Book Boyfriends—What’s not to love?
He’s perfect. Tall and broad. Handsome and wealthy. Or maybe he’s tough and tatted up. Biker, rock star, athlete? You know him…he’s your book boyfriend.
Romance lovers embrace the book boyfriend like no other reader, and do you know why? Romance authors are just as bad. But we’re shameless hussies, throwing over one boyfriend for another every time we open a new manuscript.
When I wrote my first Forever Love Story, The Temporary Wife, Jason Campbell was my guy. He was dark and brooding. A brilliant, wealthy computer nerd who looked like a sexy boy-next-door. But that relationship was over before the book came out. By then, I was devoted to Josh.
Oh, Josh Campbell the hero of my newest release, Unexpectedly Yours (Intermix 11/19), was everything I wanted in my latest love. Tall, blonde and blue-eyed, he was quietly kind, smart and patient. And did he need patience! Caroline tested and teased him at every turn. She was the woman he never thought he wanted, but discovered he couldn’t live without. His heart, his soul, became hers. When he fell for Caroline, I loved Josh even more.
Josh was my one and only (okay, he was my fictional one and only) for eight months. Eight glorious months. He didn’t let me down once.
And such is the way of the book boyfriend. Romance readers are misunderstood by many with regards to their image of men. It’s thought we have unrealistic expectations, but I think the book boyfriend, while he may set the bar high, he also lets us see what we really deserve in a relationship. We deserve to be loved unconditionally. To have a man who cares about our needs, or wants. Handsome is nice, but if that’s all you think about, you’ve missed the point of the book boyfriend or any boyfriend, for that matter. Looks will fade. But a sensitive heart, a kind nature, a sharp mind and a good sense of humor will outlast a pretty face. Those are the things we want.
Those are the things that matter.
In real life, our significant other is there with us through life’s ups and downs. Our book boyfriends take it one step further, allowing us to escape from the stresses of everyday life. No job is too outrageous, no setting is too far away, and money is not an object. It the perfect storm of happiness and we can go there whenever we want.
The romance novel is perfection and the book boyfriend is perfect for us. He lives in a safe world that provides a haven, and a new guy, whenever we need one.
Tell me about your favorite book boyfriend in the comments. Who is your guy? For a long time it was Jamie from Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series who stole my heart. However, he’s getting a run for his money from Ian Browning whom we meet, Roxanne St. Claire’s in Barefoot by the Sea. Decisions, decisions. It’s never easy.
*****
Unexpectedly Yours
A Forever Love Story #2
It was a win-win arrangement…until Caroline lost her heart…
Caroline Rossi needs to reinvent her life. Being a geotechnical engineer hasn’t exactly proved to be a guy magnet. She’s never really had the opportunity to let her hair down and have fun. But when a chance encounter with her big sister’s brother-in-law—millionaire Josh Campbell—leads to a night of unexpected passion, Caroline starts engineering an arrangement that will give them both what they want. She can help Josh with an important real estate project and he can school her in the art of amour. At first Josh balks—but there’s something irresistible about Caroline, something very different from the bombshells he usually dates. Can the friends with benefits agreement really work? Or are Caroline and Josh playing a dangerous game that may end in heartbreak?
A little about Jeannie:
Jeannie Moon has always been a romantic. When she’s not spinning tales of her own, Jeannie works as a school librarian, thankful she has a job that allows her to immerse herself in books. Married to her high school sweetheart, Jeannie has three kids, three lovable dogs and a mischievous cat and resides on Long Island, NY. If she’s more than ten miles away from salt water for any longer than a week, she gets twitchy. Unexpectedly Yours is the second book in her Forever Love Series. Visit Jeannie’s website at www.jeanniemoon.com
I was just thinking about this the other day! About Book Boyfriends! You are so right, pretty faces really aren’t that important as the heroes actions, attitude, chemistry. But it’s great eye candy 😉 It’s hard to pic a favorite boyfriend, (I’m so easy, I love so many 😛 ) but what I love is that they each have something of my real hero (my hubby) and I guess that’s what makes me fall in love with these fictional men. Suzanne Brockmann’s Prince Joe, Joe is one that I love, all of Kristan Higgins heroes, Tom being the latest. Dana Marton- Deathtrap- Ethan Bing. OH! Robyn Carr’s Virgin River’s first book- Jack! I love Jack! This is not a fair question, see how easy I am! I fall in love every day, each time I read a book! I so look forward to falling in love with your Josh, he seems great!
I think I might have to fight you for Jack in Virgin River. I’ve said more than once if her were real, well…you know.
Thanks for the comment, Lorelei!
oooo, book boyfriends. I’m a sucker for JD Robb’s Roarke in the Eve Dallas series. I love the lilt of his Irish accent, the laser blue eyes, and hell, the billions don’t hurt either!
I had a serious thing for Levi Cooper in Kristan Higgins The Best Man.
But my heart belongs forever to a hero who may never get read: Thomas Clarke, the British journalist in my unpublished contemporary, Border Lines. Someday, I keep promising him.
Patty, I have one of those unpubbed boyfriends, but I still have hope. As far as Chief Cooper goes…he is yummy. I approve.
Thank you for your post, Jeannie. My favorite book boyfriend is the hero of whichever romance I’m writing at the moment. Or reading, sometimes. Of course, it’s nowhere near as easy to find other writers’ heroes who meet my specs.
Keep up the good work!
Oh, Mary Anne. We’re so picky! Thanks for commenting!
My “one and only” is Kevin Tucker from Susan Elizabeth Phillip’s book, This Heart of Mine. Just thinking about him makes my heart race! Loved the blog.
K