Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish
Top Ten Most Frustrating (or Strangle Worthy*) Characters Ever
Some of these people I could not connect with on a fundamental level, some were adorably insane, some I wanted to give a hug and a good slap, and a few I went from loathing to loving so fast that they threw me completely off course.
Some of these people I could not connect with on a fundamental level, some were adorably insane, some I wanted to give a hug and a good slap, and a few I went from loathing to loving so fast that they threw me completely off course.
1) KELSEY from the The Tiger Saga by Colleen Houck. I'm honestly embarrassed that I made it through 4 books in this series, mostly due to a LOVE TRIANGLE OF DOOM and the girl caught in the center of the madness. This is actually a direct quote from my review of Tiger's Destiny: "I did not like this book. And it all comes down to the fact that I LOATHED the heroine Kelsey."
2) EMBER from Article 5 by Kristen Simmons. Despite a pretty cool name, this girl and I did not get a long. According to my review on Goodreads, "She made poor decisions, had no ability to read people or the situations around her and generally drove me insane." I honestly have no idea why Chase worked so hard to save her. I've actually requested the second book Breaking Point from the library to see if she gets any better. But I'm not sure I can face her again.
3) CLARA from the Unearthly Series by Cynthia Hand. Up until a few weeks ago, she would be on my list of favorites. Let's just say that Clara and I never arrived on the same page in Boundless. It's not who she picked, but how she went about it that greatly disappointed me. If you want to know why, read my review.
3) CLARA from the Unearthly Series by Cynthia Hand. Up until a few weeks ago, she would be on my list of favorites. Let's just say that Clara and I never arrived on the same page in Boundless. It's not who she picked, but how she went about it that greatly disappointed me. If you want to know why, read my review.
4) BECKY BLOOMWOOD from Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. After reading SIX books staring this chick, I can pretty safely say that she is never going to change. She makes me laugh, she makes me cry, she gets her self in situations that you would never imagine could be possible, and she Never. Stops. Shopping. I will probably read her next book too.
5 and 6) JUDE and SUE from Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy. Oh goodness, these two make an insane mess out of their lives. Nothing about this book is happy, and the end is probably the most tragic I have EVER read.
7) EMMA, the character and book by Jane Austen. Such a well meaning girl, who couldn't see what was happening right in front of her face, or the man who would do anything for her. (Mr. Knightly you are amazing, as always.**)
8) RICHARD CARSTONE from Bleak House*** by Charles Dickens. Although charming and likable, he is so sure that he's going to win money in the never ending Jarndyce and Jarndyce case that he looses all ambition and essentially destroys himself. (Dickens has many other fascinatingly frustrating characters.)
9) THE QUEEN OF ATTOLIA from The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner. (possible spoiler) Darn you Irene, my feelings for you were not very nice at all, and then one of my most beloved characters fell in love with you. Maybe it is him I should be frustrated with. Why can't I stay mad at you?
5 and 6) JUDE and SUE from Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy. Oh goodness, these two make an insane mess out of their lives. Nothing about this book is happy, and the end is probably the most tragic I have EVER read.
7) EMMA, the character and book by Jane Austen. Such a well meaning girl, who couldn't see what was happening right in front of her face, or the man who would do anything for her. (Mr. Knightly you are amazing, as always.**)
8) RICHARD CARSTONE from Bleak House*** by Charles Dickens. Although charming and likable, he is so sure that he's going to win money in the never ending Jarndyce and Jarndyce case that he looses all ambition and essentially destroys himself. (Dickens has many other fascinatingly frustrating characters.)
9) THE QUEEN OF ATTOLIA from The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner. (possible spoiler) Darn you Irene, my feelings for you were not very nice at all, and then one of my most beloved characters fell in love with you. Maybe it is him I should be frustrated with. Why can't I stay mad at you?
10) WARNER from Shatter Me and Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi. GO BACK TO BEING A VILLAIN and quit complicating everything.
(Regarding my final two picks, see my post on Character Redemption)
(Regarding my final two picks, see my post on Character Redemption)
*This is for you, LH.
** Dearest, April, I always think of you when I think of Mr. Knightly. I thought you'd like that :).
***I know I've said it before, but if you don't think you can make it through this larger book (which is fantastic, by the way), don't miss the BBC mini-series of Bleak House. It's 9 hours of AMAZING.
