Christmas Countdown -- 11 days to go!

Countdown Christmas is an event at A Bookalicious Story to celebrate the coming of Christmas in 2 weeks time. There'll be fun interviews, Christmassy excerpts and giveaways just brimming with bookish-goodness ranging from YA Fantasies to New Adult Contemporary Romances to Adult Historical Romances. I hope y'all will join in this celebration! The more the merrier, aye? ;)

11 more days to go! I can't wait for I think my second white Christmas in my life! We don't get snow in Singapore, you see, the most we get is more rain. Haha, so yeah, but a celebration is not really complete without bringing along our book boyfriends right? :P So, introducing my favorite heroes and ideal cast (I feel like some fugitive searching for these pictures actually, haha this feels ILLEGAL):


  1.  

Raphael

from Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter series

“ She took a deep breath and a step backward before turning to face him. The impact hit her like a physical blow. He was... "Beautiful." Eyes of such pure undiluted blue it was as if some heavenly artist had crushed sapphires into his paints and then colored in the irises with the finest of brushes.

She was still reeling from the visual shock when a sudden wind swept across the rooftop, lifting up strands of his black hair. But black was too tame a word for it. It was so pure it held echoes of the night, vivid and passionate. Cut in careless layers that stopped at the nape of his neck, it bared the sharp angles of his face and made her fingers curl with the urge to stroke.

Yes, he was beautiful, but it was the beauty of a warrior or a conqueror. This man had power stamped on every inch of his skin, every piece of his flesh. And that was before she took in the exquisite perfection of his wings. The feathers were a soft white and appeared dusted with gold. But when she concentrated, she saw the truth -- each individual filament of each feather bore a golden tip. ”

--5%, Angel's Blood (Book 1)


My favorite Raphael quotes:

Teeth grazed over her lips. "Know this Elena--you'll never wear another man's knife."

She blinked. "He wanted to give me a blade? What's wrong with that?"

"Blades," he whispered, "and sheaths go together. And you sheath will only ever hold my blade."
--77%, Archangel's Kiss (Book 2)

(Elena is talking to Astaad's favorite concubine at a ball...)

A laugh. "They are my sisters of the heart. I cannot be jealous of myself."

Raphael, in case you're getting ideas--I won't be this civilised if you decide you need a concubine. In fact, it's a good bet I'll turn homicidal.

He didn't look up from his conversation with Astaad as he said, A pity, in that cool "Archangel" tone of his. I will now have to ask the pilot to empty the hold of my chosen females.

We're going to have to talk about this new sense of humor of yours.
--48%, Archangel's Legion (Book 6)

There are actually many more hilarious Raphael quotes in Legion as the relationship between Elena and Raphael really start to develop and he starts to open up more. But alas, time is not my friend this day.

As you can see, Raphael is not all power and intimidation, he's got a sense of humor too. And which woman can resist a witty? ;) If you haven't read Angel's Blood yet, go start with this series!! Really!! Nalini Singh is THE AUTHOR to go to for PNR goodness.


  2. 

Hawke

from Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series

“Hawke was muscular and he was lethal. A predator to the core. His eyes were the same icy blue whether he was in wolf or human form, his hair a thick silver-gold that had nothing to do with age. It echoed his pelt. Of all the changelings Lucas knew, it was Hawke who resembled his beast the most in humanity.”

--Slave to Sensation (Book 1)


Favorite Hawke quote:

She was rubbing the towel over her wet body when there was a hard knock on the door.

Definitely not ten minutes.

More like four and a half.

"Just a second!" Grabbing her dirty clothes--scattered all over the floor--she threw them into the bathroom, then raced to pull on underwear.

The knock came again, more impatient.

"I'm coming!"

Her jeans hooked on her ankles. Cursing , she managed to get them on and struggled into a forest green T-shirt, pulling her damp hair out from under the back as, breathless, she opened the door partway through the third knock. "Wha--"

The door was closed, and she was pressed up against the solid mass of it before she knew what was happening. "Hawke, I--"

His hands cupped her face, the wolf looking out of his eyes. Her words faded away, her heartbeat accelerated, and still he continued to watch her with that complete and unwavering focus. When his thumb moved over her cheekbone, she jumped.

"I," he said in a quiet, quiet tone, "will not send you into a hot zone again."
--57%, Kiss of Snow (Book 10)

  3.  

Rhage

from J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series

Believe it or not, my favorite brother is neither Wrath nor Zsadist. I feel that Rhage is more...down-to-earth? Hmm, more relatable and sweeter and well, book boyfriend-material.

Known as Hollywood (or Hal E. Wood as he first introduced himself to Mary, haha), he's a charmer, thoughtful and charismatic and daaaayum sexy. ;)


Narrated from Butch's POV:

“The son of a bitch actually bent the laws of physics, he was so attractive. Blond hair was cut short in the back and left longer in the front. Teal-blue eyes were the color of Bahamas seawater. And that face made Brad Pitt look like a candidate for Swan Lake.

But he was no mama's boy, in spite of being a charmer. Something dark and lethal seethed behind the flashy exterior, and you knew it the minute you saw him. He gave off the vibe of a guy who'd smile while he set the record straight with his fists, even if he was spitting his own teeth out while he took care of business.

"What's doing, Hollywood?" Butch asked.

Rhage smiled, revealing a splendid set of pearlies with those long canines. "Time to go out, cop."”

--Lover Eternal (Book 2)


Favorite Rhage quote:

"Rhage." Her voice was lovely in the dim quiet.

"What?"

"You sleep in the nude, right?"

"Ah, usually."

"Look, you can lose the clothes. It's not going to bother me."

"I didn't want you to feel... uncomfortable."

"What's making me uncomfortable is you flopping around on that side of the bed. I feel like a tossed salad over here."

