever, too.
A lot of Courtney Milan’s heroines gain the upper hand on their heroes, too. Suffragettes, hussah!
I could recommend all of Jennifer Crusie’s but the scene in Welcome to Temptation where Sophie absolutely floors Finn with her wit and pool skills stands out. “She just fucked me six ways to Sunday,” he tells his best friend, in a daze. “She beat you at pool, too,” he replies.
Miranda Davis has a couple of crackers: The Duke’s Tattoo and The Baron’s Betrothal.
You hit all my go tos. I do find pretty much anything by Shelly Laurenston will fill this request. Her Pride series is full of befuddled Alpha males trailing after a female with Things To Do.
Okay, last one. Kristen Ashley (as mentioned above) is usually the opposite of this but her fem-dom erotic romance “The Farthest Shore” flips that script. The heroine pretty much wrangles the hero in and tells him how it’s gonna be. There’s back and forth but she’s definitely in charge even when she has less intel then he does. (BTW, I do not reccomend the first book in this series, The Deep End, but I do recc this one.)
HelenKay Dimon likes to do this. The Fixer has a hero who is all I Am Super Seekrit Fixer Guy. I Am Mysterious and Powerful. And the heroine is all Whatever, dude. Get over yourself. You’re just not that mysterious a guy.
Also her novella Running Hot (the first in her Bad Boys Undercover series) opens with top notch undercover super secret agent hero waking up tied to a chair because the heroine got the drop on him.
All of mine are historicals:
Masquerade – Victoria Vale. Hero says no, heroine calls him a jackass and gives him a really good setdown.
Love and Other Scandals – Caroline Linden. Love this one because the heroine runs circles around the hero – he calls her and her aunt Furies and it’s the best!
Her Secondhand Groom – Rose Gordon.
A lot of Amanda Quick’s stuff should fit this I believe, including Rendezvous.
Luckiest Lady in London – Sherry Thomas.
The Mad Earl’s Bride – Loretta Chase
All Through the Night – Connie Brockway (The heroine pretty much outsmarts the hero for ages).
Also, second Baron’s Betrothal by Miranda Davis 🙂
This is an interesting thread. I read a lot of books with alpha heroines, but usually starring opposite betas. The only books I can think of is Courtney Milan’s The Governess Affair and maybe the Countess Conspiracy.
In Thea Harrison’s Oracle Moon, the hero is an all powerful Djinn and while he does rescue her at one point, she is the one who figures out a lot of stuff and defines their relationship.
For The Edge by Ilona Andrews in terms of outsmarting I’d say probably book 3 is the best, but book 2 isn’t bad either. I’d also say that in their Nevada Baylor series Nevada definitely stands on her own against a very alpha hero.
Anne Stuart has a lot of very alpha heroes and I’d say that in at least half of her books the heroine manages to do some maneuvering.
Not straight up romance but the Alanna books by Tamara Pierce have Alanna making her own decisions on romance and in fact one of her relationships ends because the dude won’t listen to her when she doesn’t want to marry him.
Finally, at least some of the Gena Showalter dark Lords books have some heroines who do a lot of pushback and take control. Not all of them, but especially the later books in the series.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
All Laurenston/Aiken’s book have kick-ass women who don’t wait for any man to fix stuff. And her shifter books under both names will definitely have you snorting milk outta your nose.
I haz a few suggestions.
Breathless by Beverly Jenkins — heroine in highly competent for the most part (the only thing that she seems to be abjectly terrible at is cooking, which is played for some humor), and the hero respects it. He encourages her in her ambitions, which she initially views with some suspicion.
Sweet Revenge by Nora Roberts — hero and heroine are both jewel thieves and are at the top of their game. During the post-heist confrontation at the end of the book, the hero looks at the asshole they’ve just robbed, which took place due to a vendetta on the part of the heroine, and basically said to the guy, “By the way, make no mistake. She didn’t need my help.”
Julie James and Shelly Laurenston, all the yesssss.
My own. Rebound,Unbound, and Bound by Rosemary Rey. She outsmarted 5 Alphas, but it’s only 1 Alpha she hopes to protect from the other 4.
Heroine shooting a dude reminded me – Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer
And agreeing with all things Courtney Milan – there’s always an easy option of using the hero to get out of a situation and the ladies never take it
Yes yes yes to Laurenston/Aiken.
Yes to Ilona Andrews.
Also: NALINI SINGH. Her Psy/Changeling and Guild Hunter series are all about strong guys who learn from their partners. Even when it takes time.
Kristen Ashley is evolving past the alpha-hole, I think. Not uniformly, but more of her men are listening to the women.
Oh! MONICA MCCARTY’S new series. I have been meaning to squee about the first Lost Platoon book—it was a slow-developing squee. It speaks to the current era’s questions about equality and feminism with both characters learning from each other.
“Wily, intelligent heroines and heroes who don’t mind losing a few battles of will to them” describes Elizabeth Peter’s Vicky Bliss series perfectly. Although they are best described as mysteries, the adversarial/romantic relationship that begins in “Street of the Five Moons” is really great. And a later book in the series includes my favorite fictional declaration of love of all time.
I rarely read Harlequin Presents because I try to avoid contemporary stories where the heroine is a virgin and so many are in that line, however I read The Russian’s Ultimatum by Michelle Smart based on a rec and agree with Tabs that it’s a good one.
I second Lord of Scoundrels. I’ll add A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare, first in the Spindle Cove series, to the historical pile. One of the local ladies marshals her forces to stop the hero when she finds out he has orders to start a militia. A battle of the sexes ensues. Hmm, may be time for a re-read.
@MegS – I’ll add my squee for Going Dark from The Lost Platoon. Annie had amazing strength. I am looking forward to the next in the series!