** Dearest, April, I always think of you when I think of Mr. Knightly. I thought you'd like that :).
***I know I've said it before, but if you don't think you can make it through this larger book (which is fantastic, by the way), don't miss the BBC mini-series of Bleak House. It's 9 hours of AMAZING.
Emma made it on my list this week too! I totally forgot about Richard Carson, it was frustrating how he kept pursuing the case at the expense of everyone who cared about him.
ReplyDeleteHere's my list of 10 irritating/frustrating characters =)
Poor Richard. And then sad for Ada because of his demise :(.
DeleteOh no you are making me very nervous about reading Shatter Me!
ReplyDeleteMarissa @ Rae Gun Ramblings
YOU CAN DO IT! It's really a fantastic book!
DeleteWarner! What you said EXACTLY! *fist bump*
ReplyDeleteWe ADAM supporters have to stick together!
DeleteWARNER!!!! He is such a fabulous complication!! <3 <3 <3 <3
ReplyDeleteHere's Mine
UGH. GO. AWAY. No just kidding, I do enjoy him, for sure. But I still love Adam more.
DeleteHAHA - Clara and Warner are both on my list too!
ReplyDeleteI don't remember being so irritated with Ember - I think I liked her okay. Or rather, I think I really liked Chase.
And I totally remember your review of The Tiger Saga! Every time I pass those books in my library I chuckle to myself about the LOVE TRIANGLE OF DOOM. Haha!
Oh yes, I liked Chase too :). Ember is one of those characters that I could not relate to anything she did. We were not on the same wavelength at all. In real life, we wouldn't be friends. I'm sure Warner is loving all these problems he's causing!
DeleteHA! Saw those two little ** and thought, Ok........what's she up to ; )
ReplyDeleteAhhh Knightley....I love you always and forever.Actually, I adore Emma too!
What I am put out about is that you didn't list JACOB BLACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is for sure #1 on MY list. Creeper. Makes me CA-RAY-ZEE!
Emma is great! Just clueless, and she causes all sorts of problems, because she wants to be 'helpful' and 'well meaning.' I do love her though.
DeleteOh yeah, JACOB. I think I've started thinking about him as Taylor Lautner, whom I think is adorbs. But the Jacob in the book is very ANNOYING!
Ha! Ok, I am going to let the Warner comment slide this time, only because you're right. He IS complicating things. (But I still love him:)
ReplyDeleteSo many on your list I haven't read, I need to get on them. I actually have never read any Thomas Hardy! I own a copy of Tess of the D'Uberville's (I probably just butchered that title) but haven't read it.
Especially love your Kelsey comment! How you stuck through all 4 books in that series amazes me!
My TTT
Warner LOVES to make complications. I'm sure he's digging all this attention.
DeleteI went through this huge Thomas Hardy period, where I read almost all of his books. The thing is that very few of them actually end happily. WHAT WAS I THINKING? But they are excellent. Poor Tess tries her best :(. But she gets the raw end of the deal a few times too many. GREAT BOOK. You could always watch one of the mini-series instead.
Yeah Kelsey, she and I would not be very good friends. The thing is that she picks the right guy, eventually. But it takes her SO LONG to get there, and she hurts EVERYONE around her in the process, including both guys. STUPID GIRL.
I haven't read Boundless yet, but I will admit that Clara really annoyed me in Hallowed. Part of it is probably me just HATING love triangles, and not really understanding how someone can be in one. Sorry, but really? But cheating is also a BIG no-no in my book. Even little cheating like a kiss.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to go check out your review of Boundless now.
I don't like triangles either! (obviously) And I agree that kissing a guy when you're dating another is definitely BAD. Though I did LOVE Hallowed overall. Good luck with Boundless. Maybe you'll feel differently from me.
DeleteEmma? Really?
ReplyDeleteInteresting.
Oh yes! She is lovable, but a little over the top in her 'helping' others.
DeleteYou have several YA series that I haven't read yet! Both Tahereh Mafi's books and Megan Whalen Turner's books are on my must-read list!
ReplyDeleteI heard the Tiger books were HORRIBLE. So I've never picked them up... and don't plan to.
