I’ve really missed doing Friday Favorites, and since no one was currently hosting it, Cait @ Functionally Fictional decided to jump into the gap. Each week, she provides a prompt, and I get to talk about my favorite books that fit the topic. Feel free to join in – the more the merrier!

This week’s prompt is such a fun one! It’s characters that I’d invite to my birthday party. Now that I’m older, my birthday parties have become a little more laid back and low key than they were when I was younger. But, I think inviting some book characters would throw some much needed fun into a birthday party. Here are some characters that I think would be awesome to invite to my next birthday party:

1. My first invitation would have to go to Lindsey Bakewell from the Beacon Bakeshop series by Darci Hannah. She’s a professional baker and she’s a killer cook to boot, so we know who is going to be handling the menu. Sorry to make my guests work, but her recipes always sound so good!
2. My second invitation goes to Lakshmi from The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi. She just seems like such a cool character, the kind who knows a little about everything, can make conversation with basically anyone, and does some incredible henna artwork, which I will beg for at the party.
3. A party isn’t any fun without some entertainment, so my third invitation is going to Lestat from The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. He’s another one who has enough life experience that he can make conversation with anyone, and something tells me that he’s going to do something that’s going to make him the life of the party.
4. Liya and Kai from When You Wish Upon a Lantern by Gloria Chao are going to receive my fourth invite. They have a hookup for wishing lanterns, and while my birthday is in winter, I still think it could be really fun to arrange a wishing lantern launch as part of my birthday party!
5. The Verran brothers and their associated partners from The Dark King by Gina L. Maxwell. What is a birthday party without some serious eye candy? Caiden and Bryn, Tiernan and Fiona, and Finnian are all gorgeous, fun, and aside from being nice to look at, they can help out with security if needed.
6. My sixth invitation would go to Bri from On the Come Up by Angie Thomas. Despite being young, she’s got some seriously great rhymes, and while I know that rap isn’t everyone’s jam, I wouldn’t mind letting her flow at my birthday party and maybe even drop a birthday verse for me.
7. Gemma Ripley from the Gargoyle Queen series by Jennifer Estep. After reading through the series, she’s one of those characters that feels like a friend who needs an invite to my next party. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that she’s literally royalty and can work a diverse room, schmoozing like a champ.
8. Finlay Donovan and Vero from the Finlay Donovan series by Elle Cosimano. How could I have a party and not invite Finlay and Vero? These two are always in some kind of ridiculously chaotic situation, and they’re laugh out loud funny, so having them come to my birthday party would be epic.
9. My ninth invitation would go right to Delilah Green and Claire from Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake. They’re super cute together, and their opposites-attract vibe is adorable. I would love to have these two celebrate my birthday with me, especially since they can make a regular night way more fun.
10. My last invitation would have to go to Yaga from The Witch and the Tsar by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore. This one seems pretty self-explanatory, but wouldn’t you want to be able to say that you had Baba Yaga at your last birthday party? Besides, the fact that she’s a witch who can do real magic only makes it sound cooler.

Who would you invite to your birthday party? Do we have anyone in common?