Literary Love polls open

Thank you, thank you to everyone who stopped by this past week to nominate your favorite Literary Love couple. Truly, I've had a blast looking over your suggestions and have ended up adding a couple of serious inches to my TBR pile.

I've tallied up everyone's lovely duos and have added them to this google form-thingy. Please take a moment now to officially vote for your top Literary Love couple. Since we ended up with so many different couples, I went ahead and separated everyone out by genre. Cause I don't know about you, but it's more than a little bit hard for me to just pick one. Although, I couldn't resist adding a write-in section for your ultimate, all-time favorite bookish couple as well - so knock yourself out.

Remember -- voting earns you yet another entry for the Ash giveaway.

And trust me, you will not want to miss this week's Literary Love festivities. We've got some marvy bloggers stopping by ready to dish on all things Luuurrve, including:

Monday -- Angie from Angieville
Tuesday -- Aimee from My Fluttering Heart
Wednesday -- Brenda of Brenda Loves Books
Friday -- Rhiannon Hart

What a good-lookin' group ;)

Let the voting commence!

Literary Love: Young Adult Fiction couples

Let's play a little word association game shall we?

When I say:

Utterly-Romantic-and-Enduring-Couples-from-Young-Adult-Fiction

What characters immediately come to mind?

Okay, that was a really long word, but that aside I'm going to make a bet that many of you immediately thought of these two:
And you wouldn't be alone. I count myself among the myriad of fans surrounding Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe and their pursuit of the elusive Happily Ever After. Come on. How could you not fall in love with the outspoken Anne (with an E) that very first time she slams her slate over Gilbert's self-assured head? I'm telling you, he deserved it. And just like Anne, my heart might have skipped a beat or two when little Davy calmly asked her years later "Say, Anne, did you know Gilbert Blythe is dying?" Worst. Words. Ever. But there is so much to smile about with these two. They challenge each other, they support one another during those hard moments, and most of all, they know how to kick back and just enjoy being friends together. Lovely.

Now that I've waxed poetic, I'd like to move onto my other favorite couple from YA fiction. Any guesses? Well, hands-down this one has to go to the independent Katherine (Kit) Tyler and the young sailor Nat Eaton of Elizabeth George Speare's classic The Witch of Blackbird Pond.
My copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond is literally falling apart. It's got my name scrawled in what must be a ten-year-old's handwriting inside the front cover and over time, has become the book I read and reread several times a year. The Hubby has offered to buy me a new copy after watching me painstakingly retape the cover numerous times, but each time I hold my book close and politely decline. I'm not even going to mention how much I want to travel to the Barbados to see the white sands and blue ocean Kit so lovingly describes. I WILL go there one day. I'm just sayin' is all.

Nat & Kit are one of the most splendiferous couples ever in my humble opinion. Both stick out like sore thumbs in the restrained climate of Puritan Connecticut and even end up turning to the same source of comfort - the outcast Quaker Hannah - when life becomes too oppressive. Thrust into such a rigid, unfamiliar culture, Kit constantly faces censure due to her free thinking and outspoken ways. But Nat loves that about her - even if she sometimes frustrates him to no end. Like the gentleman he is, Nat continues to rescue Kit time and again from sticky social situations and hostile individuals; he even tries to save her from drowning - though she doesn't exactly need it. And although there are many special scenes I always gravitate to in The Witch of Blackbird Pond, the following exchange never fails to leave me with a silly grin on my face. You know the one:

"Have you noticed her name?"
Kit leaned sideways to see the letters painted jauntily on the transom. "The WITCH! How did you dare? Does Hannah know?"
"Oh, she's not named after Hannah. I hadn't gone ten miles down the river that day before I knew I'd left the real witch behind."
[....]
"I want to see the ketch. Please, Nat, before we go! I can't wait any longer to see my namesake!"
"No," he said again, leading her firmly toward the road. "That ketch has a mind of her own. She's contrary as a very witch herself. All the way up the river she's been holding back somehow, waiting. Now you'll both have to wait. I'm not going to disappoint her, Kit. When I take you aboard the Witch, it's going to be for keeps."

Oooooh. For that passage alone, I'm thinking it might be time for a reread. Again.

Who are your favorite couples from young adult literature? Only a couple of more days to nominate your favorite Literary Love couple here or in the comments after this post!

Literary Love Kick-Off

With the Day of Luuurrve - otherwise known as Valentines Day - fast approaching (who could miss all those gaudy pink and red store displays?) I've unavoidably started thinking about some of my favorite couples in literature. Valentines is actually one of my favorite holidays - ever since I made my first over-sized, red construction paper heart card practically drenched in glitter I knew this was a day for me. It could also be attributed to the copious amounts of sugar (petite sour hearts!) and chocolate (Dove dark chocolate!) I usually consume. But I digress.As I briefly mentioned before, this year I wanted to do something special to celebrate the upcoming holiday by spotlighting some notable and unforgettable literary couples. After brainstorming for a bit, I began thinking that some of you might want to weigh in on the deliberations. Considerate of me, huh? So I'm going to open this up and host a two-week long Literary Love fest to determine the most memorable, the most heart-rate spiking, the most extraordinary literary couples you've had the privilege to meet.

Don't be shy - and don't worry about genre - feel free to pull couples from any book: young adult, fantasy, classics, chick lit, general fiction, anywhere. Starting RIGHT NOW I'm looking for the ones that still make you sigh years later and the ones you've just happened to meet but that you just can't get out of your head. I also have a couple of marvy bloggers ready to dish about their favorite bookish couple including the lovely Rhiannon Hart, Angie of Angieville, Aimee of My Fluttering Heart, and Brenda of Brenda Loves Books. I promise, you aren't going to want to miss out on all the fun!

Here's how it will work:
February 1st - 6th: Nominate your favorite Literary Love couple in the comments
February 7th - 14th: Polls Open. Vote early and spread the word so that your favorite couple makes the cut
February 14th: the Literary Love winner will be revealed

To make this a little sweeter for everyone all around, I'm going to add a giveaway to the mix. I'll be giving away some bookish swag and a copy of Ash by Malinda Lo - a simply lovely retelling of Cinderella (my review). Every time you suggest a couple for Literary Love, you earn an entry. Every time you vote for a couple, you earn an entry. Every time you send someone to See Michelle Read to vote or make a submission, you get an entry (just make sure they tell me you sent them). Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy.

So, tell me. Who is your favorite Literary Love couple?

Coming Soon: Literary Love

For Valentines Day I'm going to be hosting a special event called Literary Love which will run from February 1st -14th. In order to celebrate one of my favorite holidays, See Michelle Read will spotlight some notable and unforgettable literary couples in a two-week long love extravaganza. Look forward to posts on the most memorable, the most heart-rate spiking, the most extraordinary literary couples that grace the pages of your favorite books. Literary Love won't focus on any particular genre, just those duos you can't help but sigh over. I'm also including a nifty giveaway, so make sure you drop in for all the fun.

Here's how it will work:
February 1st - 6th: Nominate your favorite Literary Love couple in the comments of the intro post - heck, you can start submitting them any time, just make sure I have them all before voting begins
February 7th - 14th: Polls Open
February 14th: the Literary Love winner will be revealed

***I'm also looking for anyone interested in doing a guest post on their favorite bookish couple during those two weeks. Have a favorite first kiss? A fabulous love-at-first-sight encounter? Want to review your favorite love story? Or maybe you just want to rant over that couple that you think is waaay overrated. I'm open to all sorts of posts, so if you are interested please drop me a line at mmillet at gmail dot com or leave a comment on this post.

So tell me. Who is your favorite literary couple?