Summary
I have been reading theCrescent Cityseries and enjoying it, but there’s one scene that’s so unrealistic that it actually took me out of the story for a bit and I can’t stop thinking about it. The first book introduces Bryce Quinlan, a young half-Fae, half-human woman living in Lunathion, a.k.a. Crescent City. In many ways, the heroine of theCrescent City booksisa refreshing change of pace from most romantic fantasy protagonists. She’s irresponsible and more concerned with having fun than survival, has supportive, loving (if absent) parents, swears and has sex, and is, as the book likes to hammer home, curvy.
Still, anyone who has read Sarah J. Maas' books knows that her protagonists tend to get hard backstories to justify breezing through most challenges offered up in the stories. Powers come easily to them, mastering difficult skills that take other characters years to learn seems to take them only a few months – if they don’t pick it up immediately. While it makes them compelling heroines in some ways, occasionally, their ultra-gifted nature is absurd, andone particular scene inHouse of Earth and Blooddrove that absurdity home for me.
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Bryce Beating The Fae Auxiliary At The Shooting Range Is Ridiculous
For So Many Reasons, This Would Not Happen
Bryce Quinlan is no doubt skilled, andHouse of Earth and Bloodcertainly makes a point of driving home that she was taught how to shoot by legendary human sharpshooter Randall Silago. However, when the book opens, Bryce has spent years partying, getting drunk, and getting high on party drugs, though she does dance. After Danika’s murder, Bryce spends the next two years in a fog of grief – while she no longer drinks, she also no longer dances or does anything physical. On top of that, she’s understandably an emotional wreck. All of this makesBryce outshooting Ruhn and his fellow Fae guard at the shooting range not just implausible, but puts it in the realm of the ridiculous.
Sharpshooting isn’t a skill that one can ignore for years and let deteriorate; it requires regular practice and vigilance to keep the “sharp” part of it intact.
Sharpshooting isn’t a skill that one can ignore for years and let deteriorate; it requires regular practice and vigilance to keep the “sharp” part of it intact. There’s simply no way that Bryce, who hasn’t touched a gun in years, would outshoot the equivalent of Fae special forces, who practice every single day, with zero practice or time to shake off the rust. This goes double for a half-Fae who hasn’t made the Drop yet. I can forgive a lot in my romantasy books for the sake of fun, butI at least want my nonsense to be believable– and that scene was so unbelievably extra that I had to roll my eyes.
Yes, I realize that having issues with the plausibility of a scene in a series where fae, shifters, angels, and mermaids all hang out is a little silly. After all, fantasy is, well, fantastical. It doesn’t reflect reality. But that fantasy needs to be rooted in the believable and that scene just wasn’t. Still, maybe it bothered me so much becauseit speaks to a larger problem with romantasy heroines.
Romantasy Books Have A Problem With Mary Sue Protagonists
We Need A Little Less Plot Amor In Our Heroines
I love a plucky romantasy protagonist – who doesn’t, really? – butI sometimes wish that they weren’t quite so perfect.Too many romantasy heroines (and dystopian YA heroines, if we’re being honest) fall firmly under the umbrella of Mary Sue, with everything coming to them far too easily. It’s a problem that goes back to at leastTwilightwhen the formerly inept Bella Swan suddenly became a perfect superhuman the moment she awakened as a vampire. Feyre Archeron also followed this arc, with her being incredibly (but at least believably) skilled beforehand but taking to being a fae as though she was born for it. Violet Sorrengail ofFourth Wingalso suffers from this; despite her physical challenges, she’s somehow still smarter, luckier, and more powerful than everyone around her.
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Crescent City’s Bryce Quinlan also falls into this trap. She’s able to outwit, outmaneuver, and outwork Hunt Athalar, a legendary angel and one of the most powerful in existence, and high-born Fae who are preternaturally gifted. Again, this is all before she even makes the Drop and taps into her power – which, of course, is a rare and awe-inspiring kind of magic seen in centuries. Don’t mistake me: It can be a lot of fun to watch a character growing into her power and leveling up as she goes. Butromantasy books are starting to reflect the realitythat when everyone’s special, no one’s special.
Not every romantasy heroine has to be the princess who was promised or a once-in-centuries powerful figure.
It would be just as much fun – not to mention more of a challenge to write – if not everything comes too easily to the heroine.Not every romantasy heroine has to be the princess who was promised or a once-in-centuries powerful figure.It would be great to see a romantasy series where the heroine fails, and in a big way, before figuring out how to work within her limitations. It would certainly be more relatable, even inspiring, if she were a little more…normal. Unfortunately, as Bryce’s shooting range scene in theCrescent Citybooks shows, plot armor protagonists probably aren’t going away any time soon.
House of Earth and Blood
2020
House of Sky and Breath
2022
House of Flame and Shadow
2024
