Ten Tough Women Who Love as Hard as They Fight by Zen DiPietro

I am so excited to have author Zen DiPietro on the blog today. She's here with an awesome guest post about kickass female characters. Enjoy :)

Ten Tough Women Who Love as Hard as They Fight

by Zen DiPietro

I love books that give all the feels. Laughter, love, excitement, epic battles, and things that go boom. It’s what I write and what I love to read or watch on the big screen. So here’s a list (in no particular order) of my ten favorite female heroes who are awesome at being awesome, but are also strong enough to love.

Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.

Whether it’s the book or the movie, Lizzie is way ahead of her time in terms of feminism, standing up for herself and living her life on her own terms. But she and Mr. Darcy are so beautifully suited that their story remains a favorite a hundred years after it was written.

Leeloo from The Fifth Element.

She’s a supreme being and he’s the ever-reluctant hero. Her job is to protect him and the world from destruction. Which she does. Yet she’s not too high and mighty to know that Corbin Dallas and love are worth fighting for.

Jane Smith from Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

What to do when two top assassins are required to kill each other? They do their very best in spectacular fashion, only to fail. Perhaps intentionally. And only then do they realize how very much they care about each other.

Devi Morris from Rachel Bach’s Paradox series.

This is one of my very favorite book series. Devi is exactly the kind of heroine I want to read more of. More like her, please! But she falls in love (I won’t mention a name in case you haven’t read this series) and I love how she handles it.

Elizabeth Swan from Pirates of the Caribbean

She doesn’t start out all that tough but she does turn into a pirate and even becomes pirate king. Her love for Will goes back to childhood and once he gets over his shyness, there’s no stopping them. She even steps in front of a wall of swords and feeds a pal to a Kraken to save her beloved.

Kassimeigh from the Guardians of Terath series.

Okay, so she’s a hero from one of my own books. I don’t mean to shamelessly self-promote, but I wrote her precisely because she’s the type of character I love. So it only makes sense that I adore her, as well as her love story.

Amanita from Sense8

If you haven’t watched Sense8, it’s fantastic. I can’t wait for season 2.  Amanita is wicked fierce, particularly when it comes to her love for Nomi. While Amanita’s pure devotion to Nomi is a background B story, it outshines the A story for me.

Breq from Ancillary Justice

Her love is not a romantic one, but it’s all the more touching for it. As the humanized form of a ship-mind (I know, sounds weird, but that’s what makes this book great), the fact that she cares so much for a person gives her purpose and makes her relatable.

Kahlan from Wizard’s First Rule

I read this series a long time ago, but Kahlan is a great character. The Mother Confessor and the last of her kind. Even though it seems she and Richard can’t be together, it doesn’t stop her from loving him.

Rose Tyler from Doctor Who

If you haven’t watched the 2005 reboot of Doctor Who, there’s a long-term romance between the doctor and Rose that is every fangirl’s dream. Rose doesn’t wield a sword or magic but she leads with a wicked sense of adventure and a heart as big as the universe. The love between her and the doctor was pretty much everything in this series and once the show moved on past it, Doctor Who really suffered a big loss.

So that's it! 10 fantastic women who kick butt, take names, and create compelling love stories precisely because they are so dynamic. If I didn’t mention one of your favorites, do chime in! Especially if it’s a book hero, because I’m always on the prowl for my next favorite read. J

 Okay, everyone. Share your favorite kickass romantic female leads in the comments. Mine is Eve Dallas from the In Death series by J.D. Robb aka Nora Roberts. I also love Katarina from my romantic fantasy, Stolen Moon, and Ashlyn from Shadow Fire. They both fight for what they believe in and love with all their hearts.

Facing Fortune

Guardians of Terath #2

Zen DiPietro

Amazon

A new manahi. A new military. A famous bard who suddenly resurfaces after a decade of hiding.

A lot of changes have taken place on Terath, and an ecological crisis has raised tensions to the breaking point. Kassimeigh and Arc must work with Luc and the scientists in the Capital to determine whether the discovery is a threat to the planet. Each discovery unspools more questions, as they question the nature of mana and what it means to Terath.

At the same time, they must try to calm an increasingly nervous population. Will and Izzy offer their help in that regard, but the newly-formed Guard has never been called into action before.

Meanwhile, Kassimeigh must deal with a shocking change in her own circumstances, which forces her to rethink her place in the world.

Life, death, mana, and chaos rival one another for supremacy. How can Kassimeigh help protect the world when she has no idea where she belongs in it?

About the Author

Zen DiPietro is a lifelong bookworm, a fantasy/sci-fi writer, a dancer, and a mom of two. Also red-haired, left-handed, and a vegetarian geek. Absolutely terrible at conforming. Particular loves include badass heroines, Star Trek, British accents, baba ganoush, and the smell of Band-Aids. Writing reviews, author interviews, and fun stuff at www.womenofbadassery.com. Very active on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.