What Kind of Hero(ine) Do You Love Most?

I love a strong heroine—one who does not complain, is resilient, can admit her own faults, and says what she’s thinking without fear of retribution. Romance fantasy is my favorite genre, at least at this point in time. However, I find that there are so many female lead characters who don’t speak their mind, which creates a chain of so many avoidable problems down the road. Or they have no self-esteem and are self-loathing, or they must be rescued time and again by the overprotective, possessive male lead.

Maybe I just feel this way because I’m in my mid-thirties and I want more characters who know themselves. Probably too much to ask of these late teens and early twenty-somethings.

Which brings me to another question: have I aged out of romance fantasy?