Nators Discuss: Book Boyfriends

Posted by Jessi (Geo) on November 23, 2013 | 14 Comments


NatorsDiscussfinal 

[Inky] Why hello there! It’s Inky here to kick-off another Nators Discuss! Today we have a very FUN topic chosen by Jessi: Book Boyfriends! Holl-UH. Thanks to Stephanie from Chasm of Books, Shannon from Rex Robot Reviews & Melanie from YA Midnight Reads for inspiring this topic!

Book Boyfriends

[Jessi] What exactly makes a fictional boy swoony? Is it the sexy factor? Boy next door, or bad boy? Sweet, or aloof?

Depends on the person I’d say. For me, it’s gonna be a combination or my mood at the time. In generally I’m partial to the goofy best friend personality. The funny boys that make you laugh and smile all over. I do like my share of the dark yummy boys though.

Yes, you do tend to go for the vanilla, er, nice ones, which is why we typically disagree on Teams ;p

>.< Thankfully we still get along...most of the time. *coughs* So who are your “book boyfriends?” Any favorites?

To tell you the truth, the only ‘Book Boyfriends’ I have are Warner from Unravel Me and Morpheus from Splintered. I’m extremely picky about my boys, and they have to really stand out to make an impression for me!

Morpheus. *snorts*

I sense a little bit of resentment here. Haha. It’s no secret that us Nator Twins have very different opinions when it comes to the Splintered love triangle.

Emphasis on VERY DIFFERENT.

But that is a debate for another time! Who’s your favorite book boyfriend, Inkinator?

I have no idea. I have so many. Actually did you know I’ve got a scarf named after all my favorite book boys? It’s kind of a long name. But anyway, my favorites? Uuuuh. How to choose Logan(Deception/Defiance), Percy Jackson (if you don’t know who he is…..), Jeb(Splintered), Falco from Venom, Four from Divergent, Maxon(The Selection), Tucker(Unearthly trilogy), Vane(Let the Sky Fall)……heeeheee….yeah…..

Sadly I haven’t met most of those :p

You are missing out! Read Percy Jackson. If ANYTHING.

I’ll get to it someday! So what is the common factor for you, if there is one? Mine is the bad boy anti-hero kind!

Most common? I don’t know. It depends on the guy. I can go for all the types. So many factors can play into romantic heroes, I love the funny type, the cute romantics, smart and strong boys, mysterious, “bad-boy” to an extent. I love me a mysterious-bad-boy, don’t me wrong but honestly, I think I’ve been growing a lot more to the make-you-laugh kinda boy. So normally I guess he’d be seen as the “good” boy? Or the best friend?

But that’s the thing. I hate it when the “good” boy is all hot and cute, but so freaking annoying in either stubbornness or protectiveness. Sometimes it works,  but it’s tricky. I love a mix. HE JUST HAS TO BE PERFECT OKAY? #inkyrambles

I don’t like them if they’re TOO perfect because then they just bore me. I like a little bit of mystery and intrigue! But not too much…because nobody wants an aloof jackass.

Well obviously. How about we call it perfectly structured. A balance of weakness and strengths that makes him perfect. Another thing that I kind of innerly-love is the big-brother type. Maybe it’s because I’ve always wanted an awesome older brother, or because I’m an older sibling, but when you get a guy who’s a totally sweet big brother it just makes me all melty inside. Wow that sounds so cheesy.  

But who wants to date their brother?!

I never said THEIR brother. A big brother. Never mind then.

Mwahaha. So you like the boy-next-door-slash-best-friend type, and I like the bad-boy-with-less-than-noble-intentions type. But when is the bad boy persona going too far?

For me there’s a very fine line between sexy bad boy and jerkface bad boy. For example: Morpheus vs. Kaidan. I loooove Morph – sure, he may have his jerkface moments, but usually it’s his actions that speak his true intentions, not his words (which tend to be lies…). He acts tough, but he has a soft side. Kaidan, on the other hand, was just a straight asshole. Period. I hated him. Being a cheating douchenozzle is SO not sexy. It can sometimes be hard to find the right balance, though!

One thing I don’t like about aloof boys that could fit into those categories are the ones that seem like players. When the girl knows she’s interested/attracted and the guy knows that too and he uses it to get with the girl or it just seems like he’s playing with her. And when the girl goes along with it, it ticks me off even more. *seeths*

Ugh, yes! I hate players. So not cool. And I also hate dumb boy-clingy females. 

