This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Last month we brought you our favourite heroines, so it is only fair that we bring you our favourite heroes this month (hard though it may be for us to think about bookish men). The things we do for you, eh?
1. Noah from A Cottage by the Sea by Carole Matthews – When I asked my Novelicious colleagues about their favourite heroes, Cressida had a number of men who stayed with her after the novel had finished (lucky Cress!). One of which was Noah. And she's not kidding. In her review in April last year, she described him as a "kind, handsome, knee-wobblingly delicious specimen of a man, with a dusty old Range Rover and chocolate eyes to sink into…" Need I say more?
2. Johnny from Johnny be Good by Paige Toon – Recommended by Erin (@erinschoicee) on Twitter. Despite being the bad, rock 'n' roll boy to Meg's good girl, Erin says: "There is just something (everything) about that man!"
3. Noah Calhoun from The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks – Both Kerry and Amanda are rather taken with this particular Noah. Noah has returned from World War Two and is thinking of the girl he met at his old plantation home some fourteen years before.
4. Jack from Rumour Has It by Jill Mansell – Also recommended by Cressida, Jack is a man who has something of a reputation with the ladies. When Novelicious reviewed this way back in 2009, Jack was described as "a good, wealthy, sexy, funny specimen of hunkosity." Which rather hits the nail on its head.
5. Westley from The Princess Bride by William Goldman – Simply and succinctly summarised by reviewer, Kelly, who states: "Westley…now that IS love." Westley is a farm boy who departs to make his fortune and is then captured by pirates.
6. Saxon Caker from Nightingale Wood by Stella Gibbons – Saxon Caker is also on Cressida's list of good romantic heroes. He is the chauffeur in Nightingale Wood, a novel by the same author of Cold Comfort Farm.
7. John Thornton from North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell – With the Industrial Revolution providing the backdrop, this is a love story of two people from completely different worlds. Margaret from the rural south and John Thornton, one of the mill owners from the north.
8. Rupert Campbell-Black from Riders by Jilly Cooper – Rupert appears in the Rutshire Chronicles series of books by Jilly Cooper, the first of which is Riders. He is initially portrayed as a womanizing, adulterous cad. Cesca describes him as: "Arrogant, witty, dangerous, loyal and HOT".
9. Leo from The Longest Holiday by Paige Toon – Jennifer found herself swooning over Leo from The Longest Holiday. He is a sexy Cuban scuba diver whom Laura finds herself falling for, hard, in Florida's Key West.
10. Mark Darcy from Bridget Jones's Diary – Of course, what list of heroes would be complete without Mark 'like you just the way you are' Darcy? I think practically the entire Novelicious team loves Mr. D.
Have we forgotten anyone important? Who is your favourite bookish hero?