Do the Heroes Have to Be Jerks to Be Seen as Powerful, Dynamic Alphas?

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Harlequin Presents are my crack!]

You know I love these books, but I hate that the heroes can be so overbearing and oversexed. Is that the only way a hero can be seen as alpha? What do you think?

[Bargainbooks]

I know what you mean. But, sadly that's the thing that keeps bringing me back to read certain authors. The thing I'm looking for is a better response from the heroine than, 'oh, I love him so much he can do whatever he wants, treat me anyway he wants and get away with it.'

I've come close with a few of the Carole Mortimer books and some of Sally Wentworth's heroines but - more often than not - we're left with the lie down and take it variety (pushovers).

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Harlequin Presents are my crack!]

I see what you mean. I think Susan Napier does a good job of having alph heroes who aren't jerks.

[Mojca]

Well, HP aren't my favorite genre, but I know what you mean. In every single HP book I've read so far, the hero is a complete jackass. Stubborn, mostly bent on revenge for some slight by the heroine's family, and those revenges mostly entail blackmailing the heroine into bed...Sorry, but to me, blackmailing the heroine into sleeping with you (usually by offering money to save her family's business or brother or whatever) is just turning her into a whore. And the worst part is, the stupid girl goes along with the plan and even ends up completely in love with the a-hole.

And of course, in the end she forgives him everything he's said and done, once he admits he's been too blind to see just how much she meant to him.

And still I read these books (not often, but I do). *sigh* Oh, rant over.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Harlequin Presents are my crack!]

I know where you're coming from, Alathea. Hey I started a group for these books. :)

[Mojca]

In the HP I read a few days back, The Latin Lover (you know the one with two books that I hated the first and loved the second), the second story features a revenge-by-seduction-and-planned-dumping story with blackmail to speed the process.

Cheesy, eye-roll worthy, but I still loved it. Is that saying I need professional help? ;)

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Harlequin Presents are my crack!]

Well if you need help, sign me up for counseling as well. Have you seen my shelves? Quite a few of those non-PC themes will be found there. :)

[Lemon]

Absolutely not! This is why I like to read Helen Brooks and Ally Blake.