“Faves of 2011 (so far)”: The Characters

“Faves of 2011 (so far)” originates from Nomes of Inkcrush. The only rule: books that make the cut must have been read this year.

The books have had their time in the spotlight; it’s time for the characters to shine. This was borderline painful for me because, let’s face it, I get attached to a lot of characters. How can I pick favorites? And only one or two per question at that. This is me, grumbling.

And this, this is me trying my best as, once again, here we go.

1. Best female POV: Toby Daye from Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series
With her realistic blend of strength and vulnerability, Toby quickly became one of my favorite urban fantasy heroines. She’s one of those characters that I believe in, if you know what I mean. I also worry about her, cheer for her, desperately want her to make a move on Tyablt because goodness that man is fine. In short, Toby is awesome.

Runner-up: September from The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

2. Best male POV: *rubs temples*
I pushed around and poked at so many answers for this one that I gave myself a headache. The thing is, I haven’t read many books that feature a prominent male point of view, and of the rest, well, how do I choose? I could go with Marek from Linda Gillard’s House of Silence; his voice, when the story shifted to him, was pitch perfect. I could go with Trei from Rachel Neumeier’s The Floating Islands; his grief and sense of wonder – everything about him, really – made me want to hold him close. Then there’s Shane Collins from Rachel Caine’s Bite Club; the reader finally, finally got a first person taste of him, and I liked it. And Bob from Jack Schaefer’s Shane; he was so sweet even while his innocence was slipping through his fingers as the story unfolded. And…You see what I mean? *rub, rub*

3. Best Couple: Kate and Curran from Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series
You have to love a couple that has to work for their relationship. Kate and Curran are strong, independent people accustomed to doing things their own way, which means that compromise is essential to the success of their relationship. I like watching them work things out.

Runners-up: Eve and Roarke (from Treachery In Death); Kitty and Jeff (from Alien in the Family); Carrie and Graham & Sophie and John (from The Winter Sea); Chess and Terrible (from Stacia Kane’s Downside Ghost series).

4. Who I fell completely in love with (new literary crush): Tybalt (!) from Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series
Because the man is purrfect. (You know I had to do that.) But, if I must, I’ll elaborate. (Oh, such a chore! *snort*) Tybalt is not what he seems; there’s depth to him, and surprising facets. He’s a strong leader; affectionate with his (awesome) nephew; and he treats Toby with respect, believing in her when her own belief falters. He’s sexy, smells like pennyroyal, leather, musk and wild honey, and makes my heart beat faster every time his name even appears on the page. Yup. I’ve got it bad.

5. Worst (best) villain: Lord Ido from Eon and Eona by Alison Goodman
His single-minded determination to attain godlike power was chilling. He was ruthless, willing to use his charm and charisma to get his way, and showed a disturbing capacity to make people doubt his true intentions.

Runners-up: Sarad Nukpana from Lisa Shearin’s Con & Conjure; the bad guys from Ilona Andrews’ Magic Slays (I don’t want to give spoilers, hence the generic moniker).

6. Best kick-arse female: Eve Dallas from Treachery In Death by J.D. Robb
This was actually a no-brainer for me. Eve Dallas is a tough woman capable of bringing men twice her size down with little more than her hands, knees and boot-shod feet. Her lack of supernaturally supercharged strength makes her ability to kick major arse even more impressive.

Runners-up: Kat from Jeaniene Frost’s This Side of the Grave; Kate Daniels from Ilona Andrews’ Magic Slays; Kitty from Gini Koch’s Alien in the Family; and Raine Benares from Lisa Shearin’s Con & Conjure.

7. Best kick-arse male: Terrible from Stacia Kane’s Downside Ghosts series
Kicking arse is gang enforcer Terrible’s purpose in life. And he’s very, very good at it. If a crowd of people were the Red Sea, Terrible would make like Moses the moment said crowd caught a gander of him.

Runners-up: Raphael from Nalini Singh’s Archangel’s Consort; Bones from Jeaniene Frost’s This Side of the Grave; Tybalt from Seanan McGuire’s Rosemary and Rue; Roarke from J.D. Robb’s Treachery in Death; Keir from Elizabeth Vaughan’s Warprize; Curran from Ilona Andrews’ Magic Slays.

8. Broke your heart the most: Lochan from Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
He just did.