Top 5 Saturday is a book meme created by Mandy at Devouring Books. This week’s topic is Morally Grey Characters. For this Top 5, I’ve decided to focus on books I’ve already read. This wasn’t easy to narrow down to just 5 books since morally grey is one of my favorite character descriptions, but I think I’ve managed to include the important ones. To help narrow it down, I’ve only selected books with Morally Grey MCs.
5. Half Bad by Sally Green
In modern-day England, witches live alongside humans: White witches, who are good; Black witches, who are evil; and sixteen-year-old Nathan, who is both. Nathan’s father is the world’s most powerful and cruel Black witch, and his mother is dead. He is hunted from all sides. Trapped in a cage, beaten and handcuffed, Nathan must escape before his seventeenth birthday, at which point he will receive three gifts from his father and come into his own as a witch—or else he will die. But how can Nathan find his father when his every action is tracked, when there is no one safe to trust—not even family, not even the girl he loves?
In the tradition of Patrick Ness and Markus Zusak, Half Bad is a gripping tale of alienation and the indomitable will to survive, a story that will grab hold of you and not let go until the very last page.
I feel like this series is extremely underrated. It seems relatively unknown in the grand array of YA fantasy trilogies. However, the MC, Nathan, is a Slytherin though and through. He’s got a tragic back story and questionable morals. He’s not the kind of protagonist to do good despite his past, but you’ll still find yourself rooting for him.
You can read my review of this series here.
4. The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller
“They’ve never found the body of the first and only boy who broke my heart. And they never will.” Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power:
1) Woo the Shadow King. 2) Marry him. 3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.
No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King’s power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she’s going to do everything within her power to get it.
But Alessandra’s not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen―all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?
The Shadows Between Us is a deliciously wicked tale that alternates POV between two intriguing, morally grey characters. I was obsessed with this book from the moment I picked it up. I love Alessandra’s unapologetic confidence as she executes her schemes. The Shadow King is the perfect counter-point to her, although his questionable morals take a little longer to reveal themselves.
3. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
Nevernight is the first in an epic new fantasy series from New York Times best-selling author Jay Kristoff. In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.
Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer and a future she never imagined.
Now, 16-year-old Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic – the Red Church. Treachery and trials await her within the Church’s halls, and to fail is to die. But if she survives to initiation, Mia will be inducted among the chosen of the Lady of Blessed Murder and be one step closer to the only thing she desires: revenge.
Mia is definitely a darker shade of morally grey, but even though she is an assassin hellbent on revenge, she loves fiercely and defends her people to the ends of the world. Unfortunately, I’m super behind on my Jay Kristoff, so I haven’t finished this series yet, but it is high on my TBR.
2. Vicious by V.E. Schwab
Victor and Eli started out as college roommates―brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.
Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find―aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge―but who will be left alive at the end?
In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn’t automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.
I can’t possibly have a list of morally grey characters without including Victor Vale. Honestly, Schwab is a queen when it comes to creating characters that straddle the line of good and evil. It was hard (a little too hard actually) to only include one of her books on this list.
1. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . .
A convict with a thirst for revenge. A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager. A runaway with a privileged past. A spy known as the Wraith. A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.
Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.
Six of Crows tops my list for what should be obvious reasons if you’ve read the duology: Kaz Brekker. Essentially a gangster Robin Hood, this young man is what morally grey dreams are made of.
Honorable Mention: Shades of Magic by V.E. Schwab
Kell is one of the last Antari―magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once, Black. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences.
Kell serves the Maresh Empire―Red London, as he calls it―as an official ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons. After one such visit goes awry, Kell escapes his home for Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.
I couldn’t resist including one more Schwab series. Kell may be morally grey, but Holland is the epitome and my absolute favorite Morally Grey character. I hold out hope that he will get his own spin-off series, even though I know she is writing Rhy/Luc now. I’ll keep my fingers crossed!
I know I’m supposed to tag 5 accounts to join in, but I honestly don’t have that many followers. Oh well! If you want to join in, go for it!
Have you read any of the books above? Who are your favorite morally grey characters? Let me know in the comments!
Great picks! I love all your choices and totally agree with them. Holland and Victor were the first two characters that came to mind for this prompt. I can’t believe I forgot about Mia though (d’oh) especially when Nevernight is one of my faves! 🤦🏻♀️
Thanks! I honestly look at other people’s lists and think why didn’t I remember that character! There’s just so many great ones to choose from. This was a great prompt.