Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl – definitely check out her awesome website.

This Top Ten Tuesday was a free topic about Characters. I had such a hard time picking a topic. 😫 But eventually I ended up with this one to celebrate some of the badass female characters I’ve read throughout the years. I’ve read SO many books over the past thirty years that I chose the ones at the top of my head. Now this list is mostly from YA Books because it’s what I read most of lately. But this is a super short list folks, and not listed in any ranking at all. There are so many fierce female characters that I love and I keep adding to my mental list.

Feyre Archeron from A Court of Roses and Thorns Series. The first chapter where we meet Feyre, I was like, YASS..this is going to be good. She’s starving, hunting her next meal and dealing with family that don’t appreciate her. She’s a survivor and fighter from beginning to end.

Caelaena Sardothien from Throne of Glass Series – Now before ACOTAR there was Throne of Glass. I thought TOG, the first book was just okay. Wasn’t totally in love with it, thought it was a light fantasy read but the sequels after were pretty amazing. Caelaena is a beautiful, fierce assassin.

MacKayla Lane “Mac” from the Darkfever Series. This one is not YA but Adult Urban Fantasy. Years before any Feyre, Caelaena and anyone on this list came along I was obsessed with Mac. On the chase for her sister’s killer, Mac meets enigmatic Jericho Barrons and she gets introduced to the Fae world. I think Mac’s appeal was she was this Barbie girl who loved bright colorful clothing and she gets thrown out of her comfort zone into this world with Fae and Alpha Males. She learns to fight but still keep her love of all things pink. She’s fierce and still a girly girl and there is nothing wrong with that!

Karou from Daughter of Smoke & Bone Series because she’s like a dream. When I first read this book years ago, it transported me to a magical world with angels and Chimeras and other creatures. Karou was like a unicorn to me with her blue hair, sketching all the time and living in Prague. All of it: the setting, the characters, the wishes, the story was just MAGIC. And Karou was the perfect centerpiece.

Jude Duarte from The Cruel Prince Series. I can’t make this list without Miss Jude Duarte! What can I say about Jude? I love her. She isn’t charming, she’s flawed, she’s bold and brave too. I like how committed she is to her task no matter what happens, she is cold as ice sometimes! She’s smart and fierce and I’m addicted to her and Cardan!

Allison Sekemoto from The Immortal Rules Series. Some characters just stay with you and in a time when vampire stories were about dying out in popularity, Julie Kagawa published this book. This story blew me away – it was a vampire dystopian story and Allison Sekemoto wasn’t only an Asian character I could fangirl about, but she carried a Katana. I mean…YES, please! She’s an Asian vampire who is gritty, snarky, means business and oh so fierce.

Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games Series. The series that started my love of young adult dystopian novels. Katniss had a unique name, so I already knew she was going to be special. How can you not love a character who will take her sister’s place in an event where most people don’t survive? She’s a survivor until the very end.

Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy Series. Speaking of vampire stories, I was obsessed with the Vampire Academy series! Rose isn’t a full vampire, which was nice – she’s a Guardian, basically a bodyguard for vampire royalty. She got some butt kicking skills, and it helps to be trained by a hottie, right? 😅 Rose is fun, brave and totally fierce.

Tea from The Bone Witch Series because a necromancer like her has to be mentioned as a fierce character. And yes she had the power to raise the dead and bond with scary creatures but what was super fierce about her was her love for her brother. Even just thinking about it breaks my damn heart. UGH. 😭💔

Roselle St. Sismode from Secondborn Series rounds up this list. What a fighter in this sci-fi/fantasy world. I love her and though she’s a badass with a fusion blade, she suffered from anxiety as well. Killing and seeing death is traumatic and I liked that she shows vulnerability because we all break down sometime, right? But no matter how many times she gets beaten down she gets back up and keeps fighting.

And that’s my list *whew* that was hard! I love so many characters!

Have you read any of these series? What fierce female characters do you love? Leave me comment below!