Today’s post is a long one so bear with me! It’s Best Book Boyfriends
of 2012 (MUST be from a book released in 2012 and from a book you've READ in
2012)
This is by far one of the hardest categories for me! There’s so many
swoon-worthy guys so there are honorable mentions but they deserved to get as
much attention as the others! I’m not doing covers for this post I’m sharing quotes
and scenes from the books!
1. Hector de Ventierra from The Crown of
Embers by Rae Carson. He will always be in my heart and he will always be
on my top 10 list. Anyone who says this deserves it!
But Hector
chuckles deep in his throat, and I feel it all the way down to my toes. Softly
he says, “My life has ever been yours, Elisa.”
My limbs tingle
and heat fills my cheeks as we stare at each other.
I snap back to
myself. He’s talking about his duty. Of course his life is mine. He is Queen’s
Guard, after all, sworn to jump in front of a crossbow bolt if that’s what it
takes to save me.
Carefully I say,
“You’re a good friend, Hector. And I’m grateful to have you at my side.”
His gaze drops
to the ground, and his chest rises and falls with a breath. “Always.”
2. Gavriel Duval from RL LaFever’s Grave Mercy. He is one of
the most romantic dudes on my list at least in my mind. I swoon whenever I
think of him. One of my favorite scenes with him in it check this!
“I fear it is
what my convent expects,” I tell him.”They may train us in the arts of love,
but in their minds our hearts belong firmly to Mortain.”
“I disagree with
your convent,” he says. “Why give us hearts at all then?”
Slowly, as if
afraid I will bolt, he reaches for my hand, which has somehow escaped from the
covers. When he laces his fingers through mine, my heart does its now familiar
panicked flight, bumping painfully against my ribs. My shoulder twitches as if
to pull my hand back, but my heart overrules it.
His hand is
warm, the skin firm. We sit together in silence. I do not know what is going
through his head, but my own mind is unable to form a single thought. At least,
not a coherent one. After a long while, he squeezes my hand, then leans down to
kiss the back of it. His lips are warm and soft and I am filled with the memory
of them on my mouth, my throat. Slowly, as if with great reluctance, he pulls
away, and I shiver. “Perhaps,” he says. “When this is all over.”
“Perhaps, my
lord.”
3. Daemon Black from Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Onyx. Pssh he’s like
hotness times a thousand and he can fry a laptop with a kiss! He can feed me
anytime and this is a lead in to one of my favorite scenes J
Around six in
the evening. I felt that now-oh-so-familiar tingle on the back of my neck right
before Daemon knocked. A ball of confusing feelings unfurled inside me as I
hurried to the door.
The first thing
I noticed was the large box beside him, and then the scent of roasted turkey
and yams.
“Hey,” he said,
holding a stack of covered plates. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
I blinked
slowly. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
“You going to
invite me in?” He held up the plates, wiggling them. “I come bearing gifts in
the form of food.”
I stepped aside.
Still grinning,
he came in and waved his free hand. The box lifted off the porch and trailed
behind him like a dog. It landed just inside the foyer. As I shut the door, I
caught sight of Ash and Andrew climbing into their car. Neither of them looked
over.
A lump formed in
my throat as I turned to Daemon.
“I brought a
little of everything,” He headed toward the kitchen. “There’s turkey, yams,
cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green-bean casserole, some kind of apple
crisp thing and pumpkin—Kitten? Are you coming?”
4. Kaidan Rowe from Wendy Higgins’s Sweet Evil. Sex on a stick
that’s what this dude is! Remember I said I made my friends DEAR this book?
Yeah I took a picture of page 11 in the ARC that is when I fell for him to
convince them if they needed it! A gorgeous drummer with a British accent
mmmmmmmm…….And then he does this!
He blinked at
me, seeming surprised by my easy forgiveness. I gave him a small smile and took
a sip of my orange juice. He leaned back in his chair and observed me.
“How’s your
orange juice, Ann? Does it have a touch of lime?”
The glass paused
at my lips as I processed his innuendo, and I took a second to make sure my
embarrassment stayed hidden inside. I let the drink swish over my tongue a
moment before swallowing and answering.
