Book Boyfriends

Morning, y'all!


Today's post is on book boyfriends. You know, those wonderfully illustrious, sinfully sexy, swoon worthy men that have ruined you for real guys....this  sums that feeling up, doesn't it?

I have an embarrassing large collection of these book boyfriends. I may or may not have an entire Goodreads shelf dedicated to my men. It's seriously bad, people. Luckily, this is a very common affliction in the book community, and I'm in good company. ;) I thought I'd share with you my top five book boyfriends, the ones who are just so good they're at book-husband level, haha. Even with that, it was so hard narrowing it down!

(This is in order)

5. Fisher 

from Fisher's Light by Tara Sivec

I loved Fisher. He had so much baggage, had seen so much violence, hate and pain, and I just wanted to help him. His dedication to his recovery and management of his PTSD and to repairing his relationship with his wife was beautiful, and there are few things more attractive than admitting to and owning up to your mistakes in life.

"I'm going to fix this. I have to fix this... I hate every moment that I'm away from her, but I will do whatever it takes to find the man she once loved and bring him back to her."

4. Jericho Barrons

from the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning

The ultimate alpha male! He's the complete package with his insane confidence, protectiveness, unapologetic attitude for who and what he is, mystery, intelligence, and pure sex appeal. I've rarely ever panted so hard as I did when I read this series.

"I'm the one who will always watch over you. Always be there to fuck you back to your senses when you need it, the one who will never let you die."

3. Archer Hale

from Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan

Oh, Archer. Few books have been uglier cries for me than Archer's Voice. It is by far one of the most beautiful, passionate, and heartbreaking love stories I've ever read. The characters' connection is staggering, and Archer trying to navigate life for his girl made me swoon and cry my eyes out at the same time. He's tied with our next casanova for 2nd place.

"I want to be able to love you more than I fear loosing you and I don't know how. Teach me, Bree. Please teach me. Don't let me destroy this."

2. Till Page

from Fighting Silence by Aly Martinez 

Till was damn near close to being #1 on this list. He's sexy, sweet, tender, protective, and stands up and supports his younger siblings when he's broke himself. He's madly in love with his girl, and he is passionate in his sport. I don't care what you do, if you're passionate about it there is nothing sexier to me. He's in his very early twenties, and is rapidly loosing his hearing. The struggle he had, and the couple's coping, was beautiful.

"I knew I'd never be the same when I lost it to the silence. I'd happily give up every noise in the world if I could just keep her laugh."

1. Dex Foray 

from the Experiment in Terror series by Karina Halle

There is no one better than Sexy Dexy. He's one of the most unusual love interests I've read: he's short, he's both a fearless man and a scared little boy, he's honestly a little bit crazy and he can be the dirtiest bastard and then the sweetest lover. He also has a filthy mouth and some of the best swear words and come backs. I love a man who can make me laugh. He's perfect. <3

"I was head over heels in love with her. No, that didn't describe it. I was tear my fucking heart and throw at her, beg her to take it into hers. I was falling from the greatest heights with no safety net. I was giving everything of my own life for hers, giving up every inch of my soul so she could wear it proudly. I was a former king on my knees before the queen. A jester begging for a chance. I was powerless, helpless and at her mercy."
That's one of my favorite quotes.



Bonus! Tie for #1. Gilbert Blythe
From the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery

My very first book boyfriend, before I even knew there was such a thing. The steadfast devotion and love he has for Anne takes my breath away, and his boyish nature and knack for mischief makes me love him all the more.
I want my own Gilbert Blythe. Even movie Gil is to die for!

"I have a dream. I persist in dreaming it, although it has often seemed to me that it will never come true. I dream of a home with a hearth-fire in it, a cat and a dog, the footsteps of friend - and you!"

"You know... that every day I would pick a different memory I had of you. And I would play it over and over and over again in my mind, until every detail, every hair, every freckle, every part of you was exactly as I remembered it."

There seems to be a bit of a theme with my guys. Intense, devoted, passionate, dark haired, intelligent....

Who are some of your BBFs?

- The Bibliophile Babe 

My Top Five Biggest Book Peeves

Hey, everyone! Happy Hump Day!


