That black moment: Part 2

I've mentioned in the past that I tend to not like it when the hero is forced to grovel a great deal in order to atone for some supposed wrongdoing or when the obligatory black moment takes place and everything goes to crap for the hero and heroine. I always find reading books that lead up to those moments extremely unpleasant to read because I feel this anxiety and tension while reading that leaves me very uncomfortable. I read to escape and be entertained and I do not enjoy intentional discomfort in my reading. That is not an outcome that I look for.

Manview observations #17: What Mr Manview fancies in his heroines

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.

That black moment

You know that moment? The moment when everything goes wrong in the romance you're reading and the guy loses the woman he loves because of some idiotic thing he's done? Or alternatively, the woman loses the guy she loves because she's done something stupid? Yeah, THAT moment. That black moment. Well, I'm over it.

Photo on Visualhunt.com

Do you make them grovel?

I recently saw a post where a reader was complaining that she didn't think authors made the hero grovel enough when they had to get back into the heroines good graces after the dreaded black moment in a story. There was a lot of agreement echoed in the post which surprised me. Most of the women commenting wanted the hero to work a lot harder in order to be forgiven. They felt the heroines were too easy on the heroes.

Are you the heroine? #2

A little while ago I wrote a post asking the question "Are you the heroine?" and interviewed my friend Bambi about it. Her responses were wonderful and gave me a real insight into the people who like to BE the heroine.

I also said:

"I'm the complete opposite. I am NEVER the heroine. I don't put myself in her shoes and I don't want to be her or try to be her. My criteria when it comes to heroines tend to fall into very black and white categories: do I like her? or don't I like her? and why? That's it.

If I like or even love the heroine, I will enjoy the book more. If I don't like or even hate the heroine, I'm more inclined to rate the book lower. For me, liking or not liking a character adds a lot of the enjoyment to the reading experience for me."

For today's post I thought I'd let you into my brain a little and tell you a bit about the heroines who work for me and those who don't. These are excerpts from reviews I've written on the books I mention below.

My heroines need to be brave.

Charlotte from Rock Hard by Nalini Singh

When I started reading this book and I found out who Charlotte was and what her issues were, I thought, not another battered woman story. I just seemed to be getting sent a lot of those lately, but Charlotte was different. Charlotte was brave and even when she was weak, she worked at overcoming her fears with a strength and determination that I admired. She made me want to cheer for her, where others in the past haven't before. She did falter, and falter she did, many, many times, but Nalini Singh did it with such skill that I did not feel as though I was being bashed in the head with a heroine who had issues constantly. I was able to immerse myself into the story and the courtship between her and Gabriel.

My full review for Rock Hard.


My heroines need to stand up for themselves even when the heroes are uber alphaholes and very dominating.

Holly from Dirty Billionaire by Meghan March

Holly is great fun too. I was afraid she's be too much of a countrified hick, but she's not. She's rather naive and innocent in some respects, especially when faced with some of Creighton's debauchedness, but she's also sassy and extremely passionate about her career. I liked her a lot more than I thought I would. She's got great backbone and as domineering as Creighton is, I liked how she stood up for herself and what was important to her. She does something, which in my book would be unforgivable and a big no-no in other circumstances, but given how Creighton behaved I laughed and thought he probably deserved it. I was surprisingly way more okay with what she did than I thought I would be, especially considering Bambi asked me what I thought of it and I gave her an rather unequivocal "no way, not acceptable" response. Given the context with which what Holly did occurred, it was acceptable to me.

My full review for Dirty Billionaire.


My heroines need to find their backbone and fight for what (or who) they want.

