Book Character Traits I Love

Posted October 8, 2019 by Brin in Memes, Top Ten Tuesday / 3 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is an awesome meme previously hosted by the lovely folks @ The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl

Book Character Traits I Love

Oh, I do love this topic! I tend to fall for the same types of characters (or character archetypes) over and over again. A lot of these traits tend to cross over a lot but I think they stand on their own merits as well. Here are some of my very favourite traits I look for in my bookish characters:

1. Cleverness

I love characters who are in possession of a fine mind; clever and capable, scheming and adaptable, these characters are ones I live for in books. You need a mix of personality types but these tend to be the characters I am most drawn to.

Examples: The Fool from the Realm of the Elderlings series by Robin Hobb, Baz from the Simon Snow trilogy by Rainbow Rowell, Poet from the Foolish Kingdoms series by Natalia Jaster, George Caramine from The Edge series and the Innkeeper Chronicles series by Ilona Andrews, Javier Tornesal from the Lord of the White Hell series by Ginn Hale

2. Wittiness

I love witty characters, especially those who employ a healthy dose of snark in their interactions with others. A sense of humour is something that is essential in a book character for me.

Examples: The Fool (again) from the Realm of the Elderlings series by Robin Hobb, Malice from the Selfish Myths series by Natalia Jaster, Loki from the Marvel Universe, Poet from the Foolish Kingdoms series by Natalia Jaster, Adrian Ivashkov from the Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead

3. Bookishness

I adore bookish characters (I mean, I’m the bookish sort myself, for lawd’s sake!) so it makes sense that its a trait I look for in bookish characters. I always feel a sense of camaraderie with them.

Examples: Cath Avery from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, Wonder from the Selfish Myths series by Natalia Jaster, Richard Campbell Gansey III from the Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater, Malice from the Selfish Myths series by Natalia Jaster

4. Stubbornness

I’m a pretty stubborn sort myself so I always tend to feel a kinship with fellow stubborn (pigheaded!) types! I tend to find them amusing rather than annoying for the most part.

Examples: Neil Josten from the All for the Game series by Nora Sakavic, Blue Sargent from the Raven Cycle series, Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead, Jude Duarte from the Folk of the Air series by Holly Black, FitzChivalry Farseer from the Realm of the Elderlings series by Robin Hobb

5. Geekiness

My peeps! I love nerdy, geeky characters! Again, I feel an affinity with them – the geekier the better!

Examples: Howie Jenkins from Know Not Why by Hannah Johnston, Cath Avery from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Trevor Hoffman from Geek Girl by Cindy C. Bennett, Simon Spier from Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, Kent McFuller from Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

6. Bravery

Brave characters are always really admirable to me. I’m not really a brave person myself (I’m actually rather chicken-hearted if I’m being brutally honest) so brave characters are really awesome.

Examples: Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, Simon Snow from the Simon Snow trilogy by Rainbow Rowell, Penny Bunce from the Simon Snow trilogy by Rainbow Rowell, Noam Álvaro from the Feverwake series by Victoria Lee, Aelin Galathynius from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

7. Cunningness

I absolutely love cunning characters – they are probably the most interesting to read because you are always second-guessing them and trying to figure them out!

Examples: Cardan Greenbriar from the Folk of the Air series by Holly Black, Jude Duarte from the Folk of the Air series by Holly Black, Malice from the Selfish Myths series by Natalia Jaster, Maven Calore from the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard, the Darkling from the Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

8. Damaged

Sigh. I just love angst so damaged characters are always a draw to me (like moths to a flame). There is just something about a damaged, broody bad boy…

Examples: Holland Vosijk from the Shades of Magic series by V.E. Schwab, Azriel from the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas, Jos Musey from the Warchild series by Karin Lowachee, Adam Parrish from the Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater, Dara Shirazi from the Feverwake series by Victoria Lee, Felix Harrowgate from the Doctrine of Labyrinths series by Sarah Monette

9. Kindness

I think kind characters are very under-appreciated, to be honest. Yes, the mean characters tend to stand out more but its the kind ones that pick up the pieces after everything has gone to hell and back.

Examples: Feyre Acheron from the A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas, Nicky Hemmick from the All for the Game series by Nora Sakavic, Evan D’Silva from the Warchild series by Karin Lowachee, Mildmay Foxe from the Doctrine of Labyrinths series by Sarah Monette, August Flynn from the Monsters of Verity duology by Victoria Schwab

10. Loyalty

Loyalty is such an underrated trait – I love characters who stick to their guns and don’t falter when things get difficult. They stand up for their friends and are with them to the bitter end.

Examples: Ronan Lynch from the Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater, Andrew Minyard from the All for the Game series by Nora Sakavic, Oxnard Matheson from the Green Creek series by T.J. Klune, Kiram Kir-Zaki from the Lord of the White Hell series by Ginn Hale, Dimitri Belikov from the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead