Center Stage July 2013 Character Spotlight

Center Stage is a monthly feature hosted by Ginger-Read Reviews, in which we highlight a character from the books we've read in the past month.

July 2013 Center Stage Character:
Warner from the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi

I love participating in this meme because it gives me the chance to write as much about a character as I want. With reviews, I feel the need to rein in the character discussions somewhat in order to talk about the book as a whole. I think Warner is a character who would agree with me that a single paragraph devoted to him is nowhere near sufficient.

This guy . . . . Where to start?! From the moment he showed up in Shatter Me, he commandeered my brain, messed with it repeatedly (and he's probably not done yet, either), and refuses to be dislodged from it. Seriously, I haven't been able to stop thinking about him since I finished Unravel Me a few days ago.

This isn't even a love-hate type of situation here. I am utterly fascinated by Warner's character. Every time Juliette and I believe we might have made a sliver of progress figuring him out, he does something unexpected. That may be putting it mildly.

My cousin Melissa had been nagging me to death to read this series. Now that I'm up to date, she has accused me of loving Warner just to spite her because she'd told me before I started Shatter Me that there was nothing to like about Warner in that book. I beg to differ. Melissa's opinion of him has changed since reading Destroy Me and Unravel Me, but she continues to think that I love Warner because she said I wouldn't. Again, I beg to differ. As my cousin, Melissa should know that I am not normal. I laugh at things in books that no one else would find funny. I hate books everyone else loves. I love characters everyone else hates. So, really, it comes as zero surprise that I love Warner. He and I totally have this in common:

"I have an extremely low threshold for disorder; it offends my very being." — Destroy Me, Chapter 2

And here are a few more of my favorite Warner quotes, just because:

"At least I'm honest about being a liar." — Shatter Me, Chapter 14

"Love is a heartless bastard." — Destroy Me, Chapter 21

"My loyalties lie with those who know how to live." — Unravel Me, Chapter 54

Center Stage June 2013 Character Spotlight

Center Stage is a monthly feature hosted by Ginger-Read Reviews, in which we highlight a character from the books we've read in the past month.

June 2013 Center Stage Character:
Nick Falcott from The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway

Whereas last month I had some trouble finding a character to feature, this month I had the opposite problem: I really liked two characters from the same book, Bee Ridgway's The River of No Return. The competition came down to Nick Falcott, one of the protagonists, and Arkady Altukhov, one of the secondary characters. The pair travel back in time from 2013 to Regency England, where Nick is originally from, and I just loved the banter between the two. Nick won out in the end, though, because of my weakness for Regency heroes.

Lord Nicholas Falcott, Marquess of Blackdown, is fighting for the English against Napoleon's troops when he finds himself on the wrong end of a Frenchman's weapon. Just as he's about to die, he's sent forward in time to the 21st century and learns about the existence of the Guild, a secret organization that watches over travelers like himself. Nick attends a kind of orientation for others who have suddenly found themselves displaced from their own eras and is then comfortably set up by the Guild to live in this new world.

Nick's had quite a while to adjust when the Guild summons him for a mission that requires him to become the Marquess of Blackdown again. Nick is quite happy with the life he has now, thank you very much, but he eventually accepts the task. Being the keen observer that he is, he doesn't blindly put his trust in the Guild, especially since they're being rather cagey about what exactly he's supposed to do once he's back in the 19th century.

Watching Nick readjust to another time period again is pretty humorous sometimes. There are lapses when he uses modern slang or curses like it's 2013, and then he has to cover up his gaffes. On a more serious note, though, he's not the young man who chose to ride off to war rather than face his responsibilities as a marquess after the sudden death of his father. Knowing what he does about the future, particularly what will become of landed nobility like himself, he tries not to act like an entitled, pompous ass.

But where Nick sent my heart a-swoon was with his love for the young girl, now a grown woman, he's never forgotten. Being able to see Julia Percy again makes Nick all too happy to be back in the past. She is unknowingly an important figure in his mission, and when Nick finds out, he's prepared to protect her from everyone, even the Guild.

Nick was a fantastic character in a novel with no shortage of them, and I highly recommend The River of No Return.

Center Stage May 2013 Character Spotlight

Center Stage is a monthly feature hosted by Ginger-Read Reviews, in which we highlight a character from the books we've read in the past month.

May 2013 Center Stage Character:
Bubba Burdette from Inferno by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I had a tough time finding a character to spotlight this month. Nobody really stood out, plus I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately. So I decided to go with Bubba Burdette, from Sherrilyn Kenyon's Chronicles of Nick series. I read the most recent book, Inferno, earlier this month, and though Bubba, who's one of the minor characters, doesn't appear as much in this one as he has in previous books, he's a big reason why I enjoy reading CoN.

Bubba is a friend of the title character, Nick Gautier, and is also the proprietor of the Triple B, a gun and computer store. That may sound like an odd combination, but as the Triple B's slogan goes, if Bubba can't fix your computer problems one way, he'll fix them another.

