Misc Monday: Top Eight Most Annoying Traits in a Hero

Romance month has ended, but I would be remiss if I didn't even out the gender bias created by the last Misc. Monday. So, without further ado, the most annoying traits among book heroes.

#8 He's Afraid of Love

One of the most tired and boring tropes in romance is that moment when the hero realizes he has feelings--like, real emotion-y things for the heroine--and he responds to it with pants pissing terror. He copes by being a jackass or finding an excuse for a third-act breakup. Sometimes his feelings are excusable or justified, but mostly they're just annoying. Falling in love is scary, but it's also exhilarating and joyful. Most people are happy to be in love, at least initially. Most people want to make a connection like that with another person. The number of romance heroes who shun their feelings so readily is irritating and disturbing. 

 

#7 He's Slept With Approximately All of the Women

It's disturbing to me that romance novels have some extremely man-whorish heroes, but rarely or never slutty women. Oh, there are virgin heroes and prostitute heroines, but for the most part the men have all of the experience and the women have all of the "virtue". What's even more disturbing is when his dog-like habits are glorified in the text. Yes, sexual experience is a plus, but too much is just gross, in my humble opinion. In reality, men that have slept around that much are far more likely to have a couple kids and an STD or two.Condoms have failure rates, people. 

 

#6: He's The Jealous Type

He get's upset when her ex-boyfriend shows up, he doesn't like her guy friends, he wants all of her attention. He's jealous and possessive--he basically thinks he owns her. I don't know why authors seem to think this behavior is sexy. In the real world, overdeveloped jealousy is a huge red flag in any relationship. It smacks of insecurity in himself and a lack of trust in her. Ultimately, jealous behavior is a relationship killer, so I never trust the possessive hero to make the happy ending work in the long term. 

#5: He Has No Communication Skills

Yeah, we all know that guys are not as good at expressing their feelings as women. Nothing wrong with showing that in a romance novel. However, the when the hero's total lack of ability to express his feelings leads to the much dreaded Big Mis. Any conflict that could be easily avoided with a simple five minute conversation is maddening, and has no reasonable place in my books.

 

#4: He's Controlling

There's a fine line between stubborn and total asshat. The hero that's forceful and pushy can be a great challenge to a heroine, and if the heroine is strong willed and pushes back--no problem. The problem is when the hero is, in reality, a complete control freak. When the hero feels the need to dominate every aspect of the heroine's life, often "for her own good", to a point where she totally loses herself to the relationship. I hate seeing the heroine sacrifice her freedom and personal goals in favor of a hero that wants to keep her safe at home. 

#3: He Has Unresolved Addiction Issues

More and more romance authors have been trying to tackle the issue of ongoing battles with addiction. For some reason, they lean toward letting the male have an addiction problem. No author that I have yet encountered has handled the subject to my satisfaction. The problem is, addiction is a consuming condition. In reality, an addict recovers only when they decide for themselves that they want to change, and they have to work hard to make it happen. In romance land, addiction is healed by the power of love, with the hero changing as a result of the heroine's influence, or because he wants to keep her. The magic healing is actually pretty insulting in it's ignorance. 

#2: He's Sexist

Another one of my least favorite tropes is  the hero the doesn't believe a woman can do a particular job/activity--contracting, firefighting, cycling, whatever. The heroine's job is to prove him wrong. This plot line exhausts me, because I find it depressing that the heroine has to earn the hero's respect in a given field, while he receives respect implicitly. I feel like we should have moved past this sort of thing by now. While gender bias definitely does exist in certain fields, I would prefer that it not be used as the hero's entire character arc.
 
