Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly blog meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s prompt was actually to list 10 likable characters from disliked books, but if I genuinely disliked a book, chances are, I disliked the characters within it, as I’m a very character-driven reader. My friend Julie had the great idea to change this theme to list 10 characters who truly helped me enjoy their books!
1. Nikolai Lantsov
This sweet royal bean is, by far and wide, my favorite part of the Grisha Verse trilogy. He made me want to complete the books when nothing else was keeping my interest, and I can’t wait for his spinoff. <3
Book/Series: Grisha Verse trilogy
2. Nimona
Nimona is the title character of her graphic novel, and while I thought the plot was perfectly fine, honestly, it would’ve been so much less exciting and delightful for me without her! She’s so hilarious and her antics kill me.
Book/Series: Nimona
3. Damianos
Okay, we all know I adore the Captive Prince trilogy, but the first thing that hooked me in book 1 was how much I adored Damianos/Damen’s character. He’s so goodhearted, and strong, and sweet, and I love him to bits.
Book/Series: Captive Prince trilogy
4. Lada Dracul
My sweet, vicious little Lada. <3 I love the plot to And I Darken, but it would be nothing without her little fangs.
Book/Series: The Conqueror’s Saga
5. Lucien Vanserra
This is exclusively for book 1, but I wasn’t sold on Feyre to begin with (she grew on me, though), and I didn’t like Tamlin much at all. Lucien, however, had me from the beginning – I loved his banter and snark, and I still do. <3
Book/Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses
6. Levi Stewart
It was really hard for me to get into Fangirl, until Levi became a regular appearance in Cath’s daily life. At that point, I was hooked. He’s so precious!
Book/Series: Fangirl
7. Arcturus/Warden
I’ve only read the first book in the series, and while I did genuinely enjoy the plot, let’s be honest… without Warden’s big asshole teddy bear self, it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun to read. <3
Book/Series: The Bone Season
8. Thomas Cresswell
This one’s a stretch, because I honestly love this series so much as a whole, but I don’t know if I would have given the first book such an easy 5-star rating if I hadn’t loved Thomas so much from the beginning.
Book/Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper
9. Maverick “Big Mav” Carter
This is another stretch, because I would absolutely have still adored The Hate U Give soooo, so much even without Big Mav’s character. That said, he was one of my favorite parts of the book, and I just loved him so much. <3
Book/Series: The Hate U Give
10. Augustus “Gus” Waters
TFIOS was an enjoyable read anyways, but Gus was the first literary character in my entire life that I remember loving that much. I still think he’s the greatest part of the book, by far, and I just want to protect him. ?
Book/Series: The Fault in Our Stars
Are there any characters who vastly improved their book(s) for you?
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Shayna
April 3, 2018I feel the same way about characters that you do. I had to change the topic up because I could only think of books I hated because the characters were all so terrible, haha.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018Hahaha I’m glad it wasn’t just me, Shayna!
Michelle @ Pink Polka Dot Books
April 3, 2018I like your twist on the topic!! Levi & Augustus are 2 of the best book guys ever. They were my fave parts of both of those books too.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018Thank you so much, Michelle! They’re such sweethearts!
Kelly | Another Book in the Wall
April 3, 2018I completely agree with Nikolai and Gus!!! ?
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018Thank you! 😀 I love them so much. They’re both so precious! I can’t wait until the Nikolai spinoff!
Kay Wisteria
April 3, 2018Augustus Waters ❤️❤️❤️
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018Isn’t he precious?! I swear, I’ll never fully get over him. <3 Lol!
Lena @ The Printed Girl
April 3, 2018I did the same thing with my TTT this week ?
I also should have chosen Lucien, he made the ACOTAR series so much better indeed ?
Great TTT ?
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018Thank you! Lucien is such a precious little character, haha! <3 I really love him so much.
Grainne (Darkly Whimsical Reader)
April 3, 2018Lada ??????
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018She’s amazing! One of my favorite female characters ever written, no doubt.
ChrissiReads
April 3, 2018Aw, I loved Nimona as a character too! Great choices.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018Thank you, Chrissi! Nimona is so freaking delightful. I would love to read more graphic novels about her!
Annemieke
April 3, 2018I am also more for character driven stories but sometimes there is that one character that I like but they cannot save the whole book for me.
Nikolai needs all the love. <3
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018Ugh, yes, been there too! It really sucks when you hate a book so much, even the best characters can’t save it. 🙁 And yes, Nikolai does, haha!
Jana ? (@ArtsyReaderGirl)
April 3, 2018I LOVE your twist on this topic! I had a really hard time formulating this list for the exact reasons you did. But… someone submitted the topic through my TTT submission form so I was like… I SHOULD PLEASE THE PEOPLE. You know? lol. I wish I had thought to spin it the way you did. 🙂
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018Thank you so much! <3 Oh gosh, yes, I can imagine! I bet it can be tough to go through all of the submissions but you do such a great job! <3
Jazmin Jade
April 3, 2018Don’t even get me started on Gus, I adored him and will never be the same ?
