My Book Boyfriend: Jonah Griggs

Jonah Mother Effing Griggs. What can I say? He's arguably Melina Marchetta's most popular hero. A teenage army cadet and leader of one "gang" in On the Jellicoe Road, he's tough and at times brutal, but he's also incredibly brave, caring and passionate. I pictured him as Liam Hemsworth.

Swoon-worthy Quotes

“How does Jonah Griggs get to be a ten? He sits on a train with me when we’re fourteen and he weeps, tearing at his hair, bashing his head with the palm of his hand, self-hatred pouring from him like blood from a gut wound in a war movie, and for the first time in my whole life I have a purpose.I am the holder of the grief and pain and guilt and passion of Jonah Griggs and as we sit huddled on the floor of the carriage, he allows me to hold him, to say ‘Shh, Jonah, it wasn’t your fault.’ While his body still shakes from the convulsions, he takes hold of my hand and links my fingers with his and I feel someone else’s pain for the first time I can remember.”

“When I turn around, he cups my face in his hands and he kisses me so deeply that I don’t know who is breathing for who, but his mouth and tongue taste like warm honey. I don’t know how long it lasts, but when I let go of him, I miss it already."

“'If you weren’t driving, I’d kiss you senseless.' I tell him
He swerves to the side of the road and stops the car abruptly.
'Not driving anymore.'”

“I don't want to let go, because tonight I'm not looking for anything more than being part of him. Because being part of him isn't just anything. It's kind of everything.”

My Book Boyfriend is hosted by Missie at The Unread Reader.

My Book Boyfriend: Cricket Bell

 

My Book Boyfriend is hosted by Missie at The Unread Reader. While I mentioned in my review of Stephanie Perkins' Lola and the Boy Next Door that Cricket Bell was more friend than boyfriend material for me, he's still adorable enough that I had to feature him in MBB anyway. He's tall, with piercing blue eyes and crazy hair, and cares a lot about the way he looks; not in a conceited way, though - he just puts a lot of effort into the way he dresses and has a definite style. He's been in love with Lola forever and spends every chance he can get with her. He's open about his emotions and expresses them in the sweetest ways. He's also super smart, with dreams of being an inventor. I pictured him as Darren Criss.

Swoon-Worthy Quotes

“I know. And I couldn't wait any longer, I have to tell you - "
The panic rises, and I grip the French band tighter. "Cricket, please -"
But his words pour forth in a torrent. "I can't stop thinking about you, and I'm not the guy I used to be, I've changed -"
"Cricket -" I look back up, feeling faint.
His blue eyes are bright. Sincere. Desperate. "Go out with me tonight. Tomorrow night, every ni -" The words cut off in his throat as he sees something behind me.
Cigarettes and spearmint. I want to die.
"This is Max. My boyfriend. Max, this is Cricket Bell.”

Cricket’s limbs are still, but his chest is pounding hard against my own. “But you’ll want me someday? That feeling you once had for me … that hasn’t left either?”
Our hearts beat the same wild rhythm. They’re playing the same song.  “It never left,” I say.

“Lola?" Cricket is on his knees at the side of my bed. I feel it. "I'm here," he whispers. "You can talk to me or not talk to me, but I'm here.”

“So do you believe in second chances?" I bite my lip.
"Second, third, fourth. Whatever it takes. However long it takes. If the person is right," he adds.
"If the person is... Lola?"
This time, he holds my gaze. "Only if the other person is Cricket.”

My Book Boyfriend: Finnick Odair

 

My Book Boyfriend is hosted by the lovely Missie at The Unread Reader. I've featured both Peeta and Gale from Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy in the past, but Finnick is actually one of my favourite characters from the series. I love his sense of humour and cocky bravado - especially because, deep down, he's actually really sensitive, caring and good. His tragic devotion to Annie, the woman he loves, is heartbreaking. He's supposed to be ridiculously good looking, and I pictured him as Robert Pattinson (I read the series at the tail end of my Robsession, OK?).

