I Still Have Nothing More to Add.

Nearly a week later, I am still stumped as to the Top Ten Heroines. And I've tried. Believe me. The two spare minutes I have had so far this week to contemplate matters great and small have been filled with brain-wracking with regard to those who are (in my opinion) the best heroines in romancedom.

But perhaps this was a hubristic undertaking on my part-- granted this is all under the disclaimer of "my opinion," but I'm starting to question whether I have read enough books to make this distinction. I have come up with a list of six names. And I have a feeling I'm going to have to stare at my book shelves for a while before I can come up with the other four. (I should also say at this moment that I have technically only come up with five romance novel heroines. Sydney Bristow remains number one on my list.)

So I think it's time to talk about what constitutes a good heroine. I touched briefly on this in my previous post on the subject, but now it's time to get down to the nitty gritty details.

1. She should be badass. This might be the reason I have so many girl-pirate/smuggler/sailors on my list. The heroine should be able to roll with the punches, steer a ship, con the conmen, and rabble-rouse generally. No shrieking and running away allowed.

2. She should be vulnerable to the hero. Yes, Kaderin the Cold Hearted, I am looking at you. All of the great ass-kickingest heroines (Syd, the Buffster, Kara Thrace, etc.) have a man who is equally (or nearly equally) as ass kicking. She doesn't need him, but she wants him, and his presence in the field of battle makes everything easier. He's not taking care of her, he's not fighting on her behalf, he's fighting alongside her. And ideally she's not letting her own ego get in the way.

3. She is someone I would like to be friends with. As someone with a very low personal threshold for the ridiculous, I have a very low threshold for heroine lunacy. Oh, I'll finish reading the ridiculous heroine book all right, but it's not going on The Keeper Shelf, and I probably won't remember her name a day after I've finished. OK, so I'll probably remember her name (damn you, prodigious memory), but you know what I mean.

Sad to say, it's hard to find a heroine as memorable as all that. Some of them stand out, but that's not necessarily because I liked them. Maybe she was just different, or her circumstances were unusual. In any case, I'm determined to put some thought into this list, so it's not going to be perfected before next week. Apologies for the delay.

On the plus side, I should have Instant Gratification finished by tonight. Review coming soon!! I know you're excited, but try to maintain your composure.