Favorite Villains | T5W

Hello bookworms! I’m Nia and today I’m going to be talking about some of my favorite villains.

I freaking adore villains. They are some of my favorite characters ever, because they usually tend to be so complex and add a lot to a story that I can’t help but love them. But it’s true that sometimes it’s a bit difficult to find a good villain.

However, there are a few that have become my favorites ever since the minute they were introduced. These are the ones that first came to my mind, but I’m pretty sure there are more on this list.

If you aren’t familiar with Top 5 Wednesday, it is a Goodeads group now currently run by Sam over at ToughtsOfTomes on Youtube, where each week they give you a topic and you talk about 5 books that fit that category. You can join the group here if you want to participate!

Without any further ado, let’s start with this week’s topic!

The Darkling | The Grisha

My thoughts: Even before I read these books I knew for certain I was going to love The Darkling. But I was pleasantly surprised by him throughout the series. He was such a great villain and character, and I think he added so much to the story. He became more complex in the second and third book, but there is something about it that made me love him, even though he didn’t do the greatest things.

I have a review of Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising in case you want to check them out.

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

Sebastian Morgenstern | The Mortal Instruments

My thoughts: This is kind of a similar situation to The Darkling. Ever since the moment he appeared in the books, I liked him. He was an asshole, but he was such a great villain. Better than Valentine, in my opinion (though they both were completely different characters). I especially loved him in City of Lost Souls, because that’s where he became one of the main focuses of the story, but nonetheless, I enjoyed knowing more about him.

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know… 

Doctor Facilier | The Princess and The Frog

My thoughts: Even though this movie wasn’t my favorite Disney movie, Doctor Facilier has become one of my all time favorite villains. He is so put together and cool that I couldn’t help but love him. Also, he has such a badass and amazing song, so extra kudos to that.

Bellatrix Lestrange | Harry Potter

My thoughts: I think Bellatrix is one of my favorite villains in the series. I don’t know what it is about her, but I just love her. She’s ruthless and mean, but she is an incredible addition to the story. Also I must say that maybe one of the reasons why I love her that much is that Elena Bonham Carter plays the role incredibly well.

Harry Potter’s life is miserable. His parents are dead and he’s stuck with his heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But his fortune changes when he receives a letter that tells him the truth about himself: he’s a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and takes him to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

After a lifetime of bottling up his magical powers, Harry finally feels like a normal kid. But even within the Wizarding community, he is special. He is the boy who lived: the only person to have ever survived a killing curse inflicted by the evil Lord Voldemort, who launched a brutal takeover of the Wizarding world, only to vanish after failing to kill Harry.

Though Harry’s first year at Hogwarts is the best of his life, not everything is perfect. There is a dangerous secret object hidden within the castle walls, and Harry believes it’s his responsibility to prevent it from falling into evil hands. But doing so will bring him into contact with forces more terrifying than he ever could have imagined.

The Commandant | An Ember in The Ashes

My thoughts: Okay, I hate The Commandant. But she is such an incredible villain, that I love to hate her. I haven’t read book two yet, so I don’t know if she appears in it as well, but in book one she scared the shit out of me. She was the definition of a villain. And I think that’s why I like her that much.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

What are your favorite villains? Do you have any of the ones I’ve mentioned on your list as well? Let me know in the comments so we can chat about them!

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