I really hate to sound nasty, but is there a new trend in annoying, unpleasant heroines and heroes who are attracted to being insulted?

I’m currently reading the second book like this. The two books are different in almost every way except in their horrid, unlikable heroines and the fact that they are both historical romances–but from very different time periods and countries!

The first was an ordinary Regency romance which sounded like fun—a hero with a six year-old daughter who leads him on a merry chase inadvertently straight to the heroine, who is mourning the loss of her husband even though he abandoned her on their wedding night and hasn’t been seen since.

Turns out husband’s not dead and hero needs to find out where he is and what trouble he’s in. It all makes for a wonderful, fun and interesting plot—except that the heroine insults the hero at every turn and he finds this charming. Why? Because he’s a duke and is enjoying the fact that she’s not intimidated by his rank.

But she’s so rude! I just cannot like her.

I almost put the book down—no, I did put the book down, but I liked the hero so much I picked it up again—and I wanted to find out about the missing husband and how they would work out that twist in the romance.

I was almost tempted to pick up the next book in the series, but reviews said that the heroine was horrid. Obviously, this is a thing with this writer.