MANic Monday

A couple of weeks ago, I managed to review Leanna Renee Hieber's The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker without going all fan-girl SQUEE over Alexi--yes, that was actually restraint, believe it or not--because I knew I'd have the chance on MANic Monday. (I'm tricksy like that.)

So, this week, I get to talk a little bit about my newest-ish love, Alexi Rychman, professor of mathematics (AKA hot guy who could do my taxes).

When I asked Leanna if she had any pictorial references for Alexi so I could make this post, she informed me that the ever-incredible *and yummy* Richard Armitage was her inspiration for him (I kept thinking Chris Cornell in an ascot, but I think EVERY brooding guy should be Chris Cornell). So, kind lady she is, she sent me some pics.

And the more I look at them, the more I likey.

As though I needed the help.

Alexi is stern and harsh, but he behaves this way for a reason. He's constructed a tough outer shell to preserve himself for his beautiful Goddess, the one woman to whom he will willingly give himself. She promised her return, and he will be damned if he gives up on her. To do so would be to turn his back on the Prophecy, on his friends, and ultimately on himself. It's a form of self-preservation and the only way Alexi knows to preserve his faith on his Goddess' promise.

So sweet... Oh, Alexi...

Alexi believes with his entire being--mind, body, soul--in Fate and True Love. Beneath the veneer of self-absorption and melancholy is a romantic heart that beats only for his goddess. He's also ridiculously persistent, and I adore that in him. Hopeless romantic that I am *beneath the rock 'n roll exterior* I found a kinship with Alexi that I haven't felt since Jane Eyre. I think every hopeless romantic believes in Fate and Destiny, a sort of cosmic event that unites two people for eternity, and Alexi exemplifies this with all the grace and hope and rage and faith of a man who believes in it with every fiber of his existence. What woman wouldn't go insane for a man like him?