In fiction,
the broken hero offers a wide array of literary avenues to pursue. The heroine could save the hero, with a
little telepathic help (see my review of Maya Banks latest KGI novel Whispers in the Dark). Just when Nathan, who was imprisoned and
tortured in a guerrilla jungle camp, was about to give up all hope, Shea came
to him as a voice, encouraged him, saved him.
Despite his rescue, Nathan was still a pale shadow of the man he was
before his capture. Shea came back to
him in the physical world, and her being, her love and her faith in him renewed
his spirit and healed even his unseen wounds.
The hardest
blow to any hero may be the broken body.
As heroes, many of these characters need their bodies and brawn to save
and to charm. But what happens when the
broken hero is quite literally broken in body?
I loved this theme in the Paladians of Darkness series by Alexis
Morgan. Both Devlin (Dark Protector) and Blake’s (Dark Defender) stories sucked me into
the fierce warrior world of the Paladians.
These heroes found their ultimate salvation and healing in the loving
arms of their mates…Proving once again, that love can heal all types of wounds.
Broken may
also come in the form of a shattered heart or a firm disbelief that love can
ever be true…this point is no better exemplified than by my newest favourite
author Kristen Ashley and her book Sweet
Dreams. Tate is crude, rude and
bitter…but just about women. His ex hurt
him more ways than could be counted. The
worst of it came when she intentionally kept their son from him. Tate’s life took on so many different twists
and turns that he could have just given up, but he didn’t. He merely gave up his belief that there could
be a faithful woman. I loved watching
Laurie prove him wrong. Her belief in
mankind and her unfailing optimism won Tate over…then her love for him
delivered him. True love can mend a
broken heart.
Another
great Kristen Ashley hero that is saved by true love is Cabe “Hawk” Delgado in Mystery Man. While not broken in the physical sense, Hawk
is definitely not into relationships.
This type of man is also the type of guy many of my friends meet on
Plenty of Fish (read fun in fiction, but crumby in real life). The emotionally crippled man is the ultimate
make work project. But in Mystery Man, what we see are two
emotionally crippled people who learn to trust and believe in each other…with
the rewards being oh, so sweet! The Dream
Men series is a great set of reads. The last edition, Motorcycle Man, is anticipated May 24, 2012 with Tack as the
ultimate Dream Man and the pinnacle example of the emotionally broken and
unavailable man.
While the
theme of tortured and broken heroes is a common undercurrent in romantic suspense,
generally they are never too broken or tortured or embittered to see the
promise of a wonderful HEA . Tell me about your favourite broken or
tortured hero…I also would love your comments and book suggestions! Enjoy!
Karia
No comments :
Post a Comment
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on NRR!
Lenore
~Media Coordinator/ Site Owner