Now here's a lady with amazing taste in romance novels! Ashton Taylor shares with us here her top recommendations of book-boyfriends to fall in love with. Thanks so much Ashton for stopping by on my blog, looking forward to hearing more from you!
Ashton's blog can be found at http://confessionsofareadinfreak.ca/ but wear some oven gloves, the pages are full hot reads.
Hi there, my name is Ashton Taylor and here are my top 10 book boyfriends
I have heard the term book boyfriend a lot in the past year and I have even compiled a list of my top 10 since I started reading “Steamy Reads” and getting immersed in this culture. Cause really that is what this is, it is its own culture and following, not just the authors, it's the style and sub genres. It seems there is a different kind of following with each style, sub genre, tropes and basically anything along those lines. I found this genre by accident, and I am happy that I did find it, it has been my saving grace during this lock down time, while I cannot share these books with my kids, they are mirroring me, instead of reaching for the tablet they are reaching for a book.
But you are not here for that, you are here to read about my book boyfriends and hope to discover a new author or series to read. I have 3 in my top 5 by the same author, and I REALLY hope you take a chance and read or look into all the authors I have on my list,
Let’s get this ball rolling!!
10) Jamie Frasier - Outlander Series By Diana Gabaldon
Now I know most people are fawning over Sam Heughan and his portrayal of the fabulous James Alexander Malcom MacKenzie Frasier, but I read the books before the series and was actually hesitant to start watching the series. Not because I am one of those purists and refuse to watch the movie or TV show adaptations of books. I was hesitant because I had built this amazing mental image of Jamie in my head and was worried I was going to lose it.
Jamie is on my list, because I have this thing for brooding men, even more so if they have an accent, and the way Jamie is written in the books is similar to the show but different, there is a bit more to the story of Jamie and his uncles than the show lets on, and the villain you love to hate in the TV show is SO MUCH more Up and Down in the books. The courage and the life that Jamie had before Claire really did shape him in a way that made him not only a FABULOUS lover, but a doting husband. He did have an OK childhood when his mother was alive and had amazing stories to tell Claire and really the most attractive thing about a man is how well he treats his family and no matter the wrong doings Jamie received at the hands of his family, he was always there for them. That is why he is on my list.
9) Owen Harvey - Love Me Tomorrow By Maria Luis (Book #3 Put a Ring On It)
Owen is again a dark and brooding man who stole my heart by what he was willing to put his heart on the line for the one he wanted. This was not my first series by the lovely Maria Luis, I actual fell in love with her Blade Hockey series and then got sucked into this Put a Ring On It series. Owen stood out to me because he is a tattoo artist and shop owner, and even though he kept himself pretty guarded when he decided to make a move he did not go half asses either. He really put it all out there in a way to prove to his ‘friend’ he was done being in the friend zone, no matter the emotional obstacles in the way on both sides he knew they would be extremely happy together. There are scenes in this book that show the emotional connection a person can have while being tattooed or tattooing someone they care about on a very strong level. It wasn’t even sexual but the chemistry jumped off the pages and made me fall for Owen further, so another brooding man to add to my list.
8) Maverick By Lilly Atlas (Book #2 Hell’s Handlers MC)
Lilly Atlas was the first MC author I fell in love with, and Maverick is just everything! He is low key dark and brooding. He hides it behind pure sexual hilarity, and really that is the best way to describe him. He is comfortable with himself and he expresses himself in his tattoos that cover his body, also he does have this side to him that only the one he loves gets to see and to me that is special. There are these moments when you are reading about him and how became the man he is in the MC and certain things that he does and doesn’t do that make you kinda wish he was yours.
7) Axel By Samantha Whiskey (Book #1 Carolina Reapers)
Axel is not dark and brooding, he's actually a very light, funny and direct kind of a character. It was how he took all the hardships in his life and made the very best out of all of them that just made me love him more. How he is driven to get what he wants out of life but also isn’t afraid to have some fun with it. He is also a very loyal and devoted person to those in his inner circle and how he is not always open to the changes life has handed him but he is always willing to try with a slight helping hand.
