Well, folks, as you can guess by the title of my post, Liberty’s stirring up trouble again, and this time she’s been nominated as the worst heroine ever! Here’s her nomination:
I nominate miss Liberty Banks fromLiberty for Paul (Scandalous Sisters Series, Book 2) she was already introduced as an unsavory character in the first book of the series Intentions of the Earl (Scandalous Sisters, book 1) as the younger sister who wouldn’t compensate her lack of beauty with a wining personality. She never smiles (because of her cocked teeth) and she lectures her sisters and parents about property (she owns 500 books on the subject). Now we also learn she has a second passion: revenge. She plans a revenge against the hero (Paul) because he saw her naked (while he was saving her life) She says she would prefer to be dead (!) and the resulting scandal leads to their marriage. The story that ensues is a real torture to read. At every oportunityshe runs to her sister’s house, she belives gosip that Paul (who is a vicar and a virgin to boost) has fathered 14! bastards, she constantly misinterprets Paul’s good intentions and the cherry on top: she is unfatefull to him (after all this talk about property) with a masked stranger!!
(Please note, I have not altered this entry in any manner. This entry and all others, can be read on the Amazon Romance Discussion Forum, under the title: “Contest to find the worst romance heroin ever *entries are open*” )
I won’t lie, as an author I took a measure of pride in seeing this post. See, it’s not every day an author can write such a memorable character who not only gets nominated for such a title but is also the inspiration for a new thread!
As the author who dreamed up both Liberty and the man who would eventually grow to love and corral her, I thank you for the nomination and proudly accept. But I must admit, there were a few misleading parts in this nomination that just may take her out of the running and since I’ve gotten several e-mails about this, I think it’s best I air the secrets and leak a few spoilers. Be warned.
First, for as much as Liberty loved propriety (manners) and had 519 books on the subject, she was not unfaithful to her husband. She was, however, tricked into going to a ball where she “met” and eventually kissed her own husband who was heavily disguised. But she didn’t actually cheat on him, and she even told this “stranger” later when he (Paul) thought she was about to cuckold himself with himself that she intended to stay faithful to her husband.
Second, it’s true Liberty thought her husband, who ironically was a Man of God, had fathered 14 illegitimate children. It’s also true though, she wasn’t informed that Paul was a…er…virgin, until the very end of the book when he embarrassedly admits this fact to her in order to prove his innocence.
So there’s the truth about Liberty, Paul, and their soap operaish story, and if these clarifications take her out of the running, well, what can I say? But if not, I’m rather curious as to what the prize is?!
If you’re curious to read what other commenters have said about her, or wish to nominate another heroine, here’s the direct link to the Contest to find the worst romance heroin ever *entries are open*
Good luck to all the nominees and may the worst one win!
Rose Unscripted 
Bummer. I thought there was a sequel where Liberty took in real estate. *sigh* Imagine my disappointment. Now I have to wait for this fall to read another one of your books.
I think Liberty is one of the most misunderstood heroines ever written. I still love her, for what it’s worth.
Don’t worry, Liberty makes a brief appearance in my upcoming series, but she won’t be dealing with real estate, although… *cocks head to the side, rolls eyes heavenward and taps index finger on cheek*
Liberty is very misunderstood, I’m afraid. Even though she grew and matured throughout the book, I think it’s far too easy to see her misdeeds and ignore (or just not see) the good things she did and how she changed because she came off so strong and iron-willed to start with.
I love her, too. I can’t say exactly why, but I’ve always had a strong pull to her.
Great response. You have my admiration!
Cynthia, thank you. You may not believe this, but your comment means a lot ot me.
Umk. So she wasn’t my FAVORITE character, and may have been a bit annoying at times, but she was still a GREAT character. She stayed true to whom she was and that’s probably the best thing about her.
I also think that if a character is going to be ripped into, the one doing the ripping should write a concise report that makes sense and isn’t full of spelling and punctuation errors. Otherwise, they just sound like an idiot.
Also, I didn’t realize that Liberty was into drugs.
I didn’t know she was into drugs before this, either, but from what I hear, she’s recovered quite nicely!
I guess Paul, being a vicar and all, was a positive influence and helped her give up her addiction.