Ella from Nightbloom by Juliette Cross

Ella was a heroine I had a hard time identifying with because she kept so much of herself hidden away and coming across as a rather timid mouse. She pretty much went along with the flow, didn't rock the boat and kept all the strength, passion and boldness she had locked away inside and hidden in her art (which she also kept hidden from everyone). It's also understandable considering her upbringing and what her mother has been telling her her entire life. I kept waiting for the turning point, for moments when Ella became bold. I liked there were certain things triggering her to stand up for herself, but the moment when she truly stands up for herself and grabs hold of what she wants, she does it in a glorious, spectacular fashion, and boy, did she have to work for it!! I don't think I have the guts to do what she did. Bravo!

My full review for Nightbloom.


And here are some heroines whom I have detested ... be warned ... I get a little ranty.

My heroines should not be mean and bitchy.

Ruth from Base by Cathleen Ross

Ruth, on the other hand, has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. She's mean, opinionated, out of touch with reality and ungrateful. She also has the typical god complex that so many successful surgeons and doctors have. I don't understand why Jack likes her as much as he does, but then again, his choices are limited and she is physically attractive. It's a pity her personality is such a pill. It had a huge impact on how much I enjoyed the story. For the most part, I do not mind an independent, strong female character, but she needs to have qualities that make her likable. With Ruth those qualities don't show until almost too late, after she's been given a big dose of the reality of the world she now inhabits. After that, she shows a bravery and compassion that is admirable though I find myself hesitating over trusting her to not trample all over Jack after her behaviour in the beginning. It's not till the very end I stop waiting for the other shoe to drop.

My full review for Base.


My heroines should not be blind, prejudicial vigilantes.

Nina from Amaury's Hellion by Tina Folsom

Let's start with Nina. I HATED her. She's out for revenge. She thinks her brother was killed by vampires so she's out to kill them to avenge him. It's stupid. She doesn't even investigate to see if her suspicions are right or wrong. She just starts tracking the vampires and killing them. Then she meets Amaury and he's not what she expects from a vampire and oh no, she needs to stay strong, she can't believe him, he's a vampire, all vampires are bad, blah, blah, blah. She also does something early on in the story which I think is pretty despicable. She tortures Amaury in order to get information out of him. While he's not badly hurt and it's only a small, short scene, I can see it coming and even when I did and it happened, it did not sit right with me. Let me say that kind of behavior, no matter her justification against the hero is unacceptable. It is never okay in my book for the heroine to do something like that to the hero. NEVER.

My full review for Amaury's Hellion.


My heroines should not be brats.

Pia from Stranded with the Cyborg by Cara Bristol

Pia on the other hand lives up to her codename: Pain in the ass. Seriously! She was annoying right from the get go and I have a special dislike for people like her, be they male or female. Instead of me ranting about her, I'll just let my status updates as I read speak for themselves.

15.0%     "Should have known from the blurb that Pia would be a brat. I hate brats. Irresponsible. Selfish. Bratty. They have nothing to recommend them."
30.0%     "So she's less of a brat now but I still haven't found anything to like about her."
52.0%     "Way to finally realise the stupid!!"
69.0%     "I don't hate her anymore."
72.0%     "Well, there goes the little bit of like I had built up."
74.0%     "Pfft! Stupid girl."
88.0%     "Yep, that's right. Naive and stupid. Behaving like a rebellious teenager. I'm quoting here'"
95.0%     "Sheesh! After all that, that was just a little too easy."

My full review for Stranded with the Cyborg.


So there you have it. The ins and outs of what works for me when it comes to my heroines.

What about you? Any particular character traits in heroines you like or don't like?


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Are you the heroine? #1

I'm supposed to be on bloggity break but I've got ideas! Ideas, I tell you!!

For this particular brainwave, I was thinking ... are you the heroine?

I've read quite a few reviews recently, and even ones from my bestie Bambi, and often the reviewer (and Bambi) will say, I could not connect with the heroine because I like to BE her when I'm reading the book.

I'm the complete opposite. I am NEVER the heroine. I don't put myself in her shoes and I don't want to be her or try to be her. My criteria when it comes to heroines tend to fall into very black and white categories: do I like her? or don't I like her? and why? That's it.

