March 15 is the Ides of March, so today's Top 5 Wednesday topic asks us to talk about the books or characters that betrayed us the most. 

To try and avoid major spoilers, I'm going to keep my answers relatively short. However, BE WARNED: Number 2 contains a big spoiler for "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins, so skip that one if you haven't read it. There was really just no way for me to explain my answer without outright stating what happened. 

1) "The Heart Goes Last" by Margaret Atwood

I was really excited about reading this when it first came out: a blogger I like had raved about this, and it had been several years since I had read anything by Atwood. I actually received an advance copy of this and dove right in...but was quickly shocked at how much I had to force myself to keep reading. This had been marketed as an adult dystopian novel with elements of romance and survival. But honestly? This book is about: Sex. Robots. Unfaithful spouses. More sex. Jail. 

"The Heart Goes Last" feels very jumbled and forced, like it's trying to be "Edgy" and "Jarring" but it simply spiraled out of control to me. It really turned me off of picking up anything by Atwood anytime soon. 

2) "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

Let me clarify- it wasn't this whole book I felt betrayed by, but rather a very specific moment. So basically right after Katniss shoots Coin instead of Snow like she is supposed to, she passes out. And a lot of stuff happens after she passes out but we as readers don't get to see all that action!! Conveniently, Katniss wakes up after everything has been dealt with and gets an easy-peasy summary of what occurred. 

So really, the betrayal is really from Collins! I think having a character pass out during a pivotal moment it just laaaaazy writing. I enjoyed "Mockingjay" as a whole, but this scene (or rather, lack of) just always gets under my skin.

3) Edmund Pevensie in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"

I mean, come on! What Narnia-loving child didn't feel a little angry at Edmund after he sold out his siblings for a bunch of Turkish Delight? First of all, Turkish Delight is the nastiest kind of candy and Edmund clearly had no taste. Second (and I'm repeating myself here) he sold out his siblings for candy. Really, Edmund was a first rate noob! I'm glad Edmund got some great character development later (he's actually one of my favorite characters now) but man, rereading the first Narnia story always irks me a little bit because of Edmund's selfishness. 

4) Jesper Fahey in "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

So I'm not going to go into detail on this one because of, again, spoilers, but there is a moment in "Six of Crows" when something about our favorite sharpshooter is revealed and I audibly gasped when reading it. Bardugo wove such a busy and elegant story with so many layers that I truly did not see this moment coming, but in hindsight, it totally made sense! *applause to Bardugo* Jesper is by far one of the most complicated characters in this duology, and I loved seeing him shift about in his various roles. 

Ah, my little criminal children never fail to disappoint me. :) 

5) "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by JK Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany

Confession time: this book came out summer of 2016, and it is now March 2017 and I've yet to finish this book. I keep trying, but just can't get past the first few scenes. And it's not the play format; I actually rather like plays and dramas. It's the writing. Storyline. All of it. I've seen reviews where people write about "Cursed Child" seeming like just fanfiction, and so far, I agree with that. Sure, I'll read the whole thing at some point...someday...not soon. I've really tried to read this three different times but there's an obvious lack of Rowling in it. I'm not feeling the magic with this. 

So there you go! Hope you enjoyed reading this week's T5W- if you'd like more info on the group and upcoming topics, check out the Goodreads group here. 

Until next Wednesday!