Books about strong female protagonists

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Night_mage
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Post by Night_mage »

I really enjoy books that feature strong female characters. Recently, I have read Iris Johansen's No Easy Target, M.J Scott's Fire Kin and Marked for Death by Amy McKinley. Do you know any similar books?
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Post by Varsha22 »

As you have liked Fire kin, I would suggest you check out From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout.
It also deals with vampires and werewolves and the female character is very well written.
And the writer has really put in some work to make the supernatural beings different than they're usually portrayed in most of the contemporary works.
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Night_mage
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Post by Night_mage »

Thanks for the recommendation, Varsha22. I will check that one out.
Varsha22
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Post by Varsha22 »

Night_mage wrote: 02 Sep 2020, 20:08 Thanks for the recommendation, Varsha22. I will check that one out.
I hope you like it. :D
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Pluma
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Post by Pluma »

I haven't read any of the books that you mentioned, but some fantasy-themed books with strong female protagonists that I’ve enjoyed include ‘Step Sister’ by Jennifer Donnelly and Meagan Spooner’s books ‘Hunted’ and ‘Sherwood’. Some crime/thriller books focused on female protagonists include Lynette Eason’s Elite Guardians series; however, those also have a Christian/religious element, so if that’s not your cup of tea you may not want to give them a try.
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Night_mage
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Post by Night_mage »

Pluma wrote: 09 Sep 2020, 19:09 I haven't read any of the books that you mentioned, but some fantasy-themed books with strong female protagonists that I’ve enjoyed include ‘Step Sister’ by Jennifer Donnelly and Meagan Spooner’s books ‘Hunted’ and ‘Sherwood’. Some crime/thriller books focused on female protagonists include Lynette Eason’s Elite Guardians series; however, those also have a Christian/religious element, so if that’s not your cup of tea you may not want to give them a try.
Oh, I've read the 'Hunted' by Meagan Spooner as well. The protagonist is indeed a remarkable female. I also know Lynette Eason's Elite Guardian series. I like it enough. So I guess I have to try Jennifer Donnelly. Thanks for the advice.
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Post by gab_variable »

Sabaa Tahir's series "An Ember in the Ashes" has a strong female protagonist as one of its POVs, and R. F. Kuang's "The Poppy War" is a strong contender too. You might want to check those out.
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Post by Eriny Youssef »

Octavia Butler's Parable of the Talents and Parable of The Sower.

Paulo Coelho's The Witch of Portobello.

Amanda Palmer's The Art of Asking. (Non-fiction)
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Post by AugustusCaesar »

If you can "stomach" Horror I suggest the official novelization of the Alien Franchise, at least the first three by Alan Dean Foster.

It's just a great journey to see Ripley go from an Average Female Space Truck Driver to a badass destined to fight one of the deadliest Alien Race. The character of Ripley was one of the first truly strong Woman in Movie History, and she is that in the Novels as well.

And don't think the Novels are bad just because they are novelizations, usually I avoid those since they tend to be mediocre at best, but Foster really manages to bring more to the novels than were even in the Movies.

And if you liked them go have a look at some of the other Novels set in the Alien-World, many feature great female Protagonists. If you would want to continue, next I'd go with "The Complete Aliens Omnibus: Volume One", all three include a strong female Protagonist.
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Post by ClaZig »

If you're looking for strong female protagonists, I would strongly recommend two book series: Sally Lockhart and Boudica.
Sally Lockhart is a book series by Philip Pullman about a smart detective who solves fascinating mysteries. I really like this series because it goes beyond just the mysteries themselves and often include some social criticism.
Boudica, by Manda Scott, tells the story of a historical icon. Boudica is a Celtic queen who dares to challenge the Roman rule and tries to free her people.
Those are two book series really present complex and strong female characters instead of just putting women fighting to show their strength as many stories do.
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Post by Lila Randhawa »

Books by Barbara Taylor Bradford, like, A Woman of Substance, have strong female protagonists. They come in series an they can be read as standalone novels, as well.
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Post by Raluca_Mihaila »

I recommend Shadow Game (The Elle Anderson Series Book 1) by A.M. Adair. A very credible action book with Elle Anderson as the main character. FYI, the author (a woman) is an active duty Chief Warrant Officer in the Navy with over 19 years in the Intelligence Community.
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Post by Goral »

Night_mage wrote: 02 Sep 2020, 00:35 I really enjoy books that feature strong female characters. Recently, I have read Iris Johansen's No Easy Target, M.J Scott's Fire Kin and Marked for Death by Amy McKinley. Do you know any similar books?
If you like science fiction then you'll enjoy Zara Hanson & The Mystery of the Painted Symbol
by J.L. Haynes. There's a female protagonist and it's really fun to read about her. The way she acts in the face of danger is simply inspiring.
You can't buy happiness but you can buy books, and that's kind of the same thing
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Post by perekenighan »

Goral wrote: 06 Apr 2021, 05:56
Night_mage wrote: 02 Sep 2020, 00:35 I really enjoy books that feature strong female characters. Recently, I have read Iris Johansen's No Easy Target, M.J Scott's Fire Kin and Marked for Death by Amy McKinley. Do you know any similar books?
If you like science fiction then you'll enjoy
Zara Hanson & The Mystery of the Painted Symbol
by J.L. Haynes. There's a female protagonist and it's really fun to read about her. The way she acts in the face of danger is simply inspiring.



Sounds interesting. I'll go for this one
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Post by Michelle Menezes »

A lot of fantasy novels written by female authors have strong female protagonists. Some of my favourites are The Daevabad trilogy, Graceling, Kingmaker Chronicles, Song of the Lioness quartet, Desert Nights series.
If you like thrillers, then Sidney Sheldon books are amazing.
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