#1: He's a Dumb-ass Enabler

The only thing more annoying than a too-stupid-to-live heroine is the hero that constantly enables her stupidity. He plays the night in shining armor to her perpetual damsel in distress act. She jumps into shark infested water, and he fishes her out. She can't decide between two jobs or two men or two slices of pie, and he just patiently waits out her slow as hell thought process. His love makes him totally oblivious to the fact that his new honey-buns is honestly completely useless. The dumbass enabler is annoying because he fails to empower the heroine, to allow her some character development, to let her stand on her own. Quite the contrary, he does everything, to the point that she might as well be a cardboard cut-out. And, as I said last Monday, there is nothing worse that a flat heroine.

On Suffering Witches: A Review of One Grave at a Time by Jeaniene Frost

Oh my gosh, Helsing is on the cover! 

 

Six books in, Cat and Bones continue to amuse my inner urban fantasy nerd. I'm so glad to see that this series hasn't yet become stale despite it's age.

Fabian, Cat's ghost friend, has a crush on fellow ghost Elisabeth. But Elisabeth's afterlife is wholly consumed by the goal of killing or entrapping Heinrich Kramer, the ghost of an infamous witch hunter. Since his death, Kramer has maintained his sociopathic attitude toward women, haunting and tormenting them. After so many years, he has gained the ability to become solid for a day, and every year on Halloween he captures, rapes, and burns alive three women. Cat must use her unique abilities to beat this murdering ghost at his own game.

Positive Comments

 We already know the characters, we know the back story, we know the world. There's nothing to stop the author from just telling a story, simple and satisfying, with very little explanation required. That's one of the advantages of being six books deep in a series.

Who doesn't like a good ghost story? I enjoyed having such a plainly evil, villainous villain at the center of the story. He's the kind of bad guy that you love to hate. You want to see him defeated, and see him suffer.

Cat and Bones are still super hot together. Frost writes excellent love scenes that manage to be sexy and romantic. And terribly improbable.

Critical Comments

It's predictable. There was nothing in the plot that I didn't see coming, even the things that were built up to be a surprise.

There are a lot of rather useless characters. Some from past books, which I think the author feels compelled to throw in because they are reader favorites. Some that were new. I couldn't really figure out, for example, why Ian was there or if Cat's mom really served a purpose (I guess she never does).

There are subplots that go nowhere. We learn that following Don's death, the secret organization Cat used to work for has been turned over to a government idiot. I guess this is set up for future books? I'm not sure, but it all seemed a bit out of place to me.

Recommendation

Once again, I recommend starting and continuing The Night Huntress series. It has a good balance of urban fantasy and romance, clever plot lines, and lots of action. 3.5 stars.

Best Book of February/March Preview

It was a rough month for reading, folks. Three DNFs that I didn't even get far enough into to feel comfortable writing a DNF review.

And the award for most awesome book read in February goes to...Indigo by Beverley Jenkins! It might be older, but this unique historical romance made me feel good. It was definitely the bright spot in a mostly dull and mediocre group.

So, what am I reading next? I'm really excited about quite a few of these books. Here's the list...

Crossed by Ally Condie --I'm a little over 50% done and really enjoying it.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins--Yes, I am only reading this because there's a movie coming out. Shame on me! I'm about 25% into it, and it is as well written as everyone says.

First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost

Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Muppet Snow White by Jesse Blaze Snider--Don't ask.

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

The Look of Love by Bella Andre

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Ill Wind by Rachel Caine

I'm trying to mix up my sub-genres a little more, to avoid the much dreaded reading burn out. What's in your soon to read pile? Anything exciting? Share with the group!

On Ghouls: A Review of This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

This Side of the Grave is book 5 in Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress books. I found book four to be deeply frustrating for a number of reasons (listed here), and so I approached this one wearily.

The main plot of this book involves the threat of a war between vampires and ghouls. Cat's unique abilities and position in the supernatural world place her in the middle of the conflict. In an effort to minimize the bloodshed, she and Bones go to the ghoul queen of New Orleans for help. There Cat learns that her abilities have only just begun to show, and she must fight to keep from being overwhelmed by power even as she tries to end the oncoming war.