In his spare time, Bubba, along with his sidekick, Mark, helps keep the world safe from supernatural beings who are looking to cause trouble for humans. Bubba also has his very own panic room built into the Triple B in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Believe me, if there's a zombie apocalypse, you want Bubba and Mark on your side. Their adventures often land them on the wrong side of the law, such as when they go a little flamethrower-happy in Inferno, but they're all for a good cause.

Bubba may sound a bit quirky, but I find him incredibly cool. He's also brilliant—he graduated at the top of his class from MIT. I think what I love most about him, though, is how he looks out for Nick, whose father is not in his life. Bubba is one of the few characters who can silence Nick, who is a nonstop sarcasm machine, and I always look forward to Nick's visits to the Triple B.

Center Stage April 2013 Character Spotlight

Center Stage is a monthly feature hosted by Ginger-Read Reviews, in which we highlight a character from the books we've read in the past month.

April 2013 Center Stage Character:
Daphne from The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

I was a little worried that I wasn't going to have a character to spotlight this month. I didn't read all that many books in April and in fact didn't read for a week straight because I was working on a knitting project for a certain someone who shall remain nameless. *cough* Melissa *cough* I was about to put on my sad face over not having a Center Stage post for April when I picked up Brenna Yovanoff's The Space Between. Not only did I love the book, but I loved the main character, Daphne, as well.

Daphne has one of the coolest lineages ever: she's the daughter of Lilith and Lucifer (yep, that Lilith and that Lucifer). You might expect her to be all evil and whatnot, but she couldn't be farther from that. Daphne doesn't want to be like her many sisters who go to Earth to prey on mortal men and rob them of their dreams and memories. But when her beloved brother goes missing, Daphne braves a trip to the mortal world to find him. Everything is new to her, but she keeps a clear head. (Having demon powers, like being able to burn things with your touch, also comes in handy when you find yourself in a new place.)

For all of her fears that she is some kind of monster and incapable of knowing what love is, Daphne is loving and compassionate. This is never more evident than in her attempts to help Truman Flynn, a half-human/half-fallen angel bent on self-destruction. I loved Daphne's courage and resolve to not only find her brother but also to save Truman, I loved this novel, and I loved this quote from Daphne:

"Love is when you care more about something else than you do about yourself." — "Chapter 27: Love"

Well said, Daphne. Well said.

Center Stage March 2013 Character Spotlight

Center Stage is a monthly feature hosted by Ginger-Read Reviews, in which we highlight a character from the books we've read in the past month.

March 2013 Center Stage Character:
Malachi from Sanctum by Sarah Fine

I knew from the second that Malachi appeared in Sanctum that he was going to be my character of the month. At first he seems all deadly killer warrior, not that there's anything wrong with that. At all. As you get to know him, though, you see that he's also kind, compassionate, and completely self-sacrificing. Malachi's past is heartbreaking, but he's managed to channel tragedy into strength. I just love the complexity of his character.

I don't think any description of Malachi that I can come up with is adequate, so here's a much better portrait of him from Lela, the protagonist of Sanctum, in Chapter 8 of the novel:

"His features were smooth and unlined, and yet somehow still carried that air of ferocity and defiance I'd observed before. The deep voids of his eyes were surrounded by thick, black lashes and full of confidence and threat. It was as if he'd already assessed my weaknesses and ticked off all the possible ways to kill me, so now he could relax and be friendly. His was not a soft face, but it held a harsh, dangerous sort of beauty. Dangerous being the operative word. I reached out carefully to shake his hand, like I might pet a viper or a shark."

Center Stage February 2013 Character Spotlight

Center Stage is a monthly feature hosted by Ginger-Read Reviews, in which we highlight a character from the books we've read in the past month. I was so excited to see that Ali had started this feature because I love raving (and sometimes ranting) about literary characters! And now I have a legitimate excuse to do so!

February 2013 Center Stage Character:
Adrian Ivashkov from The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

Richelle Mead's The Indigo Spell was one of my most anticipated reads of this year, due in large part to Mr. Adrian Ivashkov. I confess to not immediately falling for his charms way back when he made his first appearance in the second Vampire Academy book, Frostbite. But Adrian is a persistent fellow, and it wasn't long until I was swooning over him, too.

I love Adrian for his endless supply of snarky comments and how he lives in the moment. Yes, he possesses a pretty healthy ego, but underneath the swagger is a kind, generous heart. Adrian will do anything for the people he cares about.

My favorite thing about Adrian, though, is his sense of humor. You seriously never know what he's going to say next. Whether he's telling everyone that his name is Jet Steele or inventing a fake fraternity called Alpha Yam Ergo, Adrian is unpredictably hilarious. Each time I being reading a new Bloodlines novel, I can't wait to see how many times he'll make me laugh. I think this quote from Sydney from Chapter 3 of The Indigo Spell sums up Adrian perfectly:

"We looked up and found Adrian standing above us, dashing in his shades of blue. His face was the picture of perfect politeness and restraint, meaning something disastrous was probably about to happen."