AAR

[willaful]

Oh, another point about Roarke... obviously he doesn't work for everyone, but I've always thought Robb was incredibly clever for creating such a perfect straight woman's fantasy and then bestowing him on the one woman who doesn't want it. Give the incredibly loving gazilionillionaire to the woman who hates stuff and is terrified of intimacy...
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"I say, don't read the classics -- try to discover your own classics; every life has its own." -- Rudolf Flesch, _How to Make Sense_

[KayWebbHarrison]

I like Roarke just fine, but I do not consider him to be "perfect." He has many good qualities, but he built his fortune on "criminal" activities; perfect people DO NOT break the law.

Once again, we have to define just what a term, in this case "perfect", means. One reader's idea of the perfect hero will not jibe with another's.

I do believe that Roarke is the "perfect" match for Eve and that she is the "perfect" match for him. I love the way NR reveals fresh facets of their relationship in each episode of the In Death series. I am currently reading Strangers In Death. The Eve/Roarke "domestic" scenes touch my heart every time.

Kay

[Nana]

[Linda in sw va]

I think there is some truth to this - I do tend to enjoy a more realistically drawn heroine paired with a larger than life hero. I wouldn't call it a hard and fast rule though, that's just where my interests tend to lie.

However, I don't think we can really define perfect as every reader would see them, it's so subjective. A hero that is perfect for me may completely turn off another reader and it's same thing with heroines. I never cared much for Eve as a character but I agree that she and Roarke are the 'perfect' match and their personalities play off each other well.

I can enjoy a hero such as Roarke which many readers like to describe as 'perfect' as well as Lymond - a deeply flawed character that is so far from perfect he's the anti-perfect. lol I'd rather say that these characters are 'perfectly' written within the context of their stories which is why they grab the hearts of so many readers.

Linda
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"The Bookshop has a thousand books, all colors, hues and tinges, and every cover is a door that turns on magic hinges." ~ Nancy Byrd Turner

[Lynda X]

Neither heroine nor hero has to be perfect for me, but they can't have flaws that are deal breakers, like prejudice, stinginess, smallness of spirit, cruelty to animals or children, etc. I am happy that most romances have abandoned the abusive hero who is cold and rejecting of the heroine. I personally love romances where the hero is totally committed to the heroine, even if unrealistic. Depending on time setting of the novel, what we perceive as a strength is often seen by the heroine and others as a flaw, but sometimes, it's so overdone that it's cloying and makes the characters seem oblivious. I think the "flaw" of an imagination in "Anne of Green Gables" is an example of the perfect balance because Anne's imagination is both a strength and a lovable weakness of hers.

I personally (not being physically perfect, nor having flashing eyes that change color, according to my moods) like physically flawed heroes and heroines. Such flaws lend a vulnerability to the character and often create interesting personal and psychological problems.

[Schola]

[willaful]

[Schola]

[Suzanna]

[Schola]

[Allyson]

It's really interesting how a character who can be too perfect to one, might not be at all to another. I personally had no issue at all with 'An Arranged Marriage' or Nicholas and Eleanor...in fact I really liked them. And it's interesting how many readers feel the opposite. I consider myself to have a much lower tolerance for jerk hero behaviour than some others on this board, but Jo Beverley's heroes don't usually bother me. I think the 'brand' of jerkdom they sometimes have isn't the sort that pushes my hot buttons--I'd rather see someone like Nicholas, doing the wrong things for the right reasons, than a guy like those 80's heroes who seem to behave entirely out of selfish desire.