You might, or might not be aware that there are two people behind this blog. If I (Marie) tend to speak up most of the time and rant about everything bookish, I honestly wouldn’t do what I do without my personal sidekick and awesome sister putting up with all of my blogging craziness. You might have noticed that she, every now and then, drops by to write a blog post of her own. Well today, I decided to take her again on for a dual blog post, because…. why get one book recommendations when you can get two, AM I RIGHT? Because with book recommendations, well….
We already chatted about our favorite reads of the year so far together, earlier on in the year. So, today, we thought we would chat about BOOK CHARACTERS. Let’s be honest, we bookworms tend to spend time thinking about book characters, sometimes a little bit too much. They’re part of our lives and we love them, so…. here are our selection of bookish characters WE LOVED.
Technically, it’s not the end of the year, but we’re taking this from the Characters of the Year Book Tag, originally created by Amanda.
Favourite Male Character of the Year
Marie: Kaz Brekker, Six of Crows
I just couldn’t NOT mention him. I don’t know, he is pretty awesome, isn’t he?! We also all know that behind this facade he’s also such a sweet soft little bean (okay, maybe not that soft, but still) and I loooooove him.
Nyx: Kell, A Darker Shade of Magic
He’s kind, understanding and charming without trying too much. But he is also flawed and weak. He’s gorgeous, sassy and a little bit lost. It’s the perfect balance, that’s why I love him so much.
Favourite Female Character of the Year
Nyx: Megan, Always Never Yours
She believes she’s not worthy of a permanent relationship and has trouble being confident in her dating. She’s a total flirt but she isn’t ashamed of it. She’s bold and at the same time really mature. She feels real!
Marie: Well…. you totally stole my first choice right here. MEGAN is one of my favorite characters of all times.
Most Relatable Character of the Year
Nyx: Audrey, It Only Happens in the Movies
She doubts herself, yet she also knows her own mind. She wants the deep romantic kisses but she also wants to be respected. Her feelings are complex and conflicting, she’s authentic!
Marie: Eliza, Eliza & Her Monsters
I connected to Eliza way, way too much, to be honest. I found myself in her struggles and her doubts and parts of myself everywhere here and there and it both hurt and made me happy, too. This is one of my favorite books of ALL TIMES.
Couple of the Year
Marie: Penny & Sam, Emergency Contact
Let’s be honest, if you know me a little bit, you all saw that one coming. I just loved Emergency Contact so, so much. The beginning of their relationship, the endearing way they become friends, the texting, the ending, the me-swooning-at-all-times about everything.
Nyx: Maguire & Jordy , Girl Against the Universe
Jordy falls for Maguire pretty quickly whereas Maguire spends most of her time pushing him away. It’s no love at first sight, they get to know each other over time. They find ways to help each other, they’re really sweet together.
Villain of the Year
Marie: (SPOILER FOR THE BELLES – highlight to see) Princess Sophia, The Belles (END OF SPOILER)
I don’t know why, but looking at my read-list, she was the first one coming to mind, because damn. I did not expect her to be villain, nor did I expect her to be THAT much of a villain, either. The darkest part of me loved that.
Nyx: Xifeng, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns
She’s the perfect antiheroine. It would be easy to dislike Xifeng with her jealousy and obsession over her own beauty, and yet I truly feel her pain, being a woman in a man’s world.
Most Disliked Character of the Year
Marie: The mother, Starfish
I recently wrote my review for this, so maybe that’s why I am thinking of her. She was just. the.actual.worst.
Nyx: Avery, The Thousandth Floor
She’s pretty much insufferable. She slutshames and talk behind her friend’s backs. And should we talk about the fact that she’s in love and actually sleeping with her brother??!
Royal of the Year
Marie: Maram, Mirage
I just LOVED Maram so, very much, actually even more than Amani, the main character in this story? She was just so three-dimensional, I loved how she changed thorough the story, too and I don’t know, I loved her.
Nyx: Prince Edward, Romancing the Throne
I thought he was the right balance of seeming like a normal guy and also a real prince with some unusual pressures on him.