Positive Comments

Cat showed a maturity in this book that I didn't see in the previous books. She's come a long way since book one, and it's nice to finally see all of that development realized. Cat's relationship with Bones has likewise matured. And there's still a lot of sex, which I understand might be a negative for some readers, but it's a positive for me.

I like the mythology. You don't see ghouls in too many books. It seems like they fall in line with zombies--second class monsters that are often the villains but rarely the heroes. Frost's ghouls are a little more multidimensional. As a result, the plot engaging.

Critical Comments

My main criticism is just that after 5 books, Frost has ceased to surprise me. Even on the first read through, this book felt familiar, and just shy of predictable. I think the problem stems from having a character evolve over 5 books and so many years, and having many of the changes that she goes through be so drastic. You hit a point where you really don't have anything left to do to that character that readers won't see coming, and where the outcome is not totally apparent from page 1. And that was how this book felt to me. In each book Cat goes through a big trauma, but Frost is running out of things to traumatize her with.

 Overall, this is still a great series. I enjoyed this book, and I do intend to read the next one. 4 stars.

Best Book of December/January Preview

Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews was easily the best book I read in December--with a score of 4.5 stars. I'm a little bummed to be caught up on this series and have to wait so long for the next book!

I'm setting a goal for myself to read 112 books in 2012--wish me luck! Here are the books I plan to read in January.


Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Wanderlust by Ann Aguirre

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick


Unraveled by Courtney Milan

Troubled Waters by Sharon Shinn

Prey by Rachel Vincent

The Daughter of Smoke by Laini Taylor

This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

River Marked by Patricia Briggs

On Retconning: A Review of Destined For An Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost

"Retconning" is defined simply as altering the plot or history of a work of fiction after it's been established. It's one of those plot devices that can be massively annoying and confusing, as well create plot holes. Because of this, the term carries a negative connotation. This is the first time I've felt the need to use the term "retcon" in a review, but it happens to be the most accurate term to describe the plot of Destined for an Early Grave.

In this story, the fourth novel in the Night Huntress series, Cat has begun to dream of a mysterious vampire named Gregor. She finds out that Gregor is known as the Dreamsnatcher, possessing the ability to kidnap people in their dreams. Gregor claims to be married to Cat, according to vampire law. He spent a month with her when she was sixteen, and according to some witnesses he was able to marry her, right before he was imprisoned for his misbehavior. The kicker is, Cat can't remember any of it, because her memory was tampered with. One way or another, Gregor's pursuit of Cat puts her relationship with Bones on the rocks, and all of her friends' lives in jeopardy.

Positive Comments

I know the plot sounds...stupid, and yes, I'll get to criticizing it in a minute. But it does one thing really well: It creates and brings to light all of the internal conflict between Cat and Bones. It forces them to fight, break up, and eventually figure out why they love each other all over again. Frost builds all that turmoil up so effectively that I felt like I was living through a break up in real time. They went from characters that I like and respect, to people who's heads I wanted to knock together. It takes talent to get readers that emotionally invested in a story, kudos to Frost.

World building happens in this book--some of the existing ideas are expanded on, new concepts are introduced, and all without bogging the book down or jumping the shark. The overarching plot (namely Cat's) actually moves forward. There's real character development, and real relationship development. These are all great things, and all things that are really hard to do once you get 4 or 5 books deep into a series.

Critical Comments:

Retconning: It's not always bad, and sometimes it might even be necessary, but overall it's something authors should really avoid doing. One of two things lead to the awkward clunker of a plot device that is "Gregor the Dreamsnatcher". Either the author planned this all along, but failed to foreshadow it so that her readers wouldn't be blind-sided by it, or she made it all up on the spot while writing book 4. Either way, I'm inclined to be annoyed by it because it feels contrived. It creates this great conflict, and it leads to a lot of emotional development for Cat, but it also creates plot holes and weakens Cat's back-story. Couldn't Frost find another way to build the same kind of conflict?

