Top 20 Literary Crushes: Part I

Many of my new Twitter buddies and I have been talking about teams and which literary crushes we have been favoring and well...crushing on.  #TeamKilt banded together to support Zachary Moore over at The YA Sisterhood during their Crush Tournament and fought hard against #TeamJace (Wayland).  That #TeamKilt camaraderie is still going strong!

Everyone has their favorites, am I right?  The special guys that make you swoon, make your breath catch, and the ones you might even dream about at night.  We feel strongly about these guys, clearly.  Otherwise, the competition this past month would not have been so epic!

Well, I wanted to take some time to show off some of my own personal favorites.  Some of these guys are well known and loved by many.  Others on my list might seem a tad bit obscure but they all have my heart in some way.  20 fictional crushes?  I'm crazy, right?  Well, my mom said I always fancied the guys even when I was little so I guess it's no surprise that I'm having trouble picking a top 10 so you'll get my top 20 in two parts.  (in no particular order)



1.  Vidanric Renselaeus, Marquis of Shevraeth
     Crown Duel & A Stranger to Command 
     Sherwood Smith

Known to his close friends as Danric, he is tall, gray-eyed with pale blonde hair.  Not my usual type but he is mysterious while not brooding, intelligent, and handy with a sword.  Danric can ride a horse like he was born in the saddle thanks to his military school training (in A Stranger to Command).  He keeps to himself and it is hard to know his mind... but his romance with Meliara swept me off my feet.  Vidanric has been groomed to do great things and he proves that he is THE MAN for the job.  He is a true epic hero.

Jeri has said that Matthew Lewis is her favorite pick for Zachary

2.  Zachary Moore
     Shade & Shift 
     Jeri Smith-Ready

The man behind #TeamKilt is of majority in his homeland of Scotland.  We first see him as the Scottish exchange student in Shade and from the first gentle roll of his brogue -- he had me at hello.  What I love about Zach is that he almost wears his heart on his sleeve.  He is so up front with Aura and tells her like it is.  Zach is my science geek pick of the lot.  Gorgeous, smart, great taste in music, and romantic beyond your wildest dreams.  Oh, and I hear he looks fabulous in a kilt!

3.  Miach of Neroche
    Star of the Morning, The Mage's Daughter, & Princess of the Sword 
    Lynn Kurland

Oh Miach where do I begin?  First man on the list that is not from a YA book.  Miach is all man.  He may be the Archmage of Neroche but he learns to defend himself (and his lady) without the use of his magic.  Poor Miach carries the weight of protecting the kingdom of Neroche from magical attacks.  He is fierce in love, battle and magic.  When he calls Morgan "gel" it makes me melt.  If you need looking after, Miach will be the one to do so gladly.

4.  Paul Schafer                                          
      The Fionavar Tapestry Trilogy
     Guy Gavriel Kay

Paul is the second of my list that is not from a YA novel.  In the Fionavar Tapestry series, Paul and four friends are whisked away from Toronto, Canada to a land full of magic and various species of creatures where they meet many foes and make several alliances to fight against the evil brewing once again in Fionavar.
A dark, brooding and mysterious boy, we learn little by little about Paul and what tortures his soul.  Paul feels deeply, is a voice of reason, and is willing to sacrifice himself for what he feels is right.

5.  Valek
     The Study Trilogy 
     Maria V. Snyder

Shoulder length dark hair and piercing sapphire blue eyes grace Valek's face.  He is graceful and as lithe as a snowcat, ready to pounce on his enemies but he doesn't need to touch you to disarm you or take you out.  Valek is the adviser to the Commander of Ixia and also serves as head of intelligence and is a master spy and assassin.  Not to mention he's a master of poisons.  Valek is a force to be reckoned with and is untouchable in battle (he can take out at least 3 men single-handed).  Something about Valek is irresistible.  Maybe because he's deadly.  Oh and I love a man in uniform, especially official dress!

Ben Barnes is a popular choice of
fangirls for our favorite Russian

6.  Dimitri Belikov
     Vampire Academy series
     Richelle Mead

Another foreign hottie, this one hailing from Siberia, Russia.  Dimitri is a Dhampir guardian and trainer at Saint Vladimir's Academy.  Long brown hair, massively tall, and built like a god, Dimitri is a powerhouse and all around BAMF.  He likes 80s music (me too!), Western cowboy novels (a guy needs his quirks), and constantly sports a long, ankle-length cowboy duster.  When whispering sweet nothings to Rose, he frequently resorts to his native Russian tongue.  Dimka is steadfast, honorable, courageous, strong, and guards his feelings.  What is not to love?      

  7.  Ash
      The Iron Fey series 
      Julie Kagawa
The Ice Prince of the Unseelie court...fangirl sigh.  Another dark haired, blue-eyed guy (do you see a pattern here?) that is deadly with a sword.  Ash has been around a long time, has suffered the cruelties of his mother's court of faeries, and has both loved and lost in his lifetime.  To me, Ash is conscientious, courtly, chivalrous, caring, romantic, and above all, loyal.  He knows what he wants and he will sacrifice all he has ever known for love.  What could be more romantic?  Ash faces hardships and perils that are almost insurmountable.  His story isn't over yet!  I can't wait to see what Julie has in store for Ash in his novel The Iron Knight.

8.  Christopher Garron
      The Moorhawke Trilogy
      Celine Kiernan

Christopher...Chris...where to start?!  When you first meet Christopher you're not sure whether you can trust him or not.  He is portrayed as a scoundrel and the female protagonist, Wynter, immediately dislikes him.  However, Chris proves his worth a hundred times over by the end of the series.  Falling in love with him sneaks up on you.  Another long & dark haired lad, he is quick with his wit, tongue, and is steadfast loyal to his prince and his lass.  He may seem untamed and reckless at first, but he will have you sighing in love.  Christopher has a secret but it's not mine to tell.  You'll just have to read the books to find out for yourself.

9.  Will
     Angelfire 
     Courtney Allison Moulton

Will is quite something else; dark brown hair and piercing green eyes, another lad adept in the ways of the blade and fighting with weapons.  He also plays a mean guitar (Ellie catches him playing Journey's "Wheel in the Sky").  Will's love knows no bounds.  What he has had to endure since taking up his role in Ellie's life..there are no words.  It's just heartbreaking.  Charm, intelligence, bravery, courage, and deep intense love like none you have ever seen before.

10.  James Orcutt 
        Secret Society Girl, Under the Rose, Rites of Spring (Break), and TAP & GOWN 
      Diana Peterfreund

Okay another non-YA young man, we first meet Jamie as a senior at Eli University as a member of Rose & Grave. (I'm not revealing his Digger name b/c you need to discover who he is through reading the book so neener neener).  I am not going to lie.  At first I thought Jamie was a down right jerk.  He's rude, pricklier than a thorn bush, argumentative, and just down right impossible to get along with.  BUT (and this is a huge but) Jamie grows and changes so much over the course of the series by book #3 you are cheering him on.  He may not have fashion sense, but he is a vegetarian, is down right loyal, smart in a big way (hello mr.-Eli-Law-grad student), and dedicated.  A true Digger through and through.  Jamie also happens to be dark haired and gray eyed.


Have you noticed a pattern?!  Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this first installment of Literary crushes.  Check back on Thursday when I let you in on my next ten crushes.

In the mean time, who are some of your top crushes?