Swoon-Worthy Quotes

“Finnick?” I say, “Maybe some pants?” 
He looks down at his legs as if noticing his outfit for the first time. Then he whips off his hospital gown, leaving him in just his underwear. “Why? Do you find this” — he strikes a ridiculously provocative pose — “distracting?”

“Finnick!" Something between a shriek and a cry of joy. A lovely if somewhat bedraggled young woman--dark tangled hair, sea green eyes--runs toward us in nothing but a sheet. "Finnick!" And suddenly, it's as if there's no one in the world but these two, crashing through space to reach each other. They collide, enfold, lose their balance, and slam against a wall, where they stay. Clinging into one being. Indivisible.

So that’s who Finnick loves, I think. Not his string of fancy lovers in the Capitol. But a poor, mad girl back home.

"Want a sugar cube?"

My Book Boyfriend: Daniel Grey

 

My Book Boyfriend is hosted by the lovely Missie at The Unread Reader. Daniel Grey, from Ann Brashares' My Name Is Memory, is kind of intense, but you can't really blame the guy when he has more than a thousand years worth of memories rattling around in his head. The strongest of those memories are those that involve the girl he loves. The boy is devoted all right, seeking her out time and again and doing all he can to be with her. It's hard not to fall for all that love.

Swoon-Worthy Quotes

"I have fallen in love, and she is the one who endures. I killed her once and died for her many times and I still have nothing to show for it. I always search for her; I always remember her. I carry the hope that someday she will remember me."

"She is my  doing and my undoing."

"Every life I start with her, my original sin. I know myself through her."

"I did the searching and remembering, she the disappearing and forgetting. I hated to be the one to leave her... All I could think to do was love her. That's all a person can do."

 Images via Paul Wesley Source.

My Book Boyfriend: Roger Sullivan

 

My Book Boyfriend is hosted by the lovely Missie at The Unread Reader. This week I'm a bit obsessed with Roger from Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson, coz:

• He's super hot: "The guy coming toward me was shockingly good-looking. He had broad shoulders, light brown hair, dark eyes, and he was already smiling at me." I pictured him as Zac Efron.
• He's confident and friendly, never lies and never says "goodbye".
• He's sensitive and a great listener.
• He wears glasses to drive, especially at night, which makes him adorkable.
• He's a bit of a history buff, loves discovering new things and dreams of being an explorer.
• He has great taste in music (see playlists here).

Swoon-Worthy Quotes

“He stood and looked at me for a moment, taking in my outfit. 'You look hot.'
'What? Me?' I stammered, completely flummoxed.
'Yeah,' he said, still looking at me.
'Oh. Um, thank you. I mean, not that you don’t, but I’m not sure that you should—I mean …'
'Oh, no,' Roger said quickly, and I could see that he was blushing again. 'No. I mean—I meant what you’re wearing. Are you going to be too warm?'"

"He looked over at me. 'We're doing this?' he asked. And for the first time since the trip began, it felt like we were doing something. The two of us, making a choice, taking a leap, together.
I nodded. 'We're doing this.'"

"'God,' he murmered into my hair when we broke away...'I've been wanting to do that for a long time.'
'Really?' I asked, almost afraid to believe this.
'Oh yes,' he said. 'Since Kansas. At LEAST.'"

“'The best discoveries always happened to the people who weren't looking for them. Columbus and America. Pinzón, who stumbled on Brazil while looking for the West Indies. Stanley happening on Victoria Falls. And you. Amy Curry, when I was least expecting her.'
I smiled back at him while feeling sharply just how much I was going to miss him. It was almost a physical pain. 'I'm on that list?'
'You're at the top of that list.'"

My Book Boyfriend: Edward Cullen

 

My Book Boyfriend, hosted by the lovely Missie at The Unread Reader, is a weekly meme that allows book bloggers to showcase our fictional crushes (and drool over each other's). I've avoided featuring Edward Cullen for a long time because it seemed like such an obvious choice, and now the time has come when I'd planned to feature him in honour of the release of Breaking Dawn... and I have to admit, I think I'm over him. I never thought this day would come, but there it is.