Sidekick / Non Main Character of the Year
Nyx: Inej, Six of Crows
She’s the queen of character development and inner strength! She doesn’t waste time dwelling on her past, but moves forward quietly and with style. She’s a serious kick-ass character.
Marie: Kenji, Restore Me
I can’t not mention Kenji here. I love him way, way too much okay, he’s too sassy and incredibly fun and I am loving every scene he is in. I need MORE KENJI in my life.
Sibling of the Year
Nyx: Charlie, Save the Date
She’s always trying to help, always here to listen and try to come up with a solution. She wants everyone to have a good time. And if you’re calling her in the middle of the night because you got arrested, she will come, no questions asked!
Marie: JJ, Save The Date
I’m kind of half-stealing your answer again, okay…. Ooops. I’m going to go with another sibling in that story then, JJ, because he was so much fun and never failed at making me smile.
Free Choice Award: Favorite friendship of the Year
Apparently, we can do whatever we want so…. we decided to pick FRIENDSHIP, because we’re huge fans of good friendships in our books.
Nyx: Steffi & Tem, A Quiet Kind Of Thunder
Finally a good female frienship who doesn’t get poisonous! They’ve been close forever and of course their relation isn’t perfect, they have some issues but they’re always here to support each other. They’re really different so they try their best to be understanding, I loved that.
Marie: Luca & Grace, How To Make A Wish
Stealing my sister’s start for the argument, but FINALLY a good M/F friendship with no ambiguity and nothing turning into more and no unrequited feelings. Even if I am a fan of friendships turning to lovers, I also LOVE a good friendship and Luca and Grace’s dynamic was adorable.
We hope you enjoyed this kind of post and reading our answers? Would you like to see more collaborations like these? Let us know!
What are some of your favorite characters so far this year? And EVER? Do you recognize yourself in some of our answers?
WHAT are some of your favorite friendships in books? WE NEED MORE FRIENDSHIPS, so let us know in comments!
paperjasmine says
Great post 🙂 I definitely agree with Eliza being a relatable character and the mother from Starfish has to be my most disliked character this year, too!
Good pick with Steffi & Tem for the friendship one! I totally agree, I always love seeing good female relationships in books. I’m actually writing my second novel (that will hopefully go further than my first) with a good female friendship in it :). To name a few notable friendships from my recent reads, Charlie & Taylor’s friendship in Queen of Geeks is lovely, as well as Comet & Vicky in The Fragile Ordinary (though they do have some issues) and Claudia and Irene in Emma Mills’s Foolish Hearts :).
Marie says
Oh thank you so much, so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
I love a good female friendship and it’s so great that you’re writing one, yay! I LOVED Charlie and Taylor’s friendship in Queens of Geek so, so much and Foolish Hearts is on my TBR as well. I’m so happy there is such a great friendship in here too 😀
Thank you so much for your sweet comment!! 😀
Colline says
I have not yet read any of these. I may have to change that ?
Nyx says
Yeees, you really should ? Thanks for stopping by ?
kat says
Hoohoo 🙂
I did enjoy reading about your favourites this year so far 🙂 I also added some more books to my wishlist, whoopsie. Anyways, I hope you find more favourites this year 🙂
Kat
Nyx says
Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed our post! ? Haha, we’re ALWAYS adding books to our wishlist it’s crazy ?
flippingthruthepages says
Loved both of your choices, though I haven’t read all these books 😛 I totally agree with you about the most disliked character. I hated the mother in Starfish. She was so selfish. Also, totally agree with you about the royal choice. Maram was my favourite character too from the Mirage.
The Villian of the year for me would be the Sea Queen from To Kill A Kingdome. Ahh, she was so cruel.
I am waiting to read Eliza and Her Monsters for so long 🙁 Don’t know when the prices will go down for me.
Marie says
Ahhh thank you so much Sim, I’m so happy you enjoyed our choices! The mother in Starfish was terrible, really :/ OH YES, The Sea Queen would be such a great choice as well for these categories!