He would have chuckled at her reasonable tone, but the hot pump between his legs sucked the humor right out of him.

Ah, hell, if he thought the getup he had on was going to keep him in check, he was out of his mind. He wanted her so badly that short of chain mail, what he was or was not wearing wasn't going to make a lick of difference.

Keeping his back to her, he stood up and stripped. With some finessing, he managed to get himself under the covers without flashing her a glimpse of what the front of him was up to. That monstrous arousal was nothing she needed to know about.

He faced away from her, lying on his side.

"Can I touch it?" she asked.

His erection jerked, as if volunteering to be the "it." "Touch what?"

"The tattoo. I'd like to... touch it."

God, she was so close to him, and that voice of hers--that sweet, beautiful voice--was magic. But the hum in his body made him feel like he had a paint mixer in his belly.

When he stayed quiet, she murmured, "Never mind. I don't--"

"No. It's just..."Shit . He hated the distance in her tone. "Mary, it's okay. Do whatever you like."
--48%, Lover Eternal (Book 2)

  4. 

Prince Greening Grandemalion aka Po

from Kristin Cashore's Graceling

“He was standing a floor above her, to her left. He leaned his elbows on the railing, the neck of his shirt open, and watched her. The gold hoops in his ears, and the rings on his fingers. His hair dark. A tiny welt visible on his forehead, just beside his eye.

His eyes. Katsa had never seen such eyes. One was silver, and the other, gold. They glowed in his sun-darkened face, un-even, and strange. She was surprised that they hadn’t shone in the darkness of their first meeting. They didn’t seem human. She couldn’t stop looking at them.”

--Pg 56, Graceling


For the life of me, I couldn't find any quotes that really showcased the selfless, charming, witty, and sweet Po fully. But ARGH, trust me on this one. :P



  5. 

Percy Jackson

from Rick Riordan's PJ and the Olympians series

Ok the Percy in my head is just like the guy <---- but leaner, not so buff.

Narrated from Carter's POV (Carter from Riordan's Kane Chronicles):

“...standing in the marsh about twenty feet away was a teenage guy in jeans and a faded orange T-shirt that said CAMP something. I couldn't read the rest. He looked a little older than me -- maybe seventeen -- with tousled black hair and sea-green eyes. What really caught my attention was his sword -- a straight double-edged blade glowing with faint bronze light.

...

He sized me up, which was disconcerting since he was half a foot taller. I still couldn't read his T-shirt excerpt for the word CAMP. Round his neck hung a leather strap with some colourful clay beads, like a kid's arts-and-crafts project. He wasn't carrying a magician's pack or a wand. Maybe he kept them in the Duat? Or maybe he was just a delusional mortal who'd accidentally found a magic sword and thought he was a superhero.”

--22%, Son of Sobek


Favorite Percy quotes:

“Wow," Thalia muttered. "Apollo is hot."

"He's the sun god," I said.

"That's not what I meant.”

--Pg 46, The Titan's Curse (Book 3)

"I WAS AT THEIR BASE!" Thalia yelled. "But the flag was gone. If you hadn't butted in, we would've won."

"You had too many on you!"

"Oh, so it's my fault?"

"I didn't say that."

"Argh!" Thalia pushed me, and a shock went through my body that blew me backward ten feet into the water. Some of the campers gasped. A couple of the Hunters stifled laughs.

"Sorry!" Thalia said, turning pale. "I didn't mean to—"

Anger roared in my ears. A wave erupted from the creek, blasting into Thalia's face and dousing her from head to toe.

I stood up. "Yeah," I growled. "I didn't mean to, either."

Thalia was breathing heavily.

"Enough!" Chiron ordered.

But Thalia held out her spear. "You want some, Seaweed Brain?"

Somehow, it was okay when Annabeth called me that—at least, I'd gotten used to it—but hearing it from Thalia was not cool.

"Bring it on, Pinecone Face!"

I raised Riptide, but before I could even defend myself, Thalia yelled, and a blast of lightning came down from the sky, hit her spear like a lightning rod, and slammed into my chest.

I sat down hard. There was a burning smell; I had a feeling it was my clothes.

"Thalia!" Chiron said. "That is enough!"

I got to my feet and willed the entire creek to rise. It swirled up, hundreds of gallons of water in a massive icy funnel cloud.

"Percy!" Chiron pleaded.

I was about to hurl it at Thalia when I saw something in the woods. I lost my anger and my concentration all at once. The water splashed back into the creekbed. Thalia was so surprised she turned to see what I was looking at.
--Pg 87, The Titan's Curse (Book 3)

Obviously there are too many Percy quotes that really, the list is inexhaustible. But from a witty twelve-yo, I think he's gonna grow up to be a really cool adult. Definitely one of the top 5 book boyfriends. :P

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There are at least 2 more that I wanted to add but I've already spent approx 4 hours on this blog post, and I've only listed 5! Haha, the other two are Bones from Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series and Jericho Barrons. Oh Jericho, must I specify which series he's from? Haha, guessed so. ;) I don't think I can really find any pictures that will really portray them well enough, so yeah, didn't list them.

Even though there are many, and I mean MANY, other similar books being released every year, be it YA, NA or adult fiction, those guys above are the ones that really stuck with me all this time. Old school of me, maybe?

Who are some of your top favorite book boyfriends? Any fave quotes? :))

For today's countdown, I'm going to be giving away a mystery swag bag with lots and lots of signed bookmarks, postcards, Chapter sampler, and other assorted goods. :) Giveaway is international and ends Jan 8, 2014.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


**A Bookalicious Story will not be responsible for any lost mail. In the event that it does occur, I will not be able to resend any prizes.

 

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Thank you for visiting! You can refer to Day 1's post for the full calender of events.