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My Top 14 Book Boyfriends

  • Writer: Mackenzie Hicks
    Mackenzie Hicks
  • Feb 14
  • 16 min read

Updated: May 19

I so enjoy the wonderful trend of Book Boyfriends. Honestly, it's about time we start holding real men to fictional standards! The bar is in hell most days, so I think it's time to raise it to where Bat Boys fly.


This Valentine's Day, I wanted to celebrate by sharing my favorite men found within a book's pages. Some of them will be well-known; others not so much, but I promise you they're all worthy of the Book Boyfriend title.


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*SPOILER WARNING AHEAD: If you see a title you'd like to read, be warned you may see things that ruin surprises. Skip it if you want to read it!


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😈 Daniel Arlington from Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo


I'm bound to you, Stern. To the woman who brought me out of hell. I'll serve you 'til the end of my days.

Here's a fun fact about me: My celebrity crush is Matt Smith. Why does this matter? Well, because Daniel Arlington, better known as Darlington in Leigh Bardugo's books, reminds me of what Matt Smith may have been like as a young guy at university - only make him American and a Yale boy.


The Gentleman of Lethe is sadly a bit of background in character in Ninth House, but Alex, our heroine, never fails to remind us of how much her Virgil taught his Dante (her if you're wondering). You fall in love with him through her memories, even though Alex isn't 100% sure how she feels about him herself. They have one romantic-ish scene together when he's drugged by one of the secret societies and suddenly starts worshipping at Alex's feet. She rushes him home once he's semi-back to himself, but he isn't ready to let her leave - she's not ready either, so she learns the story behind Black Elm, the crumbling manor he owns, and they finally bond over their (few) similarities.


Then you get to Hell Bent, and Leigh Bardugo says, "What if the Gentleman of Lethe, the man who always wanted to be a knight, becomes a demon?" - but make it sexy (he's still a gentleman!) and Alex even more confused. It sounds like a lot, but trust me, it works. I already liked Darlington as a character, but I am now obsessed. This man was distant and hid behind high walls, but now that he's a demon, he struggles to keep his emotions in check. There's just something about him coming unraveled at the mere sight of Alex that is so attractive and dangerous.


I don't know how to explain it perfectly, but this man is brilliant, sure of himself, and powerful in a subtle way - well, was. He's not romantic. In fact, I think the most romantic thing he says is the quote above, and neither he nor Alex are sure if it's meant to be romantic. I choose to think Leigh Bardugo will help us all sort it out in the next book.


For now, he's my number one Book Boyfriend, and I would love for you to join me in loving him.




I like flaws. I think they make things interesting.

Wes was the first boy in a book I ever fell in love with. He was the bad boy turned good who was raising his younger brother and welding wingless angels out of junk. He's everything Macy shouldn't want, and yet, she can't help but fall for him as they start working together at his aunt's catering company. They start up a game of Truth, and everything they share with each other only makes their connection stronger. Then, as it usually happens in Young Adult novels, miscommunications ruins everything, and, of course, Wes figures out the best way to fix it - making Macy her own angel with wings (Macy was a runner before her father's death, and she meets a drunk girl at a party one night out with Wes who tells everyone how Macy used to "fly"). Truly, this book has the most beautiful ending, and the part below still makes me tear up.


"Do you know anything about this?" Caroline asked. For a second I thought she meant Wes, until I turned around to see her and her group standing in front of a sculpture.

"What about it?" I asked, distracted. I'd lost sight of him now.

"It's just," she said, looking up at it, "I've never seen it before. It's not one of mine."

"Macy?" Jason came up behind me. "I really think we should--"

But I wasn't listening. Not to him. Not to Caroline, who still circling around the sculpture, making her Art Major noises. Not to the sounds of the party floating through the window. All I could hear was the slight tinkling noise of the sculpture as it moved, this new angel. She was standing with her feet apart, her hands clasped at her chest. Her eyes were sea glass, circled with washers, her mouth a key, turned upwards. Her halo was circled with tiny hearts in hands. But most striking, most different, were the things that arched up over her head, made of thin aluminum, cut with strong peaks at the top, sweeping curves at the bottom, lined with tiny bells, which made the chiming noise I was hearing. That we could all hear.

"I don't get it," Caroline said, bemused. "She's the only one with wings. Why is that?"

There were so many questions in life. You couldn't ever have all the answers. But I knew this one.

"It's so she can fly," I said. And then I started to run.


❤️ Alton Strawbridge from Pug Sheridan by Sandra Cline


As long as water flows, and the green grass grows, will I love you, Miss Sheridan.

