Powerless heroines put us to sleep faster than a hot bath and snuggly pajamas. Overpowered ones remove all the stakes. Here's the FMC sweet spot fantasy romance is finally discovering.
It's me again, and I'm just gonna rip the band-aid off and say it out loud: fantasy romance has a FMC problem.
And it's not the problem you think.
For years, readers like me griped about weak, passive heroines who existed only to be rescued and looked at. The blank slates. The doormats. The girls with zero personality who somehow attracted every powerful, super-hot guy within a fifty-mile radius.
We demanded better. Authors listened. Publishers caught up.
And now? Well, now we're drowning in FMCs who are SO powerful, SO gifted, SO ridiculously capable at everything that they've become just as boring as the helpless ones we hated (or completely forgot).
cough Diana Bishop cough
I've been reading and writing romance long enough to know that an overpowered FMC who can do literally everything is just a Mary Sue with a sword and better PR.
So if you've ever rage-quit a book because the heroine had the personality of sodium-free chicken broth OR because she solved every problem with whatever convenient superpower she discovered that chapter—welcome! Now put on your cozies and fix yourself something hot, cold, or boozy, because babe, we need to talk.
The Blank Slate Era (When FMCs Had Less Personality Than A Piece of Toast)
You know this girl.
She has no hobbies beyond a brief mention in chapter 1. No strong opinions besides "I don't want to die" and "ERMAGERRRD what's happening to me?"
She's brunette (but not TOO pretty, obviously). She's clumsy (endearingly so, but it's never actually inconvenient). She's "not like other girls" because she...reads books? Wears jeans? Has a pulse?
Her defining character trait is having literally no defining character traits.
She's a blank slate. A self-insert. A cardboard cutout where an actual person should be.
Why This Became a Thing
The old logic said: if she's generic enough, ANY reader can imagine themselves in her place.
She's not intimidatingly smart or gorgeous or talented. She's just...there. Average. You know..."relatable." Which sounds good in theory—representation for the everywoman and all that.
Except it completely misunderstands what readers actually want.
Why We're Over It
We don't wanna read about someone with no personality. We want characters who have OPINIONS, who make choices we probably wouldn't make, who surprise us and piss us off and make us GAF.
A heroine with no defining traits isn't relatable—she's just not there. She's a meat suit with legs following the hot guys around.
And honestly? If I wanted to watch hot guys do stuff, I'd just turn on Netflix. I'm reading a BOOK because I wanna experience HER story, not watch her stumble through everyone else's.
The blank slate FMC was boring then, she's boring now, and I'm so over it.
Moving on...
The Mary Sue Problem (When "Perfect" Became Its Own Circle of Hell)
So many readers hated the blank slate that authors tried something different: the Mary Sue.
Oh, you've met her again and again. She's the one everyone instantly obsesses over for absolutely no reason.
She's extraordinarily beautiful (but doesn't know it—somehow, despite owning mirrors). She's naturally talented at literally everything she tries. She has no real flaws, OR her "flaws" are actually just humble-brags wearing a transparent disguise.
"I'm just SO clumsy!" she chirps, tripping directly into the arms of a shirtless warrior who's been waiting his whole immortal life for someone THIS special.
She never makes real mistakes. And when she does? There are zero lasting consequences because the universe bends itself into a pretzel to accommodate her precious existence.
Why Authors Thought This Would Work
The Mary Sue is wish fulfillment on STEROIDS.
She's special. Chosen. Perfect. And everyone recognizes it immediately.
In theory, she makes readers feel powerful by proxy.
Authors/Publishers: "Wanna read about this girl who is/has everything we want? You can imagine you're actually her, right? Do you like the story so far??"
Readers: "Ummm...I DNF'd like, a week ago."
Why This Failed Spectacularly
Because perfection is the death of story.
Trust me on this—I'm a recovering perfectionist, and I've absolutely strangled the crap out of my own stories trying to make them flawless. Perfection doesn't create magic.
It kills it.
With fire.
If the perfect FMC is naturally good at everything, where's the struggle? If everyone loves her instantly, where's the earned connection? If she never truly fails, where are the stakes?
The Mary Sue doesn't grow. She doesn't change. She just... IS. Perfect. Boring. Insufferable.
And after about three chapters, you wanna throw your Kindle across the room because NOTHING MATTERS. She's gonna be fine. She's gonna succeed. The 900-year old vampire's gonna burn the world down for her when all they've done is kiss. Everyone's gonna love this bish. The end of the story is never in doubt.
Perfect characters aren't aspirational. They're annoying as hell.
The Overpowered FMC (How We Overcorrected Into a Whole New Disaster)
And now we arrive at the current problem.
Sir Isaac Newton said, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."
So after literal decades of weak, passive, boring, perfect heroines, fantasy romance overcorrected SO HARD. Now we're drowning in FMCs who are so powerful that they've accidentally sucked all the tension out of their own stories.
The Overpowered FMC Problem
You know this girl too. She's a brilliant scholar...