I really hope you’ll be able to get Eliza someday soon, it’s such a lovely book. <3
Thank you so much for your sweet comment!! <3 <3
Swetlana @ The Caffeinated Bookworm Life says
This was such a fun post, you guys! I love hearing more about what kind of characters people gravitate towards so seeing both you guys’ answers was really fun. Though I can’t believe Nyx had Inej for the sidekick answer because I never think of her as a sidekick to anyone? In my head, all 5 POVs in Six Of Crows are main characters but I agree with what Nyx said about Inej! She’s one hell of a woman.
Some of my favorite characters this year are Alina Starkov and of course, Nikolai Lantsov! I’m currently in the middle of a Grishaverse reread and I am having the best freaking time! I had apparently forgotten how awesome Alina actually is which is quite sad, really. I always knew I loved Nikolai – he just has so, so many fantastic lines!
As for friendships, I feel like Alice Oseman writes great friendship dynamics, but I know that Marie knows all about those as she’s a big Alice fan too. Honestly, never ask me to think of characters on the spot because I apparently forget about them all right then and there. xD
And as for if you guys should do these posts more often: yes, please! 😀
Nyx says
Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed our post! We had so much fun doing it ? Haha, I get what you mean! I guess I see her as a sidekick but yeah she’s totally her own woman. Haven’t read Grishaverse, I’ll need to check it out. ? Yeeees, you’re totally right about Alice Oseman, her friendships are on point. Hahaha, I’m the same. I’m always forgetting characters and names ? Thanks for stopping by ?
Swetlana @ The Caffeinated Bookworm Life says
Nyx, if you have the time, you NEED to check out the Grishaverse trilogy too! Book 2 intrduces one of my all time favorite characters and I need everyone else to love him too. xD
Nyx says
Haha, I’ll check it out! ? Thank you for the rec ??
Kelly says
I love this! There were so many categories. I love that you both explain exactly why you liked (or didn’t like) these characters, and, at the same time, you’ve given me a load of new books to add to my TBR.
Nyx says
Thank you, I’m so happy you liked our post ??
Lois says
I am so happy to see Kaz, Inej, and Kell get some love in this post. I love their character arcs and their development as individuals and within their respective groups was so amazing.
I so need to read Save the Date, especially with all this love for the siblings of this book. Everyone knows I love a good family dynamic in my books!
Nyx says
Yeeees, they are such amazing characters! I love them all so much ? Well…if you’re into family dynamic, Save the Date is the PERFECT read. Hope you’ll enjoy it ?
Melina Elisa says
So six crows was mentioned more than once in this post, I guess that means I should read it already? Great post, I love reading posts with you and your sister! You guys have similar taste in books, but at the same time have different opinions on favorites! Loved this! xxx
Melina | http://www.melinaelisa.com
Marie says
Six of Crows is… well, it’s sort of THE book, in the book blogging community ? I haven’t read it for so long because I was so scared, but in the end, it was worth it. It was such a great book, if you’re into fast-paced, action-filled books with different point of views, you might really like it! 😀
Thank you so, so much Melina!! <3
Melina Elisa says
I’ll definitely give it a try, I already added the two book set on my amazon wish list! xx
Marie says
Ahhh this makes me so happy. I hope you’ll love them 😀
Melina Elisa says
I’ll definitely let you know if I do!
Margaret @ Weird Zeal says
I love Kaz and Inej so much ?? and UGH Eliza from Eliza and Her Monsters is SO relatable it’s not even funny
Marie says
OH YES, Kaz and Inej are amazing ahhh I love them so much just as well. <3
And agree with Eliza, she was WAY too relatable for me at times ?? I loved it so much.
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! 😀
Lori @ Betwined Reads says
This is such a cool idea! <3 This was a really fun read, even though I've not heard of a lot of these books. But now Ive got some books to investigate. I think sometimes reviews don't talk about characters much of the time, and sometimes they can make or break the book.^_^
Nyx says
Thanks, glad you liked it ? Haha, hope it will make your TBR grow ? Yes, you’re totally right we don’t talk about characters enough but they are such a huge part of the story! ?
Sapphire says
I loved reading your answers! Inej and Kenji are actually two of my favorite sidekicks too! I’m actually reading ADSOM right now, and even though I’m not very far into it, I love Kell!