I promise one day to write a review on Pug Sheridan and the incredible hold it has had on me since I read it at 16, but I'll start here with Pug's husband Alton.


I still think about how Pug first meets him - I don't remember much more because I fell in love during the twenty-five minutes he spoke. Most folks don't believe young girls can feel true love, but they're wrong. Though a sudden thunderstorm rattled our chapel walls, I took no notice. A storm-free paradise had settled within my own, fast-beating heart. Alton Strawbridge and his brother, Arious, had come in God's House late. - and how kind he is to a young girl experiencing her first crush. Then for him to fall in love with her and marry her despite how wild Pug is for the role of minister's wife. I still laugh at the scene when everyone is asking where Pug is during one of his sermons after their wedding, and he simply smiles to say Pug has her own things to do. She's out hanging with the town's witch, by the way, but Alton never cares. He loves her for who she is.


They are also "soul twins," something that sounds so steeped in Southern lore and touches the little romantic piece not broken in my heart. Word of warning, though, Alton is too good for our world. We think romantasy authors torture us; you've never met Sandra Cline.



I would move the stars for you. I would defy them all.

Wenzhi's quote above is from Tales of the Celestial Kingdom, which is a companion to the incredible duology of Daughter of the Moon Goddess and Heart of the Sun Warrior, but even if you skip it - which I don't recommend because it's incredible - I think Wenzhi comes out as the most romantic of the two wonderful men fighting for Xingyin's affection. I mean, the man sacrifices everything - literally - for her. Who can say the same for their own man?


The stern captain definitely melts as he grows closer to the Moon Goddess' daughter, and I found myself thoroughly enjoying a love triangle for the first time in almost a decade because of it. I adore the Sun Emperor's son, but when Wenzhi turns out to be the villain - an a Shadow Daddy since he's the king of the Shadow Kingdom - I instantly swooned, even if I was enraged by his betrayal. I found myself as confused as Xingyin when the second book rolled around, even though I had turned back to Liwei and his kindness. Somehow, though, the arrogant yet repentant Wenzhi stole my heart without me noticing. Some would say this is because I have a thing for arrogant me - true - but I think it really shows how brilliant of a writer Sue Lynn Tan is.


🧪 Charles Douglas from How Not to Fall by Emily Foster


I think people don't fear heights. They fear the fall - not even that. They fear the consequences of the fall.

What is it about a man who tells you upfront he cannot love you that makes him so appealing? Is it the wanting what you know you can't have? Well, Annie knows she can't keep Charles because she's about to graduate and go on to med school far away, but she can HAVE him for a night or two. Then, she falls HARD. I mean if this scene doesn't rip your heart out, I don't know what will.


"What would you like to do tonight?" he says. "What can I give you that will please you?"

"Your heart," I answer without thinking.

"Oh, Annie." He comes forward and kneels in front of me by the couch. "Is it selfish of me to say I need my heart more than you do?"


I so feel for Annie here. She's told him she loves him and expected it to be returned, but Charles won't allow himself to love her. He thinks there's a monster keeping him from her, and while Annie hates it, she can't help but love him more and more. In truth, we all know he loves her, he wants her, but he fully believes he too damaged to do anything more than give her incredible sex for as long as they have time together. He succeeds at this, by the way.


Now, Emily Foster is also the author of Come As You Are, so this book is spicy to the extreme. It's also tragically romantic in a way I never expected. Believe me, you can't help but fall for this broken man and identify with sweet and innocent Annie.



Not consort. Not wife. Feyre is the High Lady of the Night Court. My equal in every way.

Look, I loved Tamlin in A Court of Thorns and Roses, too. I couldn't imagine a better man. Then Sarah J. Maas said, "Wanna bet?" and made Rhysand in A Court of Mist and Fury. Besides knowing he is probably the sexiest man to ever walk the Maas Universe, he's incredibly funny and kind. The way he teaches Feyre to read and write with sentences like "Rhysand is incredibly handsome" is too funny, and watching them slowly grow to care for each other is a beautiful slow burn. When everything comes to a head and we discover they're mates - well, Tamlin is a distant memory, and not exactly a pleasant one.


I won't lament any longer on Rhysand because we all know how incredible he is. I mean, have you seen the AI images roaming around the internet? Hot is an understatement, especially when you include all those sexy lines he whispers in Feyre's ear.



He was ruined. But he loved her anyway.

