Note: our Allie is off partying at the Romantic Times Convention. Uh. Oh. Look out LA, here comes trouble! Allie will drop in when she can but those of us who are home and not out having fun will stop by to respond to your comments.
Last night I finished reading a romance by one of my fave authors. Except this time, shock! I couldn't stand her heroine. I wanted to do all sorts of violent things to her. I thought the hero could have done soooo much better blindfolded, stranded in the desert. Augh, this woman whined about being alone then threw the hero out after he rescued two baby animals. Sorry, but if it had been one of my books...she'd have died while out trying to find toilet paper. Then the hero could find a real woman and have his HEA.
Does this happen to any of you? You get into the book then suddenly realize that the hero or heroine is just too stupid to live. You want to beat the character senseless or just help the character you do like find a nice dark place to bury the body :)
I'll admit I've started off books with men I wasn't too sure about and women I thought were a bit snotty. But then being the mean cruel lady I am, I torture them together and individually and watched as their real selves emerged. Finally I start to see things to admire and respect. But in last night's book there was no redemption. Even at the very end my palm itched to smack her. Just one really good hit would maybe knock some sense into her. Alas, not going to happen in this reality.
Then there's the perfect heroine. She's smart, thin, beautiful, rich and graceful. My stomach turns every time I read about these women. Gag! Seriously people, you want to invest yourselves in characters with no flaws? How boring is that? Granted my characters are a bit warped and not firmly on the side of sanity, but at least they're interesting. My heroine's are sometimes insecure, nowhere near a size six, with freaky hair, but always with amazing hearts. It's the growth of the person that makes the journey unique and interesting. If there's no growth or change why bother taking the journey in the first place?
I'm getting off my soap box now. Thanks for listening. Here's hoping you journey is always a little bit interesting.
Kudos,
Allie
12 comments:
What sometimes drives ME up a wall is when the two main characters refuse to talk to each other! It makes me want to lock them in a room together and not let them out until they tell each other WHY they're acting a certain way. (and yet, I keep reading to see what idiotic things they'll do until they finally DO talk to each other...so I guess it works...)
Allie, I'm with you. I reviewed a book and I hated the heroine. The hero was great but she was insipid! Thanks for the post.
Also, have fun and be safe.
I feel your pain. :)
Unfortunately, this happens to me with the majority of books I read. And it's not limited to m/f books either. This happens in m/m books too...
I understand creating a character that needs to grow, but if she/he needs to grow UP, that's not my cup of joe.
And Molly, you just gave me a great blog topic. TY!
The last I heard we are writing books for adults here. So I find it strange when heroes and heroines don't exhibit grown up behavior. Yeah, I suppose we can all act childishly at times but to keep up in the vein in a book is just strange.
I think sometimes authors forget who their target audience is. Women. It's okay for your hero to start off a bit questionable---after all, it's a woman's job to fix him up, save him, isn't it? LOL
But the heroine, while she can have quirks, insecurities, issues in general---she should never be TSTL.
I find as I get older I am very impatient with heroines who are much younger than I am. I'm impatient with the "problems" so many of them have that aren't problems but just part of life. Am I the only one?
There is one author (whom I shall not name) who has something like 100 books out who has so many heroines who need to die that I have given up reading any of the author's books ever again. Also, the author has the nastiest most cruel heroes I have ever encountered. So bring the two together and you get a truly painful experience.
Oh, I feel awful. I haven't read a heroine in a book in a while that I wished ill on.
But a film I watched recently, the wife was so annoying and whiny and childish. And...well...when she got it by a car in the end, all I could think of was thanking the driver. See? I told you it was awful. Sigh. She was THAT annoying.
Yep, I've read those stories. They make me want to toss the book across the room.
Have fun in LA!
Jen...I was just thinking of an author whom I stopped reading for the very same reasons. Asshole heroes and dumb heroines. I don't buy her anymore. Give me some intelligent heroines? Please?
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