TTT | Unlikable Characters You Can’t Help but Love

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly topic hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week she provide a topic and you are free to use that topic and/or variations of that topic to make your top ten list. A full list of the weekly themes can be found here.

There’s always that character that we love to hate. The bad guy/gal who even though we know we shouldn’t love them they’re so compelling and charming that we’re drawn in. Here are some of my favorites!

Death from Belladonna – To be fair, we’re supposed to fall in love with Death like Signa does. Not only does Death actually care about Signa, but his push back on Victorian niceties is just lovely.

Luc/Darkness from The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – Okay, this might be a hot take, but I thought Henry was super boring. I much preferred Luc/Darkness because while he could be cruel, his character and growth were the most fascinating. He was lonely for so long and then this young woman comes and he has a change of heart. I also felt like there was much more chemistry between Luc and Addie, then Henry and Addie.

Draco from Harry Potter – As most of the internet has already pointed out, Draco is the other side of the coin to Harry. Both boys grew up in troubling times and were forced into a war on opposite sides. For Draco, he doesn’t have the support or love from anyone, bar his mother, and with Voldemort living at his manor, he never really stood a chance. He just really grew throughout the series.

Cersei Lannister from A Song of Ice and Fire – I love a good woman villain and Cersei definitely fits the bill! She’s complex and fascinating, especially considering the setting she lived in in Westeros that was completely contrary to what women should act like. Plus, I love how Lena Headey portrayed her!

Alyce from Malice – Alyce is one of those characters that never had a chance growing up. She was automatically othered in the world, but people would come to her for her gifts. Complete hypocrites. Then the princess falls in love with her and she opens her heart to her and a friend she trusted. She learns to be more confident and love herself. It’s so beautiful and then the king had to ruin it all!!

Jane from Jane Steele – I mean I don’t think she’s the villain, but she did technically kill multiple people. Jane kills people for pretty good reasons in my book (not promoting murder but I understand her reasons). I found her story and characterization so fascinating and compelling to read.

Harrow from Gideon the Ninth – How she treats Gideon at the beginning and throughout the book pissed me off so much. Harrow was such a spoiled bitch! Then, we learn more about her, her backstory, and what her parents did. Not saying how she handled it well, but then again, how are you supposed to handle something like that. I now love her so, so, so much!

Linus from The House in the Cerulean Sea – Linus is your typical government worker. He does his job and follow the rules. But then when he goes to Marsyas Island Orphanage and meets six “dangerous” children: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. His character arc as he gets to know these children and Arthur, who runs the orphanage, is so precious and lovely to read, that you can’t help but fall in love with Linus (and everyone) by the end.

Happy Reading Darlings!