I love a man who wants to be dangerous but is too kind to be scary. Yes, he tortures people. Yes, Evie may step on an eyeball in one of the first scenes we see her working at his manor, but the Villain isn't evil. He's too sweet to his employees despite not wanting anyone to realize it. He hires Evie because he feels for her and her struggles, and he instantly wants to care for her. Oh! I almost forgot: He's also chasing down soldiers when we meet him because they've taken his best friend Kingsley, an adorable frog. How can your heart not melt?


"Is that frog wearing a crown?" Evie asked after a few beats of silent staring.

The Villain ignored her question, holding the frog up a little higher. "I will not deny that thievery is one of my better traits. However, in this case, those men were attempting to rob me."

The dots were connecting, just in a way that was too strange for even Evie to understand. "Rob you of...a frog...that's wearing a crown?"

The Villain turned around and continued to walk, and Evie followed quietly. "This is no ordinary frog," he reasoned. "He can...understand and communicate with humans as well as if he were one." The frog let out a healthy ribbit as if to demonstrate his fine communication skills, but the Villain ignored him. "And he is in my care." The words prickled over Evie's skin like a warning. "Magical animals get auctioned for quite a bit of money. The men from your village thought it would be prudent to find out how much stealing him on my daily stroll would cost them.

Evie gasped in horror. "And the crown is because...?"

The Villain paused, raising his hand holding the frog toward Evie as though the reason was obvious. "His name is Kingsley."


🐉 Xaden Riorson from Rebecca Yarros' Empyrean series


Which one are you calling out for, Vi? Because it's just me and you in this room, and I don't share.

Are there more romantic lines from Xaden? Yes. Why did I choose this one? Well, because this is the moment when I fell head over heels for him. I adore how he loves Violet so loudly in Onyx Storm, and no spicy scene will EVER top "My Chair. My House. My Woman," but there's just something about Xaden when he and Violet first ignite each other in Fourth Wing. He's still a bit rough around the edges, and he tries to be all "I don't do relationships." I love it. Maybe this is a theme for me?


Xaden falls into the same category as Rhysand. There's been so much said and shared. I'm not going to produce anything ground breaking by going on and on, but I think we can claim him as potentially the original "book boyfriend" title holder on Bookstagram.



I will never leave him. It will be this, always, for as long as he will let me.

Patroclus is probably the most tragic lover on this list. We all know he dies, then Achilles, the love of his life, dies as his soul watches. Yet, this is the most romantic book I have ever read. I don't know how to explain how this book is the one that taught me about the beauty and tragedy of love, but I think about this love story often. I think about how Patroclus was forever loyal to Achilles. I think about how Achilles showed us what happens when we forget to appreciate what we love. We also see what happens when our parents finally realize maybe what they thought was best wasn't. I still cry every time I think about Achilles' mother, who so hated Patroclus, carving his name on Achilles' headstone so he could finally rest alongside his love. There's just so much beauty in this tragic story - so much love and devotion. I'm not always sure Achilles deserved Patroclus' love, but we should all be so lucky to have someone love us that way.



"I heard you needed a friend." Chantal, Kate thought, staring up at him. Chantal had called him. And he came. After everything, he still came.

No one falls into the love interest role of a character the way Magnus does for Kate in Bass Ackwards and Belly Up. After weeks of roaming around Paris listlessly, Kate's friends decide to create a list for her to encourage her to do more than wander. One in particular brings her to Magnus - "Talk to the ugly guy."


He was tall and gangly, with a square face and a long, sharp nose. His eyes were wide-set, and dark. Kate stifled a grin.

Talk to the ugly guy, the list had said.

Might as well get it over with.

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Then Magnus kissed her again, and Kate - for once in her life - stopped thinking.

But when she woke up in the next morning with her head against Magnus's chest, cradled in his arms with her leg sandwiched warmly between his, she slid away from him quietly as he slept. And she left him behind.

Because she knew.

If she stayed with him, she'd be in love by the end of the week. She was practically in love with him after one night. And, just like she hadn't dropped her whole life just to be a tourist, she hadn't dropped her whole life to come to Paris and fall in love. Even with the most amazing guy she had ever met.

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Then she slipped on her clothes, took one long last look at Magnus, and slipped out the door.

She could now cross two things off her list. "Talk to the ugly guy." And "Break someone's heart." Unfortunately, she thought as the door closed behind her, the ugly guy was beautiful, and she had broken her own heart as well.


