Top Ten Tuesday: We Did Not Click

Top Ten Tuesday is an original weekly meme feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists. For the list of past topics and future schedule, click here.

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We Did Not Click

Most of the characters are meant to be the antagonists, but some of them are main characters or a very important secondary character.

Sitis, Job’s Wife 

I abhorred Sitis in Love Amid the Ashes. Sitis was an Ischmaelite princess – and worshiped the idols instead of God. In many ways she is portrayed as an extremely selfish woman, so it was hard for me to accept her love for her husband as real. A person that selfish couldn’t possibly love somebody else. Several characters kept pointing out that Job’s downfall was his punishment from taking Dinah into his household, but the entire time I kept thinking about the actions of his wife, which toward the very end of the book is called to attention. This was a book I read for my diverse reads last year.

Yefon

I wanted to love this book so much, but I honestly think a lot of my issues with the book were the author’s voice and perhaps lack of a development editor. This was another book I read for my diverse reads last year. Seeing a pattern here? This was the first book I reviewed for a tour that I posted outside of the tour because of my review. Yefon is the main character in Yefon: The Red Necklace. Yefon is the second daughter of the first wife in her compound in Cameroon. Yefon did not endear herself to me at all with her voice.

Leah

This was a novella, and as such I think it was also lacking in a development editor because Leah’s character in Just Desserts is an absolute waste of a character. Her fiancé is forcing her to give up her career that she has worked so very hard for, as well as saddling her with planning an extravagant and perfect wedding. Leah is supposed to be struggling with these decisions, but it isn’t really a struggle because she just her fiancé tell her how it’s going to be and does as he says. She lets him run all over her, not even asserting her wants or needs as a partner. There’s no real resistance from Leah, no true realization or growth from her character throughout the entire novella.

Vespian, the tutor

Vespian Jones. He even has an evil sounding name. Vespian is the tutor of the MC’s brother in This Crumbling Pageant. Growing up Vespian was vehement in his refusal to allow Persephone access to education in his classroom. Horrible rumors abound about Persephone stealing her twin’s magic in the womb, and she has such an incredible power no one knows how to handle it. Vespian wields a power similar to hers and is threatening to use this against her beloved society and the throne of the Magi. Except no one believes her, leaving her no choice but to take matters in her own hands when thrown in his way.

Ryan

Ryan is the head honcho, let there be no mistake. He gets his strength from maintaining a manipulative, controlling, abusive relationship over Lucy. Ryan is a pretty, rich boy who takes an instant liking to Lucy, but things soon start becoming too much when Lucy is Shackled. This is a very good book to use to teach young ladies about manipulative and abusive relationships.

Whitney Wallace

Whitney from The Amazing Adventures and Unbelievable Family History of Whitney Wallace is literally bored with everything. Her family is so boring. Her house is so boring. Oh, it’s snowing? BORING. She ignores her family’s prompts to come outside and play in the snow, because they have been snowed in and that is SO boring. Whitney’s character got on my last nerve. She is so blasé about everything. This to me is the mark of a spoiled brat, but she just annoyed me.

Aunt Masterson & Mrs. Smythe

Clarissa is constantly subjected to the rumor mill and gossips of society – including her very own stepmother, who is stirring that roiling pot (nd simpering to her father when confronted with her own wrongdoings) at the prompting of Gabe’s Aunt Masterson, an evil, vile woman who appears more fully in Love’s First Flames. The pair go too far in trying to cement Mrs. Smythe’s hold in the upper echelon of society and all but ensures that Clarissa will be forced to marry Cameron, or suffer untold ruin. You can read all about the two ignoramuses in Banished Love, Reclaimed Love and Undaunted Love.

Eleanor 

Eleanor is left caring for her mother, and serves only as the living reminder of what her family lost. I felt such sadness for Eleanor. I don’t know what it’s like being a twin, but I do know what it’s like living in the shadow of a sibling because of death. It’s a very hard thing to endure and cope, and impacts the grieving process. She disappears frequently, and travels to another world, but time doesn’t stop in the real world. This becomes Eleanor’s MO for the next several years. Despite having an honest connection with Eleanor, her character and the plot confused me and pushed me away from the potential she could have been.

Blake, friend of Alex

Blake is not a good friend in Lost on the Edge of Forever. In fact, throughout most of the novel I constantly wanted Alex to just blow up on him and end their semblance of a friendship. Blake is so mean to Alex: Blake is a somebody, and Alex is a nobody. (Enter Alex’s self-confidence issues.) At the same time, Blake redeemed himself a little in my eyes. Not much, but a little. I don’t understand him or how he works, and that is one thing that is never explained throughout the book, which did bug me. If I could get that insight into him – the reason he was the way he was – I think I could have handled him a little better.

The Bully

I can’t reveal his name for giving away some of the story of Super Cowboy Rides. Tommy can’t read, everyone calls him dumb, and he’s picked on each day by the schoolyard gang. Tommy also loses on of his best friends, hurt purposefully by the bully. How can a parent even let their child get away with what the bully’s parents let him do?! OMG. Despite all of the wrongdoings Tommy experiences at the hand of the school bully and his gang, Tommy finds a way to incorporate them into the new schoolyard way. He shows compassion and doesn’t let his anger and resentment stand in the way.

Ivy and Arianne Munroviel

Hearts in Exile is a very apt title. The hard High Priestess mother puts her own daughter put on trial for saving Igrorio with her newly found Spark from Mother Inessa. She has a sister that would just as soon stab her in the chest to get what she wants…and essentially, that happens in the novel. Ivy and Arianne Munroviel tell all that Loralee is dead. How much more cruel can you be?