Literary Crushes

I saw a post at HelloGiggles this week about literary crushes that struck a nerve. I've always been one to develop crushes on fictional characters. So not only do I have that in common with the writer, but she and I have crushes on several of the same characters. We even discovered the Lizzie Bennet Diaries at about the same time. Clearly, we should be friends. Before we become friends, though, I thought I would discuss a few of my literary crushes.

• Fitzwilliam Darcy, Pride and Prejudice - I've hinted at this but I love Mr. Darcy. He's not perfect, but he loves Lizzie so much that he goes above and beyond to save her sister's reputation. I can't say enough wonderful things about Mr. Darcy.
• Captain Frederick Wentworth, Persuasion - The letter he writes Anne at the end of the novel is one of the most swoon-worthy things I have ever read.
• Mr. Rochester, Jane Eyre - He's so dark and brooding and tortured. (Those three words are like catnip to me when it comes to fictional characters.)
• Sirius Black, the Harry Potter series - I didn't even realize I had a crush on Sirius until I found myself bawling my eyes out at the end of Order of the Phoenix when he died. I knew I liked Sirius, but it took his death for me to realize it was a crush. He shares the dark, brooding, and tortured thing with Mr. Rochester, although with fewer crazy first wives locked in the attic.
• Joe Willard, the Betsy-Tacy series - Joe Willard was probably my first literary crush. I received a set of the first six Betsy-Tacy books as a kid and my desire to find out what happened with Betsy and Joe largely fueled my decade-long quest to find the rest of the books.
• Peeta Mellark, the Hunger Games series - I know that people have strong opinions on the issue of Peeta versus Gale, but I'm not one of those people. I am, however, Team Peeta. There's something so romantic about his unwavering devotion to Katniss and his selfless desire to give his life for hers.

I could keep going, but you get the idea. Literary crushes are fun.