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  • Tobias from Animorphs falls in love with Rachel because she is so brave and self-confident and she is the best fighter. But unfortunately her lust for fighting also affects her character.
  • In the Aratta series by Maria Semyonova and Anna Gurova, the trope is a major part of the Nakh tribe's culture and the cause of huge Values Dissonance among their neighbors. A Nakh woman can't even hope to get married if she hasn't proven herself as a capable warrior (in an actual battle to the death, so sparring and suchlike won't do). When the delicate and pampered Arattan princess is betrothed to the Nakh leader, she is appalled to learn she would be inferior to his other wives, since they have fought in battles and she hasn't.
  • Ashlin, from Amanda Downum's The Bone Palace, is this, at least in the opinion of Savedra, Ashlin's husband's mistress, who finds her very attractive.
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses: More mentally and emotionally than physically, but Cassian definitely seems to like Nesta because of her spirit.
  • Julian Blackthorn from The Dark Artifices admires Emma Carstairs for not only being brave, but also a good fighter.
  • Discworld: Part of the reason Sam Vimes is attracted to his wife Sybil is she's a Brawn Hilda who can pick him up if she feels like it. At one point he compares her to the Discworld's equivalent of Valkyries.
  • Harry Potter
    • Harry and Ron fall in love with Ginny and Hermione respectively because of their strength and cleverness. In the case of the former couple, the film of Half-Blood Prince includes a scene where Ginny shuts up everyone trying out for the Quidditch team, by shouting them all down. Harry is noticeably impressed.
    • Downplayed with Cho Chang, but a big part of Harry's attraction to her is that she's a very talented Quidditch player.
    • In Quidditch Through the Ages, the captain of a team defeated by the all-women's Holyhead Harpies knelt down on the pitch and proposed to their captain, who promptly cold-cocked him with her broom.
  • Helen and Troy's Epic Road Quest: Troy has always had a thing for strong and tall women, so it should come as no surprise that he develops a crush on the minotaur Helen.
  • The Heroes of Olympus: Demigods tend to lean this direction, since they're frequently in mortal danger. Percy Jackson clearly feels this way toward his girlfriend Annabeth Chase for an easy example. One of the short stories has Percy momentarily Distracted by the Sexy mid-fight scene.
  • Many in Honor Harrington. For instance, Sergeant Major Iris Babcock, RMMC, is not particularly attractive. But her truly incredible badassitude note  leaves Horace Harkness absolutely speechless. The next time either one of them shows up in the narrative, they're married.
  • Hurog: Ward is smitten with Tisala, who is very tall for a woman, probably stronger than most men, and a veritable badass. He is aware that most other men probably would think her too tall and not delicate enough, but in his opinion, she's the most attractive woman he ever met.
  • The Lay of Paul Twister: Paul Twister finds Aylwyn's strength and large stature very attractive, and the one time when he acts on his feelings is after seeing her fight a reanimated dragon skeleton.
  • Light and Dark: The Awakening of the Mage Knight: Three of them.
    • Danny has his eyes on Sabrina, a squire one year his senior who can transform into a drake.
    • Doug was first taken by Briza's beauty but becomes even more smitten after seeing her skill with a sword.
    • Chris wants a Teacher/Student Romance and that teacher is the hand-to-hand combat instructor.
  • Mistborn: The Original Trilogy:
    • Elend and Vin. Vin is a Mistborn, Elend is a Muggle Non-Action Guy. They fall in love and get married.
    • In the second trilogy, Wayne is attracted to women who could flatten him if they wanted to (it's implied that becoming an abusive husband is a deep fear of his). Hence his infatuation with Ranette, whose usual response to him is gunfire, and later with MeLaan, who is a nearly immortal shapeshifter.
  • The Paladin: Most other men follow the No Guy Wants an Amazon trope but Taizu's mentor, Shoka's, is not one of them.
  • The Pantheon Saga: The superheroines are sex symbols, with many men (and women) appreciating their muscular physiques.
  • The Pyrates: Black Sheba, a ruthless and deadly female pirate, is described as being the subject of "astonishing fantasies" among other pirates.
    She had clawed her way to power in the Coast fraternity by a piratical genius and ruthless ferocity that had made her the toast of women's liberationists all along the Main. Her fellow sea-wolves respected her, had astonishing fantasies about her, and went in terror of her...
  • In Seven Forges, Merros Dulver develops an appreciation for strong women after traveling around with Swech.
  • Asha Greyjoy, from A Song of Ice and Fire, is lusted after by half the male crew of her ship, and even her own brother Theon before he recognizes who she is. Note that she can raid and pillage with the best of them.
    • Jon Snow is attracted to Action Girls like Ygritte and Val, specifically noting how Val is a 'warrior princess' and not 'some willowy creature who sits in a tower waiting to be rescued', and has mild flirtation with Alys Karstark, who's also physically capable. George Martin has said that Jon's type is essentially 'girls who remind him of Arya' (his tomboyish half-sister).
  • Trapped on Draconica: All Taurok knows of Rana is that she's a Lady of War. After Storming a Castle together, he wants her to be his badass empress.
    • In the sequel, Legacy of the Dragokin: Benji has a crush on General Lydia and wants to become a hero partly so he can be a Battle Couple with her.note 
  • In The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin, Sigfried Smith asks Valerie out immediately after she presents him with a Bowie knife and demonstrates the correct way to wear and draw it.
  • Vorkosigan Saga:
    • Cordelia Vorkosigan gained her husband in the midst of a war by impressing him with both her brain and her martial prowess.
    • Droushnakovi is a female martial artist whose husband is not the least bit intimidated by her and instead finds her skill attractive.
    • Elli Quinn and Elena Bothari, of the Dendarii Free Mercenaries, also gain male attention not just for their looks but for their physical aptitude as well.
    • Miles himself has a thing for Amazons, given his relationship and infatuation with the aforementioned Quinn and Elena, respectively. Also, his occasional flings with Sergeant Taura are noted by a friend who calls it "mountain-climbing."
  • Lisa's first real relationship in Lone Huntress is with one of these. Sara goes on to give Lisa quite the epiphany when she points out that literally every single person to interact with Lisa in her presence has flirted with the socially inept amazon.
  • The Change Room: In a female version, Eliza is very attracted to Shar, a woman whom she meets at the pool, and really loves her lean, muscular form (Shar's a keen swimmer), dubbing her the Amazon before she's been told her name.

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