Merp. It’s such a delicate balance. I love characters that can stand on their on, and yet be compatible with a romantic interest on the side.  

Same here! But you know what I hate? The fact that all these YA love interests seem to only be ‘hot’ or ‘sexy.’ What about just being cute and having flaws, like a real boy? Why do they always have to be perfect?

Ooooh yes. Boys in real life are SO not that way all the times. Yes there are awesome guys in life but it’s never as easy to run into them, that’s for sure. As for the perfect thing..yep. I so hear you on that one. They need flaws. And not just the cliched flaws either.

True that! I actually tend to like them better if they do have flaws, because that makes them seem more realistic!

Totally! It’s the realism that makes them so awesome. Gotta love your book boyfriends!

That’s all for today, folks! Who are YOUR book boyfriends? What do you look for in a fictional crush? We want to know!!! Spill down in the comments. Want us to talk about something bookish? Submit your topic in the form below.

[And if you want to check out Inky’s posting on the writing blog YAvengers about creating a great romance check it out here! #shamelessadvertising]

Jessi (Geo)

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14 responses to “Nators Discuss: Book Boyfriends

    • Sigh. I will! Eventually haha. I have the first book >.>

      GET OUT OF HERE YOU JEB LOVER!!

      No, wait, I’m just kidding come baaaack <333
      (Because you can have Jeb, then I get Morph aaaall to myself ;D)

  1. Such a great post and I love the conversation type discussion. I am sorta picky about what book boys I love too. I love the “boy next door” type – the “good” guy, but I also have swooned over some tortured guys. Just don’t care for the douchcanoe type that’s taking over in some books.

    I LOVE JEB, Team Jeb FOREVA. Yet I also love Warner! haha. I think for me the book boy needs to be REAL and not oh-so-perfect, because that’s unrealistic, just like model-beautiful/perfect girl are unrealistic.

    • NOOOOO whyyy Molli whyyy?! How can you be Team Jeb?! D:
      That’s okay, one less person to fight over him ;)
      Exactly! I hate the ones that are too perfect (aka vanilla)!

  2. Cee

    Oh man, I can only think of one book boyfriend (Adrian Ivashkov!) because I don’t feel as strongly to others as I do with him. It feels strange to refer to anybody else as my book boyfriend.

    For me, it depends on my mood. I am usually all over the place in terms of fictional boys I like, but I have similar taste to Inky. I think I like a lot of nice guys (but they are usually flawed and not totally nice if that makes any sense?). Ooh! Smart, witty guys. That’s the usually type I fall for. If they say something that makes me smirk, I instantly fall over my feet in love. ;D (Sometimes, it’s unrealistic, but wth, my heart wants what it wants. Eventually I’ll resent them. ;D) I’m just not a fan of hot bad boys. Most of them are stubborn or extremely protective (like Inky said) and has asshole-y tendencies. I am not here for not!

    • Haha nice, but not TOO nice? :D
      And yes, I love the witty ones too! If they can make me laugh, I’m much more likely to form an attachment. Yep, and how many SUPER hot guys fall for the average plain girl-next-door in real life? It’s just not realistic. I’m perfectly fine with cute in the way that I find them attractive, but not everyone else does!

  3. YES! I LOVE that you guys used this topic! Epicness! Lovely and entertaining, so for my taste in book boyfriends? I’m a bit odd. When I claim someone as a book boyfriend, I go for someone who could somewhat realistically be my boyfriend, which means the bad boys (although entertaining and among my favorite male leads) never make the cut. I only have one book boyfriend though. Jem Carstairs. <3

    • Very interesting! It’s true for me too that a real life boyfriend could never be a bad boy (not anymore, anyway…I did go through my share of assholes haha), which is kinda weird that I like them in fiction! My boyfriend is the exact opposite of all my book boyfriends – which is a good thing, so I don’t know why I’m attracted to those kind of bookish males. (This would be a great discussion. I’m so going to use it!)

  4. I actually enjoyed this week’s discussion. Book boyfriends has been a common trend for people lately, I wonder if it’s because of Katniss and her wicked triangle? Hmm…
    Anyhow! I look forward to your next discussion :)

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