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018RIGHT? I swear, my heart will never fully recover… 🙁
Eve Langell
April 3, 2018I’m a character driven reader too so I get it. I did love Nikolai and also can’t wait for more from him. I also enjoyed Lada and Lucien though like you in book one after that he kinda pissed me off and I have mixed feelings for him. I also love Fangirl and Levi so I’m glad he made it better for you. I have yet to start Stalking Jack the Ripper or The Hate U Give but they are on my list. Great picks. My Top Ten
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018Oh yeah, I can totally get having the mixed feelings on Lucien after book one! I still enjoy him, but book one was definitely my fave part for his character – well, that and the beginning of ACOWAR haha. <3 I hope you enjoy THUG and SJTR! Thank you!
Barb (boxermommyreads)
April 3, 2018Wonderful list. Honestly, Feyre is the only reason I haven’t continued on with that series. She drove me NUTS!. I hope to read And I Darken this month but only time will tell. Thanks for sharing your list!
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018Thank you! That’s understandable. I didn’t like Feyre until the end of ACOTAR, which was when I started to tolerate her. I will say that I actually enjoyed her fairly well in ACOMAF, though, so if you ever continue it, I hope you will, too!
louise ☆
April 3, 2018Yay for Nikolai! He’s definitely my favourite Grisha character, and the series really picked up for me once he was introduced 🙂 And I also agree with you on Big Mav, he really is one of the best characters in THUG.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018Nikolai is so good! I honestly probably would’ve DNFed that series altogether, if not for how much I loved Nikolai and wanted to spend more time with him! And I’m glad you love Big Mav, too haha! 🙂
flippingthruthepages
April 3, 2018I haven’t read any of these books except TFIOS, but a few are definitely on my TBR 🙂 Nice list!
I love the way you have shown the characters 🙂
My TTT: http://flippingthruthepages.com/2018/04/ten-characters-i-didnt-like-that-much-in-the-books-i-loved/
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018Thank you! 😀 I’ll check your list out, too!
journeyintobooks
April 3, 2018Great post, Lucien is my favourite character in the ACOTAR series ?
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018Thank you! He’s so precious haha. I really love his and Feyre’s antics in the beginning of ACOWAR.
journeyintobooks
April 6, 2018Your welcome and same I just wish we had seen more of him in ACOWAR ?
Cholla
April 3, 2018Nimona is awesome! Excellent list this week, too!
Here is out Top Ten Tuesday. Thanks!
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018Thank you so much! <3 I loved Nimona so much!
Viki
April 3, 2018Lucien is on my list too and I love how you found fanart/actor for each one.
Here is my list: https://fantasyraiders.wordpress.com/2018/04/03/top-ten-tuesday-characters-i-loved-in-books-i-disliked/#more-8132
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018He’s such a great character! Oh, thank you. 🙂
everythingalyce
April 3, 2018I love your twist on this week’s topic! I’m an extremely character-driven reader too, so it was ridiculously hard for me to think of ten characters for my list – I wish I’d done your twist, too.
I agree with you completely on Nikolai, and his spin-off is one of my most anticipated releases of 2019: if only it could hurry up and get here sooner.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018Aww, thank you! I’ll check your list out, too. I totally agree with wishing the Nikolai spin-off would hurry up. It’s so far away! 🙁
emmareadstoomuch
April 3, 2018i agree so hard on Nimona and Levi that i can almost forgive you on augustus.
almost.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018LMAO. I’m sorry, except not really because it’s the only John Green book I like
iloveheartlandx
April 3, 2018I totally agree on Lucien-he was definitely a redeeming factor in ACOTAR for me! I have to disagree with Gus though, for me he was one of the reasons I didn’t like TFIOS. I can’t wait to meet Nikolai in the next Grisha book!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/03/top-ten-tuesday-153/
onespeculiar
April 3, 2018i love the bone season and warden is one of the reasons why!
great post 3<
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018Thank you! Warden is fantastic – I’m so ready to continue the series!
onespeculiar
April 11, 2018you’re welcome.
anovelglimpse
April 3, 2018Yay for Gus!
Carmen
April 4, 2018You have two of my all-time favourite characters in here, Gus and Nikolai. I can`t wait to get my hands on “King of Scars”. It`s about time Nikolai gets his own book.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018Thank you! I can’t wait, either. 2019 is so far away lol!
Lauren @ Always Me
April 4, 2018Levi, Thomas, and Big Mav are all great. 🙂
Lauren @ Always Me
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018Yes, they for sure are! 🙂
scribblesandknots
April 5, 2018I love your twist on this week’s topic! I did “characters who deserved better” and I NEARLY included Lucien, I love him.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018Thank you so much! OMG. Lucien 100% deserves better, HIGH KEY.
TeaPartyPrincess
April 5, 2018NIKOLAI! I can’t wait for his spin off either.
Cora | http://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
April 6, 2018It’s so far away! I wish it was in my hands right this second. 🙁 Lmao!