Top 5 Wednesday Topic: Independent ladies

Hello readers!

Today's Top 5 topic is independent ladies. This subject is described as the ones that are more focused on getting shit done that who she's kissing, however there may still be a romance in the story.

FYI, there are some spoilers below so if you are not current on the series, please be mindful that I may bring up a fact that you were not aware of.

1. Mia Corvere from Nevernight: For those of you not aware, our murderous Queen is excellent at multitasking. Specifically more so in Godsgrave, Mia is there to get shit done and is on a mission. Apparently Mr. Kindly's comments about Tric in Nevernight stuck with Mia because despite having Ashlyn we didn't get a heavy romance in the second book. The balance that Kristoff used was really nice, not allowing the fact that Mia has now come out as bisexual or that Ashlyn of all people is her main squeeze interfere with the plot of the story. Mia still came, she still saw, and she most definitely murdered.

2. Ari from The Alchemists of Loom: Ari is essentially a mercinary, hired to do the dirty jobs within Loom. She has taught herself the sciences that help keep her alive and free from the guilds. Though I have only made it through the first book, she has no concrete love interests and although she is motivated by money, is extremely knowledgable in what needs to happen in order to get stuff done. I appreciate her self-assured character but still having a vulnerability to her apprentice, Florence. Their relationship was one I really loved from the beginning so the seperation between them at the end of book one made me sad. 

3. Jude Duarte from The Cruel Prince: Oh Jude-y, Jude Jude. Look how infatuation has temporarily blinded you. Despite her complicated but 100% my cup of tea relationship, Jude put in work to get her power within Faerieland. She did some murdering, some lying, and definitely some scheming. Unfortunately, letting her guard down a bit put her as the Queen of the Faeries but in exile as Cardan is free to actually run his own Kingdom. Jude is observant and a quick learned, so I'm sure she wont make this mistake again.

4. Hermione Grainger from Harry Potter: If we look at book Hermione over movie Hermione, she is definitely a "get it done" type of girl. Even when Ron left in the deathly hallows, she stayed to complete the mission she set to do with Harry and understood that the well-being of the world was more important than her romantic relationship. And that's just one example of when Hermione cared more about being a reliable person than her relationships with others.

5. Mirabella from Three Dark Crowns: I don't know if I like Mirabella just because I feel like her character is somewhat neglected, however I do think she fits the independent ladies title perfectly. Her mission in this entire story has been to prove herself as an elementalist, preferably not kill her sisters but also obtain the crown, and then consider a consort but mostly for political reasons. Part of me wonders if this is setting up to remove her character all together or if we're going to get a neat f/f relationship between her and a new character. 

This is my list for this week. Let me know some of your favorites below!

For those of you not familiar with Top 5 Wednesday, or would like to participate, it is a Goodreads group that can be found here. We post all of our lists every week to review with each other and support conversations.