Friday 56 and Book Beginning: Grey Sister (Book of the Ancestor #2) by Mark Lawrence || Friday 50/50: Favorite/Least favorite main character

Please join us over at RoseCityReader every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

This is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice
These are the rules:

1. Grab a book, any book.

2. Turn to page 56, or 56% on your eReader.

3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.

4. Post it.

5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post.

Synopsis:

  In Mystic Class Nona Grey begins to learn the secrets of the universe. But so often even the deepest truths just make our choices harder. Before she leaves the Convent of Sweet Mercy Nona must choose her path and take the red of a Martial Sister, the grey of a Sister of Discretion, the blue of a Mystic Sister or the simple black of a Bride of the Ancestor and a life of prayer and service.

  All that stands between her and these choices are the pride of a thwarted assassin, the ambition of a would-be empress wielding the Inquisition like a blade, and the vengeance of the empire’s richest lord.

  As the world narrows around her, and her enemies attack her through the system she has sworn to, Nona must find her own path despite the competing pull of friendship, revenge, ambition, and loyalty.

  And in all this only one thing is certain. There will be blood.

Book Beginning:

The dissolution of any monastery or convent is not something to be lightly undertaken.

Friday 56:

Kettle heard the thunk of her star hitting home: she'd aimed for his upper arm. There was always a chance he was simply a woodsman, and if not, she would want someone to question. Either way, she didn't want him dead.

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50/50 Friday is a new weekly link-up hosted by Carrie @ The Butterfly Reader and Laura @ Blue Eye Books.  Every week they have a new topic featuring two sides of the same coin - you share a book that suits each category and link up on the hosts' blogs.

So, this week it was supposed to be Favorite/Least Favorite Memoir, but I've never read one. I don't have an answer. So, I picked one from the past.  Favorite/Least favorite main character, from 9/12/2016.

Favorite

Is it cheating if I say Kaz Brekker (Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo)? I just love morally gray characters. He has the typical tragic backstory, but the way he also tries really hard to make people hate him, even though he has never (physically, psychologically is up for debate) harmed anybody innocent makes his character very interesting to me. But he never really tries to justify it. He knows what he does isn't the kind thing most of the time, but from his view it gets the job done. 

Least Favorite

Rather than go the easy route and pick obvious ones that I don't think anybody I talk to likes as a main character, I'm going to kind of pick one that people might like.

Adrian from Renegades by Marissa Meyer.
He is kind of self-righteous. And I just don't really like that in a character. I suppose there's a reason for that considering his background, and I haven't read Arch Enemies yet, but it kind of makes his character feel a little flat to me. Especially next to Nova. He acts as though his lying and sneaking around is somehow okay, while those who have been labeled 'Anarchist' just because they don't want to join the Renegades aren't allowed to have a secret identity. So not only is he self-righteous, he's a hypocrite.