Now, why does Magnus get a spot on this list when there are so many others to choose from? Well, it's because of the scene I shared at the very top. Kate is attacked in Greece and flees back to Paris. She's broken and lost and terrified to continue on with her adventure. Then her friend who held the party Magnus and Kate first met calls him, and the man Kate ran out on comes to care for her. He helps her complete the list, and he even tells her he loves her as they part from each other. He's not end game (that man receives honorable mention below), but Magnus deserves recognition for being there for a girl going through so much on her own, far away from friends and family. Not many would be willing to do that.



But that's the thing, Shallan. I don't want anyone. I want you.

Now, I wouldn't say Brandon Sanderson is a romance writer in the slightest. He has his moments like any good fantasy author, but the Stormlight Archives are too expansive to be a romantasy. However, Adolin Kholin comes in and gives you the knight of your Disney girl dreams.


He's not overly romantic, but he's a golden retriever all the way. When Shallan tries to break off their engagement because she thinks she doesn't deserve him, he pushes back. At the end of an epic battle, he rushes to her to say he wants her and only her. A big announcement for a man who is known for never being able to keep a relationship for long. Shallan still struggles after their marriage, but Adolin never misses an opportunity to remind her that he is ALL in. We've all had our insecurities and worry about not being good enough for the people we love. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a true knight tell you how you're perfect every time you stumble?


👨🏻‍🔬 Calvin Harris  from Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus


Had anyone asked him, Calvin would have said Elizabeth Zott was what he treasured most in the world, and not because she was pretty, and not because she was smart, but because she loved him and he loved her with a certain kind of fullness, of conviction, of faith, that underscored their devotion to each other.

Calvin isn't perfect, but I don't think Bonnie Garmus wanted him to be. Elizabeth needed to interact with men truly of her time, and though brilliant and more open-minded, Calvin was of his time. While I smiled at the clueless way he can't understand why Elizabeth isn't allowed to be a true scientist, I can only imagine how frustrating that naïvety was to Elizabeth and most women who read her story. But I so love Calvin and the way he loves Elizabeth.


To me, it's enduring to see him want to marry Elizabeth despite her being adamant that she doesn't want to give up her last name. I support her saying no, wholeheartedly, but I love that he cares about her so much he wants to claim her as his. Maybe that makes me old school, but come on, he gets over it within minutes and proposes they get a dog! The entire scene is hilarious and is only made better by the interjection of every one of their co-workers watching it happen.


Calvin, like Alton before him, broke my heart when he became too good for the world. I found myself crying like poor Elizabeth did in the floor of her kitchen. It reminded me of how I screamed and cried at the TV when I watched Meredith Grey go to handle Derrick's death in Grey's Anatomy. I couldn't believe they would make her be alone. How could Elizabeth be alone? She'd been alone so long, and Calvin kept her from being alone. Heartbreaking. However, I feel like Calvin's love, though short and stolen, helps Elizabeth grow into the strong powerful woman she was always meant to be.



"You're just going to have me run around naked on this island?" "Of course not. I'm not a monster. You can have a towel."

Look, if you've not read a book by Kimberly Lemming, I beg you to pick one up. You will never laugh or blush or cheer as much as you do for her characters, and Cinnamon and her dragon/demon Fallon is a great place to start.


For one, Cinnamon is a proud, voluptuous, Black woman, and Fallon WORSHIPS her - once they get past the flirting phase, of course. I am so in love with the movement to have bigger women as love interests in romance books, and Kimberly Lemming does an excellent job of showing writers how it's done in a funny and sexy way.


Fallon isn't exactly the romantic man with all the swoon-worthy lines you crave, but ladies, he does growl, and he does claim Cinnamon as HIS. It's hot. It's funny. Fallon deserves the Book Boyfriend title because he resembles men we know today but with the skills to love a real woman.



You can ride me when the flesh rots off my bones, Wingleader.

Like Xaden, yes, there are better Tairn quotes, but this, this is where I fell hard for this sassy dragon. An extremely close second is, of course, "Should I get the Wingleader?" tied with "I'm busy doing curmudgeonly things." There's really no shortage of lines to make you love Tairn. Also, he 's so loyal to his lady, Sgaeyl, who is a bit of a hard one to love at times.


Onyx Storm only solidified my love for him, especially when he fights for Violet to stay strong when Andarna leaves them. He opens their bond, keeps her informed, and brings her as much comfort as a grumpy, old man can while she struggles. It's beautiful, and it made me love him so much more. I adore Xaden, but I think I'm the opposite of Violet: I exist because of Xaden, but I live for Tairn.


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Honorable mentions:


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