Nyx says
Thank you! ? Yaaay, they are such amazing characters ?? That’s awesome, hope you’ll like it! ?
anovelglimpse says
This was a fun to post to read!
My favorite male character from a YA book will always be Frank Sanger from This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills. I wish he got his own book.
Marie says
Aww thank you, happy you enjoyed it 😀 I really need to read This Adventure Ends soon, it is on my TBR and it sounds amazing 😀
Beware Of The Reader says
Great choices Marie! My favorite female character would be Stella in The Kiss Quotient 😉
Marie says
Oh thank you so much Sophie! I really need to read The Kiss Quotient, I’ve been hearing amazing things about it 😀
BiteIntoBooks (@BiteIntoBooks) says
I can totally agree on Avery from The Thousandth Floor! Nice post btw 🙂
Nyx says
Riiight?! She’s the worst! Thank you so much ??
Aj @ Read All The Things! says
I love Kell! He’s one of my favorite fictional people. I still need to read A Quiet Kind of Thunder and Six of Crows.
Nyx says
Yaay, Kell is so awesome! ? You really should, those two books are AMAZING ??
Dezzy @ The Thoughtful Voice says
Love this post; I really enjoyed reading both of your responses! ❤️ I really adored the friendship between Luca and Grace in How to Make a Wish too; it was so great to see the loving dynamic between them. I also agree that Eliza was such a relatable character! And this post makes me really want to read The Six of Crows haha; I really should read it soon. (I have so many books to read but so little time. ?) Lovely post as always! ☺️?
Marie says
Oh thank you so, so much, I’m so happy you enjoyed it 😀
Luca and Grace were ADORABLE, I loved them very, very much, we need more friendships like these ones <3
And yeeees, you should read Six of Crows at some point. It took me so long to read it, but I'm glad that I did, it was amazing. I hope you'll feel the same way 🙂
Thank you love!! <3 <3
Trang says
Love everything about this book!! Although there are A LOT of books I didnt read BUT INEJ THOO ❤️❤️
Nyx says
Well…this post is going to make your TBR grow, you’re welcome ? Yeeees, Inej is so amazing ??
thebookprescription says
Kenjiiiiiiiiiiiiii <333333
Marie says
KENJI IS THE GREATEST ahah I love hiiiim 😀
jasperandspice says
I loves this post! The colab was really cool and I totally agree with your answers to Save The Date, that book is wonderful! My favourite friendship is floor 19 from the Magnus Chase novels ?
Nyx says
Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed it! ? I really liked Save the Date, such a great story about family ? Haven’t read those, I’ll need to check it out!
Lauren Becker says
I like that you two did this post together. I’m a big fan of Kell in the Shades of Magic series too. I still need to read some of these though like Emergency Contact and Eliza and Her Monsters.
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
Marie says
Ohh I hope you’ll get to read these books, they are all incredible <3 <3
Thank you so, so much Lauren! <3
may says
THIS POST IS SO LOVELY AWWW ❤❤
Eliza omggg, when i read it i was just like this book is written for me. i love these answers sm ?? everytime a six of crows character was mentioned i had to restrain myself from screaming ‘SAME’ inej is just a queen on so many levels omg, hard agree.
save the date was such a cute book, i die for fun sibling dynamics in books and its usually very hard to come by in YA so it was a TREAT. love this post with both you girls, it’s so adorable
Marie says
AWWW thank you so much, you’re way too sweet <3 <3 <3
Eliza was amazingg, I loved her and could relate to her way too much as well <3 And Inej, such a queen and ahhhh. <3
Ahh thank you so, SO much, I'm so happy you enjoyed this post!! <3 <3
Kelly Brigid says
Love this paid! And Kell and Kaz are literally my two favorites as well! You two have great taste in male characters! Hehe. ?
Marie says
Aww thank you so much Kelly, so happy you enjoyed it!! 😀
Kaleena @ Reader Voracious says
Kell and Maram are among some of my favorite characters that I’ve read this year as well! Loved this roundup list, great job!