The characters' actions are maddening. Cat has a chance to kill Gregor fairly early on, and her reasons for not taking it are beyond weak. I guess there would have been consequences for his death, but there were huge consequences for letting him live anyway, so she gained nothing. As her primary reason for mercy, she sites residual feelings for him from when she was sixteen. I just don't buy that line of reasoning--he was a manipulative vampire that she knew for a month and had a crush on. Stack that against her bond with Bones and it should be no contest. This was the one time when I really felt like she was betraying Bones, and it honestly damaged my opinion of her. Bones proceeds to make some equally asshole-ish calls, so it evens out in the end. Like I said, I wanted to knock their heads together.

Overall, it was a hell of a book. I was grinding my teeth in frustration throughout most of the middle, so I can't say it was a pleasant reading experience. But again, any emotional reaction is better than none. Obviously, if you're reading the whole series, you'll have to read this one eventually. I don't think you'll be too disappointed, but I wouldn't call this a high point in the series. 3 stars.

Best Book of November/December Preview

Time for a brief recap of November and a preview of the reviews you can expect to see all December long!

November was a bit of a rocky month reading wise. I was insanely busy, so not much of it got done. A lot of the books seemed to come out as average rating wise. That being said, of course I still have to crown a best book and that is--Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep! It earned 4/5 stars, which is not at all bad in it's own right. More importantly, it stood out because I believe this series is going to build to something pretty spiffy, and I can't wait to see that happen. You can read my full review HERE.

We have quite the line up for December, because I got slightly off track of my November list. These are the books that you can expect to see reviewed here on Reading to Penguins!

Sebastian by Anne Bishop How I ended up reading this one at all is something of a story in itself. I'm about 1/4 of the way into it, so look forward to that review sometime early next week.

Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews I promised to read this one in November, but got sidetracked by aliens and Anne Bishop!

A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James

Immortal Rider by Larissa Ione

Envy by J.R. Ward

Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs

As always if your interested in reading along, doing a guest review, or have something that you'd like to see reviewed in January, email me at cmspencer8@yahoo.com. Happy Reading!

On Cat and Bones: A Review of At Graves End by Jeaniene Frost



These days the market is flooded with so many vampire series that no one can possibly keep up with all of them, and frankly, I have no interest in trying to. There is a short list of series I actually think are worthwhile, and The Night Huntress series is on it. It isn't so much because they are unique and original (because they aren't), it's more that they manage to deliver what I want in a vampire book: action, gore, creepiness, a touch of romance, and some vamp politics--in just the right doses and without a lot of filler. At Graves End is book 3 in this series (see my review of book 2 HERE). There may be some book 1 and 2 SPOILERS from here on: you have been warned.

The better part of this book is devoted to a so-called war that has sprung up between two vampire lines: one which Bones is leader of, and one that belongs to an ancient Egyptian princess vampire. It seems like no vampire author can resist making a few historical royalty into vamps. In any case, Cat is currently a full time bad vamp slayer, but she is also Bones' wife. That both makes her a target and makes her partly responsible for taking out the murderous vampire princess.

Positive Comments

When it comes to main characters, Cat and Bones are pretty much everything that I could ask for. Cat is loyal, tough, and smart. Bones is powerful, devoted, and sexy as hell. I like both characters as individuals and I like them as a couple, and to me that's the most important aspect of a book like this.

The cast of secondary and background characters keeps growing, but it still doesn't feel too crowded (I'll admit that it comes close sometimes). For the most part, everyone fills a role and helps the story to feel more complete. I'm intrigued by many of them and eager to learn more about them.

Critical Comments

The plot, while fairly engaging, is not what you would call concise and to the point. In fact, it gets off track quite a bit, especially early on. I'm not saying that there is a lot of filler, because most of the details seem at least somewhat important. It's more a matter of organization, which could have been fixed with a bit of tighter editing.

This book was sufficiently satisfying for my vampire mood. There is a lot to love about it, and while none of The Night Huntress books (so far) have been 5 star read in my opinion, they are still worth a try. 4 stars.

