Literary Loves

I love to read. Seriously, it would be impossible to get a degree in French literature and not love to read. And let's just say over the years I've developed a few crushes on some fictional heroes.

Here are my top 9 literary loves.

Why 9? Because I couldn't think of 10. Yeah, I'm lame like that.

9. Luke Brandon - Confessions of a Shopaholic
A handsome millionaire who finds Rebecca Bloomwood's crazy, dim-witted, shopaholic tendencies endearing. If only this kind of a guy existed in real life.

8. Severus Snape - Harry Potter
A shocker huh? He is definitely not your classical romantic hero. He is ugly and pretty much a jerk most of the time. But he does harbor a life-long, secret love for Lily (Harry Potter's mother) and because of this he ends up being the linchpin in the conclusion of the Harry Potter series.

7. Captain Fredrick Wentworth - Persuasion
Darcy who? The best Austen hero is Captain Wentworth of Persuasion. When Anne Elliot refuses his marriage proposal he waits 8 years before returning to woo her again even though by that point she is considered to be an ugly old maid. The love letter he writes her at the end of the book is definitely swoon worthy.

6. Captain Jack Elliot - These is My Words
He is basically the Rhett Butler of the wild west who romances the tough-as-nails Sarah Prine on the rough Arizona frontier in the late 1800's.


5. Peeta Mellark - The Hunger Games
He bakes, he paints, he throws weights and oh yeah, he really really loves Katniss despite the fact that she kinda tries to kill him.

4. Edward Cullen - Twilight
What's not to love? He is 17, sparkly, and um, dead. All kidding aside, I have to admit that I was a sucker for the series (pun totally intended) and that they very nearly ruined my marriage. I can't say I've been a huge fan of the movies but it helps that Robert Pattinson is easy on the eyes.

3. Laurie - Little Women
Most people's childhood ends the moment they find out Santa isn't real or when Old Yeller gets shot. Mine ended when Jo March turns down Laurie's marriage proposal in Little Women. I was 9 years old at the time and 19 years later I'm still struggling to understand why these two didn't end up together. Either Louisa May Alcott was a sick, twisted person or the world really is a cold, cruel place. Oh and it's no coincidence that my life-long obsession with Christian Bale began with him playing Laurie in the movie adaptation. 

2. Leo Gursky - The History of Love
"The first woman may have been Eve but the first girl will always be Alma" and so the love story between Leo and Alma begins. The memory of Alma is what helps Leo survive the Holocaust and eventually inspires him to write the History of Love.

1. Gilbert Blythe - Anne of Green Gables
He is handsome, smart and a doctor. Anne Shirley secures Gilbert's undying devotion by breaking her slate over his head. I've always wanted to see if that would work in real life. 

Who is your favorite literary hero?