Author Top Ten: Ten Things that Make Me Swoon About A Guy by Liz Reinhardt

  
As much as I'd like to be the one who provides the amazing Top Ten list for you, today I'm having Liz Reinhardt, author of Double Clutch and Forgiving Trinity to tackle this *ehem* sensitive subject! This post is part of amazing book tour hosted by Amanda @ Letters Inside Out. Tomorrow I'll post my review of Forgiving Trinity, so stay tune if you want to know what I think about the book!

Oh, and just a warning: this post is full of pictures of oh-my-GOSH-yes-i-will-sell-my-soul-to-you-so come-to-mama-NOW!

Top ten things that make me swoon about a guy ♥  

Thank you to Hilda for letting me crash on her blog and talk about one of my favorite subjects EVER!! Okay, I’m going to be honest with you. LOTS of things make me swoon about guys. I’m a romantic. I’ve been checking boys out since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, and I love all different guys for all different reasons. Geeks, athletes, bad boys, sensitive souls, artists, funny guys…love ‘em. I’m an equal opportunity guy appreciator. But there are some deal-breakers for me, so I’m going to share.

1) Manners. Sexy, Sexy, Sexy Manners.

When I first met my husband he was a little rough around the edges. He smoked and drank and drove a big truck too fast. One day my grandma came to the restaurant where we worked carrying boxes. Frank ran like there was a fire so he could grab those boxes. Actually he almost caused a grease fire, because he left hamburgers burning. But that’s the kind of guy he is. He never, ever sits on a bus if a lady needs a seat, he holds doors open, he says please and thank you, he always leaves a nice, big tip. I. LOVE. THIS! Manners are hot! If you’re with a guy who doesn’t have ‘em, LOSE HIM!!

Why yes, you can wear my hat. Please don’t feel like you have to walk all the way over there. I’ll be happy to carry you. Why? Because I’m a gentleman. You’re welcome.

2) Tattoos

They’re not for everyone. I am completely ink free and probably always will be. I just have no clue what I’d get. Or where. But ink on other people can be so gorgeous, and ink on guys? Oh swoon!! I like when it’s artistic and shows a little of their sensitive side. So, I’m a huge sucker for the names of children, odes to mothers, snippets of poetry, mythical creatures. Bring it and I WILL ogle!!

Why, hello, Adam. Yes. I would love to discuss your tattoos. As art, natch! Art. Lovely, lovely art…

3) Work Ethic

Call me old-fashioned, but I love a guy who values hard work. Not that he has to work on a crabbing boat or as a welder, but he needs to feel the need to work and take pride in what he does. My husband happens to be blessed with the jack-of-all-trades gene. I’m not gonna lie…watching him lay a floor/build a deck/tile a kitchen counter/pain the living-room makes me feel a little dizzy and excited. Especially when he works shirtless. And I can see his tattoos. Excuse me for a quick second. I think the sink is dripping…maybe my husband can lose his shirt and get on that?

So maybe he got a tad violent in Drive, but he just does what he does really well. Whether it’s beating a guy to a pulp…no really, like to pulp…or working on a car or driving, RG has the work ethic going on!!

4) Must Love Kids

Not in that corny talking-too-loud in their faces way. A guy who likes kids because he’s just a cool guy who appreciates that kids are little humans rocks my world. I come from a big family. My high school boyfriend and I spent our first Valentine’s Day together babysitting my brother, who was then six months old. The first minute my boyfriend walked in, my little brother was crying his head off, and I needed to make a bottle. I handed him to my boyfriend, who was freaked out. They became fast friends. Even though he and I broke up, I loved the way he was always happy to include my little brother in everything we did if my mom needed a sitter. Love that!

I always loved Matt Damon. Then he had a jillion gorgeous little girls with his gorgeous wife…sigh! NOTHING makes a guy more adorable than being great with kids!

5) Great Arms/Back

So, I feel like I’ve been a good, mostly deep person in the first few traits, but let’s take a minute to appreciate the bulge of some gorgeous shoulder muscles, the clean lines of a well-muscled back, the ripples of developed arms. A friend of mine pointed out that all my fictional guys have great arms. Well, there’s nothing like great arms!! (And a nice back…love it!!)

Thank you, Mr. Beckham. Thank you for the beauty of that gorgeous back. Thank you.

