Fictional Men Who Will Make You Swoon: The Best Book Boyfriends

I think I might have a problem with reading books and falling in love with the male main characters... If you’re wondering who my favourite book boyfriends are in 2023, then check out this list and find out!

Book boyfriends are the male main characters in romance books who have the qualities and characteristics that would make them ideal boyfriends in real life. Despite the fact that the men mentioned in this post are fictional, it doesn’t mean that we can’t idolise them for the men we all wish existed in real life...

If any of the books and book boyfriends I mention sound like something you'd like to read, just click the book title to buy for great prices on Amazon.

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Atlas Corrigan from It Ends With Us

I mean... are we even surprised that Atlas is on this list?! I know that a lot of people aren't huge fans of Colleen's books, however, I feel like nobody can deny that Atlas is one of the most perfect book boyfriends. From the moment we were introduced to him in It Ends With Us, I instantly knew that he was going to be a character I'd love. He's a compassionate and thoughtful character, despite spending post of his life trying to escape the violence and abused perpetuated by his mother and step-father. It's clear that his past has affected him mentally, and rightly so, however with the way he treats Lily throughout the mini series, you'd never know. He's so protective of her, and shows that he as a very caring nature.

It Ends With Us Synopsis:

Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. And when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life seems too good to be true. Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place. As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

Archer Hale from Archer's Voice

Archer is the MMC is my favourite book fo all time, Archer's Voice. This is such a beautiful and moving story that follows Archer and the trauma of his past. Archer has lived his life in solitary since he was a small child; he got used to everyone around him ignoring him, thinking he was a loner and strange, assuming things about his past and letting the rumours travel around his small town. Bree, the FMM, shows him the love and support that he deserves after so many years of emotional abuse, allowing him to gain the confidence to break free from the chains of his apprehensions. Throughout the book, we watch him blossom into the young man nobody has ever seen or cared to get to know.

Archer's Voice Synopsis:

I wanted to lose myself in the small town of Pelion, Maine. To forget everything I had left behind. The sound of rain. The blood. The coldness of a gun against my skin. For six months, each breath has been a reminder that I survived -- and my dad didn't. I'm almost safe again. But the moment I meet Archer Hale, my entire world tilts on its axis . . . and never rights itself again. Until I trespass into his strange, silent, and isolated world, Archer communicates with no one. Yet in his whiskey-colored eyes, something intangible happens between us. There's so much more to him than just his beauty, his presence, or the ways his hands communicate with me. On me. But this town is mired in secrets and betrayals, and Archer is the explosive centre of it all. So much passion. And so much hurt. But it's only in Archer's silence that we might just find what we need to heal . . . and live.

Rhys Larsen from Twisted Games

I remember the first time reading Twisted Games thinking about how much I wished for Rhys Larsen to exist in the real world. If anyone manages to find a bodyguard like him, please let me know. I was actually a little bit nervous to read Twisted Games, because I didn't love Twisted Love (the first book in the Twisted series) like everyone else seemed to, but THIS WAS SO GOOD. This book is such a great example of grumpy x sunshine, so if you love that trope, you will absolutely devour this. Rhys is a protective, hot and possessive bodyguard to Princess Bridget. I absolutely loved how much supportive he was towards her, and the fact that Bridget’s title, social status and higher position never bothered him. His character development throughout the book was so strong, and getting to know him and his childhood, time in the military and PTSD gripped me even more.

Synopsis of Twisted Games:

Stoic, broody and arrogant, elite bodyguard Rhys Larsen has two rules: protect his clients at all costs and do not become emotionally involved. Ever. He has never once been tempted to break those rules . . . until her. Bridget von Ascheberg. A princess with a stubborn streak that matches his own and a hidden fire that reduces his rules to ash. She's nothing he expected and everything he never knew he needed. Day by day, inch by inch, she breaks down his defences until he's faced with a truth he can no longer deny: he swore an oath to protect her, but all he wants is to ruin her. Take her.

Because she's his.

His princess.

His forbidden fruit.

His every depraved fantasy.

Regal, strong-willed and bound by the chains of duty, Princess Bridget dreams of the freedom to live and love as she chooses.

But when her brother abdicates, she's suddenly faced with the prospect of a loveless, politically expedient marriage and a throne she never wanted.

And as she navigates the intricacies - and treacheries - of her new role, she must also hide her desire for a man she can't have.

Her bodyguard.

Her protector.

Her ultimate ruin.

Unexpected and forbidden, theirs is a love that could destroy a kingdom . . . and doom them both.

