#even the IAD book with a kid is like my least favorite IAD book

[mermaidsirennikita]

"he reaches out to protect the heroine..."

:)

"... and the two small children in her care"

:(

[mermaidsirennikita]

Would you rank the IAD heroines?

I mean, I've only gotten to know four out of like... 17ish? Not sure, I know there are 2-3 novellas and like 16-17 full length books, but I believe one of those novellas is m/m (sadly it is far down the line because I reeeeeeeally wanna read it).

But thus far, I think my heroine ranking is pretty reflective of the hero rating, and how I'd rank their books. Sometimes I'll really enjoy a hero or heroine and their story is less than idea.

But anyway, on to the ladies.

Neomi Laress, ghost/phantom, Dark Needs at Night's Edge. I absolutely adore Neomi. She may be my favorite romance heroine EVER. Neomi sees a crazy virgin vampire and goes "I can break that pony in right". She does a striptease with the immortal line, "Still not stimulating enough? Maybe Conrad wants to see my panties instead?" in order to PROVE TO HERSELF THAT HE CAN SEE HER LMAO. But she's also soooo sex positive, genuinely. She loves sex, she has no shame about being a burlesque dancer in the past, she takes such joy in not only being pleased but pleasing, and she wants him to have a full life, which, for him, will include sex. So breaking him in is basically charity, except she falls in love. I also love that Neomi became a ghost, basically, because she was so fucking angry that her horrible ex killed her right when she bought her own house that she just wasn't able to leave this earth. I love her, I love her.

Mariketa the Awaited/Awakened, witch, Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night. Another forever girl, who I love almost as much as Neomi. A woman who got a college cheerleading scholarship and then dropped out of college. Has a hot pink bedroom with pom poms. Is also a witch of immense potential power. I knew I was gone for Mariketa after it was revealed that she brought a vibrator with her to the jungle while on a mystical quest for a time travel key thing, and I'm fairly certain that's when Bowen knew he was gone for Mariketa. When that moron called her the wrong name when he came and she dramatically left him a fuck you note in the mud and ran off to make a point before he stole her away to a private island? My GIRL. I love how blithe and fun Mariketa is. I love that her husband is her "beast familiar" and her parents know this, so her parents know she gets fucked doggy style in the dirt all night at least once a month. Good for Mariketa, I love all this for her.

Emmaline Troy, vampire/valkyrie hybrid, A Hunger Like No Other. A lot of people shit on Emma because she's so timid, but I actually find her to be really fun. Understandably, she's terrified when this giant wolf man takes off with her. She grows into her boldness, her new role as the werewolf queen--she fucking kills the vampire king, for fuck's sake (who is her father!!!). And as problematic as A Hunger Like No Other was... I enjoyed the old school romance style sexual awakening of Emma. It's not what I want taught to kids lmao, but it was a good story. Also, she summons lightning when she comes hard, and I think that's fun.

Kaderin the Coldhearted, valkyrie, No Rest for the Wicked. I like Kaderin a lot, but I don't know that I looove Kaderin. So many people do, I'm sure. She's a total badass. I love that she wears vampire fangs as trophies and then falls in love with one. I relate to her fear of emotional intimacy (maybe too much). I wish she'd been like... a little more accepting of Sebastian's love, but I get that this was the plot, so on, so on. I feel like Emma's rejection of Lachlain and Mariketa's rejection of Bowen felt more... authentic, though? Because Lachlain and Bowen were literal beasts, whereas Sebastian was honestly pretty accommodating. Even if he was a vampire.