A few years ago, my friend Kat said, “Jen, you have to read this book. You’ll love it.” She was right. That book was Skinkwalker by Faith Hunter. Now she’s 7 books into the series and her Kick Ass Woman character Jane Yellowrock is still as awesome as ever.
Let me say first, if you like audiobooks at all, I highly recommend that you listen to this series. Khristine Hvam does a kick ass job narrating these books. Seriously. She’s a dream to listen to.
Now for Jane. Why is she a Kick Ass Woman? Well, I’m glad you asked. Let me share my thoughts on this Cherokee skinwalker using the Kick Ass Woman’s Manifesto as a guide.
1. Kick Ass Women Help Others
Jane is a vampire hunter. It’s what she does and she does it well. We see her in action from the very first book and man does she know her way around a stake. And sword. And gun. But Jane isn’t a mercenary. She has a very large heart and it’s that part of her that drives her stories. She cares about people and won’t leave someone in the lurch, no matter how complicated it might make her life.
2. Kick Ass Women Care For Themselves
This is a hard one for her, for sure. She has her moments of self-doubt. She has a deep love for God and tries to do right by her god and her faith even when in conflicts with what she’s forced to do to keep others safe. She also visits Aggie, a Cherokee medicine woman who helps Jane explore her past.
3. Kick Ass Women Have Their Own Identities
When Jane walks into a room, people know her. They sense her power and respect her. She has been in a few relationships over the course of this series but has never lost what makes her unique. She hasn’t ever given over her power to anyone, even when they’ve asked it of her–even when it might have been easier to do so. Whether in her friendships or relationships, Jane is her own person and I love her for it.
4. Kick Ass Women Are Independent
Jane is fiercely independent, even when in the last few books she’s taken on a sort of surrogate family in the Younger brothers. She can do for herself and often does. She doesn’t need people though, as part of her self-care, she asks for help when the situation is dire. Her independence and sense of self have kept her out of the hands of Leo–Master of the City of New Orleans and sexy/dangerous vampire.
5. Kick Ass Women Do
Jane doesn’t sit around twiddling her thumbs, though she is known for having a cup of home-brewed tea while she plans some ass kicking. If there’s a problem, she works to solve it. Even if her solutions don’t always work out for the best, she has at least tried to work things out. She has no problem putting one of her biker boots up the butt of bad guys and will stomp on the good ones when they get out of line.
6. Kick Ass Women Shape Their Own Lives
Jane has been wrestling with who she is throughout this series. This doesn’t mean she sits in paralysis while she tries to figure herself out. She starts out as a vampire hunter and ends up working for vampires. This gives her no end of grief but she also honors her choices that she’s made and is willing to stand by them. I love that about her.
7. Kick Ass Women Fight For What They Believe In
She has a strong sense of right and wrong, defined by her life’s choices and the path she’s walked for many years. Sometimes the people in her life are frustrated by her stubborness about certain situations but ultimately honor her for her willingness to be herself. When an old classmate goes missing, Jane sets out to look for her because it’s the right thing to do and she’ll go above and beyond what others might even when the person missing wasn’t any particular friend of hers.
8. Kick Ass Women Live
Jane’s life is tough. She’s gone through horrible things and come out on the other side still willing to survive and thrive. There are things that trip her up–relationships aren’t her strong suit–but she doesn’t give up. She cherishes her friends and the makeshift family she’s gathered around her and she can smile at the end of a tough day.
9. Kick Ass Women Have Boundaries
I am always yelling at this poor woman to just “Have sex with him already!” She has much better boundaries than I do, apparently! Either that or the hot and gorgeous men around her just don’t appeal as much to her as they do to me. (I don’t really believe this for a second but … I’m throwing it out there.) Her boundaries are good with her live-in help/family/business partners too. She lays down ground rules and expects them to be followed. When they aren’t, she addresses it right away.
There you have it. She’s a Kick Ass Woman for sure. I love her a ton and if you haven’t read the books yet, I recommend that you do. They are fabulous and fun and did I mention she rides a bike called Bitsa and has the soul of a mountain lion named Beast within her? No, I didn’t, did I.
Go! Read them now! 🙂 Here’s a link to get you started:
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