Theo Silva from Reckless

Elsie Silver is Mother. Seriously. She knows how to write sexy men, and when she writes sexy men who are also dads... oh my gaaaawd. Theo is a professional bull rider, a bit of a ladies man, but he also has charm, patience and love for family. I do love the accidental pregnancy trope WHEN IT'S DONE WELL, and Elsie did is SO well. I loved that the main part of the story was about Theo and Winter building their relationship and family, and not so much on Winter's pregnancy (as Theo didn't know about Vivi, his and Winter's daughter, until Vivi was 9-months-old. Seeing Winter and Theo's connection develop deeper than just on a physical level is what I really loved about this book.

Synopsis of Reckless:

Theo Silva. Rowdy bull rider, notorious ladies' man, scorching hot trouble wrapped up in a drool-worthy package. And he's looking at me like I might be his next meal. I'm almost free of my toxic marriage and have sworn off men entirely. So all I see when I look at Theo is temptation served up with a heaping side of heartbreak. The man is hard to trust-and even harder to resist. Make that impossible. Because Theo is persistent. And no matter how hard I try to freeze him out, he melts my icy exterior and pulls apart all my defences. Then I spend the singular hottest night of my life with him. It was supposed to be a one-time thing. A secret. But that little plus sign is going to make this secret impossible to keep.

Aiden Reid from The Nanny

The Nanny by Lana Ferguson was the first book by her that I read, and it did not disappoint! I need an Aiden Reid in my life. Single dad x nanny books just hit sooo different (just like Heartless by Elsie Silver). This book was INCREDIBLY steamy and sexy. Cassie and Aiden's conversations were so spicy, and I still can't believe how filthy the steamy scenes were. This is definitely one of the spiciest romcoms I've ever read, so if you like steamy books, this one is definitely for you. Another reason that I loved this book was because of how close Cassie, the FMC, and Sophie, Aiden's 9-year-old daughter, became throughout the book. Sophie could genuinely see how hard Aiden and Cassie were falling for each other, and she grew to love Cassie live a maternal figure in her life.

One of my favourite scenes was when Aiden, Cassie, and Sophie went to Disneyland for Sophie’s birthday; it was just one of the CUTEST things I've ever read.

Synopsis of The Nanny:

Suddenly unemployed and on the brink of eviction, Cassie Evans is left with two choices: get a new job (and fast) or fire up her long-untouched OnlyFans account. But the job market is terrible, and as for OnlyFans. . . . Well, there are reasons she can’t go back. Just when all hope seems lost, an ad for a live-in nanny position seems like the solution to all her problems. It’s almost too perfect―until she meets her would-be employer.

Aiden Reid, executive chef and DILF extraordinaire, is far from the stuffy single dad Cassie was imagining. He shocks her when he tells her she’s the most qualified applicant he’s met in weeks, practically begging her to take the job. With hands that make her hindbrain howl and eyes that scream sex, the idea of living under the same roof as Aiden feels dangerous, but with no other option, she decides to stay with him and his adorably tenacious daughter, Sophie. Cassie soon discovers that Aiden is not a stranger at all, but instead someone who is very familiar with her―or at least, her body. Given that he doesn’t remember her, Cassie is faced with what feels like an impossible situation. As their relationship heats to temperatures hotter than any kitchen Aiden has ever worked in, Cassie struggles with telling Aiden the truth, and the more terrifying possibility―losing the best chance at happiness she’s ever had.

Xaden Riorson from Fourth Wing

We all secretly love a bad boy, and Xaden Riorson is the definition of a bad boy. I absolutely loved learning about Xaden's past and his childhood, and I think that his backstory really contributed to the overall quality of the book, as so many of his actions and his words made sense once everything came to light. You know when you're reading a book and you just know that the MMC is sexy, simply by the way he acts and the things he says? That's Xaden, and if you've read Fourth Wing, you'll know EXACTLY what I mean. He's very secretive and mysterious, and is honestly a master and hiding his emotions and keeping his feelings to himself, but when he allows himself to be vulnerable, especially in front of Violet, it's such a great thing to read.

Synopsis of Fourth Wing:

Welcome to the brutal and elite world of Basgiath War College, where everyone has an agenda, and every night could be your last . . .

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general - also known as her tough-as-talons mother - has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.But when you're smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away . . . because dragons don't bond to 'fragile' humans. They incinerate them. With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother's daughter - like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant. She'll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise. Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret. Alliances will be forged. Lives will be lost. Traitors will become allies . . . or even lovers. But sleep with one eye open because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

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I cannot express how but I love all of these book boyfriends, and I just wish they were easy to find in the real world! Let me know who your favourite book boyfriend is or who, out of the above, sounds like a bit of you.

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