Villains!
Every great story need conflict, and the conflict is often times provided via a villain. Many times, the villain is a character I despise in the story, but sometimes, I grow to love them. It could be because the author gave them a great redemption arc, but it could also be because they are just that fabulous.
Today, we are talking about villains, and this was yet, another difficult topic for me. I had to go way back on my read shelf to find some villains worth mentioning, but here a few I either loved or hated.
LOVED THEM!
- Warner from the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi
- Rhysand from the ACOTAR series by Sarah J. Maas
- Adelina from The Young Elites series by Marie Lu
- The Grey Man from The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater
- Leda Cole from The Thousandth Floor series by Katharine McGee
- Morpheus from the Splintered series by A.G. Howard
- Celeste Newsome from The Selection series by
- Katharine from Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
HATED THEM!
- Arobynn Hamel from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas
- Uncle from The Gold Seer series by Rae Carson
Are there any villains your love to hate or hate to love?
Let us know in the comments!
Ooh Katharine from Three Dark Crowns! I'm so curious to see where her story is going...
ReplyDeleteMe too. I think she needs a redemption arc
DeleteI've only read ToG and kind of forget it all lol. Levana from the Lunar Chronicles is a villain I love or love to hate :)
ReplyDeleteI have read that series, but my daughter loved it (along with a billion other people). Scifi is not my go to. The closest I get is with space opera
DeleteYou're the second person to mention Adelina and The Young Elites, and my curiousity about that just keeps growing!
ReplyDeleteI think I've seen Adelina 10+ times today. Marie Lu books are all fabulous, if you are ever in the mood for some SFF reading
DeleteUncle from The Gold Seer! Hated that guy so much but I was also intrigued by him.
ReplyDeleteHe made me so mad 😡
DeleteLeda!! I need to finish that series up to see what my final thoughts on her are.
ReplyDeleteI am waiting on the third book from the library. I liked where it was going in the second book though
DeleteYes, The Grey Man was a fabulous villain.
ReplyDeleteHere is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thanks for stopping by a little while ago.
I liked that his name was such a nod to how he was morally grey
DeleteI struggled with this topic, too. I don’t read many books that have traditional villains. I need to read The Raven Boys someday. I feel like the only person who hasn’t read it.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I liked The Raven Cycle books. Stiefvater's storytelling is interesting
DeleteI still haven't read it yet either. Probably in 2019...
DeleteI haven't read any of these, but I just added a bunch to my TBR. I love a well-written villain!
ReplyDeleteHere is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
I hope you read and enjoy a few
DeleteAdelina was such an interesting villain!
ReplyDeleteHer character arc was heartbreaking for me
DeleteUgh yes, Arobynn was brilliantly awful!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2018/10/23/top-ten-tuesday-182/
I wanted to kill him myself for the things he had done
DeleteThe Grey Man is fantastic. I loved him so much and I suspect calling him grey was no accident as well. Great list!
ReplyDeleteI actually didn't think about his name until today 😆
DeleteThat’s quite the list of villains up there. I love a villian that I love to hate.
ReplyDeleteI love to hate some of them, but I really like that many of the authors allow them to redeem themselves
DeleteWarner and Rhysand... perfection! :) So much in common, too. Both who played the villain role, and cultivated the villainous reputation, for reasons of their own. And how could I forget about Celeste?! Total mean girl. LOL
ReplyDeleteThe thing about Warner is that he still hasn't fully removed the villain mask and I think he might by the end of this next trilogy
DeleteRhysand *_* OMG! I love him!
ReplyDeleteHe was intriguing from his first on page.
DeleteAdelina was on my list too! I didn't really think about Warner because I'll admit I hated his guts in the first book! It was his novella that started to win me over! Lol! Nice picks!
ReplyDeleteHere's my Tuesday Post
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
I was an early Warner fan. There was just something about him, and that Adam annoyed me.
DeleteI never got into The Selection series, but I'm glad to hear that it had a memorable villain. It's too bad I couldn't get past the first chapter to appreciate it :)
ReplyDeleteShe was like a mean girl, but she was redeemed
DeleteKatharine is a pretty good villain, I like how her character got so dark.
ReplyDeleteI want to continue reading The Thousandth Floor series!
It's all those dead queens! I feel like she was a made villain, pushed by the poisoners, but I feel like she will have some sort of redemption in the final book.
DeleteI honestly couldn't decide if Morpheus was even a villain or not when I was working on my list! I agree he's one of my absolute favorites!
ReplyDeleteHe fell into a morally grey area for me. Some of the things he lead Alyssa to and also the whole Jeb-Alyssa-Morpheus thing. But definitely a "villain" I loved.
DeleteI love villains and recognize a few of yours.
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
I am more of a contemporary reader these days, so villains are not as prevalent, but I do understand their purpose in a story, and sometimes, I end up loving them.
DeleteI like a good complex villain in a series that can add to the fun of the book or TV series!
ReplyDeleteIt always seems like contemporary villains are mean girls or bad parents, which I am not a huge fan of. SFF books tend to have the more interesting villains, at least from the pool of books I have read.
DeleteI dare say the firsts are villains in shades of grey an the others are all dark Sam! ;-)
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I can usually love some morally grey villains, which I think predominate the books I read or have read.
DeleteOne of my faves is Queen Levana from The Lunar Chronicles. I loved her book Fairest too.
ReplyDeleteKaren @ For What It's Worth
I saw that name all over yesterday. I have not read the series, but my daughter loved it
DeleteOh, Levana! I still need to read Fairest, but I despised her while reading The Lunar Chronicles.
DeleteYes! The Grey Man! I love how his story progressed. I've seen a lot of people mention Umbridge from Harry Potter -- ugh, that woman was the worst.
ReplyDeleteLindsi @ Do You Dog-ear?
I am not an HP fan and have not read the books, but I saw her everywhere too.
DeleteDefinitely agree with Warner! And Katharine, she's a great choice (the real question: who's worse, Kat, or the dead queens?) And EW the Uncle from The Goldseer series, he is the WORST, how could I have forgotten about him!? Blocked him out, I guess hahah.
ReplyDeleteThe dead queens are by far worse, and terribly scary too. I could find nothing redeeming about Uncle. Just pure evil.
DeleteThe Grey Man was awesome - I was so close to adding him to my list. :)
ReplyDeleteHe immediately popped into my head. I found him fascinating, and I really grew to love him, even cheering for him, over the course of the book.
DeleteI did hate Celeste for awhile, but then she grew on me (I'm still not over that ending).
ReplyDeleteTânia @MyLovelySecret
I like it best, when the villain is given a redemption arc, but you know, some are just bad to the bone.
DeleteGreat list and a huge yes to loving Rhysand!
ReplyDeleteAt first, I didn't quite understand him and all the tension, but I totally grew to love that dark lord.
DeleteI can totally see why you loved The Grey Man, Rhysand and also Warner. They are complex kind of villains...
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely complex, and they encompassed bad and good things.
Delete