Top Ten Characters I Liked That Were In Books I Didn’t Like

Posted April 2, 2018 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 18 Comments

Today’s TTT topic was submitted by Annemieke of A Dance With Books through the topic suggestion form. If you have ideas for future topics, submit them here!

Ok, so have you ever come across a character who you actually liked but really didn’t like the book they were in? Maybe the character was amazing, but the author never put him/her in the limelight or developed their character enough. Maybe the author had this character do something really dumb? Or maybe this character was just the only bright spot in the book for you. OH, and my least favorite situation? When I LOVED the character until they turned into someone I didn’t love anymore as the series continued. Today we’re showing those characters some love.

Ok, so… confession time: THIS LIST WAS REALLY HARD. It’s hard for me to curate this list because usually the lack of great characters is what makes me hate a book in the first place! I don’t usually dislike a book if I liked the characters. A great character will make it easier on me to enjoy reading a book, even if the story is not resonating with me as much as I’d like. Needless to say, I was pretty stumped. After a TON of thinking, though, I’ve done it!

1. Nikolai from The Crown’s Fate by Evelyn Skye
Nikolai was wonderful in The Crown’s Game, but his character was unrecognizable in a bad way in this sequel. He went in a very heartbreaking direction that I did not get over by the end of the book. He was one of the main reasons I rated this book so low.

2-4. Rafe, Leah, and Kaden from The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson
My beloved characters became flat, shells of themselves. Rafe lost his backbone, Leah got selfish and demanding, and Kaden was completely ignored. This book kind of broke my heart all over the place.

5. September from The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
Now… I liked September, but not as a twelve-year-old. Her voice is very strong and dynamic, but she does not act her age. She acts WAY older, so it all just felt really weird. And that book is a trip. I don’t even know what happened there. lol.

6-7. Emma and Galen from Of Neptune by Anna Banks
Emma became very selfish and immature in this third and final book of the Syrena Legacy trilogy. Also, things I found funny in book one, like Emma’s “ohmysweetgoodness” and “fan-freaking-tastic” and sarcastic quips were not funny this time. I wanted her to grow up a little and show me that she has changed over the years. I didn’t love Galen anymore either. His uses of marine words inserted into human phrases is not endearing anymore. He calls Emma “Angel Fish” and that really started to bug me! He has also gotten way too broody. I loved the romance in the first book, but things really fizzled in book 2 and even more in this one. I don’t even believe their love story anymore.

8. Jules’s Father in Everless by Sara Holland
This man is sweet and caring and loyal and way too good for his crappy, lying daughter.

9. Catherine in Heartless by Marissa Meyer
Catherine is sweet and spunky and so full of innocence and hope. I just loved her personality and her quirky love of baking and her sarcasm. We all know how she turns out (Queen of Hearts, duh), but boy was I hoping for a different outcome.

10. Rose from Public Relations by Katie Heaney and Adrianna Rebolini
I liked Rose for her ability to stand up for herself (and not keep quiet as she was instructed) and voice her opinions during the client meeting that would inevitably change her life. Her inner monologue was very entertaining. The book itself was pretty awful.

So there you have it! Which characters are you loving on today?
Do you agree with any of my picks?

And did you have as hard a time as I did coming up with your list this week? Do you tend to dislike books, but still like the characters? It’s super rare for me.

 

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18 responses to “Top Ten Characters I Liked That Were In Books I Didn’t Like

  1. Eve

    I haven’t started many of these yet but I am looking forward to starting some and am sad they weren’t great for you.

  2. I’ve only read one of these books and that is Everless, I’ve read The Crowns Game and I was a bit worried about how Nikolai would be portrayed in the sequel. I’ve complete my first ever Too Ten Tuesday today. I’m excited to complete a new challenge each week.

  3. I couldn’t think of a single character for my list. Maybe because I’m still kind of sick, I don’t know.

    Either way, it’s hard for me to even remember most of anything from books I don’t like. My brain just decides that since I didn’t like the book, it wasn’t worth remembering beyond not liking it and the basic reasons why. (Boring characters, boring plot, underdeveloped world, etc.)
    Marie recently posted…Review: Dwarves of Calcus by Katie Hamstead