Happy Thursday Bibliofriends!
I was still reminiscing about last year’s reads when I stumbled across this great Characters of the Year Book Tag on Books are 42 blog. With it being Awards Season at the moment, this tag felt like a brilliant way to celebrate last year’s reads.
Favourite Male Character of the Year
This has to go to Jacks, the Prince of Hearts from the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy by Stephanie Garber. I really enjoyed trying to work out the motivations behind his character and the complex hero/villain vibes he gave off.
Favourite Female Character of the Year
This was quite tough as I read some pretty fierce famous characters this year. After scrolling through my reads, this accolade just has to go to Alex from When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill. I totally fell in love with her character arc. From her naivety of the world around her, to the sheer maturity, resilience and determination she imbued to try and overcome her obstacles – I absolutely devoured her narrative!
Most Relatable Character of the Year
Reading so much fantasy, this was probably the most difficult of all of the prompts to be honest. If I had to pick one character, I would say Xiomara from The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo – purely the facet of her that works so hard at trying to live up to the expectations put upon her by others. If that isn’t a relatable trait then I’m not sure what is!
Couple of the Year
Be still my beating heart… Iris and Roman from Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross were such a shoe-in for this role. I wouldn’t quite call them ‘enemies‘ to lovers, but the rivalry between them definitely adds to the building chemistry and tension. I can’t wait to find out what happens to them in the sequel which is very near the top of my 2024 Reading List.
Villain of the Year
This was another prompt which really made me think. Ian Hammond from Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton definitely caused a fair bit of villainous chaos! I was originally going to go with the dinosaurs themselves, but thought that wasn’t very fair to them considering they didn’t really ask to be brought back from extinction…! 😂
Most Disliked Character of the Year
Again, another difficult one… Sirscha from Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee was my pick for this, only because she was a main character which I never really bonded with or bought into when reading. Something about her, and pretty much the whole novel to be honest, just didn’t click with me.
Royal of the Year
Hands down, Princess Samantha from the American Royals series by Katharine McGee wins Royal of the Year. I’m so glad I stumbled across these books. Sam brings the perfect antithesis to the rule-abiding Princess Beatrice, and whilst I could have chosen them both as Siblings of the Year (along with Prince Jefferson, of course!), Sam’s refreshing bursts of rebellion and rule-breaking add some fantastic humour to the story. I’ve really enjoyed her transformation and character journey and can’t wait to read about what lies in store for her in the remaining books.
Sidekick / Non-Main Character of the Year
I mulled over this one for ages but I think I have to give it to the entire Bestiary from Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell. This is such a wonderful book about an archipelago of fantastical creatures and the creatures themselves steal the show. From Gelifen the Griffin, to the Sphinxes and the Ratatoskas, this book was filled with so many wondrous side characters who brought this magical world so vividly to life.
Siblings of the Year
Camino and Yahaira from Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo deserve this siblings of the year award. I was so taken by this found family story and how both of the girl end up coming together and making space for each other in their respective lives. It was a really heartwarming ending to what began as quite a tragic story.
There you have it, my characters of the year from my 2023 reads! Have you read any of the books these characters came from? Which characters would make your own character of the year awards? As always, drop me a comment to chat!
T xx
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