Friday, April 20, 2012

My new passion - reading from the male POV

Originally posted on Creative reads 4/17

By Valerie from StuckInBooks.com 

Lately, I’ve been drawn to books written from the male POV. It’s a whole new world and SO much fun to hear what’s going on inside a boy’s brain!

Boys don’t do what I expect a lot of the time. I’m an eighth grade math teacher so I hang out with 14 year olds on a daily basis. The girls, I get. The boys are always surprising me. I find I enjoy talking to them trying to figure them out. As I get to know my students and they learn to trust me, they tell me how it is. But I’m always surprised by the boys.

So I guess it’s natural that I’ve discovered how much fun it is to read inside their heads too. Here’s a few I’ve loved.



Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater 

I absolutely LOVE Sam. This books alternates between Grace and Sam’s POV but I loved it best when I was in Sam’s head. The story was so much richer because we saw things from Sam’s side.

As the series continues, the author adds other POV's some male some female.  The male POV's were a huge part of why I think this series rocks.  Who cannot love Cole?









Of Poseidon by Anna Banks 

This book alternates between Galen and Emma. Galen is the Prince of the Syrena. He doesn’t normally live on the land and as a result human customs are all new to him. I loved watching through his eyes as he tried very hard to keep his Princely air but figure out a foreign world while falling in love. Fabulous.

Of Poseidon will be available May 22nd from Feiwel & Friends.







The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

Iron Knight is the last book in the Iron Fey series.  The BEST part of this book is that it's from Ash's POV!  I loved the Winter Prince throughout this series.  It was the perfect balance of cocky boy and hot ice prince.  To be inside his head was so awesome.  While, he was trying to do something that had never been done before for his love, it wasn't sappy or corny.  It was very male.  To me this was the best book in the series.  LOVE Ash!








Exiled by M.R. Merrick

Then we have Chase from Exiled and Shift in the Protector series.  One thing that makes this book stand out is that the author is male.  Chase is very male in his thinking - no faking it here at all.  Chase is strong and driven.  He's loyal and determined to protect those he loves.  He surprises me just like my students do.  I think it's that authenticity that makes Chase such an incredible character.  One of my students read this book recently and he was totally into it.  It's a perfect boy book.


I have a giveaway going for Exiled right now.  Check it out here.







What a Boy Wants by Nyrae Dawn

This one is a recent read from a new author.  I fell very fast and very hard for Sebastian, or Bastian as everyone calls him.  He is so incredibly funny.  I really don't remember the last time I laughed out loud so much while reading a book.  Bastian is loyal to his friends and his mother but won't risk the pain of a relationship that is until he falls in love.  It's super cute to watch through his eyes and he reacts in a very male way only to have things blow up on him.  Such a good guy, I was rooting for him every step of the way.

My review for this book is coming next week and I have a date to interview Bastian! SQUEEEE




I could go on and on.  My new obsession.... I mean passion of reading books from the male POV has helped me find a lot of great reads.  I was asking about these books on twitter the other night and amassed a very long list of books from the male POV.  Here are a few that you will love too.


17 comments:

  1. You make me want to read WHAT A BOY WANTS, which I've never heard of before :)

    I'm going to be reviewing THE VICIOUS DEEP on tour next Sunday, and it's from Tristan's POV. I'm almost positive INCARCERON is from a male POV, though I haven't had the time to read my copy. I hear it's amazing, though. I also enjoyed Holly Black's WHITE CAT and RED GLOVE, though I haven't had a chance to snag BLACK HEART yet.

    If you like MG and haven't already enjoy them, I like Rick Riordan's various series as well as John Flanagan's RANGER'S APPRENTICE and Davey Barry/Ridley Pearson's PETTER AND THE STARCATCHERS series.

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  2. I loved The Iron Knight too!! Ash was amazing <3 <3 And it was so so beautiful to finally see what he felt for Meghan open on the display :) It made me love him even more <3 :)

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  3. So....in onyx we get to see what's going on in Daemon's head!

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  4. I just read Anna Dressed in Blood and it's in a male's POV. Absolutely loved it!!

    Ning @ Reading by Kindle Fire

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  5. This is one reason why I'm writing from a male's POV for my WIP (besides me myself being one). With the majority of YA being the girl's domain, it's interesting when we get a boy's perspective of the entire thing.

    For example, I want to see a boy protagonist in a dystopian romance.

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  6. I absolutely adore and seek out male pov books. It changes the whole story for me. I have to agree with Ning's recommendation of Anna for that reason.
    I finished What a Boy Wants last week and loved it!

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  7. Oh Valerie I couldn't agree with you more! I have been reading a lot of books written from guy's POV and I love it. I also love to see romance from a guy's POV (I know my bad! lol!) but guy's just make romance fun! :) and Tristan in The Vicious Deep was fantastic. That's the why I see teenage guy's all hormones lol!

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  8. I am utterly convinced male POV is going to be the new trend. AMAZE-BALLS!!!

    I'm obsessed with What a Boy Wants! I've not liked a YA contemporary that much since Anna and the French Kiss. So freaking good.

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  9. Thanks for this list! I just picked up Shiver, and I am bumping it up on my TBR list. Reading from the male POV is interesting and enlightening.

    I was having dinner with a few male classmates and their insights about dating were amazing. They said all sorts of things that I did not consider. From making dinner to what a girl should wear, these boys had so much to say, and I was in awe.

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  10. Top male POVs for me right now are The Scorpio Races also by Maggie Stiefvater has two switching POVs (each chapter). One for the heroine, Puck (aka Kate), and the other for Sean. I really enjoyed that one. Also on a more urban fantasy level I liked reading the Iron Druid Chronicles (with Atticus as the main narrator).

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  11. I have issues with reading from male POVs if they are written by women. They feel so.. fake to me most of the times. ;/ But I can see where you are coming from!

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  12. I like them when they are done well. Sometimes it feels more like a female trying talk through a male and it just doesn't work. I think I have only had that happen once though.

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  13. I love this post! I was trying to explain my love for books that have a male perspective. She didn't understand why it mattered. So, thank you! I'm excited to grab the suggestions I haven't heard of yet. I highly recommend Holly Black's Curse Workers series as well. Thank you for the new books to check out and this awesome post!

    -A.M.Y-A

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  14. I have been loving the male POV too!! I think some of my favorite books are from the male POV.

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  15. Yes, these male POV books are totally a rarity in YA. I was so shocked when I picked up Beautiful Creatures and discovered the narrator was male.

    John Green and David Levithan are two others who usually have male POVs

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  16. I love male POV too, they're usually a breath of fresh air & originality after reading a gazillion and two female POV books. It's one of the reasons I also like adult books, since most of the time they're 3rd person POV & have both hero & heroine narration! I seriously hope to see more male POV in the feature with YA!

    Perfect Chemistry
    Two Way Street
    Graffiti Moon
    Relativity Honest are some of my faves :)

    Racquel @ The Book Barbies♥
    -thank you&come again.

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  17. I really should save this one, because it's become a little passion for me too to read from a male POV! I agree that they surprise you more than girls, but I guess it's because we know the girls better by now. I'm looking forward to reading more and I love seeing more of them appear! Great post:)

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