Friday Friyay: 'Cruel Crown' by Victoria Aveyard

Happy Friday! My last Friday in the Netherlands... I think I'm prepared enough that I can have a calm-ish day today. There's definitely things to do but most are straightforward I think. And then tomorrow my mom and step-dad will be here with a van and then on Sunday that's it, I'm going. So one of the things I wanted to do the past few days was still have fun and cozy reading sessions. And I did that with a book from my own "Backlog Challenge", Cruel Crown by Victoria Aveyard, the 0.1 - 0.2 installments of the Red Queen series. (Remember when every series had in-between books?!). I wanted to get into this series for ages and I do actually have the first two (proper) books lined up as well, one in German and one in English, so it's about time!

In a world divided by blood - Red or Silver - two women tell the stories no one else knows.

For Coriane of House Jacos, love comes at a terrible cost. In a secret diary, she recounts her heady courtship with the heir to the Silver throne, Prince Tiberias, and the dangers that lurk at the heart of the royal court.

Captain Farley is at the forefront of the Red rebellion. As she plans an attack on the Silver capital, she discovers a secret that could sway the balance of power for ever.

Two gripping stories. One fight for justice.

Red vs Silver.

Book Beginnings is at home on Rose City Reader, hosted by Gilion Dumas, and Friday 56 at Freda's Voice, hosted by Freda. I'll also be joining the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy over at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.

BB:

'From: Queen Song:

As usual, Julian gave her a book.

Just like the year before, and the year before, and every holiday or occasion he could find in between his sister's birthdays.' 1%

I think most of us are probably also constantly and consistently gifted books. Actually I have to admit that people have stopped gifting me unexpected books, in the sense that they now ask me which books I might want and then pick from that list. Everyone assumes I've read everything, so they don't want to be the one to gift me something I've already read.

F56:

'I push off the wall next to him and slip into the crowd, eyes trained on the four red uniforms up ahead. It isn't easy. This close to Corvium, there's a lot of Red military, either marching through to take their places in the Choke or attached to different convoys like the one we're tailing.' 56%

This was from the second story, 'Steel Scars', which had a completely different vibe from 'Queen Song'. I'm very curious how my reading experience of Red Queen will be different having already read these two stories because the main character from that book already popped up in this second story.

Pop over here for my review of Cruel Crown.

BBH:

This week's question was suggested by Billy himself:

What are your favourite characteristics of a main character?

Love this question because it's one of those where the answer feels obvious but once you actually think about it it feels impossible to answer. But I've narrowed it down to a few characteristics I really enjoy:

• Independence (specifically of thought). I love it when a main character has a clear interior conviction of things, or has made up their own mind, or wants to figure things out themselves. Not because they don't want help, per se, but because they have trust in their own capabilities, to a certain extent, and don't let other people's opinions sway them too much.
• Kindness. I love sassy conversations and black humour, but at their heart I want my main characters to be kind. They should care for those around them, have an eye for the struggles of others, and be willing to take a moment to consider circumstances before responding. Obviously not always, I don't want a saint who never stands up for themselves, but I also think kindness can be a major impetus for people to stand up for others and make a difference. That's what I want.
• Faith/Belief. I don't mean Christianity or Islam or Buddhism or any "established" version of faith here, although I also don't mind that in my characters. What I mean is that I like it when main characters believe in something, whether it is kindness or the worth of human life or the power of words or literally anything. But I want to be able to see that there is a driving force behind them, something higher than themselves that they believe in and are willing to fight for. It makes me rabid (in a good way!) when a character has a strong code of ethics or beliefs and has to struggle with those and grow with it during their journey!

That's it for me this week! Have you read the Red Queen series? And what characteristics do you like?

I won't have a whole lot of time this weekend to pop around and see everyone else's posts, but I'll try to catch up on Monday!