Find Your Next Book Boyfriend: A Totally Unscientific Quiz Based on How You Read
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Every so often a new reader slides into my inbox with the same question: "There are so many books. WHERE DO I START?"
Valid. My backlist is a buffet and nobody handed you a plate. So I built you a GPS. Answer one question about how you read, follow the directions, and meet the hero you're going to fall for next. No wrong answers — though if you pick option four, we should probably be friends in real life.
If You Highlight Every Piece of Sassy Banter...
Your hero: Tyler Malone in Whiskey & Wildfire
Tyler matches wits with the heroine for a hundred and eighty pages before either of them admits what's happening, and the moment they do, the banter turns into foreplay and never stops.
"You're impossible." "I'm thorough. There's a difference, sweetheart, and you'll learn it by Thursday."
Read-alike: If you finish and need more verbal sparring, grab anything by Tessa Bailey — then come back to me for the slow burn.
If You Sob Over Handwritten Letters...
Your hero: Cole Callahan in Cowboy, Come Home
Cole writes letters he never sends. When the heroine finally finds the shoebox, I need you to have tissues within arm's reach. This is not a drill. A reader once told me she read chapter twenty-two in a Panera and I have felt guilty about it ever since.
"I practiced saying I loved you to the rearview mirror for eleven years. It never once said it back."
Read-alike: Chase the feeling with The Notebook energy of any second-chance small-town romance — or just reread chapter twenty-two. I won't judge.
If You Skip Ahead to Make Sure They End Up Together...
Your hero: Jake Rourke in Nevada Nights
Jake is a sure thing. He's steady from page one, even when he can't say the words. Peeking ahead with Jake is safe — he was always going to get there. The joy is watching him fight it.
"I don't do this," he said, doing exactly this.
Read-alike: Elsie Silver's Chestnut Springs series for more cowboys who insist they don't do this while doing exactly this.
If You Dog-Ear Every Kiss Scene and Reread It Three Times...
Your hero: Dominic Marchetti in The Vegas Arrangement
Dominic kisses like he's making a point, and the point is you. My email still gets letters about the rain scene in chapter sixteen. I regret nothing.
"He kissed her like the rain might not come again, and for once, he wasn't wrong about the weather."
Read-alike: Sarah MacLean's historicals for more kisses-as-arguments, or stay in Vegas and reread chapter sixteen. I know you already did.
If You Read the Epilogue First (You Absolute Rebel)...
Your hero: Sam Whitaker in Sweet on the Sheriff
Sam's whole thing is that he knows how the story ends before anyone else does — he's been in love with the heroine since high school and has simply been waiting for her to catch up. Reading him out of order won't spoil a thing. He was always going to love her. That's the entire point of Sam.
"Turns out forever isn't a promise you make. It's a promise you keep making."
Read-alike: Jill Shriver... excuse me, Jill Shalvis, for more heroes who've loved the heroine since before chapter one.
Your Turn
Tell me in the comments: which reader are you, and which hero did the GPS hand you? And if your reading personality isn't on this list — highlight-hoarders, I see you — say so. There might be a hero I haven't introduced you to yet, and honestly? He's been waiting.
