by Leni Hanson
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Like you, I love reading lesfic! There are so many fantastic books out there. I applaud all the authors out there who are putting their heart and soul into their books. This is a small list of characters that have endeared themselves to me. Their story(ies) I’ve read multiple times. I’ve had to leave out other genres and some of my favorite books to keep this list shorter. Since Maggie Brown and I collaborated on a book, I didn’t include her characters. Several of her characters would be on this list of 10 Most Endearing Lesfic Characters. Cheers!
Dr. Honor Blake – Fated Love; Easy Loving (In Deep Waters-Volume One: Cruising the Seas); Night Call; Passionate Rivals; Unrivaled – Radclyffe
Highly competent, loyal, caring chief of emergency services who treats staff as equals and pulls the chief card only when needed. A loving wife, widow, parent and friend. Would love to live next door to her and her family. Their annual BBQ would be a blast.
Secret Service Agent Cam Roberts from the Honor Series gets a special call-out.
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Col. Rebecca Keane – Ask, Tell; Ask Me Again; If the Shoe Fits – E.J. Noyes
IMHO it’s hard enough working as the chief of an emergency department, but when it’s in a war situation in a foreign country, the stress level must be nuts. Admired Bec as she expertly led and occasionally bent strict military rules for the well-being of her unit, as they dealt with the daily outcome/horrors of war, and especially (spoiler) when those horrors necessitated using her surgical skills in a life/death situation on someone she loves. (End spoiler). Her turmoil living under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell regulation was felt every time she rubbed her thumb and forefinger together.
Victoria Ford – The Music and the Mirror; Interlude – Lola Keeley
Victoria’s character, Artistic Director of the Metropolitan Ballet, is my favorite ice queen. My heart goes out to people living in pain of any type. With her own magnificent ballet career cut short by injury, Victoria pushes her perfection on the Met Ballet corps (and later, the Paris ballet) making them better than even they think they are, while cleverly managing to outmaneuver the cruel benefactor who has his own agenda. All this, in addition to dealing with her crippling pain. She hides her heart behind sarcasm, but underneath the layers is a woman who cares deeply about her dancers and her art. How awesome it would be to be her protégé!
Catherine Ayers – The Red Files; Under Your Skin; Flashbang (Sliced Ice); When DC Met Iowa (Sliced Ice) – Lee Winter
Catherine is a deliciously sharp-witted, supremely confident, fiendishly clever reporter who doesn’t want to make friends and always gets her story. Those who do wrong to her or others – always pay sooner or later – in a way only a slick reporter can do. She’s feisty to the end. I also love Elizabeth Thornton (Breaking Character), Natalya Tsvetnenko (Requiem for Immortals), Elena Bartell (The Brutal Truth), and Amelia Duxton (Hotel Queens) – Lee Winter’s other ice queens.
Elise Brandeis – Edge of Glory – Rachel Spangler
Elise happens to be my favorite athlete. Nothing spells disaster to an athlete like an ACL injury the year before the Olympics. Coming back from such an injury requires unbelievable effort and commitment. Elise is motivated by previous Olympic results to try to qualify for the team, even though the governing body has written her off. This “I’ll show you” sort of mindset is one of my favorite traits of endearing characters.
Lacey Matthews – Casting Lacey – Elle Spencer
Like Catherine Ayers, Lacey has been screwed over in her career and love life. Lacey is a much-loved former soap opera actress with an NYC attitude. Her interactions as a fake girlfriend with the other main character, successful primetime TV actress Quinn Kincaid, resulted in some of the funniest lines I’ve ever read. Conversely, her devotion to caring for her sick mother and an injured Quinn are touching.
Vicar Faith Divine – Blind Faith; Christmas Bizarre – Emma Nichols
All the characters from this series are quirky and lovable. It makes me wish I lived in such a village. Faith Divine is a motorcycle & skateboard riding, tattooed, Vicar who is behind the fundraising efforts of local recreation centers for disadvantaged youth. If that’s not enough for you, her backstory as an orphan who survived the crash that took the life of her parents and spent years asking, “why me?” and then ended up guiding others who need help is uplifting.
Charlotte Thompson – Those Who Wait; Forever and a Day – Haley Cass
Charlotte is a politician who aspires to follow in her grandmother’s footsteps to one day become President of the US. (Spoiler 🙂 Her decision to out herself right before her election to Congress is sure political suicide, but one that got my admiration and vote).
Lily Linden-Smith – Love by the Numbers – Karin Kallmaker
I can’t begin to imagine what it would be like to be in a position where you’re hated nationwide by the public for something your parents did. You’ve gone from wealthy to poor, but everyone thinks you have their money because of the word of a popular reporter who won’t stop spreading lies. The future you planned, the family and friends are gone and what’s left can be packed into a small suitcase. This is Lily’s world. But she takes advantage of her positives, thinks quickly on her feet, works hard, helps others in need, and has a strong inner cheerleader going for her that doesn’t let her give up.
Jill Corrigan – Just Physical – Jae
Jill’s an actress with Multiple Sclerosis at age 25. Need I say more?
Bonus! Ten More!
Hope Alvarez, The Love Project – TB Markinson and Miranda MacLeod
Brooklyn Campbell – Kiss the Girl (Soho Loft Romances) – Melissa Brayden
Jessica Lambert – Finding Jessica Lambert – Clare Ashton
Lucille Bartlett – High October (entire Hobbs series) – Elena Graf
Supreme Court Justice Victoria Willoughby – Barring Complications; Benched – Blythe Rippon
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Police Officer Sam McKenna– In a Heartbeat – RJ Nolan
Lily Croft – Listen – Kris Bryant
Eva Caruso – Delay of Game – Tracey Richardson
Laura Fry – The Neighbor – Gerri Hill
Catherine Gardner/Junebug Animal Shelter – Run to You – Georgia Beers
About Leni Hanson
Leni Hanson is a voracious reader. In addition to hundreds of paperbacks, she’s read over 700 lesfic ebooks on her Kindle since the first one: Georgia Beer’s “Blend” in May 2018. She loves lesfic books of all genres. Those who know her well compare her to Lucy Ricardo. Impulsive, wacky, means well, but always stepping into it.
THE LAST TIME WE MET by Maggie Brown & Leni Hanson
What if you’re a nerdy med student and a womanizing rock star wants you as her next conquest—then leaves you totally humiliated.
Now fast-forward eleven years.
Sexy and magnetic, Australian rock star Austen Farleigh is at the height of her spectacular career. Her penchant for one-night stands is as famous as her many songs.
American Dr. Merritt Harrington now works for Doctors Without Borders and is at a crossroads in her life. Her last assignment in the Andes Mountains was harrowing, and her love life at a dead end. No one has been able to ignite even a tiny spark since Austen—damn her.
When they meet again in Australia, Merritt is desperate to keep Austen at arm’s length. But temptation whispers in her ear.
From the US to Peru to Australia and the highlands of Papua New Guinea, their desire for one another is on an uncontrollable collision course—with a force they may no longer be able to ignore.
