M

I am Lover of romance, who indulges in the romantic adventures of literature

My name is Renee, and I am the host of this site. I am a 34 year old woman, on the prowl for her mate, searching out the best of books, exploring the wilds of the imagination and delving into the heart of a beautiful love story.

 

Tea and Biscuits Book Discussion: Our Lovely Heroines and Personal Favorites

by | Sep 7, 2015 | Tea and Biscuits Discussions | 9 comments

 

 

Welcome to another week for our Tea And Biscuits!! So pick up your favorite spot of tea—Mine is chamomile and chow down on some yummy biscuits while we talk about….DRUMROLL…..HEROINES! I am sure you are all as excited as I am.

 

I love my heroines and when an author makes a point to focus on the heroine just as much as the hero of the story, then boy it’s a slam dunk right? So what makes a great heroine? What characteristics has us connect with that heroine? Every reader has their own expectations. Now I love to read a variety of genres, so my type of heroine can differ from kick ass….to the silent strong type, the bluestocking, or even the shy and quirky. But there are certain kinds of heroines I have issues with. One of my biggest pet peeve is the heroines that tend to complain ALL of the time, it just drives me crazy, probably because that drives me crazy in my real life too. But I also have issues with the mean and cruel ones, that are super selfish and just think about themselves. I do love those spirited heroines, who have a fighting side but also can be kind and loving too. I love seeing a balance in a character. They can’t all be bad ass and win me over, I like to see some feminine qualities to them as well. My favorite kind of quality is the inner strong ones, those characters that are down to earth and you connect with easily and could be your best friend. Where no matter what challenges they face, they come out on top as stronger and more resilient and still kind and compassionate, and don’t become bitter. And last I want to talk about those smart and sassy ones. I see this type the most often and these are the heroines I fall for the most and really connect with. No matter the genre they are in…although historical is my favorite to see them in. Because of the time periods and the restrictions put on women at that time, to see a heroine that is smart, stands on her own beliefs and pretty much has the whole world fighting against her, but somehow wins in the end!! Love that.

 

Personal Favorites 

WarprizeLara of Xy-This is a heroine that I have loved and was so endeared to from the beginning to the end of the series. We see her strength and how much her character grows from book one to book four! I will tell ya if you love an outstanding romance with both GREAT hero and heroine, this book is for you. Lara is a princess, but her nation is at war, and she is bartered as what she believes a slave to the Firelander Warlord. She is a healer and quite talented. She has a compassion that I admired. One of my favorite moments is when she goes to the prisoner tent to tend to the enemy soldiers there. She is terrified, but she does the right thing, and even tries to get their favorite drink (even though she thinks its disgusting) just so they can have something that is familiar to them. I loved how she saw every being precious and had worth. We see her do her duty and she finds the real truth about who she is in the eyes of the firelander which is the exact opposite of a slave. To them she is their savior and see her character grow and become stronger and we see how dedicated she is to her mate.

This Is All I AskGillian of Warewick-Oh sweet lovely Gillian. She was one of the first heroines I ever read, I read this book for the first time when I was fifteen, right when I was getting started on romance and I loved her character so much. Gillian is a character that has been beaten and abused most of her life by her father. When she gets married to Christopher–one of the most feared, she is terrified. But we see what strength she has from her core. She is stronger than she realizes and we see her go from being terrified to fighting for what she believes in. I love her loving nature, and the way she endears everyone. She probably doesn’t have a mean bone in her body, and she emulates it in such a wonderful way.

 

 

Outlaw HeartsMiranda Hayes-I just adore Miranda, and I admired her from the beginning. She is no fainting flower. I love how spirited she is, and how accepting she is of our hero Jake. He isn’t exactly the “choir boy” type, but she loves and accepts him for who he is, she sees the good in him from the beginning, and fights for him and never gives up. I admire that spirit and the lengths that she is willing to go through so that they can have a future together and live in peace. She is an enduring character that becomes stronger and I couldn’t get enough.

 

 

Tempt Me At Twilight 1

Poppy Hathaway–This might be my favorite heroine of the series, I just adored her. I love all the members of this family, but Poppy was
the most down to earth character. She is the heart of the family, strong and smart but having grown up in a nonconventional family, she wants normal and calm and a peaceful home. She doesn’t need craziness and chaos. She just wanted love and a family. She stands on her own with Harry, and I really liked her fiery temper and how she stands on what she wants and deserves. But she has a king and warm-hearted nature and no matter what position they carry….lord or servant, she respects them and treats them the same way.

 

The Prince and ILady Murian- Oh Murian was a fantastic heroine and one of the best Hawkins has ever written. But boy did I love her spirit, her strength and her love for those she was protecting. She never gives up on finding a way to get back her home and not having to steal sweets for the little children that are under her protection. I love how protective she is of the people she is protecting. She is intelligent, strong, and quite lively. She is gracious and kind, and I love seeing the various facets to her character come alive.

