Thanks to the wonders of Google Alerts, I encountered this particular blog topic. The lovely Kylee J from Kylee's Journal included my hero Keirnan Fitzgerald
from The Treasures of Venice in her list of Top 5 Male Crushes.This exercise involves listing your favorite male "crushes" from books you've recently read. Or perhaps it was your top male "crushes" from any book, which makes me feel even more complimented that Kylee included Keirnan on her list.
That forced me to think (always a painful process) about which drool worthy heroes I would include on MY list of crushes, besides my own three yummy hunks, Donovan, Keirnan and Kevin, of course. How to chose from so many worthy candidates
?ANY of Anna Campbell's gorgeous, tortured hunks (Kylemore, Gideon, Eirth) are certainly drool worthy, as are Christine's dangerous Max Brooke, and the scrumptious Jardine. And I can't forget Christie's scandalous William Atherton or Donna's naughty Lord Nicholas! Plus on the contemporary side are Jeanne's dark and dangerous Caine Bradley, and Kate's sexy Derek Stone. Susan and Beth's reformed bad boys, Patrick and Dillon, and Tawny's cursed reporter Sebastian. And I'm not even through with just Bandita books yet.
Clearly this is a case of "too many heroes, too little time!"
So besides all those already mentioned, here's who would make my short list:
- Roarke from JD Robb's In Death series -- he's sinfully gorgeous and rich, plus he's Irish! Just can't beat that combination.
- Jamie Fraser from Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series --he probably single-handedly made both red heads and Scot heroes sexy.
- Rupert Carsington from Loretta Chase's Mr. Impossible --he's pretty much impossible to improve upon.
- Ranger from Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series -- Okay, okay! I know Stephanie will probably end up with Morelli, and she probably should. But Ranger is the one who makes my lil heart go pitty pat the loudest!
Yay.
ReplyDeleteWTG, Jane!!!
ReplyDeleteDo you have plans for the GR today? I'm sure Barb and Helen have spoiled him even more rotten than he's been before. ;-) Time to get tough and make him do some WORK!
AC
Hey Aunty Cindy,
ReplyDeleteI love your heroes, too. Kevin is at the top of the list because he's still fresh in my mind. I choose Benedict Carsington over Rupert, but my favorite Loretta Chase hero is Vere Mallory from "The Last Hellion." Others on my list are Gabe from Cindy Gerard's "Show No Mercy" and Seth from Shannon McKenna's "Behind Closed Doors."
AW! Thanx Jane, for the vote for Kevin. I haven't read Show No Mercy or Behind Closed Doors. Looks like the TBR pile is gonna grow...
ReplyDeleteAC
Congratulations Jane. Have fun with the rooster.
ReplyDeleteI recently finished a book called "For the love of Pete" by Julia Harper and I LOVED the hero, Dante Torelli in it.
ReplyDeleteOh and I've always loved Devil Cynster from Stephanie Laurens "Devil's Bride".
ReplyDeleteHi AC!
ReplyDeleteWell, Kevin Hennessey isn't too shabby. :) Also Derek Stone, the detective in Homicide in Hardcover and the elusive Gabriel...one of my favorite heroes is Cash Boudreaux from Slow Heat in Heaven. I could sip a cup of chicory coffee and look at him all day long.
Congrats on the GR, Jane!
Congratulations Jane GR may need some excercise as he may have had one too many nightcaps along with the tim tams.
ReplyDeleteThis is a hard one AC as I like all the heroes .... the one I have just read is the always the best LOL... I like Sebastian Grey from Ten things I love about you by Julia Quinn
Oh Aunty, like you said, too many heroes, too little time. Can I just vote for them all??? no? sigh........
ReplyDeleteCurse my poor memory I can't remember names well at all.
Colin Bridgerton was always a fav of mine. Aunty's Kevin made my heart go pitty pat as did Anna's Kylemore.
Another hero that caught my attention was Sebastian (aka St.Vincent) in Lisa Kleypas' Devil in Winter, he was a very, VERY bad boy that you just had to love. Though he wasn't a bad boy I also like Wulfric in Mary Balogh's Slightly Dangerous. There are so many more that I found either exciting, scary, or just plain fun but I have to go to work and calling the names to mind will probably take all day.LOL
Well done Jane and yes he is going to need a work out after being here in Oz for so long LOL
ReplyDeleteAunty Cindy
How on earth am I going to decide on my top 5 that is impossible for me LOL
Kevin from The Wild Irish Sea yep
Kylemore from CTC
Jardine from Sweetest Little Sin
Adam from Kate's new one
Devil Cynster
I always seem to fall in love with the heros I am reading about and to choose and then remember all their names is hard for me. There are so many fantastic drool worthy heros and yes The Bandits write fantastic ones and I have loved them all and a lot more.
