It’s summer, and love is in the air — particularly if you’re a hopeless romantic. We all know the type: dreams about falling in love, believes that love is the meaning of life, idealistic and sentimental. Now that I’m reading all of the wonderful romances available on Riveted this week for The Summer of Love, I’ve been thinking about love, and about how so many of my favorite YA characters have this trait in common. I guess I’m just a sucker for a person who believes in real, true love. In honor of our Summer of Love, I’ve put together a list of five of my favorite hopelessly romantic characters. Let me know who your favorites are in the comments! And be sure to check out our Summer of Love reads while you still can! Our extended excerpt of When Dimple Met Rishi and all of the other great Summer of Love reads will only be available until June 19!
Unlike most 18-year-old boys, Rishi is immediately on board with the idea of his parents arranging a marriage for him. Rishi a fan of tradition, but more than that he thinks the whole thing is uber romantic — after all, who knows you better than your parents? Who better to pick someone who’ll work for you? Rishi believes he and Dimple belong together — that its fate, or kismet as he puts it. He’s always got a romantic counterpoint to ever practical Dimple’s worries. These two crazy kids really do belong together. Swoon-worthy!
Hendrix’s hopeless romanticism comes out in spades in The Last True Love Story, but a lot of it revolves around his grandpa, Gpa. I mean, who else but a hopeless romantic would agree to spring their ailing, Alzheimer-ridden grandfather from an assisted living home just to take him across the country to where he first kissed his wife before his memory of her fades? And there’s Hendrix’s own love story, with Corrina, a girl who gets his inner turmoil and loneliness. It turns out she might just be the person who makes Hendrix realize Gpa is right — the point of living is learning how to love.
Lara Jean believes in love and in things working out the way they’re meant to. She writes a love letter to every boy she’s ever loved — five, by the age of sixteen. She pines away for her neighbor Josh, who she knows she’ll never date because he’s her older sister’s (ex)boyfriend. And when Peter K, her old best friend, suggests they pretend to date to make his ex-girlfriend jealous and throw Josh off the scent of Lara Jean’s feelings, she’s reluctant — because she wants all these things, holding hands and going out, for real, with a real boyfriend. Lara Jean’s pastel and optimistic idea of love is what makes her such a sweet and lovely character — the type we all fall for.