I started summer 2012 seeing One Direction, not once but TWICE in concert! Let me just say this: they were AWESOME! I could go on and on (and on, just ask my friends) about my favorite four British boys and one Irish boy, but I won’t. I could talk loads about Harry’s accent, Niall’s laugh and Louis’s trousers but I will stop myself and instead mention that NYPL has bought their journal memoir Dare to Dream! As we wait patiently for it to arrive and listen to Up All Night on replay, here are some novels filled with charming, brooding, floppy haired British and Irish boys. 

Falling in Love with English Boys by Melissa Jensen

Cat is not happy that she has to spend the summer in rainy London while her professor mother does research. The situation gets infinitely better when she discovers British chocolate, makes friends with three fun girls and meets Will. The mahogany haired Brit boy, with a killer accent, makes her laugh but confuses her with his mixed signals. Included in Cat's story is the diary of Katherine, a girl who lived 200 years ago and is experiencing her own boy problems namely a Mr. Nicholas Everhard, her elder brother's best friend. One moment he is flirting with her and joking and the next moment scowling at her — she doesn't know what to think. British boys can be very frustrating.

The Agency: A Spy in the House (A Mary Quinn Mystery) by Y.S. Lee

London, summer 1858: pickpocket Mary Quinn was saved from prison and educated by two forward thinking ladies and now she works for them as a spy and detective. Mary's first assignment is that of a companion to the bratty Miss Thorold whose father, a shipping magnate, is into some shady dealings. It is up to Mary to figure out what exactly is going on. The only problem? She is not the only one doing some detecting. One night while searching the study, she runs into James Easton. His brother is courting Miss Thorold and he does not trust her or her family. James is sarcastic, smart, handsome and completely baffling to Mary. For James, Mary is like no girl he has ever met. She's tough, bold and a fighter. She's no Victorian lady and he is smitten. Together they'd make a great team if only they would stop arguing. 

A Favorite New Title:

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

If all had gone according to plan, Hadley would have made her flight to London from New York, she wouldn't have been late for her father's wedding and she never would have met Oliver. Oliver, the floppy haired, cheeky British boy studying in America, is on the next flight and when he sees her arguing with the ticket agent he takes her suitcase and wheels it away forcing Hadley to follow him. On the long flight to London they talk about everything but when they arrive at Heathrow airport they lose track of each other. What quirks of fate will bring them back together?

Books filled with British Boys:

Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series by Louise Rennison - Starting with Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging, the series details the adventures of sassy Georgia and her romantic entanglements with boys including: Robbie the Sex God and Dave the Laugh. See also the film Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.

Girl, 15, Charming but Insane series - Jess is trying to find her place in the social order now that her best friend Flora has morphed into a beautiful, blonde goddess. She finds herself torn between two boys: gorgeous, mysterious Ben with his messy blonde hair, blue eyes and cute, slanty grin and Fred, her sweet, clever, gray-eyed friend who always makes her laugh and is in desperate need of a haircut. 

Before I Die by Jenny Downham - Tessa is dying of cancer. With not much longer to live she makes up a list of all the things she wants to do before she dies. At the top of the list: "I want to feel the weight of a boy on top of me." She writes, "He'd whisper, 'Tessa, I love you. I bloody love you. You're beautiful.' - exactly those words - as he undressed me." Lucky for her, Adam has just moved next door. 

The FitzOsbornes in Exile by Michelle Cooper - It's January 1937 and Princess Sophia FitzOsborne and the rest of the Montmaray royal family are living in luxurious exile in England after escaping the Nazis (see A Brief History of Montmaray) who are now occupying their small island off the coast of Spain. Even as she and her siblings participate in the social whirl of London balls and parties they are determined to free their island home. 

 Books filled with Irish Boys

Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy - It's the 1950s in the small Irish village of Knockglen and Benny and Eve have been best friends through thick and thin. Their circle gets wider when they go off to Dublin to attend university and meet the beautiful Nan Mahon and Jack Foley, a handsome doctor's son. Along the way they learn about love, heartbreak, betrayal and the bonds that keep friends together and tear them apart. See also the film Circle of Friends.

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon - After moving to a small Irish village, Megan is surprised to find that everything in her life seems to fall into place. She quickly makes friends and finds herself instantly drawn to the handsome and mysterious Adam. However, her feelings for Adam are more than what they seem. They are are tied to a fate that was sealed for them love ago.

The Betraying Season by Marissa Doyle - Penelope is off to Ireland to study magic and prove that she is just as good a witch as her twin sister. However, when the dashing and attractive Niall Keating begins to pay attention to her she is distracted from her studies. Is what she feeling real or is Niall using magic of his own?

Ask Amy Green series by Sarah Webb - 13 yr old Amy Green lives in Dublin with her Mum and younger siblings and assists her older cousin Clover in writing an advice column for teens. Only Clover doesn't just want to answer reader's letters, she wants to solve their problems personally and she drags Amy along to help. However, Amy needs help navigating her own relationship drama with the very cute boy from her art class, Seth.

Timeless Love by Judith O'Brien - While wishing on an antique necklace during her birthday, Sam gets sent back in time to Tudor England. She finds herself barefoot in the bedroom of the sickly, boy king Edward VI. Using modern know-how she cures the king and accidently changes history. Along the way she falls for the handsome, Irish nobleman, Sir Barnaby Fitzpatrick.