AND a powerful witch
AND holds men spellbound with a mere sniff of her clothes/perfume
AND has every supernatural ability
AND masters new skills instantly
AND probably makes excellent sourdough bread on the side.
This bish can time-travel, has all the magic, and can basically do whatever the plot needs her to do at any given moment.
cough Diana Bishop cough
Oh, the characters are trapped somewhere impossible? Don't worry—she just discovered she can time travel (convenient).
Oh, they need to defeat this powerful ancient enemy who's been unstoppable for millennia? Good thing her magic conveniently includes EXACTLY the ability required (what are the odds??).
Oh, there's a problem with—you know what? It doesn't matter because this gal's got it covered. She can handle literally everything. Because of course she can. Why wouldn't she?
Can you feel my facepalm? CAN YOU???
Why This Is Just as Boring as the Doormat
I know this answer!! It's because unlimited power removes ALL. THE. STAKES.
If we KNOW the heroine will just discover/master whatever ability she needs exactly when she needs it, why are we worried? Why are we invested? Why do we even care what happens next?
An overpowered FMC is basically a Mary Sue who traded "everyone loves me for no reason" for "I can do literally anything"—but the core problem is the same: nothing is earned, nothing costs her anything, and therefore nothing actually matters.
Power without struggle isn't empowering. It's a one-way ticket to DNF-town.
And somehow, we've gone from heroines who can't do anything to heroines who can do everything—and both extremes are putting us to sleep.
What We Actually Want (And Why It's Apparently So Hard to Get Right)
So if blank slates are boring, Mary Sues are insufferable, and overpowered FMCs remove all the stakes from a story...then what DO we actually want?
I can tell you. We want complexity.
We want an FMC who's powerful BUT flawed. Competent, BUT STILL makes mistakes. Skilled, BUT STILL has clear limits that create real tension.
We want to watch her struggle. We want to worry she might fail. We want her victories to feel EARNED because we watched her bleed for them.
We want this because WE are also powerful but flawed. We're competent, but still make mistakes. We're skilled, but we have limits that create real tension in our lives.
Our Idea FMC's Sweet Spot
She has a distinct personality—opinions, preferences, quirks that make her HER
She makes choices that drive the plot forward (not just reacting to whatever happens TO her)
She has real flaws that create real problems that she can't just "magic" away
She's powerful, but that power has limits...and comes at a price
She earns her victories through struggle, failure, getting back up, and growth
She faces actual consequences when she messes up
She's competent without being perfect
That's it. That's what we want.
Someone who feels REAL.
What Modern FMCs Who Get It Right Actually Look Like
So what does this balanced FMC—the one who's powerful but not perfect, flawed but not weak—actually look like on the page?
I think she looks like the kind of chick I'd wanna spend hours and hours hanging out with.
She Has Power AND Limits
She's not helpless. But she's also not omnipotent.
She has specific strengths that make her formidable—and specific weaknesses that create real tension and force her to be strategic instead of just...powerful.
Her power genuinely feels earned because we watched her study, train, fail, get back up, fail YET AGAIN, and finally figure it out.
She Makes Choices (And Lives With Them)
She drives the plot forward instead of just reacting to it like a very attractive piece of driftwood. Her decisions matter. Her mistakes have weight and consequences that can't be fixed with a convenient plot device or newly discovered superpower that showed up right on cue.
When she succeeds, it's because of her choices. When she fails, it's ALSO because of her choices. Agency + consequences = a character we actually give a damn about.
She's Flawed in Ways That Actually Matter
Not "oops I'm so clumsy, tee-hee!" flaws that are secretly just cute quirks.
REAL flaws. She's impulsive and it costs her allies. She's doesn't trust easily and it isolates her when she needs help most. She's ambitious and it blinds her to danger right in front of her face.
Her flaws create problems that can't be solved by suddenly discovering a convenient new ability.
She Earns Respect (Including Ours)
Other characters don't instantly love and trust her for no reason.
Oh, no. This woman has to prove herself. Navigate actual conflicts. Make tough calls that not everyone agrees with. This is what makes it SO much more satisfying when she finally wins people over (especially the 900-year old vampire) because we know she worked her butt off for it.
She's Allowed to Be Intense (Without Apology)
Today, we don't need our FMCs to perform being "chill" or "low-maintenance" to be likable.
She can be demanding. Complicated. Passionate. Difficult. Intense.
And the story treats that as a strength, not something she needs to apologize for or fix or tone down. She doesn't shrink to make others comfortable. That's precisely the energy we've been waiting for.
Writing FMCs Who Aren't Easy to Love (And Why That's the Entire Point)
Here's something I'll freely admit to: my Alice from The Wicked Boys of Wonderland gets prejudged HARD.
Potential readers see "wealthy socialite" in the blurb and immediately write her off. They assume she's gonna be shallow, vapid, a Kardashian stand-in who's all designer labels and zero substance.
And you know what? I LOVE that. (but also their loss for being judgy bishes)
I say this because those readers who actually take the chance? They come back and tell me they didn't expect to like Alice at all, but by the end, they're totally rooting for her.
