Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Thoughts on Tomes. If you want to join or find out more information about the weekly themes check out the Goodreads page! Today’s theme was a fun one, and perfect for October: favorite villains.

THE DARKLING – He is one of the best villains ever written, in my humble opinion. The way Leigh Bardugo wrote his character was brilliant: I was charmed and fooled into falling for him, just like Alina was in the first book, until his true self was revealed. There is so much to hate about him and the things he did, but at the same time I loved reading about him. 

MAVEN CALORE – He’s such complex, interesting character and to see the way he changed over the course of the series was one of the most intriguing things about the books. He did some messed-up things, but at the same time I could understand how he became the person he was, and I couldn’t help but feel for him. 

CERSEI LANNISTER – The tv show version of Cersei is a lot more humane and understandable, but the Cersei Lannister of the books is horrible. She’s vain, controlling, cruel, and greedy. Her list of atrocities are pretty unredeemable, and yet her chapters in A Feast for Crows are one of the few POVs that I’m enjoying. It’s interesting – and terrifying – being inside Cersei Lannister’s mind. 

QUEEN LEVANA – The wicked queen of the Lunar Chronicles series, that’s all she was to me…until later on. Sometimes a villain is just a villain, and other times a villain is a given a explanation and reasoning to all their craziness. We end up getting that backstory for Levana, and while it doesn’t make her any less evil or cruel, it does make her more human and changed my perspective of her. 

DOLORES UMBRIDGE – Let me be perfect clear: if I had to choose between killing Voldemort or Umbridge, the Dark Lord would still be (kinda) alive and (mostly) well. The amount of hatred I have for that woman knows no bounds. And the fact that while everyone may have different opinions about the other villains in the Harry Potter series, we all agree that Professor Umbridge is the absolute worst.