Try Penny Reid.
Ooh ooh, Elizabeth Hoyt’s Duke of Midnight!
I never miss a chance to squee over a Hoyt gem. She does most of her heroes in varying shades of alpha, but Maximus (the eponymous Duke) is off the charts, and he is brought to his knees by the heroine, Artemis, who kicks all kind of ass. He keeps trying to make decisions for her and at every turn she rebuffs him and makes her own instead–he adores her but his protectiveness limits her life and she Will Not Have That. 10/10.
Not just Devil’s Cub, Clare.
The Grand Sophy organises everyone’s life, not just the hero’s. Everyone gets a HEA, including the bitch.
In The Talisman Ring the older heroine involves herself in the mystery despite her hero’s attempts to keep her out of danger and she’s hilariously flippant along the way. (There’s two couples.)
April Lady features a heroine who’s a bit of a wet goose, but she’s the one who sorts things out at the end while the hero’s wringing his hands.
And two that don’t quite fit the bill – Venetia and These Old Shades. In both cases, the hero won’t marry the heroine because he’s not good enough for her, but in both cases she fights to keep him. I think TOS has my favourite proposal scene EVA.
Another great Elizabeth Hoyt is The Duke of Sin. First of all I love Valentine, one of my favorite heroes. But his whole schtick is being super manipulative and full of schemes and Bridget is solidly unimpressed and implacable and this is what intrigues him in the first place about her. She will not be managed and she calls him on his ish.
In my Ron’s Run, the heroine doesn’t take anything off the hero–and makes him face his demons and grow up in the process!
Isn’t there a Bridgertons along those lines??
For SFR – Linnea Sinclair – Games of Command – heroine is a former smuggler who consistently outwits the hero.
“Skies of Steel” by Zoë Archer. Evey time the hero is sure he has the “real story” from the heroine, he later realizes she still managed to slip a lie. Extra points for her being a sheltered academic and he’s a military deserter. (Yes, he does actually wear the mohawk on the cover.)
Also by Archer, “Devil’s Kiss”. Hero just made a pact with the devil, the heroine is magically trapped, and yet she turns him around and they win. TW for attempted rape and imprisionment.
Totally second “A Night to Surrender”.
Also Ilona Andrews’ “Burn for Me”–I haven’t read the whole trilogy yet, but in the first installment the heroine gets the better of the hero, who is Not Used to That, several times.
I debated and debated whether or not to include my recommendation because I don’t know that the heroine ever really “outsmarts” the hero. Surprises him sometimes, yes. Pisses him off at times, absolutely. But if we’re talking kick-ass woman who doesn’t have to wait for a man to rescue her, look no further than Eve Dallas from J.D. Robb’s “In Death” series.
You might try Ember by Bette Sharpe. It’s a rather unorthodox retelling of Cinderella. The hero (a Prince) has been blessed/cursed to be viewed as perfect by all the land. (Not as cool as one might think…) No one can deny him. Literally. The Heroine spends the whole of her young life finding ways to avoid him because she doesn’t want to give up her free will and fall under his charming spell/curse. She goes to great lengths (becoming a witch who could hang for her crimes) to protect herself. It’s a fascinating take on a familiar story with an amazing, complicated, badass heroine and a fully developed hero. There is steam, dry humor and great feminist themes.
I’m with the Heyer recs too – The Grand Sophy and The Devil’s Cub are both great for this. I would also add Faro’s Daughter, which is my favorite enemies to lovers trope. H assumes things about h, who – partly in calculation and partly in fury – decides to show him up.
Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook – I wouldn’t call the hero an alpa though – he’s more a lone wolf type adventurer and the heroine is the kickass captain of a pirate airship. It’s book 2 of the Iron Seas series and I’m not sure how standalone it is – the heroine tosses the hero off her ship for undermining her authority in book 1 and book 2 starts with him dealing with the fallout from that (literally – hehehe). It’s lovely.
Also, Sweetwater Seduction by Joan Johnston – this is an older romance but it’s not too old skool, iirc. It’s an American western. A prim school marm convinces all of the women to go on a sex strike a la Lysistrata in order to stop violence between local ranchers and farmers. So the men hire someone to seduce her and yeah, she thwarts him and he fall for her and it’s a lot of fun.
Oh Cleo, that sounds amazing!
Ravished by Amanda Quick – the heroine manages the hero completely on this one from start to finish, but I would still call him an alpha.
I would agree with the suggestion for the Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews – “Mad” Rogan is certainly an alpha, but Nevada knows how to put him in his place.
It’s in his Kiss features Hyacinth Bridgerton and Lady Danbury – Two very intelligent ladies.
I loved Calliope from Wicked Abyss. Josie from Sweet Ruin is good too, but I hated Rune so much that I don’t like the book in general.
Old JAK and Amanda Quick heroines are more plucky than badass, but usually get rigid heroes to compromise. I find the newer ones have tougher heroines and heroes who are more flexible.
Maybe Thea Harrison’s Dragon Bound?
I think there are too few female alphas who get to retain their alphaness in romance. You hear about them being badass more than you actually see it. I’m totally writing a billionaire alpha heroine someday, and she’ll actually spend time at work.
The Moon’s Shadow by Catherine Asaro. It’s sci-fi but Asaro’s books always have strong romances. It’s book 10 in the Skolian séries but can be read alone. The POV is from the new emperor, 18 y.o., in over his head, who décides to marry a very powerful woman. She runs rings around him. Moon’s Shadow is one of my favorite Skolian book.
Yasmeen from Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook is like this. She is a captain and a bad ass and doesn’t fuck around, and the hero, Archimedes, has no problems with any of that.