That's the whole point. I wrote a story that took them on a journey.
I don't write FMCs who are instantly lovable. I write FMCs who feel real. Women who earn your love through active growth, making mistakes, and bringing you along for her hard-won character development over an entire series.
Alice isn't perfect. She's flawed in very real, very messy ways. So watching her grow from a chick you'd probably roll your eyes at into someone you'd go to battle for? That's exactly what makes her story so satisfying. If you love her instantly on page one, where's the character arc? Where's the transformation? Where's the STORY??
The best FMCs aren't the ones who are immediately perfect. They're the ones who make you work for it—and reward you for sticking around.
This is why I'm so passionate about pushing back against both extremes—the personality-free blank slate AND the overpowered goddess. Both rob readers of that journey. Both deny the satisfaction of watching a woman become the force of nature she was meant to be.
Give me a flawed FMC with a visible growth arc ANY day over someone who's either got the personality of a lamp, or is already perfect.
Why This Matters Beyond Just "Better Characters"
This evolution isn't just about writing better heroines (although yeah, obviously that too).
It's about what we're demanding from our stories—and what that says about US as readers.
The Cultural Shift
We've spent too many years reading about women who were too weak, too perfect, or too powerful to be interesting.
And we're DONE.
We're done with stories that tell us we need to be simple to be loved, perfect to be valued, or invincible to matter.
We want stories about women who are complex—flawed and powerful, struggling and succeeding, making mistakes and learning from them.
Because that's what real strength looks like. Not perfection or unlimited power, but growth. Resilience. Hard-won victories that actually cost something.
What We're Really Asking For
When we demand better FMCs, we're not just asking for "strong female characters." We're asking for fully-formed female leads.
Characters who contain contradictions. Who grow and change. Who act instead of react. Who pay for their power. Who earn their victories through blood and sweat and occasionally tears.
Characters who feel real enough that we'd wanna be friends with them IRL—not because they're perfect, but because they're interesting.
And finally—FINALLY—fantasy romance is starting to deliver that.
Why Fantasy Romance Is Leading This Evolution
You might be wondering: why is this shift happening in fantasy romance specifically? I think it's because romantasy gives us the freedom to explore these dynamics without real-world limitations holding us back.
Fantasy Allows Extremes
In contemporary romance, a "powerful woman" is limited by reality. But in fantasy, she can harness literal magic, command armies, break ancient curses, and reshape entire realities.
The fantasy setting lets us explore what female power looks like when it's unlimited by real-world constraints...while still demanding that her power be EARNED.
Fantasy Readers Demand More
Fantasy romance readers are smart. We've read dozens/hundreds of these books. Maybe thousands. So yeah, we can spot a Mary Sue at fifty pages. We know when power feels unearned. We're done with passive heroines who exist only to be saved.
We demand better—and authors are (finally) listening.
Fantasy Stakes Justify Intensity
In fantasy, the stakes are literal life and death. Kingdoms fall. Worlds end. Magic corrupts and destroys. This means leading ladies need to be genuinely competent to survive, but they also face threats real enough that their competence gets tested to its limit.
Fantasy gives us both: powerful heroines AND stakes that actually matter.
Want to Read FMCs Who Actually Get It Right?
Inside The Wilde Kingdom, I write heroines who refuse to fall into any of these tired traps.
My Alice isn't a blank slate with no personality. She's not a Mary Sue everyone instantly adores (just ask Callister). And she's definitely not so overpowered that nothing in her story matters.
She's flawed. She makes mistakes that COST her. She earns her power through genuine struggle, failure, and then getting back up to try again.
She's intense, complicated, and figuring it out as she goes (especially in Book 5!). This makes her victories feel REAL when they finally come.
She's the FMC you've been craving: powerful but not perfect, competent but still learning, fierce without being insufferable. I'd love for you to meet her.
Ready to step inside?
Enter The House of Wilde (the free tier) and you'll get:
✨ Sneak peeks of the first few chapters—watch imperfect heroines earn their power
📙 Free download of The Grimoire—your guide to the Jekkaverse
đź”® Snarky monthly horoscopes from The Cheshire Cat
🌙 Full moon magic with Hatter—it's like journaling, but with less sanity
🔥 Access to our private community where we celebrate flawed, fierce heroines
The samples are free. The compelling, complex FMCs are worth every single page.
The Bottom Line
We've suffered through literal decades of boring extremes: heroines with zero personality, heroines who are too perfect to be real, and heroines so overpowered they remove all tension from their own stories.
All three fail for the exact same reason: they don't feel human.
Modern fantasy romance is finally—FINALLY—finding the sweet spot: FMCs who are powerful AND flawed, competent AND struggling, intense AND compelling.
These heroines don't exist to be perfect. They exist to be real. They make mistakes. They pay for them. They grow through struggle, not around it.
And when they win? We celebrate because we watched them earn every single piece of it.
That's not just better storytelling. That's the evolution we've been demanding.
