Book Boyfriend: Malyen Oretsev

So I've seen this meme floating around many book blogs, but initially I got the idea from Reading Lark and they got this meme from The Unread Reader. I've enjoyed the meme so much that I will also be joining in on the fun on Wednesdays. Welcome to Book Boyfriends everyone!

I really struggled when it came to picking my very first book boyfriend. In my opinion, he had to be the best of the best. The one that I would choose before everyone else and after going through all of my favorite male characters, I settled in on Malyen Orestev from Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy.

When picking my first Book Boyfriend, I really wanted to decide who was the best boyfriend to their female partner, and Mal was the only one that really fit that mold. He has his faults, but in spite of everything he stayed with Alina. From his side of the relationship, especially in Ruin and Rising it seemed hopeless for him to be with the girl that he loves. He went looking for her in Shadow and Bone when she was fooling around with the Darkling. In Siege and Storm, he stayed with her even though Alina wasn't thinking about his feelings or the things he wants at all and kept pushing him away with her lies. Then finally in Ruin and Rising he willingly stepped aside as Alina's main man knowing that she needed to be with Prince Nikolai to have the power and influence she needed. All the while he still stayed by her side, even when there seemed like there was no possibility of them being together. He supported her and defended her no matter how much it hurt him.

Mal's personality isn't perfect, and to be perfectly honest in Siege and Storm I found him to be a little bit whinny, and I almost lost it when he that little moment with Zoya (ugh) but otherwise he's physically attractive. He has bright blue eyes and brown hair (my favorite combo), on top of that he's a well trained solider (also my favorite ^^) which means he's physically well built. I love how snarky he is, and his cocky attitude. Although, in my opinion, he's cocky for a reason. In general, I love the way he speaks, especially about his feelings towards Alina.

Here are some quotes from him:

1) "I missed you every hour. And you know what the worst part was? It caught me by surprise. I'd catch myself walking around to find you, not for any reason, just out of habit, because I'd seen something that I wanted to tell you about or because I wanted to hear your voice. And then I'd realize that you weren't there anymore, and every time, every single time, it was like having the wind knocked out of me. I've risked my life for you. I've walked half the length of Ravka for you, and I'd do it again and again and again just to be with you, just to starve with you and freeze with you and hear you complain about hard cheese every day. So don't tell me we don't belong together."

2) "Here's my answer captain. She's the thing that made this all okay-The threadbare coats and the old boots and the guns that jams when you most need them to fire, the loneliness of knowing that you don't matter, that you will never matter, the fact that you're just another body, another uniform to be sent into the fold or the frost, another good boy who knows his place, who does his job, who doesn't ask questions, who will lie down and die and be forgotten. What is she? She's everything, you dumb son of a bitch."

3) "He tapped the sun over his heart. 'I came here for you. You're my flag. You're my nation.'"

4) "'I know I'm supposed to say something noble--I want a united Ravka free from the Fold. I want the Darkling in the ground, where he can never hurt you or anyone else again.'" He gave a rueful shake of his head. 'But I guess I'm the same selfish ass I've always been. For all my talk of vows and honor, what I really want is to put you up against that wall and kiss you until you forget you ever knew another man's name. So tell me to go, Alina. Because I can't give you a title or an army or any of the things you need.'"

5) "He met my gaze, his blue eyes steady. 'It's not going to be okay.' He brushed the hair back from my cheeks and cupped my face in his rough hands. 'None of this is happening for a reason.' He skimmed his lips over mine. 'And Saints help me, Alina, I want to live forever.'"

Lastly, who do I picture as a real life Mal. I know the general protocol is to pick an actor that could play Mal in a movie but I have a huge problem picking out an actor that suits my book boyfriends. A lot of the time I can find someone I think looks similar but then I know that he can't act, so it ruins it for me. So I'm going to bend the rules a bit and not pick an actual actor (this most likely will continue). My pick for Mal, is a hockey player from the New Jersey Devils, Adam Henrique.

My love for hockey players are only second to soldiers. Anyway, in my opinion Adam Henrique looks like Mal, he's built because of all the training he needs for hockey. He's confident and snarky. No clue if he can act, but he's gorgeous. 

Well, that's it for my first Book Boyfriend. You guys can check out the full reviews of all three books of The Grisha Trilogy by clicking the links below.

Shadow and Bone

Siege and Storm

Ruin and Rising