Characters of the year tag!

Hello, a tag today! I saw this tag on Zezee @ZezeeWithBooks‘s blog and she said to tag myself if I wanna so GUESS WHAT. This will be all the favorites from my 2019 reading year!

Favorite male character of the year

I have to go with Zezee’s answer and say Fitz from the Fitz and the Fool trilogy by Robin Hobb. I’ve always liked Fitz, but in this trilogy series, he really, really grew on me. I love that he’s such a dumbass. And I don’t say this to bash him – I mean it like… he’s developed so well that his character flaws are very realistic. And Fitz’s happens to be… that he’s a dumbass. Every time there’s a plan to follow, he goes off on his own. Every time some mechanism is set in motion, he finds a way to fudge it up. But in his mind, the reasoning we’re given for him doing what he does, makes sense. He’s not dumb. His logic is usually sound, but at the same time, he trusts in others’ abilities so little that he tends to just do his own thing… and most of the time wrecks the overall motion of events as a result. Fitz is a dumbass. But I love him.

Favorite female character of the year

(spoiler for character introduction/family relation in Fool’s Assassin) Same series as above, but the character here is Bee, Fitz’ daughter. When she’s born, she’s born weak and small, and isn’t expected to make it. But she does, and as she grows, she becomes this intelligent, independent girl who slowly realizes the world is different than her upbringing suggests, and her growth as a result of it is one of my favorite character arcs. Bee is so great, and I hope that if Robin Hobb ever decides to continue in her Realm of the Elderlings series, that she writes book following Bee.

Most relatable character of the year

Basically the entire group of girls from O Maidens in Your Savage Season by Mari Okada. They’re all fifteen or so and are beginning to go through the ‘oh no, there are boys, what do I DO?!’ phase. It’s heart warming and endearing and reading it reminded me of the way my mind used to go ‘BUT WHAT!’ when I was a fifteen year old about literally everything. I love this series, it’s so cute.

Couple of the year

Shirotani and Kurose from Ten Count by Rihito Takari. I’ve only read the first volume so far so they’re not a couple yet but I know it’s comin’, man. I just know it. And despite what the cover suggests, there is a solid plot in this series. (and honestly, this first volume could have been rated T. I just assume it’s M because of content in later volumes.)  Everyone is just so sweet and cute and lovely.

Villain of the year

I use the term ‘villain’ here loosely because I always have trouble coming up with villains. But I really like the Lunarians in Land of the Lustrous by Haruko Ichikawa. This series really grew on me this year, and a lot of it is due to the development of this group called the Lunarians. They’re so odd but also understandable and I think they’re neat.

Most disliked character of the year

Joe from You by Caroline Kepnes. Ugh, such a creep.

Royal of the year

Kelsea from The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen. Kelsea really grew on me, particularly in books two and three of this series. Back when I originally read book one, my main issue with it was that Kelsea was a bit unbelievable – her social skills were too developed for being literally only around two other people her entire life. But as the story continued and she continued to stick her to Lawful Goodness, she grew on me. I really like her.

Sidekick/non-main character of the year

The yakuza members from Wild Ones by Kiyo Fujiwara. Man, these guys cracked me up. This series follows the girl on the cover, who goes to live with her grandfather after her mother passes away, only to find out that her grandpa is a mob boss and lives in a house full of yakuza. And honestly, they’re so wholesome. A bit insane at times to be honest, but also funny and warm. I still need to get myself a copy of this series. They’re out of print so I need to just pick them up as I see them.

Sibling of the year

Sorcha from Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier. The amount of absolute shit that this girl goes through to save her brothers and bring them home is horrendous. The whole book follows this – Sorcha trying to save them – and man, they really owed her after all that. Wow, what a sister.

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And that’s it! If you’d like to do this, consider yourself tagged!