I Heart Characters! is a weekly meme hosted by Dani @ Perspective of a Writer to showcase our book blogger lover for characters! Each week she’ll supply a topic and you’ll supply the character. Post on whatever day suits you, about characters from whatever media you love (books, movies, K-dramas, television, manga, anime, webtoons, whatever!) and link up on Thursday so YOU and others can blog hop and share the character love.

Today’s topic was a hard one : we have to speak about a grump. Or rather a Grump with a Heart of Gold ( or characters with rude or disgruntled personalities deserve love too… especially if they thaw towards the MC, eventually…).

After raking my brain for hours and hours (OK maybe I am being a drama queen as I thought about it for some minutes) I hesitated between two grumps.

So today is Grumps day (What? You say it is selfie day? Whatever!) and you’ll get two for the price of one!

Summer deal and all.

1)My first grump comes from a YA fantasy series and is none other than Prince Magnus from Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes.

Why do I think he is a grump?

Because in the first book he was brooding, moody (think about it he was experiencing forbidden love with little sis Lucia!) and haughty.

He wanted so much to make daddy proud that he tried to imitate daddy in his cruelty but luckily he had not the soul nor the stomach for it!

In the second book he thawed some and showed us a tiny piece of his heart of gold.

I wrote: “ I love heroes with many “shades of grey”, not the black or white characters. They’re always the more interesting to follow in my books. That’s why Magnus has become my favorite male character, even before Jonas. He is torn between dark and light, taking great pain to show a cold façade obeying his father as a dutiful son. ”My father wanted this union, not me. But this is what I must do to keep my position as his heir. One day, everything my father has will be mine-his kingdom, his army, his power. I’m not risking that for anything or anyone. “
But his beliefs are not set in stone. He has a sharp mind and analyses everything, drawing his own conclusion. A terrible realization will alter drastically the course he’ll take in the next book.”

In the third book he is mellowing even more.

”You want to know why I did what I did? It’s because , without your bravery in the face of all that’s happened to you, without your constant scheming behind my back, without that fire of hatred and contempt and hope in your eyes when you look at me… In the shadow my father has cast over my entire life, you are the only light I can see anymore. And, whatever the cost, I refuse to let that light be extinguished.”

This was all confirmed in the fourth and fifth book

Magnus was not the cold hearted monster he believed to be. He has fire and goodness underneath it all even if he is ambitious. He is my favorite male character.

That makes Magnus my first grump with a heart of gold.

2) Now my second grump of the day hiding a heart of gold is Dr Peele from Atticus!

He is a veterinarian.

Old, suffering from his hip to the point of turning some patient down but never wanting to confess his health problem. When Hazel lands in his clinic, he’ll be very short with her, admonesting Hazel even.

She was not deterred by his rude manners and was back later to pay her due and work for him.

When she’ll be left homeless he won’t let her live on the street and will open the appartment above his house for her. Of course she’ll have to pay him back working for him at the clinic! We could not have you guess he is a marshmallow underneath his abrupt demeanor could we?

Countless times he will help Hazel and care with kindness and gentleness for his furry patients.

Dr Peele is the archetype of grump with a heart of gold.

Now do tell me who is your grump with a heart of gold?

Happy Thursday!

Sophie