Best Book of October/November Preview

In an effort to keep my recommendations and reading plans a bit more organized, I've decided to try a recap/preview post every month, starting now!

First, the best book that I read in October was Sea Changed by Darlene Marshall! It was a funny, smart historical romance that kept me turning pages late into the night. It received 4.5/5 stars, and the full review can be viewed HERE.

Second, here is a list of the books I'm planning to review in November. As usual, my goal is to get through two books a week, but lately it's been slow going with some books, so it may be less.

Industrial Magic (Women of the Otherworld, Book 4) by Kelley Armstrong (I'm a little less than halfway through it)
The Perils of Pleasure (Pennyroyal Green Series) by Julie Ann Long (I'm about 1/3 of the way through this one)
Kiss of Frost (Mythos Academy) by Jennifer Estep
At Grave's End (Night Huntress, Book 3) by Jeaniene Frost
Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson, Book 4) by Patricia Briggs
Magic Slays (Kate Daniels, Book 5) by Ilona Andrews

Has anyone read any of these yet? What did you think?

Happy November, and Happy Reading!

On Undeath: A Review of One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

A year ago I read Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost, and I liked it fairly well. If I had to label it, I would say that it was a very traditional vampire/vampire slayer urban fantasy. There's nothing wrong with that. While I often complain that there are too many vampires in romance and fantasy these days, there are still vampire books that work for me. Happily, the Night Huntress books seem to be among them. The following review contains spoilers from book 1.

Despite the fact that its been a year and many books since Halfway to the Grave, I found One Foot in the Grave easy to pick up and get into. It takes place four years after the first book ends. Cat and her team of human helpers track a master vampire and Cat discovers that this vampire has connections to her former lover, Bones. Cat still loves Bones, but believes that they can never be together for a variety of reasons. Still, her loyalty to him presents a conflict because her job is essentially to wipe out as many vampires as possible.

The world building in these books is so simple, and I mean that in the best way possible. The vampires are presented in a way that's familiar to fans of urban fantasy--they're old and slick and slightly amoral, they have select powers as well as weaknesses, and there's a hierarchical system of government. That's it. Nobody has incomprehensible, complicated powers. They don't have wings. There are ghouls and ghosts, and a hint of a few other things. But no long list of creatures. No glossary or list of vocab words to learn. For me, this is quite refreshing.


Though she's lost most of the naivety she showed in the first book, Cat is still a highly conflicted character. Her duel nature and abilities make her lonely. She doesn't go through a dramatic development in this book, but rather makes a few adjustments to her worldview. Mainly this involves her deciding whether to attempt to manage a relationship with Bones, and how to manage her team of human hunters. I didn't mind the very linear and simplistic character arc, because I felt that the big development had already taken place in the first book.

I'm a fan of Bones. He's intriguing and sexy, and has a lot of interesting history to delve into. I was happy to see him front and center in this story. And oh my, the relationship between Cat and Bones gets STEAMY. I liked the secondary characters as well: Tate, Juan, etc. It made me smile to see Cat acting as their leader. The friendships were oddly heartwarming. I'm hoping to see each of them fleshed out more later in the series.

The plot doesn't flow very smoothly. At times it seems like a series of loosely related events, some of which connect and make sense in the end and some of which were pretty unnecessary. There's a subplot where Cat dates a human named Noah that pretty much goes nowhere. She doesn't feel much for him beyond not hating his company, and their interactions are weak and limited. He could have been removed from the story entirely without any real effect. I thought this was a wasted opportunity, since actively dating a human guy might have showed an entirely different "human" side of Cat. There were a few other half baked little subplots that I think may or may not be addressed in future books. The bottom line is, the story lacked somewhat when it comes to focus.

I think if your in the mood for a vampire story, the Night Huntress series is a pretty good bet. Interesting characters, lots of action, and plenty of romance. 3.5 stars.