Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Where the Heroine Saves the Day/Love Interest


Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Books Where the Heroine Saves the World/Love Interest

I recently read Neil Gaiman's The Sleeper and the Spindle, because I thought the idea that Snow White saved Sleeping Beauty was awesome. We need more heroines that don't act like princesses waiting to get saved (kissed). Then I started thinking about other books where the heroine saved the guy or girl love interest and I had a hard time coming up with more than a handful. I know a LOT of strong heroines in literature, but I think that at one point or other most of them had a man come in and save them. Even my beloved Kate Daniels has had Curran save her. So, I had to change this from saved the guy/girl to saved the world/guy/girl. If you can think of any other books that the heroine saves the love interest, please tell me, because I need to read them! (Note: I didn't include the big names like Robin McKinley or Tamora Pierce).



1. The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Chris Riddell

Aside from being a really cool book where the Queen Snow White saves the girl (sadly, this isn't a GLBT book, though), this is one of the most gorgeously illustrated books I have ever seen. It's hard to tell in the cover, but the whole book is in black and white with gold accents. Even though I already own the U.S. version of Fortunately, the Milk, I want to order the UK version as well because Chris Riddell illustrates it. I have problems, I know.



2. Graceling (Graceling Realm #1) by Kristin Cashore

Po was a partner to Katsa throughout their journey, and Katsa had friends that her helped through the council, but in the end, she was the real savior of the world. This is also true of Cashore's other heroines of the series, Fire and Bitterblue.



3. The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1) by Suzanne Collins

Katniss saves her sister from the games, and she saves Peeta and many other people during the course of the three books.



4. Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis

Snow/Essie was one of the coolest heroines I've read about in a long time. She was a cage-fighting, code writing princess. She also saves several people during the book, and although she accepts help from Dane, he never has to save her.



5. Mystic and Rider (Twelve Houses #1) by Sharon Shinn

Senneth has a group traveling with her for her mission, but a lot of times she is the reason that the group escapes relatively unscathed. She is also the clear leader of their group.



6. Daughter of the Blood (The Black Jewels #1) by Anne Bishop

The world of The Black Jewels has a matriarchal society and women are generally more powerful. Plus, the whole premise is based upon the protagonist being the most powerful Witch and Queen coming to the world and restoring the world to goodness and rainbows. Sarcasm aside, the books are really good dark fantasy with really strong female characters.



7. Sabriel (Sabriel #1) by Garth Nix

Although Sabriel has help along the way on her quest to save her father in the form of a possibly-evil talking cat, and there's a love interest, too, Sabriel's intelligence and determination really save the day.



8. Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1) by Richelle Mead

Rose saves a lot of people over the course of the series, including the love interest, Dimitri. In the spin-off series, Bloodlines, Sydney is equally, if not more so, self-sufficient and take charge.



9. Captain Marvel (Marvel Now) by Kelly Sue DeConnick

In the Marvel Now series by DeConnick, there really isn't even a love interest, which I like (there are a few cameos from former love interests, but nothing that distracts from Captain Marvel's story). And, although Captain Marvel gets help from a lot of the Avengers and some Guardians of the Galaxy, she mostly saves the world on her own or with the help of even more female friends such as Spider-Woman.



10. Marvel's Agent Carter

Speaking of Marvel's leading ladies, I loved the Agent Carter premiere. (I know. I'm cheating, but this was one of the inspirations for today's post.) Peggy is really showing up those chauvinistic idiots that she's not just their secretary. I really wish this was going to be more than one season long.

What Heroines Have You Read That Have Really Lived Up to the Name?

7 comments:

  1. Great list! <3 Sabriel so much, one of my favourite books around. I still have yet to check out Agent Carter but I love that she got her own show *makes a point to check it out...soon*

    My TTT

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    1. I hope you like it when you get to it! Also, I hope it stays good for the whole season. Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. Amazing list. I love the VA series. I'm falling behind on Bloodlines due to blogging. I think I will wait until the last book comes out and then purchase all the missing books in the series I still need and then just have a read-a-thon from VA to finish.
    Kristin @ Book Sniffers Anonymous

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    1. That's a good idea! I wish I had such self-control especially since there is an awful cliffhanger ending in book 4, I believe. I hope the conclusion (less than 3 weeks) is just as good as the rest of the series! Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. Agent Carter has been amazing so far! I wish it weren't a limited series...

    Check out my TTT.

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    1. I know! Maybe if it's popular enough, they will bring it back for another season or two! Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. I love it when the heroine saves the day. There are some examples in my favorite paranormal romance series, Kresley Cole's "Immortals After Dark". InBook #2, " A Hunger Like No Other", the heroine Emmaline, who is half valkyrie and half vampire, does something extremely dangerous that saves her own life, keeps her family safe, and keeps Lachlan (her true love, the hot & Scottish Lykae king) from risking his own life. Emmaline was rather timid early in the book but slowly realizes how tough and badass she is. I don't want to give too many details in case you have not read this awesome book.

    In a later book in this same series, "Demon from the Dark", the spunky witch Carrow gets rescued several times by her vampire-demon guy Malcolm. (Malkolm rocks! Carrow too!) However, Carrow rescues her man before he gets executed by his enemies. This book is awesome, too!

    In historical regency romance, I just listened to a marvelous audiobook: "The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley. Lord Ian, the hero, is especially fascinating because he is autistic. The heroine Beth does get rescued a time or two, but she is the one who saves Ian and his brother the duke from continuing to be framed for a double murder. Her persistence in solving the murder saves the day! It is a steamy, sweet, beautifully written book

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You are going to put words in my box?! *squeezes you* Now I shall stalk YOUR blog!