Story where the wise key players are out smarted by the bad guys.

[Mrsbooks]

So You know when you’re reading or watching something on tv, and the lead character has done a pretty good job of not acting stupid, but then in order to make the plot go forward and the bad guy temporarily get the advantage, they have the lead character make a really stupid decision? (An example would be a girl who’s been suspecting a guy of rape who’s careful of never being alone with him but in the end drinks a beverage he hands her).

I’m looking for a story where the lead character is smart and does everything right, only to have the bad guys out smart them, at least for a while.

I would prefer If there was also a romance plot in there somewhere too. Modern, historical, sci fi, fantasy. I’m not really a fan of paranormal though.

[Crystal]

Wait I'm not sure if I understand you completely here. So you don't want books that have characters that do stupid things because of the plot? And you want smart characters that occasionally get outsmarted by smart villains?

^if that's what you're searching for then I recommend Six of Crows. It's a YA fantasy/adventure about a team of misfits that complete an insane heist. Both the main characters and the villains are smart. There is some romance as well

[Jess]

The Shadow and Bone trilogy also by the same author would fit that bill as well.

[Mrsbooks]

Crystal wrote: "Wait I'm not sure if I understand you completely here. So you don't want books that have characters that do stupid things because of the plot? And you want smart characters that occasionally get ou..."

Thank you for your recommendation. The funny thing is that's the very series that inspired my post! It's the first book I've ever read that the bad guys were really smart so the good guys had to be even smarter!

[Moloch]

Dracula
I'm reading it now. So far the good guys are all smart, driven, brave and have all done their best, but the vampire is still one step ahead.

[Mrsbooks]

Bump

[Robert]

It might fit with a number of Guy Gavriel Kay's books.

Katherine Kurtz's Deryni books might also fit the bill.

[Seth]

I recommend you peruse this list: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Protags being smart and not making obvious mistakes for the sake of the plot is one of the criteria for inclusion. Which is not to say there are necessarily villains who earn victories in every story listed, or that the protagonists are always heroes - for that, I recommend Animorphs: The Reckoning in particular.