The Too Perfect Wounded Hero
Every woman has her own taste in men, especially when it comes to their heroes in romances. The majority love the Alpha male. (Doesn’t it just seem right to capitalize that word?) And almost the same amount of fans love wounded Alpha males.
You know that Alpha male who was done wrong by a woman in the past, be it his mother, girlfriend, or wife or all three. Of course, there are a few fellows who the world has mistreated from day one, a.k.a. Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Acheron.
I’m with the majority. I love the Alpha hero who needs a special female to help him heal. Of course, that woman better be special herself. No Alpha will respect a woman who is a doormat. Oh, and he needs to be smart. Who can abide the dumb ones? Yes, they’re out there.
Now after saying all that, I have a problem with the too perfect wounded hero. He knows all the right moves and is skilled in everything, including making love. The fellow never fails at anything. When that’s the case, he’s like Mary Poppins. He’s“practically perfect in every way.” So if he’s so perfect, why doesn’t he heal himself and have a stable relationship before he meets that special one? Sorry. But if you have personal demons, they tend to screw up other areas.
That’s the reason the hero in Circle of Danger is in no way a perfect, though Ryker’s certainly a wounded Alpha. At the age of eleven, he witnessed the death of his parents by a car bomb. He’d tried to save them but the sequential explosion scarred part of his body and blinded one eye.
The scars remind him everyday what he’s lost. But that’s not all. His father’s partner takes full control over the mercenary organization, The Circle. When Ryker fights back from the physical abuse dealt by the partner, he’s sent away to be trained in obedience and to become the organization’s deadliest operative.
Of course, all of that is slowly revealed in Circle of Danger and I promise doesn’t spoil the story for you. Once Ryker becomes the new leader of The Circle, he has so much to go wrong. After a designer drug kills four local women, he instructs his operatives to locate and stop the drug dealer, the Wizard.
When the woman Ryker loves is injected by the same drug, he goes in search for an antidote. Though he’s done everything to protect her from the same monster he’s fought in the past, he realizes he’s failed once again and now a new evil can hurt her. The problem is, it may be him.
So all of that leads to the question, what irritates you about perfect heroes and heroines? One lucky commenter will win a copy of Circle of Danger. I’ll announce the winner here tomorrow morning by 8 a.m. central time. (Don't forget to leave your email address to be contacted)
Carla Swafford's Bio:
Carla Swafford knows her personal life isn’t as exciting as her characters. She lives in Alabama and is married to her high school sweetheart. A third generation storyteller, she enjoys all kinds of romances and loves writing about the different paths taken to that beautiful happy ending.Circle of Desire and Circle of Danger are available now.
You can find Carla Swafford at
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35 comments:
I certainly dont enjoy a perfect hero, I like them flawed and with torchured souls ;) Anyone let alone a hero that is perfect ruins a storyline we wnat to see the progression of any hero.. :O) love the sound of your book will be adding it to my tbr pile Kat ;)
They are never perfect. Character flaws are what makes the reader want to find out what, when, where, and why things happen as they do. I have never read any of your books but I feel the need to read them now :) Thank you so much for the giveaway!
sandersknc@yahoo.com
Thanks, Katrina! We do love knowing their life was miserable before they met their special one. LOL!
True. Though I've seen in books too many heroes making the right decisions, having the right skills and doing everything perfectly. I want to see some failure. :-) Some doubt on what to do next.
THANKS, Cheryl! :-D
too perfect sometims is annoying, dont like it
thank for the giveaway
eli_y83@yahoo.com
i dont like hero who act like jerk and asshole, who can't decide what to do,
thank you for the giveaway
oppss i forgett to write my email is nana.alcelinia@gmail
thank you
Simply said, Eli. Thanks. :-)
That indecision stuff would make me throw the book against the wall. Thanks, Nana.
Give me a minute. I am still staring at that photo of the amazing Alexander S at the top of the blog. SIGH !!
I LOVE a scarred, tortured, flawed hero!
