Today’s Top Five Wednesday is inspired by characters who may find some coal in their stockings on Christmas morning. We’re encouraged to talk about our favorite villains or characters that we just don’t like, but I’m going to be focusing on my favorite villains or villain-like characters that Santa would probably have a hard time putting on a the nice list.

Victor & Eli from V.E. Schwab’s Vicious– Vicious is my favorite V.E. Schwab book, as well as one of my favorite books of 2017, mainly for ITS AMAZING CAST OF CHARACTERS, VICTOR AND ELI INCLUDED. The important thing to remember when reading Vicious is that our characters aren’t meant to be good (Santa may have a hard time understanding this). I admit that I like Victor a bit more than Eli, but overall, I loved their story AND I CANNOT WAIT FOR VENGEFUL!

Kaz Brekker from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo- Okay, so I have some explaining to do here: I don’t think at all think that Kaz Brekker is a villain nor do I think he is a bad person. As I write this post, I’m starting to realize how many ‘bad’ characters have redeemable characteristics that don’t exactly make them evil. Anyways, regarding Kaz, he would be another person who Santa wouldn’t exactly understand. I think Kaz would wake up to some coal, but also find a new pair of gloves.

AI from Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff– AI earns a spot on the naughty list because he just flat out terrifies me. He would definitely demand gifts and you know, just take over my entire spaceship and everyone on it if he didn’t receive anything.

 Elle’s stepmother from Geekerella by Ashley Poston- JUST LET THE GIRL WEAR HER DRESS AND GO TO EXCELSICON AND KEEP THE DOG AND BY THE WAY, GET OUT OF HER HOUSE. Please. Geekerella is a true Cinderella retelling, as Elle is bullied by her not-so-nice stepmother and stepsisters, who most definitely should be on Santa’s naughty list. If you’re looking for a book with a lot of fangirl feels, this one is for you.

Top 5 Wednesday is a collaborative group of book bloggers from various platforms who love sharing lists on Wednesdays. The T5W group can be found here on Goodreads.