Heroes and Heroines in Romance Novels with Unusual Occupations

By |2022-05-12T21:16:00-04:00April 27th, 2022|Categories: Caroline AAR, Heroes, Heroines, Romance, Romance reading, tags|

I’ve been developing our “unusual occupations” tag, and I need your help!

I stated by visiting our old Special Title listings for Unusual Professions. Let me tell you, some of those jobs are a LOT more popular than we evidently thought. We have characters on that list who are, for example, archaeologists, paleontologists, and botanists. Well, it turns out that these professions are actually so common in romance that they can fill out their own tags! “Prostitute,” “male escort,” and “gigolo” are currently captured by our sex worker tag. Even tattoo artists and coffee shop owners are romance novel leads more frequently than you think!

The list did turn up a few awesome and original careers, such as the […]

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The Way Back on Wednesday: Alex Markov: Dreamboat or Douchebag?

By |2021-09-09T09:04:41-04:00September 8th, 2021|Categories: Anne AAR, Caroline AAR, Characters, Dabney AAR, Dreamboat or Douchebag, Haley AAR, Heroes, LinnieGayl AAR, Maggie AAR, Mary AAR|Tags: , , , |

(originally published on June 3, 2016) 

In another of our occasional series in which we discuss the merits – or lack thereof – of fictional heroes and heroines, AAR staffers turn their attention to Alex Markov of Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

Kiss An Angel taps into the classic “arranged marriage” trope. The two protagonists, Daisy and Alex, are blackmailed into marriage by a third party: Daisy’s dad. Daisy agrees in order to avert legal trouble and avoid prison. For Alex Markov, this was his year for paying off big debts, first with his deathbed promise to Owen Quest to take the circus out for its last season under the Quest name, and then by agreeing to marry Max’s daughter. In all these years Max had never asked anything of him as repayment for having saved Alex’s life, but when he’d finally gotten around to it, he’d asked for a doozy. […]

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the Wayback on Wednesday: Attractive Men

By |2021-07-07T15:04:00-04:00July 7th, 2021|Categories: Characters, Heroes, Rike AAR|Tags: , |

(originally published on November 28, 2008)

Last week, I talked to two stunningly attractive men. There I was, happily married and all, just talking to them, and came out with my toes tingling and a broad smile on my face because that’s how hot they were. Because this happened within two days, it got me thinking about what made these men so very attractive. One is a colleague, and admittedly he is tall and dark, but he is definitely balding and deals with this by shaving his head. The Jean-Luc Picard look, if you want. So he is passably good-looking, if you like that style, yet what makes him breathtaking is not his looks, but the way he deals with you. His gift is true attention to people.

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Desperately seeking… foreskins!

By |2020-09-26T09:09:45-04:00September 27th, 2020|Categories: Heroes, Real Life|Tags: , , |

There’s been a lot on my mind this year, but at the top of it is this: foreskin.

I enjoy reading about sex both in romance novels and in non-fiction. The other day I was flipping through a tome entitled The Guide to Getting It On that devoted an entire chapter to the foreskin—discussing what it is, how men and their partners feel about it, and how they make it a pleasurable part of their sensual/sexual lives. It then occurred to me that not only have I never encountered a chapter in a romance novel about the foreskin and sex, but I’ve never seen the word ‘foreskin’ printed on a single page in one! […]

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Good Laird! What’s in a name?

By |2017-09-29T17:03:51-04:00September 30th, 2017|Categories: AAR Jenna, Characters, Heroes, Reading, Romance, Romance reading|

So, I’m reading a book that’s pretty decent (my review is either forthcoming or already posted, depending on when this blog post goes live), but there is simply one aspect that I cannot get past.

The hero’s name is Laird.

Laird.

When my eye catches it, I want to read “Lard” but then I think harder, and still all I can come up with is that Laird is the title used when referring to Scottish lords in historical romances. Except the story I’m reading is a new adult set in modern USA. Aye, it’s verra strange, dinna ye think, lassie?

What is with authors and the way that they name characters these days, especially the guys? I once reviewed a book where the […]

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Heroes in Real Time

By |2017-09-15T16:23:03-04:00September 15th, 2017|Categories: AAR Jenna, All About Romance, Heroes, Heroines, Real Life|

I admit that I love to read romance novels for pretty much one reason – the swoon-worthy heroes. Be they Navy SEALs, roguish pirates, Scottish warriors or powerful tycoons, their confidence and swagger and charm all draw me in and allow me to escape to a fantasy world where the good guy will always save the day.

Given all of the recent turmoil in our world, what with hurricanes and political tempests galore, it’s tempting to escape into those fantasies as much as possible. But every once in a while, I’m reminded that real heroes walk among us. These are the guys and gals who put their lives on the line every day to help a stranger. They go in when others are rushing out. They serve as real-life examples to our sons and daughters of the best that humanity has to offer.

Below are photos of these super folks in action. We tip our hats and thank them profusely for […]

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Are you reading the Mary Russell series? Because it’s great.

By |2017-06-23T08:30:11-04:00March 30th, 2016|Categories: Characters, Heroes, Heroines, Melanie AAR, Mysteries|Tags: , , |

Has anyone here not read the Mary Russell series yet? If so, stop now and go find yourself a copy of The Beekeeper’s Apprentice and meet young Mary Russell, 15 years old and orphaned, and snarking at a much older Sherlock Holmes who has retired to Sussex and beekeeping. Pulling heavily from Doyle’s representation of Sherlock Holmes (and still acknowledging both Doyle and Watson as fiction writers and creators of the world’s view of Sherlock Holmes), Laurie R. King has given us a new character, and a new perspective, in the great wide world of Sherlock fanworks. […]

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Steps to Being a Modern Gentleman: A Rebuttal

By |2017-06-23T08:30:15-04:00November 2nd, 2015|Categories: Heroes, Maggie AAR|

chantal-loves-vintage-paul-newman-2After being confused, appalled and annoyed by the various items on this list I determined to write my own guide to being a gentleman. After all, as a romance reader I am well versed in what it takes to turn the average guy from a typical dude into a dreamboat.

  1. A gentleman never denigrates an entire people and the place where they live. A true gentleman knows that every people and place have something to offer the world and critiquing Puerto Rico on a public list is in poor taste and ungentlemanly behavior. Lizzie Bennet would be appalled!
  2. A gentleman does not kiss and tell. Can unsnap a bra with one hand? Wow your date with that skill, not the internet.
  3. A gentleman is as at ease in jeans and a t–shirt as he is in a tweed suit. Gentlemanly behavior is not limited to a well-dressed moment.  A gentleman wears his swimsuit and sandals with the […]
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The Wrong Man

By |2017-06-23T08:30:19-04:00July 17th, 2015|Categories: Caroline AAR, Characters, Heroes, Television|Tags: |

NicholasHigginsThe first time I fell in love with the wrong man, I was a teenager, and the man was Victor Laszlo.

Now, Laszlo is only “the wrong man” by weird convoluted cinema logic. He’s been thwarting the Nazis across Europe for years; he’s articulate, bold, dedicated, noble, loyal, and let’s face it, a heck of a lot better looking than Humphrey Bogart. That’s a good man by any standards. He’s only “wrong” in the sense that he’s not the perfect match for Ilsa. Which is fine. Stay with Rick, Ilsa. I’d be more than happy to help your husband rebound.

I thought of Laszlo when I was rewatching North and South and found myself once again in love with the wrong man. Richard Armitage as John Thornton is universally acknowledged as a heartthrob, and I do understand […]

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