Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
Hi everybody, and welcome to a new Top Ten Tuesday! Today we’re talking about our favorite heroines. I feel like my list today is a good mix of fantasy and contemporary heroines: some bookish, some badass, some hilarious and some kind, but all absolutely amazing! Here we go:
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (Alex Stern)
Alex is an unconventional heroine. She has done some terrible things in order to survive and she’s not sorry about any of them. She may not be easy to love, but she’s loyal to those she loves and she would go through hell for them (quite literally) and that’s why I love her. She may do some questionable things, but I’m cheering her on every single time.
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson (Elisabeth Scrivener)
Elisabeth is one of my favorite heroines. She’s not only bookish, she actually grew up in a library and has been called a feral librarian by a certain sassy sorcerer. I love her spunk, her loyalty, her courage and of course her undying love of books.
Dear Aaron by Mariana Zapata (Ruby Santos)
Ruby is one of my favorite heroines because she reminded me a lot of myself. Some reviewers called her whiny or too insecure, but I saw myself in her and I admired her kindness and growth throughout the story.
Taming Demons for Beginners by Annette Marie (Robin Page)
Robin is a shy bookworm who likes cookies and dislikes confrontation. #relatable, am I right? But she’s also loyal and brave and that’s why she’s one of my favorite Annette Marie heroines.
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood (Bee Königswasser)
Bee is an amazing heroine. She’s fun and quirky (her inner monologues and explanations are perfection. Like, I’d want her as a friend for sure) and then she’s also brilliant and amazing at her job (she’s a neuroscientist) AND she runs a Twitter account focused on highlighting misogyny in STEM and it IS EVERYTHING.
Signs of Cupidity by Raven Kennedy (Emelle)
Emelle is one of the most hilarious and fun main characters I’ve ever read. Reading about her adventures as a Cupid and her take on experiencing a physical body for the first time was just A HOOT.
Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost (Cat Crawfield)
A half vampire who has grown up hating her vampire side and thinking them all evil, so she has made it her mission to hunt vampires. Cat is badass, sassy and hilarious, but also flawed and insecure in her own way. She’s a complex, but fun character and may be one of my all-time favorite bookish heroines.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Evelyn Hugo)
I loved Evelyn Hugo because she’s such a complex, multi-dimensional main character. A Hollywood movie icon, a bombshell, a bisexual woman of Cuban heritage, a woman with seven husbands – Evelyn was not a perfect character but she was definitely an intriguing one.
Red Winter by Annette Marie (Emi)
Emi is not your average fantasy heroine. She has been very sheltered and is lonely. She may not have great physical strength, but she is filled with so much kindness and courage and it makes her a great protagonist. Her fears and worries are very much present and real, but she handles everything with a grace and maturity that can only be admired.
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab (Lila Bard)
Lila is… well, she’s Lila. Our little thief with a dream of becoming a pirate just does her own thing. Which of course means a lot of trouble and some pretty reckless choices, because that’s just who she is. I mean, she basically has her own theme song. That’s how awesome she is.
Tell Me:
What are some of your favorite heroines?
Do we have any in common?
I haven’t met any of these heroines, but I do love a good bookish heroine, so a couple of these may be ones I need to meet. 🙂
I hope you’ll love any of these heroines you’ll meet!
Great list Linsey! Elisabeth will be on mine too no doubt!
Elisabeth deserves to be on so many lists today 🙂
Ah Elisabeth, of course <3
Elisabeth is amazing!
Robin! I love her so much and yes she’s so relatable. I miss her so much!
Ahh me too, it feels like so long ago already, I need a re-read!
I really should read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo sometime.
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-favorite-character-traits-for-heroines/
I hope you’ll love it when you do!
This is the second list I’ve seen Evelyn on!
She’s definitely an intriguing heroine!
I love Ruby! She was such a great character. So was Evelyn Hugo. Nice choices!
Ruby and Evelyn were both such great characters!
So many of these books are on my TBR and I cannot wait to dive in and get to know these heroines. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hope you’ll love all of these!
I debated on adding Alex Stern to my list. There’s so many to choose from I had a hard time narrowing down to ten. https://nicolesnook.com/top-ten-tuesday-2-21-22-favorite-heriones/
It’s definitely a good thing that we have so many amazing heroines to choose from 🙂
I love Evelyn Hugo and Lila.
They are amazing characters.
She didn’t quite make my list, but I love Elisabeth too! my post- https://teaandcatsandbooks.wordpress.com/2023/02/21/top-ten-tuesday-favorite-heroines/
Elisabeth is great indeed 🙂
A feral librarian! 🙂 And I started Seven Husbands recently, I need to get back to it …
Gotta love a feral librarian, haha 🙂 Hope you’ll love Evelyn!
I love seeing Evelyn Hugo included. She was a fascinating character. Selfish and self-serving most of the time, but always unforgettable.
Yes, exactly! Evelyn was not a perfect character, but she was so iconic and indeed unforgettable.
This is such a great list!! Evelyn is a fabulous choice!
Thanks! She really is so fabulous!
Lila was on my list this week too, and I also really loved Elisabeth, I need to actually finish Sorcery of Thorns one of these days, darn me for picking it up whilst I was in a reading slump!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2023/02/21/top-ten-tuesday-408/
Lila and Elisabeth are great! Hope you’ll love Sorcery of Thorns when you finish it 🙂
They are! I’m sure I will, I genuinely was enjoying it at the time, I just found I had very little concentration for reading. I’m in a better place reading wise now, so I’m definitely going to see if I can get back to finish some of the books I put down in 2021.
I’m not familiar with any of these leading ladies, but from your descriptions, they all sound like fabulous heroines!
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Thanks, they really are 🙂
Great list! I love Elisabeth as a heroine, she was my favorite right from the start. And I definitely agree with you about Alex from Ninth House – she isn’t your typical heroine, but she has her own moral code and will do anything for the people she cares about.
Thanks! Elisabeth and Alex are both such great heroines, even if they’re completely different. Shows how there are multiple ways to be a heroine 🙂
I want to read the Seven Husbands book so I am glad you think the gal is a heroine. Yay!
Hope you’ll enjoy, it’s one of my favorite reads!
Evelyn Hugo made my list this week too. Love her!
Evelyn was such a great (unconventional) heroine!
Evelyn Hugo was one complex lady. I enjoyed her story too 😉
She really was! 🙂