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Hello Hello! How are you?
Today I decided it was time to do another book tag, and what better tag than the Characters of the Year Tag that the lovely Ashlee from Books Are 42 tagged me in a few weeks ago. You can find her post here!Â
I’m not sure who created this tag to start with as I’ve found it on lots and lots of blogs. iIf you know where it originated, please let me know in the comments so I can credit them accordingly.
Now without further ado, let’s get into this super fun book tag and read all about characters from books I read in 2022!!
Favourite male character of the year
When I first saw this prompt, I was a bit stumped and realised that a lot of books I read are centred around women characters, which isn’t bad, but means I don’t have many favourite male characters. But when I looked through my GoodReads for the books I read last year, I immediately remembered Jamie Watson, from the Charlotte Holmes series by Brittany Cavallaro that I buddy read with Candyce from The Book Dutchesses. Jamie was an amazing character that I loved from the very first book and I’m glad that he got such a big part in this series, even though the start is obviously Charlotte. He was a sweet, determined and intelligent young character that I loved reading about!Â
Favourite female character of the yearÂ
My favourite female character of the year was without a doubt Tierney James from The Grace Year by Kim Liggett. It was also my favourite book in 2022, and I just can’t stop thinking about it, which means I’ll probably reread it this year! I loved her resilience, her bravery, her instincts that something was wrong, and her wish and determination to survive. I was so immersed in this story, and having such an amazing, feminist, strong and beautiful main character made all the difference!Â
Most relatable character of the yearÂ
For me, the most relatable character this year was Tania de Batz from One for All by Lillie Lainoff because of her chronic condition. If you’ve been on my blog before, you probably know that I suffer from four chronic conditions and have done for most of my life. I’m very passionate about representations of disability and illness, and actually read this book for my master’s thesis. I loved Tania from the very first page and to me she is relatable because she lives every day with fatigue, dizziness, pain, weird symptoms and people judging her for her “problem”. It was nice to read a book with an ill character and to feel understood, for once. So I highly recommend this one, if you’re interested in these topics or are personally affected by them.Â
Couple of the yearÂ
This was another hard prompt that I had to think about for a while before answering, but I’ve finally settled on Rose and Dimitri in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. I read the first book when I was a teenager, and in 2022, I decided to pick it up again and continue with the series. I read up to the fourth book so far, which I need to get my hands on soon, and from the start I loved the chemistry between these two characters. I wouldn’t say they are a “couple” right now, but I have a feeling they won’t be able to stop themselves and resist temptation for very long. I’m so ready for that!Â
Villain of the yearÂ
Another really hard prompt because my mind literally went blank. I don’t think he is my all-time favourite villain of the year (if you can have such a thing!), but the one that popped into my mind was Clive Ronan from The Chronicles of St Mary’s series written by Jodi Taylor. He is a truly despicable villain, but as you go through the books, you realise there is kind of a reason for this, not that it makes it right. But he is also a really morally grey character, and even though I don’t really want to see him again because I hate him, I know he will be a massive part of the books to come. I just hope Max and her team can kick his arse sufficiently.Â
Most disliked character of the yearÂ
The name that popped into my mind straight away was Malcolm Kershaw from Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson. A lot of people raved about this book and I was recommended it a few times. But I have to admit that I was quite disappointed when I read it. It tried to do a typical Agatha Christie villain/narrator kind of reveal, which I felt didn’t work and was quite tacky. So I didn’t like Malcolm as a character, he also doesn’t have a particularly nice name either, so that’s that. And I won’t be reading the rest of this series…
Royal of the yearÂ
For this prompt, I’m going to give the same answer that Ashlee did: Ellie Wolf from Undercover Princess by Connie Glynn. I usually love a book with royalty, but I think that this was the only book with this trope that I read last year, which makes me sad and makes me want to pick 10 up at once now. I loved Ellie, I loved the setting of this book, the cute school, the mysteries and reveals along the way, and the writing was just so immersive. I bought myself the second instalment in this series right after reading this first book, so I’ll have to get to it soon because it was very enjoyable and I loved so many of the characters.Â
Sidekick/Non-main character of the yearÂ
In 2021, I was lucky enough to be sent a review copy of The Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu, which I loved. And in 2022, I was also sent the second book, Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments, in which my favourite sidekick had a much bigger part: Priya! OMG, I loved her so much as a character. She is sassy, determined, she cares for her friends and wants to do the best for everyone, but she is also such a badass and I would love to have her on my side in a fight. I honestly can’t wait for the 3rd book to be published and to find all my favourite characters again!Â
Siblings of the year
And for this final prompt, I have chosen Alex and Conner Bailey from The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer, for the simple reason that I think these are the only sibling main-characters I read about last year. I also did like them, but they weren’t amazing and I sometimes felt their dialogue, thoughts and reactions to be a bit juvenile. I mean they are young, it is a middle-grade fantasy book, and the first in the series, but they didn’t wow me from this first instalment, I hope they will in the next books though!
I’m tagging: Holly, Candyce, Noly, Stephen, Amy Louise, Erika, Kerry and Becky!Â
That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed reading this book tag, I had a lot of fun writing it!
See you soon, stay safe,
Ellie xx