Marie says
Ahhh thank you so much, you’re so sweet! I’m so glad you agree <3
Zoie says
I feel utterly satisfied because both Kaz and Inej are on this list, and I just asdfghjkl love them so so much ? I will admit, though, I love Inej a little more than Kaz, just because I remember it being so refreshing to read about a strong female character who was also… an introvert! (When Inej mentioned that she didn’t like partying or being loud, I wanted to through confetti in the air. So relatable!)
Anyways, I had fun reading both of your choices for this collab, and thank you for reminding me to read Eliza and Her Monsters, Emergency Contact (I got my copy of it last Friday aaah! ?), and Forest of a Thousand Lanterns!
Marie says
OH YES, I have to agree with you here – I loved Inej so, so, so very much, she was such a wonderful character and one of my favorites for sure <3
Thank you so, so, so much for your sweet comment!! I'm so happy you enjoyed the post and I hope you'll get to read all of these books soon 😀 <3
Beth (Reading Every Night) says
Oh I spend so much time talking about my favourite characters, and I love both your answers for these questions Marie and Nyx. 🙂 ❤️ I’m always glad to see Kell and the Shades of Magic series get some love, and Six of Crows has all the amazing characters in it right?! 😀
The relationship between Sam and Penny was adorable, and oh Kenji is one of those characters I kind of loved more than the main characters in the Shatter Me series. Save the Date has the best family relationship I’ve read all year, I wouldn’t know which of the siblings to choose for that question but it would have to be one of them.
Great post, and again great answers. 🙂 ❤️
Marie says
Oh thank you so, so much Beth, so happy you enjoyed this post 😀
And yeeees, I loved the relationship between Penny and Sam so much, one of my favorites for sure <3
And… I had a hard time picking a sibling, too, I loved them all in Save The Date. I love family-driven books like this one so much <3
Thank you!! <3
Beth (Reading Every Night) says
That’s all right. 🙂 <3 I think the fact that it started out as friendship before developing into something more made it all the more memorable you know? You could have picked all the siblings in that book right?!
That's all right. 🙂 <3
Marie says
Yes exactly, that’s what made it more memorable and realistic to me, too, I loved that <3 <3
The Candid Cover says
I am seeing so many of my favourites on your lists! There are a few books here that I have yet to get to, so I am intrigued to find out a little more now. All sorts of yes to Kaz, Marie. He is amazingly awesome! 🙂
Marie says
Yeess, Kaz is such a great character, I agree 😀
Thank you so, so much for stopping by! 😀
Raven @ Dreamy Addictions says
OMG, this is a great post! I loved reading both of your answers! I totally agree with you on Kaz! He’s one of my favorite Character too. I love both Kenji and Inej but If I had to pick one of them then I would choose Kenji. He’s totally hilarious! Princess Sophia was a creepy psychotic villain!
Marie says
Oh thank you so much,I’m so happy you enjoyed this post 😀
Agree, Kenji really is amazing, I love him so much! 😀
bookishandawesome says
“Let’s be honest, we bookworms tend to spend time thinking about book characters, sometimes a little bit too much.” A little bit too much. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HA!
So, okay. First two books and you’re already attacking me? Rude. I still have not read both series, but if these weren’t already on my TBR, your descriptions of Kaz and Kell would totally convince me. And I have to agree with The Belles! Although I did see it coming, but still! And you know who else’s mother is the actual worst? Beck’s (A Thousand Perfect Notes)! Idk you’ve already read it so I won’t say more, but. The. Actual. Worst. I’m still mad, and I read it weeks ago!
Marie says
A little bit too much. Totally not all the time ????? we might also be in denial ?
Ahhh sorry! I hope you’ll get to read both of these books though – I know how hyped they are in the book blogging community, but they’re worth it, really <3
OH YES. I have read A Thousand Perfect Notes not that long ago, actually, and I agree, her mother was THE WORST and I am still SO mad about that.
