by Kat Latham

Having moved to a new country just a couple of months ago, one of the biggest things I miss about my life in London is my friends. I miss talking about men and relationships with them. I miss venting about life’s challenges. I miss confessing all the ways I think I’m a bit messed up and discovering to my relief that they feel the same about themselves.

Missing my friends has made me all the more eager to seek out contemporary romance novels where the heroine seems like a woman I’d happily share a jug of sangria with. I love a heroine with a quirky voice, a funny outlook on life, and quite a few flaws.

This weekend I “met” one of those heroines. Her name is Jazz Shepherd, and she’s in author Amie Denman’s upcoming novel Her Lucky Catch.

Jazz is funny, uncoordinated and can laugh at herself. She’s not above gossiping about her romantic rival, and she stabbed her ex-husband in the butt with safety scissors when she caught him cheating.

Jazz is my kinda gal. She tells her story in first person, so as I was reading I felt more like I was sitting at a café (okay, maybe a cocktail bar) next to the marina where she works, listening as she told me all about her love life. Reading Her Lucky Catch is like getting tipsy with a woman who’s a lot like me.

But with a slight inclination toward violence.

This weekend I also read a novel where the heroine was perfect. It was a military romantic suspense, and the heroine was the best at everything she tried—the best helicopter pilot, a gourmet cook, and so incredibly skilled at self-defense that she wiped out a group of hulking secret servicemen at a gym.

This woman is nothing like me. She had not a single flaw, and I began resenting the time I had to spend with her. I couldn’t connect, couldn’t relate.

There are plenty of incredible romance heroines who are talented in ways I’ll never achieve, but I need to feel they’re similar to me in at least one way—even if it’s that we’re both imperfect.

The delightfully imperfect Jazz Shepherd made my weekend. I only wish I could buy her a drink.

Although Her Lucky Catch isn’t out until the end of February (mark your calendars), I’m shouting about it now because it’s one my picks for February’s contemporaries to covet. Stop by my blog this week and tell me what contemporary romance novel you’re coveting this month and you could win a gift certificate for yourself AND for the author you mention.

Do you like heroines to be people you can relate to? Or do you prefer them to be someone you wish you could be?

Kat Latham has been reading romance for a couple of decades. With degrees in English lit and human rights, she loves stories that reflect the depth, humor and emotion of real life. When she’s not writing contemporary romance novels, she can usually be found blogging or tweeting overly personal information. She loves meeting other readers and writers online, so follow her on Twitter or check out her blog and say hello!