Top Ten Tuesdays: Swoon-Worthy Books

http://www.brokeandbookish.com

Hello, all! This week's Top Ten Tuesday theme is Swoon-Worthy Books. Note that none of these are just romances, because I don't read just romances. Some of them might not even have romance as the main plot; I might just like the main couple in the story (or the guy in the main couple). Basically, they're the books that I would (and probably will) read for Valentine's Day.

1.  Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. This book has a great many things going for it. It reads like a fairy tale, but isn't a remake, so you're never quite sure what will happen next. It's sweet and funny and Howl and Sophie are awesome together. And Howl, despite his flaws, is rather awesome by himself too. To top it all off, you have this line, which would be on my list of Favorite Romantic Lines: "I think we ought to live happily ever after."
2. Melanie Dickerson's Fairy Tale Retellings. This is technically four books, but I don't feel like splitting them up, since I'll be saying something very similar for all of them. Of all the books I read, these are probably some of the most romance-focused, but the romance is very clean and very sweet. My favorite is The Merchant's Daughter (which I plan to read on Valentine's Day), but I enjoyed all four.
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I don't know how swoon-worthy Pride and Prejudice actually is, but I love Elizabeth and Darcy and the way they learn to love each other. 
4. Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. I wasn't sure whether to include this or not, since it really goes far deeper than 'swoon-worthy'. In the end, I decided to put it on the list. Yes, 'swoon-worthy' isn't an accurate description, but it is pretty much my favorite fantasy-adventure-romance in the world. (Even if that's because it's so much more than just a fantasy-adventure-romance.) 
5. Scarlet and Cress by Marissa Meyer. Wolf and Scarlet are so sweet together; they're pretty much my favorite Lunar Chronicles couple. Wolf is so protective and sweet and loyal. And I love Thorne as well. It doesn't matter if he's not as much a hero as Cress thought he was; his actions, particularly in Cress, prove that he's well on his way to becoming a hero, if he's not one already. 
6. Starflower and Dragonwitch by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. Like Heartless, 'swoon-worthy' is not a word I would generally use to describe these books. The main reason these books are on the list is Bard Eanrin. He's pretty much my favorite character in the entire Goldstone Wood series (which says something about how much I like him), and he plays a major role in both of these books. I especially like him in Starflower, when I and other readers get to see how his focus changes from just himself to others. Besides Eanrin, though, I am very fond of certain scenes involving Alistair and Mouse in Dragonwitch. Just saying.

And that, technically, is ten books. What did you think of my choices? What books would you count as 'swoon-worthy'? Feel free to tell me in the comments, or to make your own Top Ten Tuesdays post on your blog!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)