The Smashing and Dashing Character Awards 2020

Huge thank you to Georgia at Lost in Neverland for tagging us. Go check out her blog, she has some really great book reviews and recommendations and she’s awesome! So, go check her out now!

For this tag we’re referencing only books we read in 2020, not books that were published in 2020. This tag was created by Paper Fury.

*If you are viewing on your phone the first answer to each question belongs to Samantha and the second to Amber.

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Most Relatable Character

Hazel from Christina Lauren’s Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating because we all want to be as freely “weird” as Hazel.

Jo March from Little Women. She’s very independent and determined. She’s a lover of stories and writing and very family oriented. I think that even though it’s a classic, there’s something timeless about her character that we can all relate to in some way.

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Most Pure Animal Companion

Beefcake from Lyssa Kay Adam’s Crazy Stupid Bromance. Beefcake is pure comic relief and I love him. That’s saying a lot, by the way, since I’m not a big cat person. Ha!

I didn’t read very many books with any type of animal in them. But, I’ll go with Cadin, Maria’s black crow familiar in Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman. A reliable friend and companion.

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Fiercest Fighter

Lady Lucie from Evie Dunmore’s A Rogue of One’s Own. She is a Suffragette who doesn’t back down from a fight — or a room full of men. You go, girl!

James Juniper Eastwood from The Once and Future Witches. This girl fights for what she believes in, magic, and family. She isn’t one to step down from a fight and the way this book ends is why I think she’s the fiercest fighter.

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Am I Surprised That I Loved You?

Cletus from the Winston Brothers series by Penny Reid. All the Winston brothers are loveable, but there is something about Cletus (and Jenn!) that I just can’t get enough of. I am so glad she is writing another series with the two of them!

Nadi from Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk. I love a sassy, quirky character. I knew from page one I loved the spirit Nadi and I wanted more of her in this book.

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Best Sassmaster

Both Elizabeth and Nico in Penny Reid’s Friends Without Benefits. It works so well and really adds to the enemies to lovers trope.

Captain Thorne from Cress by Marissa Meyer. Every line out of this man’s mouth was pure gold.

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Best Antihero

Jay Gatsby is a perfect example. I finally read The Great Gatsby this year and, honestly, I don’t get the hype. Sorry – not much of an answer, but the best I’ve got.

Richard Mayhew in Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. He’s just a businessman who lacks courage and isn’t a go-getter, take charge kind of guy. He likes his life just how it is. He isn’t particularly talented or skilled at anything. Eventually we root for him and he grows, but he isn’t your typical hero.

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The Best Friends of All

The girl gang in Knitting in the City series by Penny Reid. I say gang because they can do some serious damage (knitting needles, duh) when the moment calls for it (one’s a ninja).

All 4 Wallflowers (Evi, Annabelle, Lillian, and Daisy) from The Wallflowers Series by Lisa Kleypas. I loved their dynamic and watching it grow and be the foundation for this whole series.

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Best Villain to Hate

Basically every character in Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock. Every one is so morally grey. Of course, some more than others. Nevertheless, they are all so interesting. I was invested in all of them the entire time.

This one is hard. There wasn’t a particular villain that stood out to me – probably because I read a lot of romance. I guess Queen Levana from The Lunar Chronicles. She’s an absolutely horrible person, but her character is still interesting and complicated.

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Award for Best or Worst Parents

Daisy Jones in Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones and the Six has the worst parents. They have zero interest in her and don’t even notice when she isn’t around. They aren’t mentioned much in the book (unsurprising), but when they are, I wanna smack them.

I’m going to use Little Women as an example again here. But Marmee March for best parent. The father Robert is good too, but he’s not in the book as much. Marmee is a great mother to her four girls.

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Ship of All Ships in 2020

I know I already mentioned them, but Cletus and Jenn FOREVER.

Alex and Henry in Red, White & Royal Blue! Nothing beats these two. They’re so perfect together and I just want more of the two of them. History, huh?

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Most Precious Must be Protected

Roscoe from Doctor Strange Beard by Penny Reid. He is a veterinarian, folks. There is a scene where he is at work, laying on the ground, playing with a bunch of puppies. It doesn’t get more pure than that.

Magnus Bane from The Lost Book of the White/most Cassandra Clare books. This is really just nostalgic for me. He’s been one of those ‘most precious must protect’ characters for me since I was 13 and he always will be.

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Honestly Surprised You’re Still Alive

Bella Swan. Queen of the Wet Blanket. Need I say more?

Delilah Bard from A Gathering of Shadows. She makes reckless decisions and she should not have survived this book. She knew nothing about magic, she should have died and it just didn’t make sense to me.

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Award for Making the Worst Decisions

Bella. Again.

Can this also go to Delilah Bard? I really don’t like her and she made some very reckless choices in A Gathering of Shadows.

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Most in Need of a Nap

Daisy Jones — can I mention her again? She is always snorting or popping something. I don’t think she ever really sleeps as much as she just blacks out. Someone get this woman rehab and a nap.

Lydia from The Two Lives of Lydia Bird. This poor girl falls asleep and dreams of a life where her fiance is still alive. She needs a nap where Freddie isn’t there, but just blackness so she can sleep without pain and memory.

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Want to Read More About You

George Zao from Kevin Kwan’s Sex and Vanity. We don’t get a lot of on page time with him and I’d love to have more. What does he get up to when he isn’t with Lucie? I need to know!

Theo from In a Holidaze. After Mae ends up with his brother Andrew, I wanted Theo to get his own Christmas miracle.

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We’re tagging:

Nicole @ Nicole’s Book Thoughts

Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog

Ashmita @ The Fictional Journal

Rucha @ Between Pages

Raji @ World Unlike Our Own

No pressure to take part in the tag! Would love to see the answers you all come up with!

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