Rose from the "Vampire Academy" Series by Richelle Mead. I found Rose to be both brave and loyal to a fault. She would do almost anything for her friends and was always so willing to step up to a fight and jump into a battle. Vampire Academy was actually the first fantasy novel I read that had a female lead, and Rose as a character was done so well. She was sassy, bold, reckless, dominant, and a strong fighter. Her friendship with Lissa and her relationship with Dimitri (be still my heart) kept me turning the page. I've read the entire series an embarassing amount of times (pretty sure I've read it once every year). Rating: 5/5 stars

Jude from "The Folk of the Air" Series by Holly Black. It's no secret that I love the Folk of the Air series- I have it as one of my top 10 favourite books after all. But what really made the book for me (other than Cardan) was Jude. She was a fierceless main character and was unapologetically ambitious for power. And while I've found that a lot of authors, when delving into the enemies-to-lovers trope sometimes make the heroine SUCH a pushover, Jude gave it as good as she got. She was a strong fighter, and what made me love her the most was how power hungry she was and her continuous strive for power throughout the whole series. There are other elements I loved about the book (like Cardan, the fae world/setting, and did i mention Cardan?) but Jude absolutely made the book for me. Rating: 5/5 stars

Mac from the "Fever" series by Karen Marie Moning. Mac is not the strongest heroine out there, but honestly after Rose she might be one of my favourite heroines I've ever read. Mac was described as the ultimate girl's girl. She was not a strong fighter like Rose or Jude by any means, she barely even knew how to fight. And honestly for most of the first book I wanted to throw my kindle at the wall for how naive and empty-headed she was (she legit reminded me of Karen from Mean Girls). However as the series continues, Mac evolves and becomes a very resilient FMC. Her inner monologue sometimes had me in tears from laughing. I was never bored of her as a lead, and although she wasn't described as strong or a fighter, she was still willing to jump into any battle and prove just how resourceful she was. The Fever series is one of my favourites and was actually the series that got me into Urban fantasy, although most of the books I've read in that genre don't quite live up to this series. I recommend it 200%. Rating: 5/5 stars

Inej from "Six of Crows" series by Leigh Bardugo. Now unfortunately I wasn't really super thrilled or hyped when reading Six of Crows. Frankly I found it quite overrated, and I feel like maybe if I hadn't read all the reviews of people raving about it before I read it I would have probably enjoyed it a whole lot more. It was a thrilling and interesting book for me, but it didn't interest me enough to pick up the second book (in fact I've actually avoided it). However, Inej was one strong FMC. She is basically a super fighter (and I'm pretty sure she would win in a fight against Captain America himself. Jk... maybe? That's a fight I would like to see though) She is honestly a badass, and if there is anyone on this list I'd like to have on my side during a battle, it would probably be Inej. Rating: 3/5 stars

Poppy from "Blood and Ash" Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. From Blood and Ash was one of my favourite series of 2020, and I could barely wait to get my hands on the third book. Poppy is another character that is described as a fighter (although she has to keep her fighting skills hidden for... you know, reasons). She is also extremely skilled, and downright murderous. She, like Jude, gave it as good as she got, and I loved that she rarely needed the MMC help. She is self-reliant, a strong fighter, and just all rounded a really well written heroine. The series is one of my favorites, and to get more of my thoughts on it you can go to book reviews where I gave a more detailed review of all the things I loved about the book. Rating: 5/5 stars

Yelena from "Poison Study" Series by Maria V. Snyder. I read the poison study series when I was probably 15, and I remembered one of the things I loved the most about the series being that Yelena was never a damsel in distress. She was strong, and has all the aforementioned characteristics the previous 5 FMC I've mentioned had. The Poison Study series might not be the most original series out there, but it does a good job of standing out. Also years later and Valek is still one of my favourite book boyfriends. This book had the ultimate enemies to lovers trope and was also one of the first books I read that had a female character as the main character. Rating: 4/5 stars  

Scarlett from the "Lunar Chronicles" series by Marissa Meyers. The Lunar Chronicles series has 4 books in the series that all intertwines, although it has 4 different heroines. Between Cinder, Cress, Winter, and Scarlett, I found Scarlett to be the toughest of the bunch. Scarlett was such an interesting and exciting character, and honestly all the FMC in the series would be considered strong FMC in my eyes. Cinder was resilient and smart, Cress was naive yet resourceful, and Winter was crazy yet regal. Absolutely loved this series, and would always find a reason to recommend it. Rating: 4.5/5 stars