Last week, Tessa Shapcott’s post about the Harlequin Presents Heroine started a great discussion! Here’s a quick look at some stand out comments from our readers and authors about what they love (or hate) about Presents heroines…
Many of our commenters, including authors Trish Morey and Julia James, agreed that the reader has to empathize or identify with the heroine. Readers often like a heroine because she reflects their own personalities or a trait that they admire. Of course, this means everyone will judge a heroine differently. For example, Reader A might love a sassy, strong-willed heroine who constantly matches wits with the hero, while Reader B sees her as too shrill and abrasive. No wonder we had such varying tastes and opinions on things like age gaps, office romances, and “quiet†heroines!
One type of heroine both readers and writers seem to enjoy is the “underdog heroine†– a woman who at first appears unlikely to get the hero’s attention but wins him in the end. Evanne wrote, “For me part of the Presents appeal is the underdog aspect of the story. The heroine is hopelessly outclassed by the hero. But she’s got spunk! She has honor, courage, and the moxy to not only take him on – but win!†Julia James also commented on how much she loves Ugly Duckling stories: “I’ve written three of those now, and loved writing every one of them – each time the ‘best bit’ is the ‘Transformation Scene’ where the hero sees her in her now-revealed beauty, and the UD magically ceases to be the frump/mouse that no man could fancy, and has the alpha-hero bowled over by her.â€
Another hot topic was the issue of heroines’ strength or ability to confront the hero. For some readers, Presents heroines seem overshadowed by the alpha hero. Presentsfan, for one, wrote, “The main weakness of the presents line is the image of the heroine, old fashioned, stereotypical, weak, has no identity, boring and just so typical and predicable.†Kate Hewitt added that a potential problem with Presents heroines “is that the book’s focus is really on the Alpha hero’s journey, and sometimes the heroine seems like she has nowhere to go or develop.â€
Other readers were quick to disagree. Plenty of Presents heroines challenge the alpha hero from the get-go, while some heroines learn to stand up to him over the course of the novel. For example, author Trish Morey wrote, “To be a Presents heroine a woman has to be worthy of the love of an alpha male, and he’s not going to go for some weak-willed ninny. She has to be a woman worth winning – an alpha female to go with your alpha male. So maybe she doesn’t appear to be alpha anything in the beginning, he’s going to bring out the best in her…†Kate Hewitt added, “I like heroines who discover something in themselves just as the hero makes his own emotional journey. A heroine who is able to give as good as she gets right from the beginning is a slight turnoff for me, because I prefer to have her learn that she can do that throughout the story.†Finally, authors Julia James and Kate Walker noted that just because a heroine is quiet doesn’t mean she’s weak; strength, resilience and defiance can take many forms in Presents novels, from a full-out argument, to a quiet but firm comment, to a scarlet wedding dress in Kate Walker’s The Spainiard’s Inconvenient Wife!
To end off, here are some of our readers’ favourite Presents heroines:
Kelda in Angel of Darkness by Lynne Graham
Mia in The Price of a Bride by Michelle Reid
Sierra in The Inconvenient Bride by Anne McAllister
The Calendar Sisters in The Calendar Brides mini-series by Carole Mortimer
Sara in Gold Ring of Betrayal by Michelle Reid
What kind of heroine do you identify with or like best in romance novels?
The heroines now are definitely stronger, more confident and with more personality. One that comes to mind is “Blackmailed By Diamonds, Bound by Marriage”. Here, the heroine has a master’s degree (and I think a doctorate as well) and she also gets to blackmail the hero into marrying her. A story I like to read again and again. Another is “Shackled by Diamonds” wherein the heroine, a model, is not affected nor bowled over by the wealth and looks of the hero. In fact, it seems it is the other way around! Definitely a very exciting read!
Olivia – thank you so much for saying you liked the heroine in Shackled by Diamonds! Anna’s actually my favourite heroine so far, probably because she represents the woman I’d LOVE to be able to be – really feisty and not taking any garbage from people. She gave Leo the hero SUCH a hard time – but he ends up risking everything for her. His reward is her crying all over him and apologising for the way she’s been treating him…!! And Leo, to his own astonishment, finds that Anna being contrite (which is what he’d been determined she should be all through the book!) is just SO boring…..
Anna goes on handing out a hard time to spoilt rich alpha males – in the sequel, For Marriage or Pleasure, she lays into Leo’s cousin, who’s been treating her gentle friend Vanessa so selfishly. It was such fun writing her into a little vignette scene in the sequel!
Julia
Julia,
Shackeled by Diamonds sounds absolutely fantastic — I have to go find a copy to read, along with For Marriage or Pleasure. Maybe I can convince Jenny to create an eBook bundle of the pair for my (and everyone elses) reading convenience!
Malle, you’ll be pleased to know that both books (along with “The Rich Man’s Mistress” by Cathy Williams) were part of the Models & Millionaires Bundle from Oct. 2006:
http://ebooks.eharlequin.com/4DBBB41C-D83F-4F6D-B3CC-BEE7363D171E/10/120/en/ContentDetails.htm?ID=2DB010FA-F980-43F4-820E-A66725100022
I *knew* I had seen Shackled by Diamonds in our list of eBooks! It’s a really stand-out title. It appears that the books’ order was switched in the bundle, though, so be sure to read Shackled by Diamonds first.
I like strong and confident heroines. Some times… i think the heroine in some books are just complete doormats! They give into the hero way too easily. I like a bit of fire and passion. Intelligent women are my favorite heroines. I like heroines who are tough and fierce but really loving on the inside… it takes a strong hero to melt them.
I also read For Love or Pleasure and was so delighted to find Anna still her feisty self, and Leo still loving her for it. Also loved the fact that Vanessa started out as a kind of naive-doormat type who eventually realized what she is worth and fought for it by not settling for anything less. In Shackled For Diamonds one of the parts I loved best was the end part wherein Leo told Anna that 1 hr in a week she can insult him as much as she wants, but for the rest of the time she should be really doting and affectionate…Very sweet, really hits the heart…You’re one of my favorite authors Ms. James, when I see your name on the list of books coming next month, I get so excited:) because I know I’m in for a passionate/roller-coaster ride!
Olivia
Yes, Julia, I also have For Marriage and Pleasure. The heroine was a pleasant surprise since she started out as very naive until she finally realized her worth and won’t accept anything less from her man.
Another book that has a somewhat different kind of heroine is Bedded for Revenge by Sharon Kendrick. The heroine started out as a virginal demure girl (being still 18) when she first met her hero. But in fact, the girl was actually an alpha-female in the making. After so many years, the alpha female met up with the alpha male. How will their love story play out? How will the alpha male reconcile the shy girl of his archaic ideals to that of the successful, confident woman that she had become? How will 2 attractive, successful, stubborn persons find love with each other? Who will give in? Should somebody give in? I truly recommend this!
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