Character Connection: Wolfies

  

For this week's character connection, I thought I'd do something a bit different.  You see, this weekend, Velvet's hosting a Werewolf Weekend, and I thought, wouldn't it be fun to spotlight some of my favorite werewolves?  My answer to myself?  Yes, it would.
So without further dudes*, I give you my favorite furry pals (aka wolfies!):
 (click on the pretty celebrities to see why I picture them as each character)


Elena from Kelly Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series (see Bitten and Stolen).   Elena is the only female werewolf in existence, and she is as bad-ass as they come.  The great thing about her, though, is that she's not off-putting for all her badassery; she's tough, but always likeable.  One of the great things about Elena's role in the WotO books, especially Bitten, is watching her come to terms with who -- and what -- she is.  The book really comes alive in wolf form, and the pack dynamics and wolf scenes Armstrong writes are some of the best out there.

Sam from Shiver.  Though I didn't absolutely love this book, I did love Sam.  Generally with shapeshifter stories, you get a lot of sense of power and enjoyment in the wolfiness, but with Sam, you get to see the flip side.  This wasn't something he wanted, it's taking away a big chunk of his life, and to top it off, he's still got to go through all the normal teen stuff.  More than that, though, Sam reads like a sweetheart, and I like that.  He's not the angsty/aggressive/controlling/pricky teen "heartthrob" you generally see.  He's one of the good guys, and that's refreshing and charming.


Clayton Danvers (Clay) from Women of the Otherworld.  Clay is not  Sam.  Clay is angsty/aggressive/controlling and generally a prick.  And I love him.  (Conflicted, who me?)  Clay's a bit of an unknown; wildcard is an understatement.  He was found by the pack leader when he was basically a feral little wolfboy living in Louisiana swamplands.  He doesn't understand or trust humans, and he is Wolf to his very core.  But he loves Elena, and he has a soft spot he tries hard to hide, and he is fiercely loyal and protective, and endearing for all that.  Oh, and did I mention he's a genius.  Like, actually a genius.  I love me some smart boys, and I have to admit a weakness for the cocky ones, too.  How often they go hand in hand...
(oh, and he's an utter sexy beast)


Lord Conall Maccon from Soulless by Gail Carriger.  Conall is loud and strong and exceedingly Scottish, and I love every bit of his interactions with Alexia Tarabotti (whom you should know by now is one of my favorite characters).  You just have to read him to appreciate it, I think.  'Nuff said.


Ben from the Mercedes Thompson books.  I know I've mentioned these books in, oh, just about every Character Connection thus far, so might as well keep that tradition alive.  Ben is an...interesting one for me.  It's not really a crush thing -- yet -- but he intrigues me.  I want to know more about Ben.  He's had a hard life, and as the series goes on, we get glimpses of that, but generally he's snarky and sullen and misogynistic and you kind of want to shake him until he rattles.  But you know that's a mask and that there's actually a decent guy under there, and when his facade begins to unravel, it's kind of beautiful.  I like problem characters, and I like when they are redeemed.  Plus, he's British, and man do I love me an accent.


So there you have it.  My top 5.  For now.
What are yours?




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Werewolfy goodness?  Click me --->

* Bonus (useless) points for the first person to tell me what "without further dudes" comes from...