6) Funny Guys

Not necessarily that guys have to be total joke crackers to get my attention. Just someone who can laugh is amazing. When my husband goes to the movies to see a comedy, he’s one of those people EVERYONE in the entire theater turns to stare at because he’s laughing like a loon. But it’s awesome…it makes me want to laugh like a loon with him! And I usually do! We spend a lot of time laughing for no good reason. Which is pretty awesome!

Love K. Dunst. Have no clue who this guy is, but I’m glad they’re having such a blast together! Laugh it up, KD!

7) Appreciation of…Me

That may sound pretty self-centered, but , I promise, it’s a two-way street! You want to be with someone who loves and appreciates what you do…even if it’s not his/her thing. I love to write. My husband has only read Of Mice and Men…three times since high school. Oh, and he just read The Mouse and the Motorcycle (what’s up with my husband and mice? Maybe he’d read my book if I put a mouse in it?). Anyway, books aren’t his thing. But he helps me when he can. He brainstorms with me. He listens when I read sections out loud. He comments on my covers. He is generally awesome and supportive. And I love him for that! And I appreciate him. Even when he’s talking about tires and rims and wheels for weeks on end. I just keep nodding and smiling like I know what he means.

My husband is equally as cool as Ryan Gosling. Yep. I’m not even a crazy person. He just is ;)!

8) Not Taking Yourself Too Seriously

I once dated this guy who took a lot of things seriously. Including himself. He only liked things if they were cool/ironic enough for him to pay attention to. He was snarky and self-centered and not that much fun. I like a guy who can watch Scooby Doo JUST BECAUSE HE LIKES SCOOBY DOO. No irony. No explaining that it’s just a pop culture icon, so he has to like it. No making comparisons between Scooby and Dora and commenting on how the easy, madcap 60s adventure became a learning infused preschool sensation. Nope. If you like Scooby, just admit it’s because he talks adorably and you want to smorgasbord with him!

 FUNNY! Funny is soooo good!!

9) Eyes

Windows to the soul? I have no clue. I just love them soulful, with lashes no boy should be allowed to have. I love when they crinkle at the sides because a guy spends so much time smiling. I like messy eyebrows and stares, glares, winks, sleepy blinks, and long, intense focused looks. Mmm nice eyes!!

The ultimate sexy eyes!! LOVE the guyliner ;)!

10) Reformed Rebel

A real rebel is a pain in the ass. Real rebels are in trouble, always running around and doing crazy things, hard to keep track of, harder to deal with. But a reformed rebel? He’ll always have that bad past, so there’s always an edge of rebellion to his good-boy status. Plus, he’s been there and done that with pretty much everything, so he knows a good thing when he gets it. Meaning, when he falls in love with the right girl, he’s the most loyal, appreciative guy around.

And he’ll put out the cigarette. Smoking is NOT cool. It’s what guys do before they know better. Then they know better and STOP! Okay, I’ll step off my soapbox now!

OMG I know that Liz will be the best when it comes to swooooony guys! She herself provides all the hot guys pictures! *wipe drool* In honor of this amazing post, I think I'm going to give you guys access of one photo from my own super-secret-swooony-drop-dead-gorgeous-guys folder:

Hello, Finnick. How are you? Got sugar?

I can't say thank you enough for Liz who had spared her time doing this breathtaking blog post! THANK YOU sooo much, Liz! <3

Grab your copy of Forgiving Trinity! 

At seventeen, Trinity McCabe has already made enough mistakes to fill a lifetime. Especially the one where she got high, drove a car, and almost killed a dog. And then let her friend Aidan take the blame.

She’s clean now and desperate to fix the messes she’s made, but first she’s going to have to get out of her pajamas.

As Trinity struggles to stop sleepwalking through life, she faces the painful, tingling sensation of waking up. It’s sometimes embarrassing (she really didn’t want to have lunch with Aidan’s mom), sometimes terrifying (group therapy is beyond intimidating), and sometimes, amazingly enough, pretty romantic (who’d have though Aidan would be such a great kisser?)

Trin is lucky, though—luckier than she deserves, she’s sure—and she doesn’t travel this road alone. Her family, her therapist, and her new friends are all pulling for her. And it turns out, some of them have made pretty big mistakes, too.

But before she can embrace her new life completely, Trinity has to be forgiven by the one person who is holding out the hardest: herself. It’s not easy changing everything, especially when you don’t think you deserve a second chance. Trinity might make an even bigger mess of things before she figures that out.

When the smoke clears on her latest disaster, will anyone still be standing there?

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