Are our heroines growing up?

Recently I've read a few NA (New Adult) books and enjoyed them thoroughly. These are book featuring young heroes and heroines (usually in their early 20s) and targeted at readers roughly the same age.

However, when I first started reading romances, early to mid 20s was a pretty standard age for most romance novel heroines.  These days there seems to be an an increasing trend in contemporary romance (and especially in erotic romance) towards older heroines.

My own heroines tend to be in the 28-33 year age range, because I prefer slightly more worldly-wise characters (no simpering virgins here!)

It's made me wonder whether (a) it's only a trend in my reading rather than the world at large, (b) it's a new trend caused by the split between NA and contemporary romance, or (c) it's a growing trend because readers are growing up and looking for more mature heroines.

So it's poll time! Please share your thoughts in the comments, and take part in the poll in the right side bar to let us know (as readers rather than as writers) which age group you prefer your heroines to be.

Man of the Month needed

Welcome back to a bright, shiny new year. Are you all excited for the fresh start offered by a new year?

Since it's been ages since we had a Man of the Month Poll here on the Minxes blog, I thought we could kick off the year with some eye candy inspiration. But coming up with a theme for this month's selection has been tough, and I'm stumped.

We've already done English hotties, Scottish hotties, Irish hotties, Welsh hotties, Jane Austen hotties, Disney hotties, medical hotties, policeman hotties, bearded hotties, Formula 1 hotties, Golf hotties, Athlete hotties, Rugby hotties here and here, Australian hotties, French hotties, Favourite TV hotties ... you get the picture, right?

What is there left to do?

Well, that's where you come in. Nominate your favourite hero in the comments section and we Minxes will happily do the research and present you with a delectable selection to kick off 2013.

I'll get the ball rolling by nominating the inspiration for the hero of my newest work in progress: Chris Hemsworth.

Man of the Year poll

If you've been following the Minxes for a while, you'll know that every month this year we've treated you to our luscious favourites--the men we've painstakingly researched to bring to you, our lovely blog readers.

So with a man from every month we now bring you the ultimate in pin up calendars: The Minx Guide to Buffness!!

Mr January is Ireland's Jonathan Rhys Meyers.





Mr February is Wales's Ioan Gruffud.






Mr March is Scotland's John Barrowman.





Mr April is England's Daniel Craig.

In May we brought you the medical fave Jesse Williams.

In June it was policeman fave Chris O'Donnell.

In July Daniel Gillies.

August's winner was fast moving F1 racer Jenson Button.

September brought about the first ever tie between Usain Bolt and Oscar Pistorius.

The last months of the year brought us Rugby Union fave Sonny Bill Williams.








And last month's fave, another Kiwi, was Jared Waerea-Hargreaves

 The poll is now up and we're looking for the Man of the Year so please help us with your votes. And yes, greedy Minxes who always want more than one--there's only ONE vote per person!!

Man of the Month: Rugby heroes

*The lucky winner of Kate Walker's giveaway is TashNZ. If you would like to contact us via the blog, we will pass your details on to Kate, congratulations!!*

And from a winner in New Zealand, we move seemlessly on to today's Man of the Month poll. With the quarter finals of the World Cup coming up this weekend, what other types of heroes could there possibly be this month? As this is the Rugby Union World Cup, I wonder if the Minxes will let me do another rugby heroes post next month to celebrate the Rugby League Four Nations cup next month? Ahem ... perhaps not :-{

So with 8 teams left in the competition, let's have a look at some of the talent.

From the home nation, New Zealand, Dan Carter. I'm reliably informed by the lovely Jackie Ashenden that New Zealand is a country in mourning as Dan is injured and can play no further part in the World Cup :-{

Now this guy on the left, Sonny Bill Williams, I know a little about as he played rugby league before defecting to the 15 man game {for those who are interested, there are only 13 players on each team in rugby league}.



From England we have the ever youthful Jonny Wilkinson, he seems to have been playing *forever*. Just as Dan Carter is New Zealand's favourite, so Jonny has English hearts--and not just those who enjoy his skill on the pitch!!

On the right is a guy, James Haskell, I'm so glad Romy Minx suggested for this poll because he looks as though he has great ball skills!!





And from South Africa, we have a man I am reliably informed is as nice in person as he is looking! Percy Montgomery. Not that I am picking pictures solely on how many clothes these rugby players have on {or off!!} but he is the blond guy without the top :-}




Also South African is Victor Matfield, I think he looks like a perfect Presents hero *saves picture in hero file*.



From Italy, who sadly are no longer in the competition, but perhaps it will give Sergio Parisse more time to have such excellent pictures taken!! In his spare time, Sergio models for Dolce & Gabbana.

And finally, last but definitely not least, here is Argentinian Juan Martin Hernandez who I managed to find while taking time to fully research and perfect this post {I know, my attention to detail is admirable!!}.

I should take the time to let you know that last month's poll was a dead heat between the fastest man on earth, Usain Bolt and the fastest man on no legs Oscar Pistorius. Incredibly apt and a wonderful result :-}

August Hotties Poll: the heroes of F1

While Jo C is the rugby fan among the Minxes, Maya and I share a passion for F1. Since I had to miss the last two races due to work, I'm going to make up for it by getting my fix here on the Minxes blog. All month long you'll have an excuse to view some of the eye candy currently lighting up the motor racing circuit, but please don't forget to stop drooling long enough to vote.