If I like or even love the heroine, I will enjoy the book more. If I don't like or even hate the heroine, I'm more inclined to rate the book lower. For me, liking or not liking a character adds a lot of the enjoyment to the reading experience for me.

So, if I don't want to BE the heroine, then who do I identify with? Perhaps the hero? Not that I want to BE the hero, but it's all about the hero for me. He needs to be someone I can fall in love with. That's what reading romance is all about for me, but I digress ... we are talking about heroines. (I'll save my discourse of what heroines I like or don't like for another post!).

I decided to ask Bambi a few questions about why she has to BE the heroine and here's what she had to say:

Are you the heroine in every book you read? Or do you try to be?

Bambi:  I do try to be the heroine in every book that I read. It's not always possible, but I try to put myself in that place.

Why?

Bambi: Putting myself in the role of the lead character makes me feel like I am part of the story. For me, reading is all about the escape, the adventure, and living vicariously through the characters.

When does being the heroine work for you?

Bambi:  It works for me when I am identifying with the heroine, when I think she is acting or reacting in a way similar to how I would act. If I am living vicariously through this character, then I am likely to be enjoying myself and the story.

Can you give me a few examples of books where being the heroine worked for you?

Bambi:  I really get into the role of heroine in any book that is written by Kristen Ashley. I love her heroines. They are real women (for the most part) with a little bit of something unique thrown in to make them stand out. KA is great at getting in my head with her writing style, and I just identify with all her girls. Whether they are rock chicks, fashionistas, moms or nerdy librarians - I always find a little bit of myself in every one.

Walk Through Fire

Mystery Man

Rock Chick

Does being able to be the heroine affect how you rate a book?

Bambi:  Yes. If I cannot put myself in the place of the main character, then I am not connecting with the story or characters like I want to. If I can't connect, then I will not enjoy the story as much.  Hence, the lower rating.

When does it not work for you?

Bambi:  It doesn't work for me when the heroine is super annoying or has no common sense. If a heroine has a lot of those TSTL moments, or she is super immature, or really just too far extreme in any way, then the connection starts to break down and I will get ranty.

Can you give me a few examples of books where being the heroine has not worked for you and why?

Bambi:  Most recently, I would say A Blood Seduction by Pamela Palmer. The heroine was constantly getting her ass kicked, and she kept trusting a man who constantly lied to her and betrayed her at every turn. And the lies and betrayal were so bad at the very first instance that it would have completely broken my trust with him forever.  The second one that comes to mind is Captive, Mine by Natasha Knight. This was a very very dark story where the hero constantly humiliated and hurt the heroine, and literally treated her like a dog - yet she fell in love with him when he had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Obviously this chick had something wrong in her head so I could not identify with her.

A Blood Seduction

Captive, Mine

Does the size or the physical description affect whether you are able to be the heroine or not?

Bambi:  Not always, but it can.  The best example that I can think of off the top of my head is an interracial romance that I read. The author really went way over the top in describing the ethnic characteristics of the heroine, the type of clothes that she wore, the friends and family. She was just in such a stereotypical box that I couldn't fit myself in it with her, so I couldn't get into the role. For similar reasons, I don't read much M/M romance because I can't identify enough with the characters to connect to the story.

Do you have a particular "type" of heroine you prefer? Personality, characteristics, physical description?

Bambi:  I like strong heroines that know when to be soft, if that makes sense. I also like heroines that are a little bit goofy, clumsy, snarky or odd.

Finally, can you tell me who some of your all time favorite heroines are?

Bambi: I would not say these are all time favorites... but they are the ones that come to mind off the top of my head.  Claire, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Tyra, Motorcyle Man by Kristen Ashley. Charlie, The Australian by Lesley Young. Kate, Bright Side by Kim Holden.

Outlander

Motorcycle Man

The Australian

Bright Side

So there you have it ... that's what a very avid reader of romance has to say about being a heroine.