“Actually it’s a
little sour,” I said, and he laughed.
“That’s a
shame.” He picked up a green pear from his plate and bit into it, licking the
juice that dripped down his thumb. My cheeks warmed as I set down my glass.
“Okay, now
you’re just being crude,” I said.
He grinned with
lazy satisfaction.
5. Adrian Ivashkov from Richelle Mead’s Golden Lily. Yep I’ve been
in love with this dude since Frostbite what
more can I say?!?!? And he’s so *sighs*
“Sage,” he said “What are you wearing?”
I sighed and
stared down at the dress. “I know. It’s red. Don’t start. I’m tired of hearing
about it.”
“Funny,” he
said. “I don’t think I could ever get tired of looking at it.”
6. Zachary Moore from Jeri Smith-Ready’s Shine. Oh my heart
from Scotland you can take me to prom wearing a kilt anytime! And Zach is
definitely one of the more romantic characters in this list!
“Aye.” He turned his head to
face me, but stayed on his back. “You look beautiful.”
I glanced at my live shot in the corner. My features were as dim as
his. “You can barely see me in the dark.”
“I don’t need to see you to know that you’re beautiful.”
7. Warner from Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me. I know many of
you hate him but I just can’t. I see the goodness in him. I saw it before
reading Destroy Me and Unravel Me and I see it even more now! I know most of
you haven’t read it yet but here’s just a small quote from Unravel Me….
He touches the
tips of his fingers to his lips. Tilts his head back, just a little. Smiles a
strange unhappy smile. Says, “You must know how sorry I am. That I”---he
swallows---“That I kissed you like that. I confess I had no idea you would
shoot me for it.”
8. Roar from Veronica Rossi’s Under the Never
Sky.
Perry is the main dude I know but I can help that I fell for Roar. He’s
gorgeous, funny, smart, sensitive…… ah I could go on forever. Here if you
haven’t met him let Aria tell you about Roar.
“Up close, she saw a gleam in Roar’s gaze. He
had a prince’s looks but a pirate’s eyes. Roar smiled, an appealing, clever
flash. Aria laughed. Definitely more pirate. Roar laughed at her laugh, and she
decided on the spot she liked him.”
And then there’s this…
‘Yes, but this feels intimate.
Don’t you think it does? I don’t mean that I think we’re being too intimate. I
guess I do. Roar, sometimes it’s really hard to get used to this.’
Roar flashed a grin. “Aria, this isn't intimate. If I were being
intimate with you, trust me, you’d know.”
She rolled her eyes. ‘Next time you say something like that, you
should toss a red rose and then leave with a swish of your cape.’
He gazed off like he was imagining it. “I could do that.”
9. Will and Elliot from Bethany Griffin’s Masque of The
Red Death. Yeah both of these are hot boys in completely different ways! One
is dark, handsome, and mysterious; the other is blonde, a rich bad boy, and
completely adorably infuriating. And since I can’t pick here’s a quote from
each.
Will:
When he pulls me
close, there is no flirtation, no suggestion of anything except comfort. My heart
beats faster anyway.
“I’m sorry that
you lost him. And that you’ve chosen to punish yourself because of it.”
It was my fault.
But there is no point in arguing. We are almost to the end of the alley, and I
know he must leave me in just a few steps.
“Be careful,” he
says. “If you aren’t, I won’t get a chance to convince you that you are wrong.”
Elliot:
“We aren’t madly
in love?”
“You scorn me.
But I am infatuated with you.”
“You’re a better
liar than I thought,” I say lightly.
“I’m a fabulous liar.”
He swings down from the carriage and walks around to lift me down. He pulls me
close and says quietly, “And you need to be too.”
10. Ben Matthews from Elizabeth Norris’s Unraveling. I love this
dude soooo much it’s not even funny! He’s romantic, loves motorcycles, isn’t
afraid to curse, is gorgeous, and just
happens to be from an alternate universe lol.
I smile, and
that’s all it takes. He leans forward and our lips touch, and it’s like his
lips were made to fit around mine.
His arms tighten
around me, and I reach up to the back of his neck and pull him into me. Our
lips part, our tongues touch, and I taste him until a sigh escapes with my
breath.