Since the hottest drivers (IMO) are also the front-runners in this year's championship, I'm featuring the top six here in their current championship ordes - with one back-runner thrown in for luck.

Leading the current season is Sebastian Vettel. The boy next door, though from where I'm standing, he's a tad on the young side.

Next up is more my style ... Mark Webber. And it's not just an age thing!

In third place is Brit Lewis Hamilton, sadly without a hope in hell of challenging the German for a championship win this year.

A few years ago Fernando Alonso was the pretty boy of F1. He's maturing rather nicely, don't you think?

Jenson Button burst onto the scene in his debut year, and I'm so pleased that he's still hanging in there and hasn't disappeared into obscurity like a certain Canadian who was the F1 pin-up at the time.

In sixth place is the second Ferrari driver, Felipe Massa.

And finally, since the Italians have contributed so much to F1, here's the Italian contender for hottie of the month: Jarno Trulli, now also a wine-maker in the Abruzzo region. Now tell me that isn't the stuff heroes are made of ...



PS: Winner of the July Jane Austen heroes poll was Daniel Gillies, from the Bollywood movie, Bride & Prejudice.

July Hotties Poll: Jane Austen Heroes

Winner of last month’s Policeman Hotties poll was Chris O’Donnell of NCIS: Los Angeles, narrowly beating out Eddie Cibrian (CSI: Miami) and Simon Baker (The Mentalist).

For something a little different, we have a literary theme for this month’s hotties: all of them have been in Jane Austen films.

When I started researching this post I’ll admit my first thought was “What was I thinking? There’s a shortage of good looking men in the Austen films”.
Boy was I wrong!

An image search proved there are a whole bunch of great looking men in the various adaptations, but since I figured ten hotties was about as much as one poll could take, I’ve left out a few, including the rather more obvious choices. If your favourite isn’t here, feel free to tell us about it in the comments section. And please still vote!

First up is the other Mr Darcy, Matthew MacFadyen (Pride and Prejudice, 2005).

Matthew MacFadyen

Next up is Jonny Lee Miller who has played not one, but two, Austen heroes: Edmund Bertram (Mansfield Park, 1999) and Mr Knightley (Emma, 2009)

Jonny Lee Miller

From the same version of Mansfield Park is Alessandro Nivola, the lone American in this poll.

Alessandro Nivola

And also from the 1999 Mansfield Park, James Purefoy, who played Tom Bertram.

James Purefoy

The role of Frank Churchill in Emma has been played by numerous actors. among them Rupert Evans (2009).

Rupert Evans

I know a few Minxes who’ll be voting for the next hottie: Rupert Penry-Jones, who played Captain Wentworth (Persuasion, 2007)

Rupert Penry-Jones

From Sense and Sensibility comes another selection: Greg Wise (1995), Dan Stevens (2008) and Dominic Cooper (2008).

Greg Wise

Dan Stevens

Dominic Cooper

And finally, from the must-see Bollywood version of Jane Austen, Bride and Prejudice, is Daniel Gillies, who played Wickham (now to be seen on TV screens everywhere as the villain in my favourite TV series).

And the winner is: Jonathon Rhys-Meyers

Last week we announced JRM as the winner of our Irish hotties poll. Since he got my entire vote, I happily volunteered to do this tribute post.
 

We bloggers often joke about the heavy research we put in to bring you these blog posts. (Of course it's a joke, because we love it!) But sometimes research can also lead you to dark places you'd rather not go.

For example, I loved JRM in Bend it Like Beckham, sighed over him in August Rush, and thought that his performance of Henry VIII in The Tudors was the best I've ever seen, because he captured the mercurial, young, adventurous King who attracted such devotion, rather than the bloated, slightly mad king who is usually portrayed.

But as I did my research and read news articles about JRM I discovered another side of him: the bad boy side.

So I'd love to know from everyone who voted for him last month - what appealed to you most? His hypnotic blue eyes, his boyish good looks, his movie roles or his bad boy image?

This month's Welsh hottie poll looks like it's going to be a much more closely contested race. If you haven't already voted, please head over to our right sidebar and place your vote. Pictures of the contenders can be found here.

The Ultimate Romantic Hero

As promised, here is the Minxy version of the poll to see which male celebrity is the Ultimate Romantic Hero. Please vote in the poll section on the right sidebar. The poll will stay up for a full week, so feel free to send your friends over to cast their votes.

To assist you in your choice, the Minxes have kindly assembled the reasons why we think each man is a worthy candidate. (Or in other words, here's the eye candy, dear blog readers).

Jo C's choice is Gilles Marini. I've decided to play it safe with this picture, but feel free to google 'Gilles Marini shower' and enjoy the view.

Jo P's choice is Josh Holloway, in his role as the delectable Sawyer.

Lacey's choice is Orlando Bloom (yum!)

Lorraine's choice is James Bond himself: Daniel Craig.

Maya's choice (no, for a change it's not Henry Cavill!) is Joe Flanigan of Stargate Atlantis fame.

Romy's choice is Aussie, Simon Baker. (And I must tell you, it was a tough choice. There are a lot of wonderful contenders out there).

Sally's choice is yet another Aussie, Hugh Jackman (and she insisted he had to be wearing nothing but a towel!)

And last, but most certainly not least, Suzanne's choice is Colin Firth, preferably as the wet-shirted Darcy.

Don't forget to check back here next week to see who the winner is.