My Thoughts: Proclamations of Love

A post I recently did, my review on Stay by Hilary Wynne, inspired me, and gave me an idea for this post. I previously stated that I am a fan of the long moving speech; they grab your attention, make you listen, and change lives of characters in the fictional world. Here is a list of my all time favorite moving speeches, proclamations of love and belief. Some of these are from mediums other than books, which is a little off topic for this blog, but that’s okay, right? These are my favorites in no particular order. I’m selecting my favorites, but I can’t pick my favorite of the favorites and you can’t make me!! It’s too hard. :)

Thoughtless by S.C. Stephens

Kellan to Kiera

“I’m sorry. I was going to be stoic, and say nothing for as long as you wanted me, 

but then we made love … and I’ve, I’ve never had that … 

and I just can’t o back to being who I was before. 

I want you and only you and I can’t bear the thought of sharing you. 

I’m sorry.” He looked down sadly. 

“I want to walk into Pete’s with you on my arm. 

I want to kiss you every time I see you, no matter who’s looking. 

I want to make love to you without fear of someone finding out. 

I want to fall asleep with you in my arms every night. 

I don’t want to feel guilty about something that makes me feel so … whole. 

I’m sorry, Kiera, but I’m asking you to choose."

****

My Review: Stay By Hilary Wynne

*Warning: I have already read the books I am covering, any and all posts may and do contain spoilers.

There are very few rich alpha males in this genre that I like. Scratch that, the wording is wrong. There are plenty of rich alpha males I love, but honestly, it is not my book boyfriend of choice or preference. I’m more of the tattooed, ruff around the edge male lead. But Julian Bauer does not disappoint and he’s not exactly clean cut (emotionally/personality wise) or tattoo free either, so that is a plus.

My one major rant about Julian is the “metro look” of his style. I’m not too big on the pretty boys, so the “white pants and loafers style” doesn’t really do it for me. I am from the area of South Florida though, and Hilary Wynne hit the nail on the head for that “Miami look.”  This gripe for me can be easily over looked, especially in a book boyfriend, due to the fact that Julian has won me over in every other aspect. He’s hot, dominant (but not overly controlling), patient, persistent, and great at the sexy talk.

The part where I said I live in South Florida bring me to my next point. It is always exciting to pick up a book and see that it’s location is set in your neck of the woods. It brings the imagery to life, easier to visualize, the picture is clear in your head. That’s not to say that getting lost in the travel of a book location you don’t know anything about isn’t great too, because it is. Creating the visual and travel via imagination is just as exciting. But back to Stay, and it’s settings. It’s exciting to know the city names, and to know what the locations look like. Julian takes business trips to Sanibel and this is somewhere very adjacent to the city in which I live. Sanibel is a place where I have spent time and even worked on the beautiful Island. You’re sitting there, reading, and then a city pops up that is pretty much a stones throw away from your back yard and you feel more connected to what is happening in the characters lives. I can see Julian driving down Periwinkle Way to the destination of his meeting.

Alexa is a mess, a straight up hot mess. But this is part of the reason I enjoyed her character and the book. It was real and relatable. Most every one has got all kinds of messed up stuff going on in their heads, the good and the bad. She’s not perfect. She has good friends, a good job, and well-meaning family (even if they are overbearing), but bad things happen to people and she is trying to deal, she is trying not to be a mess, even if sometimes she “goes dark.” Lexie (Notice, I’ve called her Lexie, we’re at the point where I can do this.) is also witty, with a rapid-fire tongue, and isn’t afraid to be sexual, which I also like about her.