Sam & LILY from Sing anyway

Sam and Lily are the love interests in this queer romance novella, and I adored them both so freaking much! Sam is a nerdy history professor who loves trains and is enamoured by Lily’s confidence and style. Lily is a shy receptionist by day and a beautifully bold singer on karaoke nights, and is passionate about sewing the perfect clothes.

They are endearing and adorable characters who weren’t difficult to empathise with. Both have a soft strength to them and I loved how they buoyed each other up. They were just… WONDERFUL characters and ugh, please read this novella so we can gush about how amazing these two characters are!

will & kim from The Will darling adventures

Will is a veteran of The Great War turned antiquarian book dealer who is very much a ‘what you see is what you get’ kinda person. Kim is an untrustworthy disgraced aristocrat who hides secrets within secrets. You’d think they wouldn’t fit but they really do!

Simply put, Will is a really good guy. He has a fierce determination to survive and not fall back into a life of poverty and I admired his drive, street smarts and his sass! SO. MUCH. SASS and I loved it! I was on the fence about Kim at first but he really grew on me. He’s quick-witted, has a sharp sense of humour and underneath that infuriating upper-class demeanour he is a soft heart who cares so much. Together? They are explosive!

Mei from UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR

Okay, actually, I loved all the characters in Under the Whispering Door. They create such a beautiful found family and made this story such a funny and heartwarming read. However, Mei cracked me up from the moment we’re introduced to her as the reaper who guides Wallace to Hugo.

Despite having a very sad past, she is a character with a big heart and is so full of life. She has an energy that jumps off the page at you and her positivity was so infectious!

murderbot from THE MURDERBOT DIARIES

I buddy read the whole series earlier this year and Murderbot immediately wormed their way into my heart. I relate to them on a scary level? And they are without doubt my favourite AI ever.

Their sarcastic voice cracks me up without fail. I love how they would die for their humans even though they’d probably rather get shot before admitting it, they hate emotional displays, they are obsessed with TV shows, and they have a hilariously banter-filled love-hate ‘relationship’ with ART. They are just… THE BEST!

rafe FROM rafe: a buff male nanny

Rafe is 100% book boyfriend material. Rafe is a male nanny, covered in tattoos (weakness #1), super sweet and gentle (weakness #2), rides a Ducati (weakness #3), and he’s basically everything anti-toxic masculinity (weakness forever). He’s a hulking mountain man who is a big-hearted softie and I mean, I don’t know about you, but that’s all I really needed to know! 😂

I’ve never read anything with a male nanny before(?) but I wouldn’t be mad with more!

AXEL from WITH YOU FOREVER

Again, there’s not one character I don’t love from the Bergman Brothers series and I also loved all the characters in With You Forever, but Axel really had me swooning hard and I love him to bits.

Axel is a grumpy artist on the spectrum who lives in the woods. He’s a painfully shy introvert who reads romance, “grudgingly” adopts a lost doggo (but really loves him so much and doesn’t want to admit), can cook up a mean meal, and he pays close attention to the little things and it’s those little things!!! Ugh, he is so, so fine. Please. 🥲

shiori from six crimson cranes

I struggled with Shiori at first but she is a character that experiences such wonderful growth throughout this story and I loved her so much in the end. She’s head-strong, quick-witted and resourceful and is relentless in her quest to save her brothers. She’s such an admirable character and I loved her realistic and complicated relationship with her brothers and step-mother.

tobias from SILVER IN THE WOOD

Tobias’ character fit so perfectly with this magically enchanting story. He has an otherworldly connection with the woods and doesn’t speak much, but he has such a large and grounding presence. He’s such a kind and gentle soul.

Despite this being a novella, I was able to strongly connect to his character and he’s one that has stuck with me ever since!

cee & Kasey from the ones we’re meant to find

It’s kind of hard for me to get into why I loved Cee and Kasey without getting into spoiler territory for this book but I loved how realistically portrayed their relationship is. Sisterhood can be complicated, especially when you’re complete opposites, much like how Cee and Kasey are. However, they are both compelling and delightfully complex characters who I still think about even months after finishing their story!

THE KAUL FAMILY from tHE GREEN BONE SAGA

Yeah, I’m really not going to make myself choose one from all of the amazing characters in this series. I have developed a deep love for The Kaul Family—Anden, Hilo, Shae, LAN ❤️ Aaah! And those are just the mains from this family and I haven’t got to the other members of this clan. Dare I say even Ayt Mada?! I don’t have the words for how much I love all of these characters but they’re without doubt some of my all-time favourites!