Thank you so, so, so much for stopping by, Miel! <3
Kat @ Novels & Waffles says
Okay, now everything makes sense! I have seen Nyx posting of course, but wasn’t exactly sure who she was ? ? ?(so sorry, Nyx! I probably just missed something obvious) But I gotta say that I love your choices for this post! Especially for the Best Villain. Both Belles and A Thousand Paper Lanterns have amazingly evil (yet complex) villains! Thanks for another great post, you two! 🙂
Marie says
Ahh you’re sweet, no reason to apologize! <3 I do tend to take a lot of space here, but my lovely sister is the best with everything I do and such a huge help always @nyxcorner 😀 <3
Thank you so, so much!! <3
tiffany @ readbytiffany says
Do you hear that? It’s me flailing in this distance because there are just so many characters here that I LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! My heart is so happy for Kaz and Meghan and Inej and Penny & Sam and AGHHH 🙁 I can’t imagine another character just as bad. I also love that even though there were so many familiar names and books on this list, there are also a couple I haven’t heard of or read yet, so this is a great post for recommendations ^_^ And I love how the siblings behind the blog picked siblings from the same book in the sibling question 😉
Marie says
AHHH I am so, so so very happy you liked our choices, thank you Tiffany!! <3
And… well, sometimes we tend to think the same way, so it was hard not to pick the same choices everywhere haha 😀 <3
Caro @ bookcheshirecat says
Oh I loved that you two were doing this together, this is such a great idea! ?
I’m also happy to say that I have finally finished the Grisha Trilogy, so I can read Six of Crows and finally see what all the hype is about 😀 I think Kaz will also be a favorite of mine 🙂
Nyx says
Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed it! ? Hope you’ll like Six of Crows as much as I did ?
CG @ Paper Fury says
Aww yay collab posts are so much fun!! And I loved reading both your choices here.?I agree with SO many. Like omg Six of Crows, A Darker Shade of Magic, Starfish, Eliza and Her Monsters…yes and yesss. I’m SO furious at the mum in Starfish she was just despicable. And I think Lazlo Strange from Strange the Dreamer has been one of my favourite/most relatables of this year. It’s actually a reread for me but AHH I LOVE HIM. He’s obsessed with books and magic and cake and what’s not to relate to there?! ?
Marie says
Ahhh thank you so much Cait, I’m so happy you enjoyed this post! <3
I haven't read Strange the dreamer just yet…. I feel a little ashamed, since it's so hyped around the community, but I'm very nervous to do so haha. Maybe someday I will, because books and magic and cake?! I AM ALL FOR that 😀
Sophie @ Blame Chocolate says
Oh I cannot vouch for Kaz as I haven’t “met” him yet unfortunately but Kell – oh my little cinnamon roll <3 <3 He is so perfectly flawed, I love him.
Unfortunately, I haven't read ANY of your other mentions either (bad, BAD Sophie) but I was certainly more excited to try them now! It's much better to get these personalised tips about who is who or how they affect the story than to read a generic blurb that will do nothing to sway my decision… Usually.
So thank you for this, girls! I'll be sure to check all your choices at some point, though there are a lot of books here so it might take a while ? Love your collab too, and I'll be waiting for some more in the future <3
Nyx says
Awww, little cinnamon roll is a perfect nickname for Kell! ?? Oh my…well you know what you need to do next order and read ALL THE BOOKS ?? Yeah, I get what you mean characters are so important to the story! Thank you so much, so happy you enjoyed it ?
Sophie @ Blame Chocolate says
Yes, I do!!! And you’re very welcome, lovely <3
Laura says
I loved both Kaz Brekker and Kell in the ‘Male Characters’ category, although I’m always torn with Six of Crows as to whether I loved Jesper more than Kaz? I basically loved all the characters in that book, so I really can’t decide!
Great post! 🙂
Marie says
Ohhh I so get that feeling – all of the characters in Six of Crows are amazing, aren’t they? 😀
Thank you so, so much for your sweet comment, Laura! <3
theorangutanlibrarian says
I love both Kaz and Kell! And I connected so much with Eliza too! Awesome post!
Nyx says
Yaaay, they are both so awesome! Same here, I loved Eliza ? Thank you, glad you enjoyed it ??
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction says
Have to agree with you about The Belles. ANd I love seeing A Quiet Kind of Thunder on this list—I don’t think that book gets nearly enough attention.
Marie says
Agree! A Quiet Kind of Thunder is a brilliant book, I loved it so, so much. It deserves all of the praise and love <3