CHAZ SANTANGELO from Jellicoe Road by Melina MarchettaI'm a little strange because, while I adore Jonah Griggs, he's not my favorite Marchetta boy by a long shot, and isn't even my favorite one in Jellicoe Road. Yes that's right, I do like Chaz more. I like his leadership skills, his loyalty, his protectiveness, and even his inability to let something rest. And, of course, any book that has a Chaz as the main character will have to have lots of Raffy in it too. If anyone could write the perfect best friend to love that's also a hate to love story, it would be Melina Marchetta. And Chaz and Raffy are certainly an interesting combination of both of those.
THE MINISTER OF WAR and THE QUEEN THIEF from The Queen's Thief Series by Megan Whalen Turner (AKA: Gen's parents)These two capture my imagination in so many ways. I know there is probably no way Turner will ever write this book, but oh how my heart wants it. Reading between the lines of the story we can see that the alliance between Gen's grandfathers was shaky at best. Gen's father himself had fairly contemptuous views of the role of Thief. I so want the story of this stolid, rule following prince who is all about discipline and honor being knocked off his feet by a mischievous, thieving girl who likes laughing and dancing. Knocked off his feet to the point he's willing to defy his father, the King, to be with her. Sigh.
SIMON and SOPHIE from Jinx Trilogy by Sage BlackwoodAnd speaking of prequels I know I'll never get. This one would probably have to be YA or adult and Jinx is definitely MG. But oh man would I ever love to read the story of Simon being the tricky, snarky, magical rebel causing all sorts of trouble is Sophie's orderly world. And her not wanting to like him but being unable to help herself. It would be a fairy complicated story because it's clear they have a fraught and complicated relationship, but it would be so worth reading.
HAYDEE from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
In the hands of a truly talented author this could be a marvelous spin on The Count of Monte Cristo. Give us Haydee's story of her father's death, her childhood in slavery, and her rescue and life with the Count. Now a lot of people would probably be squicked out by this due to the age difference between her and Edmond, but in the hands of the right author it would be so good.THALIA HAMILTON and JOSH FLETCHER from The Dare Island Series by Virginia Kantra
The Dare Island Series is an adult romance novel series that takes place on an island NC's Outer Banks. Josh and Thalia are two minor teen characters who have been in every book so far. Maybe it's just my love of YA lit, but these two have captured imagination utterly. The little snippets we get of both of them in each book just make me want more. I adore them, and they are fascinating people. I want them to have their own book. Sooner rather than later. (I would accept two separate books if that's the way it has to be. But really I want them to figure out how to make their lives work together. There isn't enough of the young/first love that can survive stories out there. And some of us know it works because we're living it.)SARAH GUJAHR from Special Interests and MOLLY MASON from Private Politics by Emma Barry
I always say the mark of a good author is how much interest they are able to spark in even the most minor of characters. These women both only have brief scenes in their respective books and their purpose is to clarify how the hero feels about the heroine. However, both of them in those brief scenes sparked my interest. Some of that is due to them not being the typical "other" woman in a romance, some of it is Barry's fine talent for dialogue that brings all her characters to life, and some of it is that I never want Barry to stop writing these DC set political romances so bring on books about all the minor characters.
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