Here's the question then ... Are you the heroine? Are you like me or Bambi when it comes to your heroines? Let me know. I'm very curious.


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Heroes and heroines in romance ... what do they look like?

I get asked a lot whether I imagine what the heroes and heroines look like in all the romance novels I read and if I ever cast anyone in their role while I read them so that I have an image of their faces, etc.

I guess the short answer is NO. I don't, certainly not consciously or intentionally each time I read a book and the hero or heroine is described to me.

There is, of course, a general idea of their body shape / type based on the author's description and then perhaps a vague imagining of their faces, but I don't go looking through images of celebrities to find one that fits my image of the hero or heroine I'm reading about.

With all that said, I have to admit that I do have a few favorites when I comes to the hero.

I'm a huge fan of David Gandy. I love the way he looks. I love his dark looks, the dark hair, the chiseled features and the close cropped beard or goatee that he has - depending on what he's sporting in a particular picture. He looks dark and broody to me in a lot of pictures. It also doesn't hurt that he has a great body and is sexy as all heck.

When I read Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison, David Gandy was the one I cast in the role of Dragos. This is one of the few times where I actually cast someone in the hero's role while I was reading. Then again, I have a rather mild obsession with Dragos as a character, you know with him being a dragon and all, that I've talked about in this post.The only thing with this imagining was the fact that Dragos is 6' 8" tall and I had a hard time visualizing that until one day, I was riding the lift up to my floor at work and this guy came into the lift after me. I looked at him and looked up, and up, and up, and up. He was TALL! I observed out loud that he was very tall (to my 5' 2") and asked him how tall he was, to which he responded 6' 8". He had the height but he was no Dragos. At least, now I knew how tall Dragos was!

David Gandy also plays the starring role in a lot of vampires for me since vampires do tend on the dark and broody side.

Even with David Gandy playing a starring role in a lot of the heroes that I read, I have to admit that it all depends on the description of the author because he won't fit in a lot of other heroes in the romance novels I read. When that happens, it just tends to be a vague shape that forms in my head and I don't tend to make an effort to go looking up pictures to find one that fit. The book and hero would have to make quite an impact for me to do that.

The exception is Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey series, not because I was obsessed with him but because my whole book group read the books and a couple of the girls were completely obsessed with him. There was, inevitably, discussion of what we thought he would look like and all the girls offered up pictures of him in our discussion.

This was my pick for Christian Grey:

And speaking of Christian Grey, don't you think that my image of him is not far off from who they pick for the movie? Which is probably no wonder why I never objected to the movie casting as so many of my friends did and most strenuously at that.

So let's move on to the women shall we? Or should I say heroines of the romance novels. For me, it's all about the men, so I often don't envision the heroine beyond the descriptions of the author in the book.

I'm one of those readers who is all about the heroes. I need to fall in love with the hero when I'm and even when he's not the best hero there is, I'm always, always on his side. To me, it's about the male character and how he is portrayed.

With the women, as long as I don't dislike them and can tolerate them, I'm fairly happy. If I find that I really like them or I can relate to them, it's a super bonus. Unlike a lot of my friends, I never put myself in the heroines shoes. I never need to "be" the heroine.

The only heroine that I have ever cast (and it wasn't even me doing the casting!) was Pia in Dragon Bound. With this, I was reading a thread about the book and the subject of casting came up. Many people suggested many celebrities but the one that stuck with me the most was someone suggesting that Cameron Diaz would make a great Pia and thinking about her character, I had to agree with that, especially a younger Cameron Diaz in one of her goofier roles, such as There's Something About Mary or even her look in the Charlie's Angels movies.

On a closing note, and probably very cliched and used to death, I leave you with the perfect werewolf - Joe Manganiello. It doesn't hurt that he was cast as one in the TV series True Blood either. :-)

Who have you cast in the starring role in the books that you've read? Do you cast the heroes and imagine yourself as the heroine? Or do you cast both?


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