Top Ten of 2012: Book Boyfriends

Top 10 of 2012 is a week long event celebrating the best of books from the past year. It is co-hosted by Rachel from Fiktshun, Lisa from A Life Bound By Books, Jessica from Confessions of a Bookaholic, Jaime from Two Chicks on Books, & Mindy from Magical Urban Fantasy Reads.

Best Book Boyfriends of 2012

In no particular order... And keep in mind that these quotes may be spoilery to a certain extent.

1. Hector from The Crown of Embers (Fire and Thorns #2) by Rae Carson

"I love you the way a drowning man loves air. And it would destroy me to have you just a little."

Oh, Hector. *sigh* You have no idea how much I ship him and Elisa.

2. Gabriel from Spark (Elementals #2) by Brigid Kemmerer

A girl on the cheer squad had once asked Gabriel if having a twin was like looking in a mirror all the time. He'd asked her if being a cheerleader was like being an idiot all of the time - but really, it was a good question.

What? There had to be at least one funny quote. ;) But don't you worry, Gabriel's still so hot that plays with fire -- literally.

3. Adrian from The Golden Lily (Bloodlines #2) by Richelle Mead

"I tried to be a better person for her– but it was to impress her, to get her to want me. But when I’m around you, I want to be better because… well, because it feels right. Because I want to. You make me want to become something greater than myself. I want to excel. You inspire me in every act, every word, every glance. I look at you, and you’re like… like light made into flesh. […] You have no clue how beautiful you are or how brightly you shine."

*melts into a puddle*

4. Zachary from Shine (Shade #3) by Jeri Smith-Ready

"I don't need to see you to know that you're beautiful."

Zachary leaned in, and I thought he was going to kiss me. Instead he pressed his cheek to mine and held it there. It felt more intimate than a kiss.

Zachary is just so lovely, he will forever be on this list. Such a fabulous character!

5. Daemon from Onyx (Lux #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

"I always liked you. From the moment you first flipped me off."

"If there is anything, there is us. You and me. No one else."

Daemon is always good for snark and suggestive comments, but he can be pretty swoony as well, I gotta admit.

6. Han Alister from The Crimson Crown (Seven Realms #4) by Cinda Williams Chima

"So here's the truth - I love you. I love everything about you – [...] You've given me the words I need to become whatever I want. [...] I love how you go after what you want – whether it's kisses or a queendom. [...] I want to breathe you in for the rest of my life."

Jeeze, the swoon here is at such a high level I had to take out sentence upon sentence to make that passage quotable!

7. Jared from Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

"Nothing else ever mattered to me, and you weren’t even real. All I ever wanted was you."

Oh Jared, you co-dependent moody little thing -- why do I love you so?!

8. Josh from The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

"I wished my mother was here tonight, which is stupid, because it’s an impossible wish." He shrugs and turns to me, drowning the smile that cracks me every time.

"It’s not stupid to want to see her again."

"It wasn’t so much that I wanted to see her again," he says, looking at me with the depth of more than seventeen years in his eyes. "I wanted her to see you."

What even. Josh, you are way too swoony. I freaking adore the relationship in this book.

9. Shane from Let It Bleed (WVMP #3.5) by Jeri Smith-Ready

"If I were a poet, I would say you outshine the sun, moon, and stars put together." He steps forward, pressing the length of his body against mine. "But I'm not a poet, so I'll say that no matter what you wear, I always picture you naked."

Okay, there had to be a sexy quote too, and a lot of what Shane says definitely fits the bill. Shane & Ciara's relationship is super hot, but super loving and sweet as well.

10. Chase from Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

"Ember, you're the only piece of me I have left. Everything else - my family, my home, my soul - they're all gone. I don't know who the hell I am anymore. If it weren't for you... I don't know."

He put a hand on his throat, as though trying to stop the words, but they came anyway. "You're home. To me."

I adore how much Chase loves Ember, and how much he's done for her, even when she doesn't realize it at all.