Manview observations #16: What makes a great romance hero?

Welcome to another Manview observation. It's been a very long time since we've had a Manview observation and I'm thrilled with Mr Manview giving us his opinion on what makes a great romance hero. And believe me ... he has OPINIONS!! :-)

I hope you enjoy this installment of Mr Manview's observations.

This is where a man’s view may differ greatly from the woman’s view. Mr. Manview is not into ‘broken’ alpha males, who are suffering PTSD or some other condition that the heroine feels needs correcting and then spends most of the story trying to accomplish that. I do not like reading about those types of heroes. Who needs a fallen angel restored by some heroine who shapes him in her image of all that is good. (Ah, sorry, I digress as that is what I hate about heroines, and I am supposed to write about what makes a great romance hero!) I believe a good hero is one who is confident without being cocky, sensitive to and supporting the heroine, and allowing the heroine to achieve her very best version of herself. Therefore, he is an alpha- (minus) male or a beta+ (plus) male, not an alpha, let alone broken alpha, male.

My view is that a great romance hero can have brawn, can be courageous, and has been previously a ‘bad boy’ who strives to be good for his heroine. But I think what a woman really wants is as much or more brain than brawn, has more heart than courage, and is generally a good guy to start, so she does not need to fix him. I want a guy who the heroine completes, not corrects. We all know the perfect hero has 6-pack abs and a foot-long sausage that resembles a cut of PVC piping, so I do not need to read about those characteristics. I want the book to explain my hero’s thinking on what makes him want to treat the heroine like a queen. Where is his heart at, where is his head at, what is in his soul?

It seems that most hero’s run into some strife or trouble where the heroine ‘has had it’ with the hero because she thinks he is lying or cheating or doing something illegal. My definition of what makes a good hero is a man who avoids conflicts, not needing to recover from them. That may be part of the romance formula, but if he is a real hero, strife in not in his life. Of course, challenges exists, and he is the type to conquer challenges. He is known as a fixer, not someone who needs fixing. He is as much admired as he is worshipped. He has made mistakes previously and learned from them, but they have been mistakes, not character flaws.

I could have written this opinion piece in one sentence and just said that what makes a great romance hero is that he is just like Mr. Manview, but not all of you know how special Mr. Manview is. Plus I only get paid for 500+ or more words, so I had to pad it!

A great romance hero in Mr. Manview’s opinion is one level below an alpha male, not broken or needing correction, smart, full of heart, always thinking about his heroine, avoiding strife and a strong character who supports his heroine and not only allows but supports her being all she can be. And of course, he needs that foot-long piece of PVC piping to ‘fulfill’ her completely! (Have I hit 500+ words yet?)

And coming next is bound to inflame this predominantly female audience as it will be what Mr. Manview thinks makes a great romance heroine.

What do you think? Is Mr Manview correct about when couples in romantic suspense stories have sex while bullets are whizzing by and they are running for their lives?

Read all the other Manview observations here.


Find Deanna around SOCIAL MEDIA:
                  It