The heroines.
Rowena: I’m hard on the heroines in my favorite books. They have to be pretty amazing for me to love them so this category isn’t too hard for me since if I love a heroine, I remember.
My favorite heroines of 2012 are:
- Minerva Highwood from A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare. So smart and so funny. I loved getting to know her and I loved the woman she came to be in that week with Colin. So fierce was Minerva and I dug the lengths she went to follow her dreams.
- Rylann Pierce from About that Night by Julie James. Another one of those smart heroines who didn’t take shit from the hero. She knew what she wanted and though there were some struggles in getting to that happy ending, I thought Rylann was a great contemporary heroine and I want her to be my friend.
- Poppy Wyatt from I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella. This girl was fierce, uproariously funny and just an all around a good time. I loved her. I loved getting to know her and even though there were times when she drove me bat shit crazy, I still loved the hell out of her. In real life, we would totally be besties.
- Mary Wynn-Jones from She Tempts the Duke by Lorraine Heath. This heroine was loyal and I admired the strength of her love for Sebastian. To love him the way that she did, to overcome the things that she did and the lengths that she went through to ensure the safety of the boy she loved and his brothers, how can she not be memorable? She was a good heroine, through and through.
- Mallory Quinn from Lucky in Love by Jill Shalvis. If we were friends in real life, Mal would be the mother hen in our group. She loved so fiercely and so openly that it was hard to hate her. She was just overall, a great person and I liked her.
- Sophy Noirot from Scandal Wears Satin by Loretta Chase. Sophy is a fixer and I liked that about her. She did what she had to, to get the job done and the one thing that you can count on from her is that she will get the job done. Family always came first with Sophy, even when she’d have to sacrifice her own happiness and there was just a lot to respect about her and I really liked her character.
Holly: This is always the hardest category for me each year.
Grace Andreas from Oracle’s Moon by Thea Harrison: Technically I read this for the first time in 2011, but I re-read it several times in 2012 and one of the main reasons is Grace. She’s strong, resilient and so damn real I felt like I’d lived next door to her my whole life.
Anna from Patricia Briggs’ Alpha and Omega series: Anna was brutalized by the people she was supposed to trust the most, but she isn’t a victim. She starts out strong and smart, but she grows as the series goes on into someone I admire, respect and champion.
Evie Duggan from A Notorious Countess Confesses by Julie Anne Long: Evie is a courtesan and she’s unapologetic about it. She’s another strong, resilient heroine, but she’s also vulnerable and super street smart. I love a heroine with common sense.
Hannah Black from Captivated by Lauren Dane: Hannah spent a long time in captivation, which means she had a lot to overcome. I admired her determination to find herself and her inner strength.
Grace Brooks from Forever and a Day by Jill Shalvis: Grace is plucky and quirky. She has a deep inner strength but also a sweet vulnerability that made her easy to relate to. Plus, she was funny. I love funny heroines.
Grace Andreas from Oracle’s Moon by Thea Harrison: Technically I read this for the first time in 2011, but I re-read it several times in 2012 and one of the main reasons is Grace. She’s strong, resilient and so damn real I felt like I’d lived next door to her my whole life.
Anna from Patricia Briggs’ Alpha and Omega series: Anna was brutalized by the people she was supposed to trust the most, but she isn’t a victim. She starts out strong and smart, but she grows as the series goes on into someone I admire, respect and champion.
Evie Duggan from A Notorious Countess Confesses by Julie Anne Long: Evie is a courtesan and she’s unapologetic about it. She’s another strong, resilient heroine, but she’s also vulnerable and super street smart. I love a heroine with common sense.
Hannah Black from Captivated by Lauren Dane: Hannah spent a long time in captivation, which means she had a lot to overcome. I admired her determination to find herself and her inner strength.
Grace Brooks from Forever and a Day by Jill Shalvis: Grace is plucky and quirky. She has a deep inner strength but also a sweet vulnerability that made her easy to relate to. Plus, she was funny. I love funny heroines.
Honorable mentions go to Lady Penelope Marbury from A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean and Annika from Riveted by Meljean Brook. Both were amazingly well-written. I would have added them to my Best Of if I had more room.
Here are the heroines that made it to the top of our guest reviewers favorites list:
- Rachel Flores from Under Fire by Catherine Mann (Judith)
- Yasmeen from Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook (Tracy)
- Abigail from The Witness by Nora Roberts (Ames) She said that Abigail is hands down the best heroine EVER.
- Minerva Highwood from A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare (Lori)
- Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins (Lori)
I don’t know Rachel, Yasmeen or Abigail but I heartily agree with Lori’s choices. Both of your heroines were fabulous! Thanks so much for sharing your favorites with us ladies!
Who were your favorite heroines of 2012?
Y’all named some wonderful heroines. One of my favorites of the year wasn’t mentioned, so I’ll put her name up–Millicent Graves Fitzhugh from Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas.
I’ve only read two books of the list – Forever and a Day and She Temps the Duke – lol
I need to check out the others, I wonder if I’ll like the Kinsella one.
I usually get really annoyed by her Becky books.
@LSUReader: I haven’t ever read anything by Sherry Thomas, I’ll have to fix that.
@Alex: I got really tired of her Becky books too. I want to punch Becky in her throat too many times. =) But Poppy wasn’t bad like Becky, not at all.