Tuesday 27 September 2011

My Book Boyfriend: Mr Nobley


My Book Boyfriend is a weekly meme hosted by Missie at The Unread Reader, all about fictional boys who make us swoon. This week I'm loving Mr Nobley from Austenland by Shannon Hale. As I mentioned in my review of the book, he's very Darcy-esque; coming across as proud and kinda dull at first before slowly revealing the passion, romance and sense of humour that's bubbling underneath. One of my favourite things about him is the way he really listens to Jane, as evidenced by his sneaky gift of a paint set after she reveals how she misses the hobby. I also love that he tries to protect her from getting hurt, even if she doesn't realise it. He's pretty lovely. Although JJ Feild has been cast as Nobley in the upcoming movie adaptation of Austenland, unfortunately he doesn't really do it for me. I pictured him as Elliot Cowan, who played Mr Darcy in Lost in Austen.

Swoon-worthy Quotes (Spoiler Alert!)

"Just ahead, the path was drenched in a puddle that could not be bypassed. The men walked through fearlessly. Colonel Andrews took Miss Charming's hand and helped her step across. Mr Nobley placed his hands around Jane's waist and lifted her over. As he set her down, their bodies were much nearer than was seemly in the early nineteenth century. They held still for a breath, their faces close together. He smelled good enough to kiss... He had the kind of face you wanted to kiss - lips, forehead, cheeks, eyelids, everywhere except his chin. That you wanted to bite."

"He tackled her. He actually leaped up, grabbed her around the waist, and pulled her down to the ground. She screeched as she thudded down on top of him... Then he looked at her. He breathed in. His forehead tensed as if he were trying to think of words for his thoughts, as if he were engaged in some gorgeous inner battle that was provoked by how perfectly beautiful she was. (That last part was purely Jane's romantic speculation and can't be taken as literal.) Nevertheless, they were on the ground, touching, frozen, staring at each other, and even the trees were holding their breath."

“'Miss Hayes, have you stopped to consider that you might have this all backward? That in fact you are my fantasy?'”

"'I need to admit up front that I don't know how to have a fling. I'm not good at playing around and then saying good-bye. I'm throwing myself at your feet because I'm hoping for a shot at forever.'"

14 comments:

  1. "I'm hoping for a shot at forever."

    Is he for real? And if so, please sign me up for a duplicate!

    Looking forward to the movie since you mentioned it. :)

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  2. Oh nice!

    Hm... shouldn't you help him out of that soggy shirt. I mean you don't want him to catch cold, do you??? ;D

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  3. @Missie - He's too good to be true! But I didn't mind so much :)

    @Melissa - You're right, he needs to be removed from that wet shirt pronto. And those wet breeches...

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  4. You can't go wrong with an Austen man can you? Especially one who could give Mr Darcy a run for his money! Great choice :) It's my first MBB this week!

    Check it out at http://thewriteobsession.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-book-boyfriend-1-jason-from-telesa.html

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  5. urgh! link fail. sorry Belle.

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  6. “'Miss Hayes, have you stopped to consider that you might have this all backward? That in fact you are my fantasy?'”
    aww i lve that quote so much
    he sounds so dreamy, i must give this a go.
    p.s: I really love the way he says 'miss hayes' ahhh

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  7. @Lan - Welcome to the fun! :D

    @Abbey - Mmm-hmmm, that one did me in :)

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  8. Elliot Cowan! :D my favourite! I haven't heard of this Austenland...shameful for an Austen fan. Awesome pick btw
    -Jess

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  9. Oh, I would feel guilty about my lack of Austen reading but I'm too busy eyeing up the lushious wet guy...I love those shirts! :)

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  10. @Jess - It's a great read, you should check it out!

    @Mel - Wet men are a good excuse for many things :D

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  11. eep! Darcy from Lost in Austen! now i wanna watch that again. must go see if it's still on netflix....

    and i wanna check out this book, too. love anything austen-related. those quotes = very swoon worthy. I'm with @Missie on this: sign me up!

    Here's PiF's

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  12. Ooooh! I haven't read this, but now I'm dying to!!!! I love that last quote! :)

    My Book Boyfriend!

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  13. @Kira - I watched it again last week, so fun!

    @Liza - Can't get much better, can it?

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  14. LOVE this movie. When he emerges from that water? *swoon*

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