Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This is one meme I can get on board with - I LOVE lists! I'll show you mine if you show me yours!

Top Ten Characters Who Made Me C-R-A-Z-Y... 
Then Made It All Better Again

So, today's topic was about the "top ten characters who..." I decided to go with those characters that make you feel like ripping out your hair and throwing your book across the room - usually because they are acting like giant douches because of misinformation or misconceptions. But, my favorite thing about those characters is when they realize the error of their ways or have their lightbulb moment and do everything in their power to right the wrongs they caused. Those moments are what I live for as a reader.

Because these moments happen, like all the time, in books, I've chosen characters that either made me feel stabby for several books in a series, thereby prolonging my suffering, or characters that made me feel SO MUCH that I couldn't get them out of my head.  So, here's to the cray-cray.

1. Aiden St. Delphi, The Covenant Series, by Jennifer L. Armentrout - For three books, I was tortured by Aiden's desire to be with Alex, but his inability to act on it. I get why he didn't go there - I do. That chivalrous attitude made him all the more frustrating. But, that moment when he finally said "F&#k it. I love this girl and I'm going to be with her, Gods and council be damned," was a moment, I literally read over and over again.

2. Aura Salvatore, The Shade Series, by Jeri Smith-Ready - Aura was in love with Logan. Then he died. And Zach was there to pick up the pieces. Sexy, swoony, sweet, SCOTTISH Zach. Yet, Aura decided she'd rather have a relationship with Logan's ghost. Are you kidding me, girl???? Finally, after two books worth of yelling at my car speakers (this was an audio series for me), she got with the program - and Zach - and that... that was AMAZING.

3. Ethan Sullivan, The Chicagoland Vampires Series, by Chloe Neill - Ethan "Darth" Sullivan's and Merit's relationship didn't exactly get off on the right foot. He made her a vampire against her will, which pissed her off to the enth degree. Then, to make matters worse, he asks if she'll be his consort (read: please be available whenever I want to screw, but forget about any sort of emotional attachment, mmkay?). Truth be told, Ethan was a bit of a dumbass. A gorgeous master vampire dumbass, but one all the same. After two-and-a-half books of off-the-charts sexual tension, it seemed like things might finally be heading in their favor. Till Ethan was an even dumber dumbass. It took these two SIX FREAKING BOOKS before they finally got things figured out. And, by the seventh book, Ethan was the epitome of book boyfriend material.

4. Sydney Sage, The Bloodlines Series, by Richelle Mead - Sydney was brought up to hate vampires of all kinds. She was taught they were vile, unnatural creatures who shouldn't interact with humans. So, I understand that her preconceived notions were very firmly rooted. Still, the fact that it took her three books to see how wonderful some of these "creature" can be (especially one particular vampire by the name of Adrian Ivashkov) made me so furious. But, by the end of that third book, my faith in Sydney was restored and I got to spend the entire fourth book basking in a wonderful romantic glow.

5. Cole Holland, The White Rabbit Chronicles, by Gena Showalter - Thankfully, Cole's insanity was contained in one book. But, holy crap. For that one book - the second book in the series - I was a frustrated emo mess. I hate it when boys put their trust in something or someone other than the one they love, and Through the Zombieglass was a classic case study on why. His actions nearly destroyed Alice, and they gave me a pretty hefty stomach ache too. But, when Cole realized what he was doing and made measures to fix the damage he caused, he won me over HARD. This boy is quite possible the most perfect book boyfriend ever in my eyes now.

6. Emily Cooper, The Collide Series, by Gail McHugh - Emily is a study on why a girl shouldn't stay with a guy just because he's been there for years. Dillon was a complete and utter asshat. He treated her badly. And she was blind to it all because he had been there for her when her mom died. She felt she owed it to him to stick around. Meanwhile, the completely and utterly devastating Gavin wants her more than his next breath, and Emily is too stubborn to admit she feels the same way about him. GRRRR!! Emily takes it to the wire, but when she finally makes the right decision, it sets off a series of events that demonstrate exactly how amazing Gavin is (and how horrible Dillon is). It was awesome to see the female be the one to make the grand romantic gesture to win her love back.

7. Kai, The Lunar Chronicles Series, by Marissa Meyer - I was really, really frustrated with Kai for the entirety of the second and third books in the Lunar Chronicles series. Most of my rage was centered around the fact that he was questioning Cinder's actions and motives, as well as his own feelings for her. He should have known, without a shadow of a doubt, that Cinder wasn't the bad guy, that her motives were pure and that his feelings were most definitely real. Then, he was faced with the impossible decisions on how to, literally, save the world. But, at the end of Cress, Kai put me out of my misery, got real with Cinder (yeah - I totally listened to that part FOUR TIMES IN A ROW), and I'm now dying for the final book to come out.

8. Sydney Blake, Maybe Someday, by Colleen Hoover - This is the only stand-alone book on my list, and thank goodness it's by itself, because I don't know if I could stand a second book about Sydney and Ridge. I about lost my ever-loving mind in regard to these two - particularly Sydney. I SO wanted her to take control of the situation so much sooner than when she did. Instead, she kept subjecting herself to the worst kind of torture - seeing the guy you love with someone else. It killed me to read about it. I bawled like a baby. But, that ending - OMG, that ending more than made up for all the pain. It was so completely perfect, I still swoon when I think about it.

9. Christian Grey, The Fifty Shades of Grey Series, by E.L. James - This may be sort of obvious, since I think most of the world has read this series by now. But, Ana's desires for "more" and Christian's lack of commitment to giving it to her made me so mad in the first book. And then in the second book, when it seemed like he may be in it for the long haul, it was his constant poo-pooing of the Elena situation that had me raging. But, girls - that proposal. Tell me that didn't make you completely weak in the knees, and I'll call BS. By the epilogue at the end of the third book, Christian Gray had made my list of best book boyfriends of all time. And he remains there to this day.

10. Dimitri Belikov, The Vampire Academy Series, by Richelle Mead - "Sorry Rose. I think you're hot, and we work well together, and I admire your tenacity and I think you're strong and smart. But we totally can't be together because I'm seven years older than you." GAH!!!! Freaking men. Dimitri's other argument for not being together - that it could interfere with his ability to do his job - is a bit more admirable. But, still. At least TRY and find a way, would you? For two-and-a-half books, I was tortured by this man. Then, in the fifth book, his form of torture took a different tactic. Then, it was all, "Sorry Rose. I still think all those things about you, but I'm a horrible person, so I don't deserve you." Ex-squeeze me? Richelle Mead really knew how to draw out the torture with this one, because it wasn't until the very end of the sixth and final book that Dimitri finally got himself together and fought for the girl he loves. And, when that happened - WHOA. Super alpha in love Dimitri was even sexier than before.