With emotional scars come flaws of all kinds - inability to compromise, refusal to get attached because he might be hurt or worse, refusal to get attached because he fears connection to him may be harmful or he won't be able to protect the person(s) he's attached to because of a bad track record in the past.
And the harder and more wrong-headed these flaws make him the better I like it. Because then you can write an AWESOME heroine to set him straight!
LOL! Such good points, Lousia! Thanks for stopping by.
In order for a book to make a mark, there has to be more to the hero and heroism than the alpha male/modern woman factor. There's something they must learn, something which makes them change. In Circle of Desire, Olivia changes when she falls in love with Collin Ryker and Collin changes too. They both learn to trust. I can't wait to see how Ryker and Marie work things out. These two characters already met in Circle of Desire and I'm really hungry for their story.
Many of the alpha heroes in the novels I've read recently have trust issues, it appears.
Thanks, Maria. Does my heart good to see my characters used by someone else to make a point. *sigh* :-)
Trust does appear to be a big one. And I can understand that as sometimes trust isn't necessarily about trusting someone else, but trusting ourselves.
Hugs.
Give me a flawed and tortured Alpha male and I'll be perfectly happy.
LOL! We do love mistreating them, don't we? LOL! Thank you, PrincessFiona01!
Hmm...well, I like the emotionally injured heroes but what I don't like are the way too strong/too weak heriones. There has to be a nice balance between that. If that makes sense?
Awesome giveaway!
mariekazebee@gmail.com
Oh, good point, Marie, especially about the too strong heroine. There's something to be said about feminine heroines who know how to take care of herself. Let a man be a man and woman, well, you get the drift.
I think it would be hilarious to have the kick-ass heroine insist that the hero open doors for her and let her enter first. You know...to be polite. LOL!
I don't think I've read a perfect hero/heroine yet. When I think of perfect, I don't think of them as not having flaws. they're perfect because even when wounded, they are able to give and receive love. (is that too cheesy?)
email: ariannecruz07 at gmail.com
Actually, I love cheesey. Thanks, Arianne.
I don't want a hero who's so sure he's right, he won't really listen to anyone else's take on a situation.
chey127 at hotmail dot com
I'm with you on that, chey. He better listen to his woman. ;-)
A perfect hero to me is one that is flawed and has to overcome some trauma to be able to accept his own shortcomings. Cliched heros are the only types that annoy me. I like writers who use the setup in a different way. I guess that's true for me of all subjects that are written about. I like to get something unexpected from my flawed Alpha men. Your book looks really interesting.
MJB
msmjb65 AT gmail DOT com
A perfect hero is just unreal, and therefore kind of annoying because you are thinking how impossible he or she is... but a flawed person, who you can admire even more because of the challenges they have faced... so HOT!
Oh, and my email... lavendersbluegreen(at)yahoo(dot)com
I don't like that they think they can do no wrong.
bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
I actually don't think I have read any perfect heroes - thank goodness. I think they would come across as rather bland.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Thanks, msmjb65. You will find that I like different too and my heroes make wrong decisions and are not alway the best at everything.
I love seeing the hero come to the realization that there is so much more to learn especially with the heroine's help. :-)
Thanks, lavendersbluegreen.
Oh, yes, I would be rolling my eyes.
Thanks, bn100!
Hey Marybelle! I agree. Where would they grow as a person? I need to see a change from the beginning to the end of the book for both characters, in all fairness.
I don't like "Perfect" heroes and heroines because they are just unbelievable. No one is perfect, everyone has flaws, makes mistakes, etc. If someone were perfect, the character could not grow, have conflicts, etc and would be very boring.
Congrats on the release!
manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com
Am I too late? Hope I've managed to jump the time gap from here in New Zealand. I love the description of your book.
All best with mega sales!
Oops, here's my address: cherieleclare@gmail.com
Perfection in anyone is hard to believe in (& life with!). A little wickedness is so deliciously sinful and of course don't all of us love wounded tortured heroes & a sassy kick ass heroine?
thumbelinda03@yahoo.com
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