Top Ten Tuesday: My picks for 'Books That Will Make You Swoon'.

Well I knew that this particular topic would be a difficult one, as when you think of a book making you 'swoon', you instantly think of some kind of romantic or erotic fiction. Most people who know me know that I am not a huge reader of books that are of those genres and so to find ten whole books to write about is frankly almost an impossibility. After some thinking, I have decided to put my own spin on this topic and include books that made me swoon in a 'I finished the final page, smiled and gave a contented sigh at the ceiling' way because the book itself had made me swoon. I've only just started this challenge and I am already bending the rules! But here goes:

1. 'The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare', William Shakespeare. 

Not the most conventional of choices, but I could not leave this book out. No way. Whenever I read one, two or even twenty of these plays (be it tragedy, history or comedy) I just become an blithering mess for the linguistically beautiful works of the famous British playwright. Oh and the sonnets. Don't get me started on the sonnets. Frankly if Shakespeare were alive now, I would pay him good money to write things for me every night and read them to me while I sit listening, with a goofy grin plastered across my face. Yes...this book makes me swoon. 



2. 'Wicked!', Jilly Cooper. 

Now if you're looking for a book to swoon at in the more literal sense then this is definitely one to consider. It's the eighth book in the 'Rutshire Chronicles' and I read it a while back. The reason why it's here? This book is just full to the brim of sex. Literally, page after page of non-stop naughtiness, steamy love affairs, constant flirting and despite not being a fan of that, I could not put it down! For those easily flustered, you will definitely swoon.



3. 'On The Prowl', Patricia Briggs + Eileen Wilks + Karen Chance + Sunny

On the subject of sex, this anthology definitely needs to be here. I remember reading quite a long time ago and being absolutely shocked by the explicit sex scenes found within each short story. Combine that with the fact that the characters are Werewolves, Fairies and all sorts of other strange supernatural creatures and you have what was probably the strangest reading experience of a younger me's life. But it was memorable, and each story was unique and written well. 



4. 'Pride and Prejudice', Jane Austen.

This book is a favourite of mine, and gave me a real love for Classical literature. Much like Shakespeare's works, I always smile when reading this one. But other than that, many have commented that 'Mr Darcy' is among the sexiest of male characters in literature. He's got it all; full of mystery, tall, handsome (probably enough to tempt most, see what I did there?), but proving himself fiercely loyal and protective to the one lady who captures his heart. There is a general consensus, certainly among my friends, that this is the ideal 'male character' type to swoon over and Mr Darcy has mastered it perfectly.

5. 'This Lullaby', Sarah Dessen.

I am at this point beginning to struggle. I've tried sex, I've tried sexy characters and books that just make me blissfully happy just hoping that I could manage ten.  But I'm going for a different approach. For every girl that goes for 'distant, aloof and intriguing' there will be a girl that just can't get enough of a guy that is adorable. And Dexter, the sweet and romantic male lead love interest of this book is that guy. Sure, he could be seen as more the 'will follow you around like a lost puppy' type, but his ridiculous devotion to the rather grumpy and cynical female lead is rather cute in my opinion and would melt even the coldest heart. And he plays the guitar, I mean come on, who doesn't like that!?

6. 'A Great And Terrible Beauty', Libba Bray.

This book is great. It is a merge of historical fiction, fantasy and romance has been thrown in for good measure. The romantic story line impressed me in this one a lot and I felt it was worth a read. The 'handsome stranger', Kartik, is described as a character that could make many people swoon I think. He is as beautiful as he is full of mystery, and for that reason it could not stay off of this list. The chemistry between Kartik and Gemma is sizzling and though not the main focus of the plot, it is well-written enough to be. It actually feels developed rather than instant and I really liked that! You'll have to read the whole series to get the entire romance though!

7. 'Hush,Hush', Becca Fitzpatrick.

Becca Fitzpatrick's 'Hush' is the first of a quadrilogy and I've chosen it, because it was a romance (injected with a fair bit of Fantasy) that I really enjoyed. Patch is a great male lead, a real 'secretive bad boy' and he oozes sexy, so it just had to be added to the swoon list. I've not read the whole series, but I certainly will, as I really loved this novel. For those who like romance stories with a supernatural twist, this is definitely one for you.



Phew, what a mix! I can only apologise for the obvious lack of ten in this 'top ten' list. Next week's topic looks to be 'things I love about Blogging/Reading' on which I am absolutely certain I will have much more to say!