Everytime someone mentions another one I know I will want to add that hero as well LOL :)
Have Fun
Helen
Congrats on the GR, Jane!
ReplyDeleteAC, this is far too hard of a question on a rainy Wednesday morning. I'm going to have to think about this. I don't have the best memories for names (not a good trait for a realtor).
ReplyDeleteI'll get back to you on this one!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI think every romance reader enjoys making the favorite heroes list. So much fun!
ReplyDeleteHarry Pye, The Leopard Prince
Harry Braxton, As You Desire
Gabe Rossiter, Naked Edge
Lord Winter, The Dream Hunter
I love Kylemore too but he was named already. Figure I'd spread the love around, lol. =)
Hmm, let's see ...
ReplyDeleteDefinitely Kate's Gabriel and Beth's Dillon and Tawny's Dante and Christine's Jardine and Donna's ...
Okay - too easy to cite all the delicious Bandita heroes.
This is a tough one, because I have a terrible memory for names.
So ... (leaving aside hockey hunks and ball players) ... off the top of my head ...
JD Robb's Roarke
Eloisa James' Villiers
Lorraine Heath's Jack Dodger
CS Harris' St Cyr
Lisa Gardner's Mac and Pierce
Pretty much all of Suz Brockmann's heroes, including Jules.
And, although he is not a hero, Sammy from Terri Garey's Nick Styx series.
Mmm... AC, yours are definitely up there--that Irish thing is a real draw for me ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd all you Banditas are quite masterful at creating droolworthy heroes--as for me, I've got to have them all!
Have fun with the GR, Jane!
Yay back at you Jane!
ReplyDeleteGreat topic, Cindy! I love your list which would definitely be included in my list, except I'd sub Morelli for Ranger.
I'd have to add Rhett Butler and his infamous, "Frankly my dear I don't give a damn" to the list.
Ranger is the best man ever. The only reason that Stephanie would end up with Morelli is that Ranger is so perfect that he doesn't actually exist, where as Morelli has annoying male qualities that makes it clear he could exist anywhere.
ReplyDeleteOther favorite heroes:
Nathan from The Gift (Garwood): a soft-hearted pirate. What's not to love?
Mayne from Pleasure for Pleasure (James): the hunkiest rake ever
Gideon from The Perfect Rake (Gracie): sexy, handsome, and the perfect banterer.
And many, many more. I fall in love with pretty much every hero I read. There is something to love about them all!
Oh, I love Jamie from Gabaldon's books. Also love those super-alpha vampires from J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood. And Max from Colleen Gleason's Gardella Vampire Chronicles.
ReplyDeleteAC -
ReplyDeleteThe moment I started reading your blog I thought of James Fraiser from Outlander - but you have him on your list.
Truth is, I fall in love with the hero of whatever book I happen to be reading. They are all so larger than life. I want them all.
You do pick the tough questions, AC. ;) I'll stick with four as well.
ReplyDeleteHardy Cates - Blue Eyed Devil from Kleypas
Garrett Mayne - Pleasure for Pleasure by Eloisa James
Phin Tucker - Welcome to Temptation by Crusie
Cain the Marquis of Chase - The Wild Marquis by Miranda Neville.
That last is the best hero I've read in a long time. Highly recommend it!
AC, you've mentioned so many delicious heroes, particularly two of my all time favorites, Roarke and Jamie Fraser. Drool worthy with a capital 'D'!!
ReplyDeleteI'll add the following:
Sebastian Grey - Ten Things I Love About You by JQ
Colin Bridgerton - another JQ hero
Christopher Phelan - Love In The Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas
The Brotherhood (take your pick) - JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series
Adrik Wilder - Into The Shadow by Christina Dodd
Murphy Muldoon - Born In Shame by Nora Roberts
I guess I'd better stop or I'll be adding heroes all day long!! *g*
Morning everyone!
ReplyDeleteMust say I had some VERY SWEET dreams after putting this post up last night. ;-)
Yes, trying to narrow the list down to just a few names was very difficult! How I suffer for my art...
Daz, I'll have to check out Danta Torelli. With that KEWL Italian name, he's bound to be drool worthy! And Devil Cynster would definitely be on my slight longer list. ;-)
AC
Hey Pink!
ReplyDeleteThanx a bunch for naming my Kevin to your list. And Kate's YUMMY Derek! I haven't read Slow Heat in Heaven, so onto the TBR list it goes!
