Hero or Heroine?

Do you read for the hero or for the heroine? No question, for me, it's all about the hero. Give me an awesome hero and I can forgive almost anything else. (This goes for TV shows, too, which gave me an excuse to put up another picture of Spartacus's Andy Whitfield--I'm stretching, I know).

For me the perfect book is a yummy hero that I fall in love with and a heroine who I can identify enough with that I can "see" myself in her place. In other words, I want to be able to step into her shoes for the duration of the book. I think that's one of the reason "kick-ass" heroines don't work for me--I can't really see myself like that.

Last night I stayed up until about 2 to finish Rachel Gibson's latest, NOTHING BUT TROUBLE. Loved it. Mark was one of my favorite heroes of the year. Right up there with my all time favorites: Nick Ward (Shannon McKenna's EXTREME DANGER), Cal Bonner (SEP's NOBODY'S BABY BUT MINE), Bobby Tom Denton (SEP's HEAVEN, TEXAS), Brodick Buchanan (Julie Garwood's RANSOM), Alec Kincaid (Julie Garwood's THE BRIDE), and John Medina (Linda Howard, ALL THE QUEEN'S MEN).

So what about you...are you a hero or heroine gal? (or Both?)