I don't actually watch that much television, or rather, I mostly just watch the same television shows over and over, so given I've shared my TV crushes it only makes sense to share my literary crushes, too. Because I do read quite a lot, though not as much as I used to, and never enough.
I could really just admit to my ardent love of Bran from Juliet Marillier's Son of the Shadows and be done with it. From my first reading to a yearly reading, I never tire of his and Liadan's story. Their dynamic is incredibly real and the way that his story unravels, such a beautiful compliment to Liadan's own, makes my heart ache every time. In fact, I might stop writing this blog just so I can read the book again.
I can't say anything about Er Lang from The Ghost Bride without spoiling some really delicious stuff. Suffice to say, if you haven't read this yet, read it YESTERDAY. Er Lang is irresistibly interesting in the way that the Doctor is: dangerous and uncanny, but you can't stop thinking about him. I actually just downloaded the audiobook version, which is narrated by the author, and it was just as delightful as the text.
While I'm anti-team anybody because I feel it is stupid and so beside the point, I was very much wooed by Peeta Mellark in The Hunger Games, and better still the way he challenges Katniss. I feel like she's a better character because of the conflict that arises not between she and Peeta and Gale, but because of what she's given the space to learn about herself, to be a flawed and curious young woman even in the face of unspeakable horrors.
Dreadnaught Stanton from The Native Star is just the sort of book fella I'm likely to fall for. He's grumpy and mysterious and gives as good as he gets with the book's protagonist. Stanton isn't what you expect him to be, and there's a tragedy at the heart of his story that just might stop yours. Sound familiar? Yeah. It's a problem.
Maybe it's because I read them growing up together or maybe it's because being bridled to Harry Potter's perspective - thereby eliminating any chance that I'd crush on him, after the fifth book - but I've always fancied Ron Weasley. He can be a total grouch and yet unspeakably tender, he makes mistakes, he hesitates, he struggles with being his own man while still being utterly devoted to the people that he cares for.
Also, he loves my girl Hermione, and that proves he's got sense.
So, who're your book crushes? Bonus points for pictures, because finding renderings of mine made writing this blog post even more of a delight.