With 2024 quickly coming to a close, I thought I’d reflect on the eclectic array of book boyfriends I’ve managed to collect this year. With over 140 romance books read this year, (and more than a handful Why Choose, Reverse Harem, & Poly), I’ve collected an impressive menagerie of men.
However, which ones are my top tier?
There really isn’t any way that I could POSSIBLY pick only 5 or even 10, TOP book bf’s from this large of a pool. So I’ve decided to divide them into six categories, each with a top 5. Still hard, but I’m satisfied with the top contenders and I hope you are too.
I’ve divided the men into groups of five within six categories: Athlete, Bad Boy, Good Boy, Group, Mythical & Wealthy.
Athlete is pretty self explanatory. As I read a lot of sports romances, this was the toughest one to narrow down, with the majority of my faves being athletes. I ended 2023 on a major Hockey high and this year, that continued a bit with books like The Wingman by Stephanie Archer and St Louis Siren’s series by Alexandria House. Tessa Bailey had me looking at Golf with a fresh pair of eyes this year, thanks to Fangirl Down, and Sloan Spencer has me hooked with her new The Rugby Lovers series.
However, this year I was also grateful to find books centered on my favorite sport, baseball, and mi gente. Millie Perez’ Strikeout, Cat Giraldo’s Dominating the Diamond series and Janiah Benitez’ The Hale series all brought together my love of baseball and my love for my fellow Latine folk. Making this year one of my best Sport Romance reads years to date.
Bad Boys is a bit of a catch all. These are the Mafiosos like Prince of Ink & Scars by Raya Morris Edwards & the habitual or professional unalivers like Butcher & Blackbird by Bryanne Weaver. Men covered in tattoos, riding motorcycles and busting faces open ala Savage & Ink duet by Victoria Ashley. The man who growl, prowl and care about nothing and no one, except his woman like Them Boys trilogy by Alexandria House.
Like Bad Boys, Good Boys is a blanket category for all my good guys, the gentle lovers, protectors, caregivers and friends who’s gentle ways melt the heart and make you swoon. Men from books like, The Love Con by Seressia Glass, Sunny Disposition by Deanna Grey, Perfectly Candid by JS Jasper or Twice a Quinceanera by Yamile Saied Mendez.
Group is a bit more of a niche category. I found this one necessary since I read a good amount of Polyamorous, Reverse Harem & Why Choose books like Structural Duet by Sloan Spencer, My Brothers Teammates by Melissa Ivers & House of Durand by Erin Bedford. This is pretty self explanatory. These are my favorite partner pairings involving multiple men.
Mythical is for all my non human book loves. Including some books like Unhinged & Hayseed by Vera Valentine, which involve love with a DOOR and one that involves a SCARECROW. Honestly, they sound strange but the stories actually make sense. This year I did get a bit more into monster smut. There were gargoyles in Titan by Jillian Graves, tentacles in So.Very.Deep by Trixie Sphinx, furry shape shifters in Baited by the Beast trilogy by Journee Jordan and fangs in Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert this year. Although I grew up reading paranormal and fantasy books, I’ve fallen off on my monsters, so it was good to dip back into a familiar story with a more grown up direction.
Finally we have our Wealthy category. Also, self explanatory. These are our Billionaire Bosses, The Desire Variable by Ana D’Arcy, Trustfund Babies, Fallen Foe by L. J Shen, Boardroom Bad Boys, Billion Dollar Revenge by Sharon Woods and Richy Rich Romeos, Only for the Week by Natasha Bishop.
With all that explained, here are my TOP 5’s for each Book Boyfriend Category.
Athletes:
Mateo- Strikeout by Millie Perez
Mateo- Wild Pitch by Cat Giraldo
August- Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan
Isaiah- Play Along by Liz Tomforde
Declan- The Weiner Across the Way by Amy Award
Bad Boys:
Jah- Jah by Alexandria House
Caden- Prince of Ink & Scars
Ray- Lilith by Alexandria House
Renzo- Velvet Kingdom by BB Hamel
Royal- Royal Savage by Victoria Ashely
Good Boys:
Ahmed- Curvy Girl Summer by Danielle Allen
Rafael- Every Version of You by Sloan Spencer
Luis- Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras
Elliot- Perfectly Candid by J.S Jasper
Jake- Up the Ladder by Ana D’Arcy
Groups/Duos:
Jay & Marco- Structural Duets by Sloan Spencer
Lukas & Colton- Pucking Sweet by Emily Rath
Gideon & Kitt- Outfield Assist by Cat Giraldo
The Vicious Lost Boys- The Dark One by Nikkie St Crows
The Durand Clan- Indebted to the Vampires by Erin Bedford
Mythical:
Xander- Essence & Runes by Taylor Lynn
Khan- Khan’s Choice by Tacarra
Matice- I Accidentally Summoned a Demon Boyfriend by Jessica Cage
Titan- Titan by Jillian Graves
Malachi- Sweet Vengeance by Viano Oniomoh
Wealthy:
Rome- Only for a Week by Natasha Bishop
Gabriel- Yours, For Now by Leonor Soliz
Finneas- When We Lied by Claire Contreras
Julian- Love Redesigned by Lauren Asher
Snow- Snow King Catches His SnowFlake by A.E Valdez
So many great fictional men came into my life this year, so is just a small bunch but I am so glad for the adventures they each took me on. Cannot wait to see what magnificent men I’m able to collect next year.
As always, leave a comment below and let us know if you’d like to see more content like this, and what you think about my list. Book recs are always welcomed, so if you have a book boyfriend you think I should meet, leave a comment, or message me on IG, Fabel, BlueSky or Threads @TravelingBookieMonster
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