 

 

Skyler Daratrazanoff–oh sweet young Skyler. This is a character we have seen since she was young through the series. What I loved mostDark Wolf about Skyler was her inner strength. She is a woman that has suffered the worst of the worst. But then she was rescued and adopted, but she still suffers the pain and the horrible memories. But when her lifemate is kidnaped, being tortured she goes after him. All the other Carpathians won’t tell her anything. Which makes her pissed—I mean boy watch out for Skyler because she can be kick ass when she needs to be. Her friends go with her and they are like the three odd musketeers of the Carpathian’s. Even when she gets back in contact with her lifemate again and feels the pain he is going through…she is even more determined to risk everything to see him safe. I love Skyler because from the beginning you see all the horrible things she has gone through, but it doesn’t break her. It only makes her stronger than ever. She doesn’t want to be weak.

 

Devil In WinterEvangeline Jenner-what a character Evie is and I loved her. Out of all the wallflowers, she was one of my favorites. She is shy and tender hearted but has a quiet strength. But boy when she loves she loves fiercely. What endears me most about this heroine was how she stands by Sebastian, and she sees the good in him even when he doesn’t even see it.

 

 

 

 

Capture The Rainbow

Kendra Michaels–Kendra is a Stunt double, and boy she is dang good and quite talented. She is one tough cookie, the director (our hero)
really puts her through some tough moments, but she comes out on top. She is a fighter and has what it takes to get things done. I really admired her because of her devotion to her brother, she makes mistakes along the way, but she also wins you over too.

 

Bound By FlamesLeila- I just love her character and she just is such a solid match for Vlad. She isn’t kick ass like Cat is,but I like her more than Cat. I love Cat, but Veila has such a inner strength and is formidable in her own way. She admits when she is in error, she loves deeply and stands on her own. She is a fighter and never gives up, and boy in Bound By Flames we really see how strong she is. She is creative and cunning, and knows the ins and outs of what needs to be done.

 

Questions For The Reader?

What kind of characteristics in a heroine do you love the most?

Who are some of your personal favorites?

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9 Comments

  1. Kristin @ My ParaHangover

    OH we are so picky about our heroines, aren’t we!! One of my favorites is the bookish one that has an attitude but the guy sees her as hot and she’s like, “what?”. I can’t think of the last book I read like that but there was one 🙂 One of my all time favorite heroines is Bride from Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Night Play. LOVE, love love that book to pieces!!!!!!

    Of course I hate whiny girls – UGH! Who writes those??? I also hate those that keep make the same stupid mistakes over and over and over and over and over…. They need rocks dropped on their heads! 😀

    Another great discussion, girl!

    Reply
    • Lover Of Romance

      oh yes on the multiple mistakes…so annoying right? Its like will you ever learn? I love Sherrilyn Kenyon, but I don’t think I have had a chance to read Night Play yet!!! I definitely should soon though. My library has most of her books, so I might just grab that one up especially if the heroine is awesome.

      Reply
  2. Sophia Rose

    I am very hard on heroines and part of it is b/c many times they exhibit traits that drive me nuts in real life or as you said, sometimes the author doesn’t spend as much time teasing out their character development. But when the author gets it right, I do indeed love them. I actually do like a variety of heroine types from the lethal badass types right to the meek yet full of inner strength types.

    My favorites are Dory Basarab who is one of the tough gals of Urban Fantasy written in her own series by Karen Chance, I like Hero Jarvis St. Cyr in the Sebastian St. Cyr series by CS Harris for her high intelligence, touch of ruthlessness, and spunk, I like Frederica and Venetia who are two of Georgette Heyer’s delightful, smart, and quietly strong heroines, I enjoy a couple medieval ladies- Johanna Fitzhenry from Isolde Martyn’s The Knight and the Rose, gentle Sally Paul from Carla Kelly’s Admiral’s Penniless Bride. Oh and so many more.

    Reply
    • Lover Of Romance

      i think most people are hard on heroines, probably because we try to relate with them more than heroes and if they aren’t written well than it can really be hard reading the book right? And I agree variety of types of heroines just make it more interesting.

      Reply
  3. Quinn's Book Nook

    I’ve only read two of these books, but I do love Evie and Poppy. Both such wonderful Lisa Kleypas heroines. I also love Penelope Bridgeton, and Judith from The Secret. I just read Taking the Heat by Veronica Dahl and loved the heroine there. And I also just read How the Marquess Was Won and Phoebe was awesome!

    Reply
    • Lover Of Romance

      oh Judith and Penelope are fun heroines too!!! I do want to read Taking the Heat quite a bit. And I am so glad that you liked How The Marquess Was Won….Long is such a talented author. Love her books.

      Reply
  4. Bea @ Bea's Book Nook

    My two main requirementa for a heroine are that she’s not too stupid to live and she has or develops a backbone. Next, she can’t be whiny; oh, she can have a moment here and there but if that’s her normal behavior, nope.

    Other than that, I like them in all flavors and sizes. 🙂

    Reply
  5. Camille

    Oh, I love Evie and Poppy! I generally like my heroine to have an innate strength of character. She doesn’t have to be a kick-ass literally. I wouldn’t want a pushover or too damsel-in-distress type of heroine. I love Ashaya from Nalini Singh’s Hostage to Pleasure. (Basically, I love all of Nalini’s heroines!) I also love Annabelle from Match Me If You Can. And I also love Penelope from Romancing Mister Bridgerton.

    Reply
  6. Jennifer Bielman

    I know Skyler. She is great, I agree. So much growth.

    Reply

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