Once upon a time, I was full-on obsessed with both Edward Cullen and Rob Pattinson, rereading the books and rewatching the movies over and over again, visiting Twilight blogs daily and plastering my man wall/desktop with photos of RPattz. But these days? They barely muster a smile, let alone a squee. When trying to find quotes for this post, I struggled - what I once found hot now just seems super cheesy and lame. I dunno, I think maybe I've just come across so many awesome books (and book boyfriends) since reading Twilight, Edward just pales in comparison (and not coz he's a vampire). I'm watching Breaking Dawn tonight, so maybe that will reignite my passion. But I'm still picking Edward now, for old time's sake... and for the love that once was [insert sigh and look of longing here].

Swoon-Worthy (And Occasionally Laughable) Quotes

"I have always loved you, and I will always love you. I was thinking of you, seeing your face in my mind, every second that I was away. When I told you that I didn’t want you, it was the very blackest kind of blasphemy.”

“If I could dream at all it would be about you.”

“For almost ninety years I’ve walked among my kind, and yours…  all the time thinking I was complete in myself, not realizing what I was seeking. And not finding anything, because you weren’t alive yet.”

“Then you were nearly crushed to death in front of my eyes. Later I thought of a perfectly good excuse for why I acted at that moment - because if I hadn't saved you, if your blood had been spilled there in front of me, I don't think I could have stopped myself from exposing us for what we are. But I only thought of that excuse later. At the time, all I could think was, 'Not her.”

My Book Boyfriend: Luis Fuentes

 

My Book Boyfriend, hosted by the lovely Missie at The Unread Reader, is a weekly meme that allows book bloggers to showcase our fictional crushes (and drool over each other's). This week I'm rounding out the Fuentes trifecta with Luis, who follows his brothers Alex and Carlos in Simone Elkeles' Perfect Chemistry series. Luis is the youngest, most sensitive and innocent Fuentes brother, but he's also a confident, cocky womaniser (in a cute, non-creepy way). Until he meets the right girl, naturally. I pictured him as Diego Boneta.

Swoon-Worthy Quotes

"I reach out for her waist and gently urge her toward me. We're face-to-face now. She looks up at me with long eyelashes that almost touch her eyebrows and eyes that I could melt into if she'd let me. There's no mistaking the electricity pulsing through the air between us. If we got together, it would be explosive... in a really good way. She's intimidating, which is sexy as all hell. I don't get intimidated easily. 'Hola, corazon,' I say, and wiggle my eyebrows at her. I expect her to smile. Or laugh. I don't expect her to knee me in the nuts and say 'Fuck you'. Which is exactly what Nikki Cruz does."

"'I'm fallin' in love with you,' I blurt out. Oh, shit. Did that really just come out of my mouth? I've never said that to a girl before, and promised myself that I'd never say it if I didn't mean it. The scariest part is that I did."

"He kisses me again. And again. And again. 'Your pulse is racin',' he whispers against my skin."

"'Want me to list all the reasons I love you?' he asks me. 'I wrote a poem about it for English class... I called you my forever and always.'"

My Book Boyfriend: Carlos Fuentes

 

My Book Boyfriend, hosted by the lovely Missie at The Unread Reader, is a weekly meme that allows book bloggers to showcase our fictional crushes (and drool over each other's). After giving a lot of love to Alex Fuentes a few weeks ago, I'm now devoting my attention to his younger brother, Carlos (don't worry, Alex is still MINE too). Carlos is one of the main characters in Simone Elkeles' Rules of Attraction, and he starts off as a total smart-ass rebel who's angry at the world and hates on pretty much everything and everyone. As the book progresses, he stays a smart-ass, but allows his sweet side to come out as he falls for Kiara, the daughter of the man who has taken him in. Described as having dark hair and dark eyes, plus "a hot bod and a face that could make angels weep" (according to himself, anyway), I pictured Carlos looking like Tyler Posey, because I'm a little bit in love with him and think he's got just the right mix of cheeky adorableness and smokin' hotness.

