**MILD SPOILERS AHOY FOR PATIENCE**I mentioned in yesterday's post that I'd just begun Patience by Lisa Valdez. I'm now on about page 150. And I have to say, this book is not working for me on any level. Why? Because everything about it is extreme. The hero, Matthew is technically supposed to be a Dom, I suppose. He's remarkably autocratic, domineering in the extreme and generally an ass. He's all "Submit, dammit! Submit!" The heroine, Patience, certainly lives up to her name. She's a doormat in human form. All about him walking all over her. And not just in the bedroom, which frankly, is one thing. But he about lifts his leg and pees on her in a ballroom and she gets all throbby and wet from his dominance. Call me crazy, but he's like a stalker and she's a victim.
For sure I'll be writing a full review of this (look for it at Smexy Books in April). But in the mean time, it got me to thinking about over the top romances.
I like my heroes extremely alpha (although I'm discovering a taste for a well done beta). I mean, really alpha. I love them all protective and dominant. What I don't love is any hero that treats the heroine like chattel. I don't love when he does things that seem just downright mean in order to get the heroine to submit to his will. And most of all, I don't like when they take their anger out on the heroine.
So it got me thinking, why would an author pen a hero like this? Is it so his redemption would be sweeter? More poignant?
Patience reminds me very much of old school Woodiwiss, McNaught or Coulter romances where the heroes are alpha, and not even remotely sorry for it. Thus far all we've gotten from this hero is that he's MAD AS HELL AND HE'S NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE! And that involves punishing the heroine who literally has not a damn thing to do with why he's mad. I truly cannot imagine how this hero is going to redeem himself in my eyes. In fact, I broke a Kati rule and read the last two chapters of Patience last night thinking perhaps I'd find the hero redeemed. Uh, no. Not even a bit.
So, I guess my question is, when is it OK in your mind to go over the top? What are some examples of romances that go over the top and do it successfully? Are there any "new" romances (as opposed to Old School) that do this successfully? I'm looking in particular for romances that feature heroes who are over the top.
10 Comments:
I can read over-the-top heroes, but I NEED a good grovel at the end. Period. Otherwise he's just a heartless, selfish prick and the heroine a brain-dead doormat for putting up with his crap.
Hey, orgasms ARE good - but they ain't that good.
I'm also a bit more tolerant of over-the-top if the heroine gives as good as she gets. The problem with this particular trope though is that it's really easy for The Stupid to creep in. If the characters start behaving like idiots, for the sake of over-the-top, it won't work for me.
I will say I tend to be more lenient of over-the-top in westerns. I'm not sure why either. Maybe because it's my favorite sub genre? Maybe because of the added punch of danger that living in the middle of nowhere brings? I'm not sure.
And I'll wait for more reviews, but I'm thinking Patience will not be for me. I had that inkling already though.....
I will say I tend to be more lenient of over-the-top in westerns. I'm not sure why either. Maybe because it's my favorite sub genre? Maybe because of the added punch of danger that living in the middle of nowhere brings? I'm not sure.
Maybe it's the cowboy hats and chaps. ;oP
I can't read over-the-top. The minute the heroine starts behaving like a doormat... it's an automatic toss book against the wall. Don't really care if the hero redeems himself at the end. The journey there is just too painful for me to witness.
Hey, orgasms ARE good - but they ain't that good.
OMG Have I mentioned today how much I love Wendy?
Writing an asshole guy is tricky--readers need to see throughout the work that the hero is redeemable, that he has the ability to be the better man--they need to root for him. Otherwise, he's just an asshole and the heroine becomes that friend you want to smack.
It's tough. But that's the way it is.
The thing that aggs me about this book is that he never sets up why it is he's all dominant over her. There was no "He saw her across the ballroom and a frisson of awareness entered his mind. She was a submissive." He literally drags her from a ball, strips her, throws all of her clothes in the fireplace, ties her up to a four poster bed, gets her all aroused, and leaves to play cards.
Dick.
I'm reading a book right now with the exact same problem - right down to being a Dom asshole with no motivation and treating the heroine like crap. If an author is going to go there, they have to really understand the culture and give BOTH characters motivation.
Kati: I honestly think it might be the "danger" and "lack of civilization" aspect. It's easier to buy into an over-the-top hero when he lives in an area where taking the law into your own hands was not only necessary, but a matter of survival.
Or it could just be as simple as me being a western ho ;)
And I love you too Lisabea.
Echoing what Wendy said, it's about balance. If an author takes me up to 1000 ft, she's got to bring me back to ground level at the end, not leave me hanging mid-air.
Get down on your knees wench and service me! While they are rowing down the River Styx in a white foam...
He literally drags her from a ball, strips her, throws all of her clothes in the fireplace, ties her up to a four poster bed, gets her all aroused, and leaves to play cards.
Ahhhh, no. No, no, no, no, no.
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