AC
P.S. Congrats on venturing out into your own blog!
Barb,
ReplyDeleteYou and Helen have that chook VERY spoiled! Jane will probably have quite a time getting him to behave today. ;-)
I've heard lots of good things about Ten Things... Another title on the TBR!
AC
Thanx for stopping by on your way to work, Dianna. I hope you have those lovely heroes in the back of your mind all day!
ReplyDeleteThanx for naming Kevin and yes, Colin Bridgerton would definitely be on my slightly longer list. OOO! The Devil In Winter's St. Vincent is definitely on there too. ;-)
AC
Helen,
ReplyDeleteNarrowing the list down to 5 really is difficult isn't it?!?! And I must agree that Bandita heroes (both published and unpublished) are SUPER drool-worthy!
You and Barb better stock up on the Tim Tams while the rooster is away! LOL!
AC
Christie,
ReplyDeleteI agree, this is waay too difficult a question to tackle in the morning, which is why I made my list in the evening! LOL!
I'm pretty good with names, but titles sometimes present a problem. ;-P
AC
Thanx for spreading the LURVE around, Scorpio!
ReplyDeleteI ADORED Harry Pye in The Leopard Prince!
AC
OOOO! You added some GOOD ones, VA!
ReplyDeleteYES YES! Villiers and Jack Dodger -- YUM! And I also think Jules is adorable. ;-)
And BIG THANX, Fedora, for the vote for my Irish Hunks. I agree, there's just something about an Irishman... And an Englishman... AND a Scot...
AC
Jo-Mama,
ReplyDeleteI KNOW you are not alone on having Morelli instead of Ranger on your list. ;-) And BIG YES to Rhett!!! I always picture him with a wicked gleam in his eye.
AC
LOL, Hellion! Another "Ranger" woman! And you are right, Morelli is just a bit too realistically annoying. ;-)
ReplyDeleteOOOO! Thanx for bringing up Nathan from The Gift. You're sooo right, what's NOT to love?!?!
AC
YAY Trish and Donna!
ReplyDeleteTwo more BIG recommendations for Jamie Fraser. He's just sooo brave, sooo gallant, sooo YUMMY!!! ;-)
Donna, I think you've hit on a large part of the hero worship. We readers fall in love with all of them. That's why we keep reading.
AC
OOO TerriO,
ReplyDeleteI LURVED Phin in Welcome to Temptation! Pass ye olde drool bucket! And I am putting Pleasure for Pleasure near the TOP of my TBR list. If you and Hellie BOTH vote for Mayne I simply MUST read about him!
AC
Just call me a hero slut because I fall in love with the one I'm reading about at the time - all of them lol.
ReplyDeleteHey Gannon,
ReplyDeleteWe appear to be in sync -- Roarke, Jamie Fraser, Colin Bridgerton...
Another shout out for Ten Things... Looks like that one is going near the top of my TBR too! Can't wait to read all about Sebastian (my former father-in-law's name and I always loved it)!
AC
ROFLOL Catslady!
ReplyDeleteHero Slut?!?! I'm afraid we ALL deserve that title. ;-)
AC
Jane, congrats on the GR!
ReplyDeleteAC, I can't pick from among the bandita authors' heroes. So I'm declaring all of them ineligible for my list, just to simplify my life.
With that in mind, here's my list, arbitrary, random and in happenstance order since any of these guys could move up any time and there are lots, lots more I could put on the list.
I agree totally on Roarke. Seriously, what's not to adore?
Stepping outside the romance genre, it's hard to beat Aragorn, son of Arathorn, Chief of the Dunedain Rangers and future King of the West (I prefer the ranger incarnation to the regal one).
Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, hero of C.S. Harris' mysteries, is a man of action, depth, and torment, a soldier and a detective. And chivalrous to the bone.
Acheron Parthenopaeus from the Dark Hunters. Really, do I need to say more?
Gage Turner from Nora Roberts' The Pagan Stone (Book 3 in the Sign of 7 trilogy). Gage is a professional gambler and guarded lover, survivor of an abusive alcoholic parent, and a loyal friend. Once he gives his heart he gives it completely, and he's willing to die to end a curse that has threatened his town since he and his friends unwittingly unleashed it.
Oh, Nancy, Gage is an excellent pick! Nora has quite a few drool worthy heroes. :-)
ReplyDeleteWOW! GREAT list, Nancy!
ReplyDeleteI gotta tell ya, I was thisclose to putting Aragorn in my blog... SO noble! SO courageous! SO self-sacrificing... SO DROOL WORTHY!