Swoon-Worthy Quotes

“While my mind is telling me I'm flirting with her just to prove a point, my body wants to play 'you show me your perky privates and I'll show you mine.'”

“'I'm in deep shit Alex, 'cause I think I'd like nothin' better than to wake up with her every mornin'.'”

"'Tonight was . . . well, it was perfect for me, too. You’ve turned my world upside down. I’ve fallen in love with you, chica, and it scares the fuckin’ shit outta me. I’ve been shakin’ all night, because I knew it.'"

"The lady at the store said yellow means friendship and red means love. The rosary is the only thing I own that has value to me. It's yours. I'm yours.” 

My Book Boyfriend: Julian Ascher

 

My Book Boyfriend, hosted by Missie at The Unread Reader, is my favourite meme ever, allowing book bloggers to showcase our fictional crushes (and drool over each other's). This week I tried to think of the scariest book boyfriend I could, in honour of Halloween. The problem is, scary books don't generally lend themselves to book boyfriends. The closest I've come to a creepy (but still hot) fictional guy lately is the demonic (literally) Julian Ascher in Where Demons Fear To Tread by Stephanie Chong. He has his share of evil moments, but he also has some pretty sweet ones. And he's ridiculously good looking. I pictured him as Matt Bomer.

Swoon-Worthy Quotes

"He would let her go, not only because his honour demanded it, but because it was the best thing for her. In her absense, he would survive... He bent to kiss her. Tried to ignore the certain knowledge brewing within him that he was kidding himself that his life would ever be the same without her."

"They were linked, he and she. He wasn't sure if he could ever go back. And it scared the shit out of him."

"He had lost himself to her, utterly and irrevocably... He realised he had meant it when he'd told her she had made him believe in love. Because he had fallen in love with her."

"With her, he felt some part of himself falling, some part of him that was ripped away as he reached out, realising that he was too late to catch her. He MUST save her, or a part of him would die with her on this desert rock."

Images via Matt Bomer Fan

My Book Boyfriend: Alejandro "Alex" Fuentes

 

My Book Boyfriend, hosted by Missie at The Unread Reader, is my favourite meme ever, allowing book bloggers to showcase our fictional crushes (and drool over each other's). I've seen my pick this week (from Simone Elkeles' Perfect Chemistry) pop up in My Book Boyfriend a few times in the past, so I'd just like to preface this post by saying:

Yep, y'all can back off Alex Fuentes coz I'm claiming him as mine. Mwahaha. 

What's so great about him, you ask (if you don't already know)? For starters, he's super hot. He's a bad boy (on the outside, at least), with dark hair, dark eyes, tattoos and a motorbike named Julio. Definitely not my usual type, but he's just that freaking hot I couldn't help but love him anyway. Of course, the best thing about Alex is his inner goodness. Yeah, he's in a gang, but it's only because he has to be to protect his family. He has ambitions that go far beyond that, and the smarts to follow through. Plus he's so caring and sweet... and did I mention hot?! I pictured him as Alexander F. Rodriguez thanks to Elkeles' book trailers.

Swoon-Worthy Quotes

"Alex pulls me close and whispers in my ear, 'You only live once, isn't that what you said? Dance with me again.'
'But-'
He cuts me off with a kiss so powerful I forgot what I was supposed to be upset about."

"'Mujer, you own my soul.'"

 "'Hold it...,' he says. 'Feel the sweet spot. Linger there.'" [He's talking about the clutch in a car, of course... What were you thinking?! Get your minds out of the gutter!]

“I don't belong here. It doesn't matter, because even if I don't belong in this place, she's here and I want to be where she is... I want to know how to make this girl laugh. I want to know what makes her cry. I want to know what it feels like to have her look at me as if I'm her knight in shining armor.” 

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Guess what song I had in my head the whole time I was putting this post together?