I'm halfway through Boundless! I'm probably gonna finish by Thursday or Friday. So I can't tell you if Clara annoys me yet... I will get back to you when I'm done! (I'm at the part where the baby is being born.)
Emma is a fun one to have on here. She is frustrating because she's so... clueless... haha. But like you said, she is well-meaning. But dumb characters do frustrate me in books!
Great list :)
Lauren @ Hughes Reviews
Both of those series are FANTASTIC, and MUST READS. MWT is one of my favorites ever ever, now.
DeleteYeah, it's my fault for investing so much time into those Tiger books. I can't even think about them without getting annoyed!
If you're not already annoyed with Clara at the halfway point, then DON'T WORRY. You're going to be fine. I was already bugged by the back and forth.
Emma, is sweet. And really means well, just a little bit of an idiot at times.
Ooh, quite a lot on here that I haven't read actually. Emma is also on my list - she's a great character, but really doesn't see what's so obvious! And she KEEPS meddling. No, Emma, no more meddling!
ReplyDeleteHere's my Top Ten.
I agree! NO MORE MEDDLING. HA.
DeleteHahahahaha - OMG your #10 is DA BEST! Aaaand I've not actually read any of the other ones, soooo *backs away sheepishly*
ReplyDeleteGreat list, Lauren!
TEAM ADAM is all I have to say to that.
DeleteEMBER WAS SO STUPID I CANNOT EVEN! I wrote such a snarky review for that book...I'm a horrible person. Anyway, I love that Irene made it on here because she IS frustrating and that scene in KoA where she hits Gen? NOT COOL! No one hurts Gen! >.< BUT I still love her and their relationship. It's not even masochism...it just doesn't have a word. It's so complex and MWT is such a GENIUS. I swear, the things my heart goes through for her books... ;) Fantastic list, Lauren!(:
ReplyDeleteI know, we definitely shared a loathing of EMBER. I just could not relate to anything she did. I am curious to see if she changes though. But not sure if it's enough to read the book.
DeleteAnd yes, MWT IS a genius. I can't even fathom Gen and Irene's relationship. But I know that I LOVE it and I LOVE them and I especially LOVE him.
So true about Becky Bloomwood. I think I've only read the first three or four books in the series, but I cannot imagine her ever changing. But at least the books are fun reads! And Jude the Obscure! I love that you mentioned that book. I agree about both Jude and Sue. What a messed up series of events, that neither of them can handle properly. No Irene hating, though. She's amazing now, even if she didn't' start out that way. :)
ReplyDeleteNo Becky is completely the same, but it gets even crazier when she has a baby. She is seriously out of control. I can only read her in small doses, but I still love the books. I just want to cry for Jude and Sue, and slap some sense into Sue at the end. But Jude also made a mess of things. Ugh. I just can't think of that book without getting sad :(. I love Irene, she is fantastic. Still shocked at the turnaround though.
DeleteYeah, Ember...
ReplyDeleteAnd Becky. Sigh. I swear that girl embodies everything that is wrong with chick lit. I didn't make through all her books.
Emma is awesome.
Thomas Hardy. I mean, I was an English major, but ..... *snores*
As I said to Heather above, I went through a crazy Hardy period where I read one of his novels a year for a long time. I think I've read through most of them. I must not have connected emotionally to the characters back then, because really they're all so depressing!
DeleteI know! Becky is INSANE. Have you read Breaking Point? I'm very curious to see what Ember does in that book!
I haven't read Destroy Me or Unravel Me but I'm so nervous to because I totally considered him the villain and DO NOT know what I'm going to do with him as a love interest. AHHH!
ReplyDeleteAlso, oh my goodness, Emma really is so frustrating! I thought she was frustrating for the Mr. Knightly stuff, of course, but even more for her interactions with Harriet. She tries to treat Harriet like an equal but then it totally backfires and she ends up steering her in completely the wrong direction.
AND Richard was SOOOOO frustrating! I just read Bleak House last spring and wanted to reach into the book and knock some sense into him. It's so sad how his story ends because of his own poor choices. It was frustrating to watch him go downhill so quickly!
PS - By going "downhill so quickly" I obviously mean quickly in the span of 900 or so pages. But that's just how Dickens rolls, obviously.
Delete