5 Reasons Bloodlines’ Adrian Ivashkov Would Make an Awesome Boyfriend

If you’re a long-time VBC reader, you may know I ‘shipped Rose and Dimitri in Richelle Mead’s highly successful Vampire Academy series.

In that series we met Adrian Ivashkov. He was a little old to be hanging around high schoolers without, you know, a reason. He was that charming older guy who somehow always had booze.

He was hot and a bad influence.

Things change, though. People change. They grow. I can bravely say, several books and a spinoff series later, that the Adrian Ivashkov we read about in Mead’s Bloodlines series is boyfriend material.

1. He’s someone who wants to be a better person.

I’m not saying the man doesn’t have faults. Adrian has used alcohol as a coping mechanism for the side effects of his Spirit abilities (the good kind of vampires in Mead’s world wield magic, too—earth, air, fire, water or spirit). He wants to be better, though. Meeting Sydney, the heroine of the Bloodlines books, is enough to make him want to better himself.

I’m not just talking about quitting drinking. Though, Sydney would really like that. She worries. He wants to be someone worthy of her love. This isn’t about changing who he is, but him choosing to make better life decisions in the name of love. Sometimes actions speak louder than words, and Adrian can be a man of action.

2. He’s passionate about more things than just being in love.

Look, we all get swoony for those romantic scenes where the characters can’t stop thinking about each other. In a real relationship, though, we want a partner who has other motivations in their lives. Adrian has art. He’s a natural, but more than that he’s passionate about it. We can see a fire lit in him when he’s painting, and it gives him another way to connect with Sydney.

Plus, artists are always swoony and soulful. Who doesn’t dig that?

3. He’s loyal to a fault.

Maybe it’s the Spirit part of him. Users of Spirit have the ability to heal others and even bring people back from death (with some life-altering consequences for both parties). As much as Adrian has had his heart broken, listened to his family and friends doubt his ability to do anything and generally been misunderstood, he’s always there. He was there for Rose knowing she loved someone else. He covered for Sydney when her secrets could destroy her life. He always takes care of his friends, even when they forget he isn’t as hardened as he projects. He’ll do what’s right by others at the expense of his own feelings.

4. He sees beauty in places others don’t.

Adrian has been marginalized by his community in a lot of ways. He’s working to change that perception, but the experience gives him the acute ability to see beyond the surface. He’s more likely to look deeper with other people.

In a relationship this means he’s someone who may actually give you time to explain what you really meant when you jammed your foot in your mouth, because he’s been there. He knows you didn’t mean it that way.

5. He’s hot and likes to dress up fancy.

Hey, sometimes we’re shallow. Adrian would give you a pretty ball gown, don a tuxedo and take you to swank parties if that was your thing.

And, really, who doesn’t like a good-looking guy in a tux? Seriously.

Adrian may not be perfect—okay, he’s not even near perfect—but he’s a good guy with so much potential and who always comes off as sincere. It gets even better when we read from his point of view beginning in the fourth Bloodlines novel The Fiery Heart.

Note: This article was originally posted on Heroes & Heartbreakers in 2013. Chelsea still has a soft spot for Adrian, especially as the Bloodlines series wrapped up. Still 100% book boyfriend material. 

THE BLOODLINES SERIES (click for VBC reviews!)

• Bloodlines
• The Golden Lily
• The Indigo Spell
• The Fiery Heart
• Silver Shadows
• The Ruby Circle