So what makes them enjoyable? Setting? Plot? Characters? For me, it's characters, every time. If the author makes me care about them, I'll follow them anywhere, join them on any adventure. So below is my favorite hero, heroine, and villain from some of my recent and not-so-recent reading adventures. It's my hope you'll chime in with your own favorites in the comments.
A tomboy with the ability to "feel" gold in the earth, Lee's circumstances force her to head west. I fell in love with this character. Although her ability was fascinating, I felt for her and the struggles she went through as she journeyed toward California. Historical fantasies aren't that common, and I was thrilled to discover the series continues with Like a River Glorious and Into the Bright Unknown.
Favorite hero: Taylan from Halayda (Sarah Delena White)
At the reader's first introduction to him, the fairy king seems a little cool, reserved, mysterious. But as the story builds, so does the relationship between him and the heroine, Sylvie. He carries a big secret and the weight of a kingdom on his shoulders, but he would do anything for her. <sigh!>
Favorite villain: Markus from Rebirth (Amy McNew)
First, let me clarify that Markus is a demon, so he should be disgusting and vile. But McNew pulls out all the stops, building this horrible character with evil oozing out of every pore, depravity filling his mind. About 3/4 of the way through the book, a twist concerning Markus is revealed that made me shiver. (I think the heroine threw up at that point--I don't blame her one bit.)
So these were my favorites. What about you? Do you have a favorite hero, heroine, and villain? If so, please share one or all of them with us! We love to hear about the titles you're reading and the characters that have drawn you in.
Fun post, Jill! I found Markus very fascinating, too, and your description of Taylan makes me even more excited to read Halayda :) My favorite heroine from recent books is Audrey from Julie Hall's Life After: Huntress, because I could relate to her so easily. Hero is a tie between Reese from Desiree Williams' Illusionary because he's just so vulnerable and sweet, and Jet from Jamie Foley's Sentinel series because he's tough and sarcastic but has a soft spot. Villain would definitely be Prince Tharius from The Firethorn Crown because he was so complex and it was really hard to figure out his true motives. In case you can't tell, characters are what draw me into books as well :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Laurie -- I'll have to put these on my TBR list (it just keeps getting bigger and bigger...):-)
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