Top Ten Tuesday – Ten Characters I Hate in Books That I Love

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Characters I liked That Were In Non-Favorite/Disliked Books.  I completely blanked out when it came to books that I didn’t like so I decided to flip the topic and do Top 10 Characters I Hate in Books I Love.

 

Top 10 Characters I Hate in Books That I Love

 

* * * * *

 1. DOLORES UMBRIDGE from HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

 

What a horrible, horrible woman.  I loathed her just as much as I loathed Lord Voldemort, especially after the awful things she did to Harry when he had detention.

 

* * * * *

 

2. MISS TRUNCHBULL from MATILDA

 

This lady could be Umbridge’s evil sister.  She’s just plain evil, clearly hates children, and has no business being the headmistress of a school.

 

* * * * *

 

3. PRINCESS SOPHIA from THE BELLES

 

I just finished this book last week and couldn’t get over how awful Princess Sophia was.  She’s cruel and sadistic, using the Belle’s powers to make those she doesn’t like ugly and deformed.  When she forced a Belle to transform a woman’s nose into a pig snout, I was beyond done with Sophia.

 

* * * * *

 

4. JOFFREY BARATHEON from A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE series

 

Is there anymore of an ass in literature than Joffrey?  He’s’ nasty, spoiled rotten, and I’m pretty sure he never had a single redeeming moment throughout the entire series.  When he finally got what was coming to him, I could have danced for joy.

 

* * * * *

 

5. GEORGE WICKHAM from PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

 

Wickham almost had me fooled in the beginning of this novel since he was just so much nicer and more charming than Darcy.  Funny how things quickly changed though and Darcy became my favorite, while I thought of Wickham as little more than a rogue.

 

* * * * *

 

6. DRACO MALFOY from the HARRY POTTER series

 

I guess I probably had a few moments in this series where I didn’t want to throttle Draco, but those moments were few and far between.  For the most part, Draco was an arrogant little jerk and I cheered when Hermione punched him in the face in one of the books.

 

* * * * *

 

7. THE WHITE WITCH from THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE

 

What a cold and calculating woman!  I mean, seriously, what kind of person uses their power to stop Christmas from coming?  She’s like a more attractive version of The Grinch.

 

* * * * *

 

8. PRESIDENT SNOW & PRESIDENT COIN in THE HUNGER GAMES series

 

Yep, a two-fer here. I totally hated both of these characters, Snow for perpetuating the Hunger Games so that he could stay in power and Coin because she tricked me into thinking she was the good guy and I don’t like to be tricked.  They’re both just rotten leaders who sees the citizens as expendable as long as it furthers their agenda.

 

* * * * *

 

9. AMY DUNNE from GONE GIRL

 

Amy Dunne was so unlikable and manipulative that even though I enjoyed Gone Girl, I got to the point where I just didn’t care what happened to her.  It was just disturbing to follow her. I think she was an actual psychopath.

 

* * * * *

 

10. JOHN WILLOUGHBY from SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

 

In many ways, John Willoughby reminds me of Henry Wickham from Pride and Prejudice.  When we first meet him, he is charming and very handsome, sure to win all the ladies’ hearts and the reader’s.  And then we find out he’s a philandering pig; the charming good guy routine is just an act.

 

* * * * *

 

Question:  Who are some characters you hate in books that you otherwise love?

45 replies
  1. ShootingStarsMag
    ShootingStarsMag says:

    Oh, I’m so with you on President Snow AND President Coin. They were both just horrible, horrible people in different ways. And Umbridge! GAH! She’s the literal worst. The WORST!!

    -Lauren

  2. Amber Elise @ Du Livre
    Amber Elise @ Du Livre says:

    Amy Dunne hurt my brain, really that entire book hurt my brain. It was a like a train wreck, I couldn’t look away!

    And I was NOT expecting that from Princess Sophia, things got dark suuppperrrr quick!

  3. louise ☆
    louise ☆ says:

    I hated Amy Dunne too! It actually bothers me when I see people defending her and her actions because everything she does is awful and inexcusable. Nick isn’t much better than her, but he still didn’t deserve to be treated so badly by her.

  4. Greg Hill
    Greg Hill says:

    I celebrated Joffrey’s death too lol. And ha right about the Witch? A more attractive version of the Grinch- love it! 🙂

    I felt the same way about Coin in THG. So disappointed! And I need to read Gone Girl…

  5. Daniela Ark
    Daniela Ark says:

    yup I dislike many characters on your list too like Amy Dunne, Draco,Joffrey Baratheon, I hope you enjoyed the Belles despite the princes 🙂 Cannot wait to read that review!

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      I thought The Belles was quite good, much darker than I was expecting, but in a way that added a lot of depth to the story.

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      Right? I really didn’t like any of the characters in Gone Girl. Amy was awful, but I do agree that what she managed to pull off was pretty impressive.

  6. sjhigbee
    sjhigbee says:

    I really dislike Mr Knightley in Emma – bossy, priggish and full of moralising advice. I wish Emma had run away to the circus – what with him and her fussy father who always imagines he is sickening for something – I can imagine her as a somewhat bitter 30-something. Sadly…

  7. Sam@WLABB
    Sam@WLABB says:

    Trunchbull was just an abhorrent human. Hated her! Same for the White Witch. I have to say, I don’t remember liking any characters in Gone Girl. I only finished that book, because the plot was so strong. And I like the way you twisted the topic.

  8. Cricket @ Little Library Muse
    Cricket @ Little Library Muse says:

    I support this list. I see we disliked the same characters. Princess Sophia is a hateful creature and she made me so angry. Umbridge, vile woman indeed. You make me feel so much better about my excitement about Joffrey’s demise. Thank you 🙂

  9. Verushka
    Verushka says:

    Man, Umbridge gives me the shivers years later. And Joffrey Lol, another good choice! I like you going rogue with this one!

  10. Carmen
    Carmen says:

    Great list! I dislike so many of these. Though I`d still argue that Ramsay is worst than Joffrey. In the end, Joffrey was still a little coward. But Ramsay was so twisted, in every way possible.

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      Oh yeah, Ramsay was the absolute worst, so much so that I think my brain just blocks him out every time I think about the series, lol.

  11. Whimsically Meghan
    Whimsically Meghan says:

    Man! I couldn’t agree more with you about Gone Girl. I hated Amy SO much; I thought Gone Girl was a great book story-wise, but god everything Amy did I would angrier and angrier!

Comments are closed.