Book Boyfriends

I’m going to be super honest right now. As a long-time reader of romance books, I was never one to have book boyfriends. In fact, I thought the idea of such was somewhat… juvenile? Silly? Stupidforagrownwomantodoafterabookcharacter? So, I was judgmental. I was a yum yucker. I was a literary killjoy. That was who I was. I own it. But, thankfully, with some personal growth and maturing of my own I realized that even if something wasn’t for me, didn’t mean it wasn’t for someone else or make said thing invalid. And it’s all okay. But even after I shed my judgmental clothing, book boyfriends still weren’t my thing. But I appreciated the concept a lot more than I had earlier in my life. It just wasn’t for me. I *personally* was not meant to experience such a thing.

Until one day… I read a book… and I experienced such a thing…

And WOW.

Mind blown.

I figured out I was a woman who could have a book boyfriend. And this discovery opened something up inside of me. If I could have one book boyfriend, could I have two? Or five? Or seven? An infinite number? Could I? I could! And I would! But because I am a grown woman, these book boyfriends would not be based on potential, but only who they were and the true joy they brought to my the heroine’s life.

As I sat and thought about what exactly I liked about these men…er, characters. It was something actually quite simple. They were “normal”. They had regular jobs. They were hardworking. They loved their family and actually valued these relationships and maintaining them. They were intentional and compassionate. They were understandably flawed but were working on their shit. And listen, don’t get me wrong. I love a secret billionaire or an unknown prince just as much as the next person. When it comes to my book boyfriends though, my suspension of belief is limited. I can suspend belief for a great many things when it comes to writing and the liberties writers take. Just not with my book boyfriends.

So, tell me, do you have book boyfriends? If so, who are they?! (I can’t promise I won’t try to steal them though.) Have you always had them or did a writer and their writing of a character change your mind?

Until next time, happy writing and reading!