A Valentine Day Crush-A-Thon
In honor of St. Valentines Day, I asked several bloggers, authors, and readers who their favorite literary crush (or crushes) were. Who were the heroes that made their hearts beat faster, whose presence on a page could not be denied or ignored, who could make them squee just by hearing their names? I received a staggering amount of swoon-worthy candidates, but the ones that made it onto the list are the ones mentioned at least twice by different people. So, without further ado, I give you:
THE ST. VALENTINE’S DAY CRUSH-A-THON (Warning: May cause heart palpitations, rapid breathing, drooling, and uncontrollable squee-ing. Please take the necessary precautions.)
The modern Crush-worthies:
Jace (The Mortal Instruments): Snarky yet sensitive. A jerk in a snuggle suit, as one person said.
Patch (Hush Hush): The ultimate Bad Boy. Fallen from grace, but still redeemable.
Alex Fuentes (Perfect Chemistry): Another dark, dangerous-but-honorable Bad Boy.
Peeta (The Hunger Games): He bakes! He cleans! He kills your enemies! What more do you need?
Spencer (Suite Scarlet): Funny and charming, and an actor to boot.
Christophe (Strange Angels): A half-vampire with a werewolf rival. We all know who’s going to win.
Po (Graceling): Even with his name, he can still kick-ass.
Daniel (The Dark Devine): Mysterious, dark, and dangerous. Do I see a theme?
Roiben (Tithe): He’s a faery knight. With silver hair and a sword. ‘Nuff said.
Niall (Wicked Lovely series): You can actually die from wanting this faery so much.
Seth (Wicked Lovely series): Caring, sweet, and with more hardware than Ace Tools.
North (Brightly Woven): Dark and mysterious, and a wizard as well.
Severus Snape (Harry Potter): Really?
Ethan Wate (Beautiful Creatures): Reminding us that we can still love the ordinary guys.
Jamie Fraser (Outlander): Scottish Highlanders are just sexy. Everyone knows that.
Sam (Shiver): A werewolf boy who writes song lyrics for you. Tell me that’s not the ultimate in sweet.
Kartick (A Great and Terrible Beauty): Anyone who would sacrifice themselves for love is someone to sigh for.
Valek (Poison Study): My favorite literary crush. I have a thing for assassins, but Valek is coolness personified. He can also kill you with a pinky.
Ash (The Iron King): Yes, The Iron King’s own Ash was mentioned, too. Must be the dark, dangerous Ice Prince persona.
Puck (The Iron King): For as many Ash admirers, there are also Puck fans. Be careful around him, though, or you might end up with donkey ears.
The classics that make us sighMr. Knightly (Emma): Just his name means you should swoon for him.
Mr. Rochester (Jane Eyre): This dark, brooding gentleman has the Mother of all Secrets in his attic.
Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird): A tireless crusader for Good, that alone makes him admirable.
Gilbert Blythe (Anne of Green Gables): The ultimate Sweet Boy, in many opinions. He waits so long for Anne to come to her senses.
Laurie (Little Women): Goofy, charming, and sweet. Jo is obviously blind.
John Thornton (North and South): A stern, business-like demeanor only masks a sweet, sensitive side.
Peter Pan: (Peter Pan and Wendy): Endless youth and a devil-may-care attitude makes Peter a contender for many hearts.
Those swoon-worthy vampires
Edward Cullen (Twilight): Love him or hate him, there’s no denying Edward has captured the hearts of more fans then perhaps any other fictional guy out there. Must be the sparkles.
Eric Northman (Sookie Stackhouse series): Big blond Viking god? What’s not to love?
Damon (Vampire Diaries): Dark and mysterious, as a vampire should be.
Stefan (Vampire Diaries): Damon’s brother and rival, his opposite in many ways.
Dimitri (Vampire Acadamy): We’re all still waiting to see if Rose can save him.
Bones (Night Huntress series): Don’t we all wish we could be Cat.
Jean-Claude (Laura K. Hamilton series): I don’t know if being around Jean-Claude is healthy, but he’s certainly beautiful.
Nicholas (Hearts at Stake): He has seven vampire brothers, but still manages to steal the show.
And the winner of the St. Valentine’s Day Crush-A-Thon, the one name that was mentioned more often than anyone else’s, the ultimate Swoon-worthy character:
Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice): What is it about Mr. Darcy that makes everyone swoon? Is it his piercing eyes? His distant, aloof character? Or maybe the fact that he was played by the wonderful Colin Firth in one of the many adaptations to film. Whatever the reason, Mr. Darcy has withstood the test of time, rising above the ranks of vampires and supernatural boyfriends, to take his place as Number One in the St. Valentine’s Day Crush-A-Thon.
