Rowena
2015 was the year of the New Adult novel for me. I read and loved so many NA books and it definitely shows in my heroes list. 🙂
1) Jake Becker from Sustained by Emma Chase: Oh, Jake. Freaking Jake. I loved the hell out of this guy. I liked him so much better than his friend Stanton. I loved his reserved personality, the way that he thought about things and I absolutely loved the relationships he developed with those kids. He opened up more and more and the meeting he had with the kids at the end? Asbolutely LOVED it and LOVED HIM!
2) Judd Lauren from Caressed by Ice by Nalini Singh: I’ve been curious about this guy for years, ever since Julie James was walking around RWA with a “Judd is my Boyfriend” button on her shirt. She wore that button loud and proud so I knew that I was going to read this book, I just didn’t know that it would take me so long to get around to it. But Judd lived up to every impossible expectation I had and now I know why he’s such a popular Nalini Singh. He is just flat out the bomb.
3) Mateo Torres from All Played Out by Cora Carmack: I’ve been reading about Mateo Torres for two books and I’ve been wondering how Carmack was going to have him settle down and not be such a party boy and she really knocked it out of the park with this one. I absolutely adored Torres. I loved his personality, his tenacity where Nell was concerned and I completely loved the list he made of ways he loves Nell. He did a lot of growing up in his book and I just loved the hell out of him.
4) Garrett Graham from The Deal by Elle Kennedy: Garrett Graham is that hero that knows he’s hot and is really arrogant about it but you still fall head over heels for him anyway. I loved how confident he was but I also loved the way that he loved Hannah. The way that he helped her overcome her hangups, how good a friend he was to her when she needed one, I loved it. I adored everything about Graham. His desire to do well in school, the loyalty he showed to his friends, everything about G was great. I loved the hell out of him.
5) Carter from Sincerely, Carter by Whitney Gracia Williams: Carter, Carter, Carter. He was another hero that surprised me. I wasn’t expecting to love him quite as much as I did but I’m oh so glad that I did. His love for Arizona, the way that he didn’t shy away from the feelings that crept up on him. The way that he knew Arizona better than she knew herself and did whatever it took to let her have the experiences she needed to have. I loved every minute of getting to know Carter and he was just one of those good guys that made my heart all fluttery and mushy. Love him!
Honorable Mentions: Trevor Callaghan from Midnight Games by Elle Kennedy, Knox Maddox from Sacked by Jen Frederick and Gray Grayson from The Friend Zone by Kristen Callihan.
Holly
Generally this is one of the hardest categories for me to narrow down, but I did so much re-reading this year I didn’t have a lot of new books to choose from.
1) Kaleb Krycheck from Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh: Kaleb was everything I expected him to be..and so much more. I adored him.
2) Carson “Joker” Steele from Ride Steady by Kristen Ashley: I was surprised at how much I loved Joker since we knew so little about him going into this book. He was such a strong, stand up kind of guy. I loved watching him overcome his past and fall in love.
3) Lyon Redmond from The Legend of Lyon Redmond by Julie Anne Long: The long awaited story of Lyon. I loved how much he loved Olivia, and all he devious and dastardly plans to force her to realize how much she loved him in return.
4) Gray Grayson from The Friend Zone by Kristen Callihan: Oh Gray. How did I love thee… I loved how he loved Mac. I loved how loyal a friend he was. I loved how funny and adorable he was.
5) Ethan Dexter from The Game Plan by Kristen Callihan: Ethan embodied everything that was the strong, silent type. Talk about a deep well. He loved babies, stayed true to his friends and loved his girl like no other. I adored him.
Honorable Mention: Noah St. John from Rock Redemption by Nalini Singh.
What heroes made your best of 2015 list?
I’ve never read anything by Elle Kennedy.. have any starter suggestions? Favorite hero’s if I’m going sci-fi I’m going to pick Harry Dresden from the Dresden files by Jim Butcher. If we are going more the romance angle them I’m up for any hero Lori Foster want’s to throw at me! I really loved her Love Under Cover series 😀
The Deal is the first in her contemporary NA series. It’s a fabulous place to start.
I second Holly’s suggestion of The Deal. That’s a fabulous book and a great introduction to Elle Kennedy.
This category is always tough since I’m always picking up books where I fall in love with the hero. I’m a total sucker for caretaker alpha types as well as beta heroes and it seems like they are becoming more and more popular. Anyway, some of the heroes I adored this year:
– Rafe from The Shameless Hour. He was so loving and supportive of Bella while at the same time, not trying to fight her battles for her.
– Ash from Taming the Legend by Kat Latham. He’s a retired rugby player who coaches a team of disadvantaged girls who’ve never played rugby before. Initially he’s a bit thrown, but then he totally gets into it and gives them his all.
– Jay and Jack from LH Cosway’s books, Six of Hearts and Hearts of Fire. Both very damaged, yet so loving.
– Will from Flirting with Scandal by Chanel Cleeton. Will grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he’s a genuinely nice guy who falls head over heels for Jackie, a girl with secrets who could totally ruin him.
– Brad DeLuca from Alessandra Torre’s Innocence trilogy. The only Alpha-hole on my list. OMG do I ever want him for myself. He has all the power, but he falls hard and fast for Julia, and proceeds to make her the center of his world.
Rafe is a good choice. I adored him as well. He was supportive of Bella and just there for her when she needed him (even when she didn’t want him there) and I loved that he never gave up on her. Such a great freaking hero.
I haven’t read or “met” any of the other heroes you mentioned but that Kat Latham has been on my TBR pile for a while. I need to get on it and read that series already, I love rugby men!