6) Maclay “Mac” Logan - Blindsided By Amy Dawes
Mac was my first 5 Star read of 2020, and it was a great accidental find on Kindle Unlimited. I love Mac because he sees people for who they are on the inside and not for their appearances. He is willing to help his best friend which ends up putting his head on the line and that to me is sweet. He is a rough and tumble teddy bear who happens to be Scottish so that helps that in my mind. He has this amazing support system and while he can be clueless like most men on what is the right go around for certain problems, in the end he is the one trying to do what is right for his family. He is a sweet man who is also not brooding but still has that teddy bear quality in my mental image of him, anyways.
5) Liam Kelly - Falling for my Brother’s Best Friend By Piper Rayne (Book #4 The Baileys)
Oh, Liam! Liam and his Story was the one I was waiting for in the Bailey family series, he is a reformed bad boy who also (flash back to Owen) runs a tattoo parlour, but the long time love he had for his best friend's sister, they way he helps her rediscover who she was before she was forced to grow up and be a parent at such a young age. How he hides the sensitive sides of himself for the most part and just lets people think he is a trouble making bad boy with his 2 best friends. When he is really just as grown and responsible and even has a whole side his 2 besties don’t even know about. I really do love Liam, and honestly he was higher on my list but when you force yourself to sit and really think about the characters that you love and really remember, its hard.
4) Max by Sawyer Bennett (Book #6 Cold Fury)
I am a big Sawyer Bennett fan and her hockey series are great reads and she write characters that you would just want to know if they were real people and Max is the one that made me wish he was a real person. He met a woman who he was attracted to and went for it, but she came with kids and he was just sweet and amazing and wanted to help her in so many different ways. But the way he did it was soft and didn’t really command control and just wanted to help her while getting to know her. He again doesn’t fall into my typical brooding men, but he also doesn’t fall into the teddy bears either. He is just a nice guy who makes you want to like him and root for him in the end.
3) Nick Balachov - Big Stick By Kelly Jamieson (Book #7 Aces Hockey)
Nick is dark, brooding and just an all around grumpy guy who helps out a friend of a friend and wants nothing in return other than to be left alone. And watching him go from dark and brooding to just brooding but with a slight smile and a family in tow. He is a great character that also happens to be a hockey player, who went through a lot as a kid as well as a young adult that just made him more closed off. So when he meets his independent strong woman who decided to have a baby with no one, while running a business, he had met his match. I loved that while he tried to stick to his old ways the real him came out. He still is a grump in the end but it was a great read.
2) Dominic Mancini - Wild Steamy Hook-Up By Piper Rayne (Book #3 White Collar Brothers)
Dom was a hard one. I listened to the audio book and his whole story had me very emotional that he almost beat out my number one guy. He is also a Piper Rayne character and he isn’t a complex brooding fellow either. He is a guy who gave himself a set of rules and it was hard for him to see past those rules. He didn’t know when to change the game for himself until fate stepped in (as well as nosey VERY catholic Italian Mama) and gave him his game changer. A Game changer he thought he was done with from his far back past we all know as a recent dalliance. I love how he thought turning his heart break into a work ethic was the right thing to do. He is still my brooding man who wants to do the right thing, butwhen his heart gets involved he isn’t sure how to handle those emotions. He is a great #2 for my list and the series is a great one!!
AND HERE WE ARE #1!
1) Garrett Shaw - Sexy Beast By Piper Rayne (Book #3 The Single Dads Club)
Now here is the funny thing about Garrett Shaw, Piper and Rayne know he is my number one because any time they ask who we want to see more of, or who we love most of all, Garrett is my answer; I even had a moment of crisis when they wrote Dom because I loved him so much he almost beat out Garrett for #1! Garrett knows true love, but he also knows the guilt and the stress of losing it all and having to raise a child alone. A long time family friend has been giving him attention and he knows but says nothing because while he feels the same his loyalties are to her big brother (his best friend) to look out for her, as well as the grief he cannot shake for the past 12 years about his wife. I love how he is written. It's like he really is the lumberjack on the front cover. It really would take a lot for this one to leave the number one spot.
Well I hope I didn’t creep you out to much with this blog post about people who are not real, yet I wrote about them like they were real. I am an avid reader and I love connecting with characters and their stories. I do it on TV and movies too... If anything peaked your interest, please check out all these amazing authors and their books.
Ashton