And Archeron would definitely make my slightly longer list. (Happy SIGH)
AC
Gannon and Nancy,
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Nora's Pagan Stone trilogy, but after you both strongly endorse Gage, it's going high on the TBR list!
AC
Gannon and AC, I loved all the heroes of the sign of 7. Cal is great, strong and steady. Fox is quirky but stubborn. Both of them are dedicated to their town. Then there's Gage, the renegade, the bad boy who escaped but comes back every 7 years to face the evil when it rises.
ReplyDeleteThe heroines are pretty great, too. There's Quinn, the writer, organized and curious. Layla, intuitive and braver than she knows. Cybil, smart and independent.
And there's a telepathy/second sight thread, along with ancient evil and big stakes.
I really loved those books, and I learned a lot from them about series arc and structure as well.
Hi, Aunty,
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I must say that there is
no such thing as a short list for
me! Every book that I read, the H
& H find a little spot in my heart. So all the Bandita heroes are right there in their places, add on the Cindy Gerard Bodyguards & Suzanne Brockmann's Seals, also Izzy, let's not forget him! And from the book I finished last night, please add to the list Bo Crutcher from Susan Wiggs' book,
Fireside. (I believe this book won
a RITA for Susan in 2009.)
Pat Cochran
Thanks for the linkage!
ReplyDelete{Google Alerts are wonderful things, aren't they? Thanks again.}
What a wonderful 'alert' to receive!!
ReplyDeleteOh, boy! Heroes! Love dishin' about heroic hunky-dunkies.
My Favs:
1)Brodick- Julie Garwood's Ransom
2)Jared- Judith McNaught's Whitney, My Love
3)James Mallory- Johanna Lindsey's Gentle Rogue
4)Eric Northamn- Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse books
5)Kylemore- Anna Campbell's Claiming the Courtesan (I can't help it!! He's worth the Ditto!) :)
My "romance" heroes are Lars and Sven from the Bandits' Lair. Athough they may not be characters from a romance book, they bring great delight (and drinks) to the Bandit readers!
ReplyDeleteThey are welcome to Hang Loose in Hawaii anytime with me!
Fun blog, Aunt Cindy -
ReplyDeleteI don't think I can add a hero that hasn't been mentioned, including hotty Kevin Hennessey from yoiur wonderful Wild Irish Sea. I'd forgotten a few so it's nice to be reminded. It's always entertaining to stop by the RB blog. :)
Nancy,
ReplyDeleteSign of 7 is sounding better & better! Can't wait to read it... Now if only there were a few more hours in the day. ;-)
AC
Hey Pat,
ReplyDeleteThat's what makes you a BB and reader EXTRAORDINAIRE -- no short lists! :-) And you are right, every H & H gets a piece of our hearts when we read their story, which is why we all love romance so much!
AC
You are soo welcome, Kylee! I really appreciate you including Keirnan and providing me with a topic for this post! :-)
ReplyDeleteNice to have you pop into the Lair.
AC
GREAT list, Sarah!
ReplyDeleteOOO! Let me add Eric N. to my slightly longer list too. And YES! Kylemore is indeed worth SEVERAL dittos. ;-)
AC
Oh no, Kim!
ReplyDeleteNow you've done it! Lars and Sven are prancing around here in Hawaiian shirts saying they are off to a hukilau. Better prepare yourself, that's all I'm sayin...
AC
HI Dianna!
ReplyDeleteWe love it when you stop by the Lair! Thanx for giving my Kevin a shout out, and I agree, I'm LOVING all the heroes everyone is naming. Brings back many fond memories. :-)
AC
Oooh, great topic!
ReplyDeleteRoarke, Ranger, and Anna's Kylemore are all at the top of my list. Suz Brockmann's Senior Chief Stan Wolchonok, Kleypas's Hardy Cates from Blue Eyed Devil, Ward's Wrath from Dark Lover, Lachlain from Kresley Cole's A Hunger Like No Other,... there are just way too many!
Thanx for dropping by, Laurie!
ReplyDeleteThose are some GREAT and very drool worthy additions!
AC
Ooh, good question!
ReplyDeleteI've got a thing for many Crusie heroes... Phin Tucker and Shane probably being my favorites.
Kit Whitelaw from Julie Anne Long's "Beauty and the Spy."
Robert (or "Bit") from Suzanne Enoch's "England's Perfect Hero."
From Kleypas's Wallflower books... I know everyone loves Sebastian St. Vincent, and he's VERY fun to read about, but I've always had a soft spot for Simon Hunt.