Ben pulls back
just a fraction of an inch so our foreheads are touching and his lips smile
against mine.
“This was
perfect,” I whisper.
He closes his
eyes, and his voice is quiet, like the words are simply being exhaled. “It was
better than perfect.”
Honorable
Mentions
Jack from Kresley Cole’s Poison Princess. I also fell,
hard, for Jack, with his Cajun accent and broken French which thankfully I
understood without translation since I speak passable French lol. Here’s a
swoon-worthy scene.
In answer, he
pulled his shirt over his head, revealing rigid planes of muscles. Yes, I’d
caught glimpses of him shirtless before—but this was the first time I’d utterly
lost my breath looking at him.
His face and his
broad chest were still tanned, his eyes seeming to glow in the moonlight. That
onyx rosary around his neck glinted with his movements.
He was stripping
before my eyes, yet I couldn’t look away. I bit my bottom lip.
Any minute I
would turn my back. Any minute…
As he began to
unbuckle his belt, his stomach muscles rippled.
I grew weak in
the knees. Any minute—
When he reached
his zipper, he cocked his head and met my gaze.
Aiden St. Delphi from Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Deity. Hotness,
hotness, hotness! And has a heart of gold too!
He cupped the
nape of my neck. I heard his sharp intake of breath. Then he let go of my
wrists and grasped my hips. Before I could blink, I was on my back, and Aiden hovered
over me. Using one arm to support himself, he lowered his head and brushed his
lips over my swollen cheek.
“How do we
always end up like this?” he asked, voice rough as his gaze traveled away from
my face and down my body.
“I didn’t do
this.” Slowly, I lifted my hands and placed them against his chest. His heart
jumped under my palm.
“No this was all
me.” The lower half of his body shifted down. Our legs were flush. His eyes
searched mine, “It gets harder every time.”
Gavin from JA Souders Renegade Hot boy with a
sense of humor even in the most dire of situations! I just have two words for
you SHOWER SCENE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I find a pair of
black leather sandal wedges that I can run in if I need to, then I gather up
Gavin’s clothes and step into the bathroom to set them on the counter for him.
In a classic
case of worst possible timing, he steps out of the shower just as I look up
from the clothes. My jaw drops and I have to force myself to shut it. I can’t
help it—my eyes travel the whole lovely way from his muscled shoulders to his
stomach and back up again. Water slides gloriously over every muscle, causing
them to glisten in the lights.
I’m barely aware
that I’m staring until he says, “Enjoying the view?”
Heat rushes into
me and I blush from the tips of my toes to the roots of my hair. I quickly
avert my gaze to the wall behind him. “I’m so sorry. I just meant to drop off
your clothes for you. I, uh, I’ll see you…out there…when you’re finished.”
I rush out the
door on shaky legs. The minute I hit the living room, I lower myself onto the
couch and stare off into space.
Oh, Mother. My
mind keeps replaying what I just saw. Wavy, golden hair. Thick muscular chest,
hard toned abs. Bronzed skin. And…I shake my head. That is not something I
should be thinking about.
I fan a hand in
front of my face. It feels hot, like someone has raised the temperature a good
twenty degrees.
Luke from Leah Clifford’s A Touch Morbid. Another that could make my
boyfriend list or villain list but then he does something sweet and I have to
put him here. And he’s gorgeous as all hell! And yep then there’s this….
He trailed his fingers down her face and then further. They lingered
against the swell of her breast, the lace of her bustier. “Because you tempt
me. You demand I fight for your affections instead of taking what I please.” He
dropped his hand. “You tell me no. You say stop. And I listen.” He said the
last words like a curse, anger bleeding through, each word rougher than the
last.
Luke tilted his head, his neck tense, cracking with a snap. He rolled
his shoulders.
“You’re a silly little dead girl.” He glared at her, his tone harsh.
“You should mean nothing to me.” He grabbed her chin, forced her to meet his
eyes. “And yet I covet you more than anything else on this Earth.”
Did any of my favorites make your list? Fill out the linky and let me
know! And good luck with the giveaway! Today’s is hosted by Jessica from Confessions of a Bookaholic!
