I think it’s only fair to follow the “what do you hate” post from earlier in the week with a post of the three things that are just about guaranteed to grab me when I’m reading
1) Injure the heroine: Yes, I’m a bit sick in the head, but I love it when the heroine is in mortal danger, and it makes the hero realize he can’t live without her and loves her. I love it when the heroine is shot, stabbed, traumatically injured in some way (not rape, ha!) and it creates a moment of loss for the hero so horrible, he can’t believe how bleak and colorless life will be without her (but you can do it without the melodrama of my description, lol).
2) Grovel: I love love love a good grovel. If the hero or heroine have wrongly accused their love interest of something, if they’ve thought they did something heinous, and treated them accordingly, and then find out…oh noes! they were wrong, then I love a good grovel. And I mean make it good. Make the person delivering the grovel mean it, and work for it. I don’t want easy forgiveness, I want them to crawl on their knees with the grovel. But this is a fine line, because I also don’t want the other person to drag on granting forgiveness for too long. And I don’t want the hero/heroine to lose their strength while groveling. I want them to grovel because of the strength of their personality, to make them seem even stronger. I also don’t want a grovel just because the other person feels wronged (and they really weren’t).
3) Insurmountable odds: I adore a book that creates a conflict so strong, so wrenching, that I have no idea how the hero/heroine are going to overcome it. The caveat here is that I need to also know and believe that they ARE going to overcome it (ie, have some sort of happy ending). I don’t want to be taken through the wringer and not get some sort of positive payoff in the end. This is why I love romance. I know the positive payoff is there. It’s also the reason I sometimes peek at the end of non-romance books, so I know if I should invest my emotional energy in the book and characters, or walk away.
Your turn. What things in a book will instantly grab you?
I’m with you on the Insurmountable Odds. The higher the stakes, the higher my interest.
I’m also a sucker for snappy dialogue where both parties can more than hold their own. Sort of like watching a Wimbledon match…you’re never sure who’s going to win the volley.
Geez, you don’t want much. :p
For me it’s:
1) A wicked-smart heroine. She better be able to hold her own in any situation.
2) A hero with lots of room for improvement. Whether he’s morally bankrupt, emotionally wounded or just not-quite-honest, I love it when a hero has to change a lot during a novel. This might seem to run counter to my big hate (heroes who have a personality transplant at the end of the book), but a skillful writer will give the hero lots of challenges throughout a novel so his growth is realistic.
3) A gritty story. Whether it’s old favorites like Laura Kinsale (Seize the Fire and Flowers from the Storm) or new ones like Kaki Warner (Pieces of Sky and Open Country) and Judith James (Libertine’s Kiss), I love a story that’s not yippy-dippy. Give me some realism and I’ll be better able to relate to the characters.
I love when a book makes me laugh (see Garwood Historicals or just about any Dana Marie Bell book). They aren’t slapstick, just quirky enough to be funny. The problem – too much quirky and I don’t like the book.
A kick butt heroine and/or hero is always a crowd pleaser at my house (see Nalini Singh’s Branded by Fire).
One thing I love is when it’s the heroine who’s all screwed up, not the hero. So many romances have the great woman and the messed-up, non-committal guy. I love seeing a tortured heroine who doesn’t want to get near a real relationship with a ten-foot pole. Let the guy convince the girl for once!
Sexual tension and desire are must haves for me. Sometimes I read books and the attraction between the hero and heroine seems so paltry and thin that when they finally (or immediately!) get in the sack that it’s like ‘ho-hum’ *flip,flip,flip*. I want attraction that sparkles, crackles, makes me ache to find out how they’re going to get together and when. And sometimes, less is more. Tension doesn’t have to mean the full, erotic monty IMHO – in the right hands, a touch can be way more effective than the whole enchilada and keeps me turning the pages at a feverish pace!