Today's post, as you might've guessed by the title, is going to be my most grating book peeves. You know what I mean: you're reading along, happy as a pig in shit, and then you stumble across it. That horrid monstrosity that makes you grit your teeth, makes your hands tighten on your page, and gives you a brief fantasy of pitching the book against the wall. At least, I hope it's not just me who feels like that.....

                                                           

#5. Third Person Point of View

Admittedly, this is one of my lesser annoyances, and it doesn't stop me from reading a third person book if it's fast paced, well written, or deliciously smutty (preferably all three). The style just bothers me. I find it extremely difficult to connect with the characters, and it doesn't hold my attention as well as first person does. It's not as engaging, and as such it makes me infinitely more critical of every tiny little thing in the book.

#4. When The Next Book in The Series is a Different Hight

Good god, this one messes with my OCD on so many levels. I have floating shelves that cover three walls, and a jammed packed bookcase. I love seeing my books set up all lovely, and seeing series lined up together makes me moan like a wanton hussy... unless the damn things are a smidgen different in height. And I'm not talking a paperback vs a hardback! No, this is two paperbacks in the same series! Refer to the below photo, and if this doesn't make you twitch....I don't even know. 

Look at the Nocte trilogy books. They're amazing books with beautiful covers, and it's one of my all time favorite series, but I can barely stand to look at in on my favorites shelf. You can't un-see it!

#3. When your character starts out "fun" and "quirky", and a few books later is just downright annoying

This one always disappoints me, as I usually wind up really liking the series/character at first. The Charley Davison books by Darynda Jones immediately come to mind with this. Charley, the female protagonist, starts out as a bit spacey, but funny and insightful at the same time. I really enjoyed her character during the first four books, but as the series wore on I was getting fed up. The author laid it on too thick, and kept adding to an already existing trait that didn't need any adding. Does she really need to name every goddamn thing under the sun? If you've read the books, you know what I mean. If not, and you're a fan of light PNR (paranormal romance), I highly recommend the first four books. After that, proceed at your own risk.

#2. Suddenly introducing flipping POVs just for the hell of it

Grrr, this one! It was neck and neck with my number one peeve, but got nudged down. It was close, though! I can't stand it when you're reading a series that has been set in one person's point of view for a few books, and we get a well established rhythm going, and then in the next book we suddenly have  dual point of views for absolutely no reason at all. An excellent example would be Captivated By You by Sylvia Day, the fourth book in the Crossfire series. I love the books, but the that one bugged the crap out of me. I liked reading from Eva's POV solely, and as much as I love Gideon, I don't want to read his part. It takes away something from his character, in my opinion. The image I built up of him twisted a bit as I read him, and that frustrated me. 

I'm not against dual POV stories at all (like Colleen Hoover's and Tarryn Fisher's stunning love child Never Never), or suddenly flipping POVs in a series for a good reason (like in Karina Halle's final Experiment in Terror book, Dust to Dust), but when people start doing it willy-nilly it grates on me like nails on chalkboard.

And finally....drumroll please.....

#1. Love Triangles

Stop it, stop it, stop it!!! This one, without question, is my biggest and most intense peeve. Stop. It. It's especially popular in the YA genre, and I have no idea why. I just do not get it, especially when it's in a romance based book or series. You harp on and on about your undying love for the other person, now you're eye-fucking someone else and waffling back and forth between whom you should choose. Drives me insane.

This is one thing that will have me quitting the book and series if there is one, 99.99% of the time. I can think of two books where I persevered, and that's because they weren't really even love triangles! The first is Karen Marie Morning's Fever series, and it's a stretch to call it a love triangle. The second is Karina Halle's A-fucking-mazing The Artists Trilogy. I recently found out from the author that she never intended for people to get the love triangle vibe from the book, and I find that so interesting. The "other guy", if you will, is one of the most fascinating characters I've ever had the pleasure of reading, even though he's a very firm antihero. 

So there you have it! What are some of your biggest issues when reading? Have you ever pushed past one of them simply because the book was that good?

- The Bibliophile Babe