The Terror of Knowing

Welcome one and all to this week’s Top 5 Wednesday post! For those of you who don’t know Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme/challenge which was created by the wonderful Lainey from gingereadslainey and is now overseen by the equally lovely Sam from Thoughts of Tomes. Every Wednesday, participants devise their Top 5 based on a given topic.

This Wednesday’s topic is December 13th – Characters on the Naughty List: these can be villains or just characters you don’t like! As you might have guessed if you saw my Top 5 ‘Problematic Faves’ post a few Wednesdays ago, I have quite the soft spot for a good old fashioned, morally grey villain. They always seem to have so much fun in their villainous ways and the devil really does have all the best tunes. That being said, I’m trying not to just repeat the same ol’ same ol’ all over again so I’ve gone for more mischievous ‘naughty’ characters rather than just flat out villains.

5. Henry ‘Monty’ Montague from A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

It’s safe to say that Monty is a bit of a devilish rogue, and I choose that phrase very deliberately. Everyone’s favourite ruffled, rumpled rake, he’d be the sort to break hearts but also charm every susceptible man, woman, or beast so that you’d forget how negligent he’d been towards you because that’s just Monty and Monty is so very, very charming and dashing. It helps that overall Monty is, in essence, an in-love little squish but I think Santa might very well put him on the naughty list for some of his more (ahem) illicit affairs.

4. The Marauders from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Ok perhaps not all of the Marauders since mileage may vary on which (if any) of them you’d consider a villain at any given time, but I strongly suspect that they were insufferable to be around if you were in their classes, especially Sirius and James, especially Sirius and James together. But one thing is for sure, they could probably sweet talk/argue their way off the naughty list without even breaking a sweat.

3. Sturmhond from The Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

(Yes here comes Emma’s inevitable mention of the Grishaverse!) Sturmhund may be a privateer, he may be a pirate (I think it’s a matter of opinion) but one thing is for sure, he has some questionable methods that would well and truly earn him a spot on the naughty list, rightly or wrongly. He will willingly sell his services to the highest bidder with no questions asked… but he’s equally also the sort of pirate who does the wrong things for all the right reasons and, ultimately, he’d be redeemed and probably earn his way off the naughty list if he really put his mind to being well-behaved.

2. The Dregs from Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo

(And here comes Emma’ second Grishaverse mention, two for two!) The Dregs are undoubtedly a criminal gang – they’re despicable and sneaky but they’re the sort who have thrived in disorder because they had to. They’ve marshalled around Kaz ‘Dirtyhands’ Brekker, a person some consider a devil and others consider merely a rogue (depends on whether or not you’re on his side, I think), but each bring their own unique talents which may be employed in criminal activities, all of which would definitely earn them a place on the naughty list.

1. Ronan Lynch from The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

Stay with me on this one – on the surface, Ronan is your typical bad-boy, forever picking a fight, as it’s said: ‘If it had a social security number, Ronan had fought with it.’ He’s dark, mysterious, and I’m pretty sure he seems all sharp edges, like if you got too close you’d definitely get hurt. Obviously, there’s so much more to him than meets the eye but I think Ronan’s reckless behaviour and crass attitude would definitely land him on the ‘naughty list’ – I’d think he’d even revel in being on there.

That’s all for now folks – those were my Top 5 characters who I think would be on Santa’s naughty list this year. Who do you think would be on his naughty list?
Be sure to link me to your Top 5 Wednesday post if you have one- I’d love to read it!

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