Saturday 13 June 2009

Made to be Broken - The Older Hero

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At the moment I'm reading Made to be Broken by Kelley Armstrong (loving it). But there's one little niggle. Nadia seems content to settle for Quinn - he's the hitman cum government agent (or should that be government agent cum hitman?) - he's in his 30's (I think) charming, witty and knows how to show a lady a good time. :)

So why does it nark me? Why am I not happy that Nadia (seems) to be with Quinn.

Because of Jack - mid-to-late forties, possibly pushing fifty, never met a pronoun he liked. Look up taciturn in the dictionary you'll find a picture of him there. He says one of my favourite lines ever.
...Jack said, "You saw my note, right? It said 'wait'."
"That was a note? I thought it was a haiku."
And he and Nadia have this amazing chemistry on the page that leaves you asking 'Quinn who?'

They are nowhere near having sex, I don't think they've even kissed but it doesn't matter. To me, they just fit as a couple. There's a spark between them that's missing between Nadia and Quinn (IMO :) )

Are there any other older heroes out there? Off the top of my head I'm struggling to come up with any - no guys that aren't vampires or werewolves anyway. :)

Full review of Made to be Broken coming next week. With more thoughts about Jack and Nadia to come.

6 comments:

Janicu said...

Nah, no way will she end up with Quinn! That's just a misdirection. Nadia and Jack FOREVAHH. They just haven't realized it yet. They like each other but Jack thinks he's too old and Nadia thinks he just thinks of her as a protege, nothing else.

Renee said...

Don't you just love that unresolved sexual tension between them? You're totally right about Quinn just fading into the background. He's a nice guy, too, but he's just not right for Nadia.

Sometimes, though, I just want to smack both Jack and Nadia for being so clueless about the other person. I sure hope KA writes the next book in the series soon!

Can't wait for your review.

Carolyn Crane said...

Totally right, I LOVE the chemistry between them. And it's amazing how Armstrong does it without any physicality at all. I love this series.

D.B.Reynolds said...

I agree, no way she'll end up with Quinn. And I'd also like to smack both Nadia and Jack upside the head sometimes. I really like this series and I'm hoping Armstrong doesn't drag out the inevitable Nadia/Jack meeting of the minds too long. I like some unresolved sexual tension -- I mean read my own book, right? -- but I don't like it to go on forever.

And Jack isn't THAT old! And he's in great shape. Plus he's JACK! LOL But you're right Lesley, the oldest heroes are vampires and they don't look old. Other than that, I can think of a few contemporary romances or romantic thrillers that have heroes in their forties, but it's not all that common.

I suspect, though, that it will become more common. Already, there's a market for people-in-their-early-sixties romance, because of the aging baby boomers.

LesleyW said...

Janicu - that's what I think and the further I get into the story the more I think Nadia knows it too.

Renee - Yes, their interactions together are full of chemistry even though they aren't doing anything.

CJ - Kelley Armstrong rocks! I am in total awe of her ability to create characters.

LesleyW said...

D.B.R. - I'm hoping that in the next book we'll have a resolution to their chemistry. I just can't imagine Nadia ending up with Quinn, and after reading a little further on (than when I wrote this blog post) I think that Nadia knows herself that it wouldn't work with Quinn.