Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Side Characters I Love

As hosted by The Broke & The Bookish

Today I’m doing a little twist on the weekly top ten. The original top ten was going to be ten characters I love that others seem to dislike. But honestly, I would never be able to reach ten that way. I love a lot of characters, but I don’t think any of them are mostly disliked by others.

So I decided to do a top ten of side characters I love so much that I might like them more than the actual main characters of the story. That’s not saying I dislike the main characters, but just that I love these side characters just that bit more.

Here is my top ten of side characters I LOVE:

Sam from the Lord of the Rings trilogy (J.R.R. Tolkien)

Samwise Gamgee is the first character I ever loved so much that I was looking forward to his scenes more than any of the other characters in the book. His friendship, loyalty, bravery and kindheartedness make him such a great and trusted friend to Frodo and number one on my favourite characters ever list. Samwise the brave 4 ever!

“One tiny Hobbit against all the evil the world could muster. A sane being would have given up, but Samwise burned with a magnificent madness, a glowing obsession to surmount every obstacle, to find Frodo, destroy the Ring, and cleanse Middle Earth of its festering malignancy. He knew he would try again. Fail, perhaps. And try once more. A thousand, thousand times if need be, but he would not give up the quest.”

Fred and George from the Harry Potter series (J.K. Rowling)

Fred and George charmed me from their very first scene in Harry Potter and I was looking forward to their scenes ever since. And even though they are all pretty great, they are my favourite Weasleys (sorry Ron!) The part in Order of the Phoenix where they leave the school is one of my all-time favourite epic scenes!

“Fred and George turned to each other and said together, ‘Wow, we’re identical!’
‘I dunno though, I think I’m still better looking,’ said Fred, examining his reflection in the kettle.”

Nikolai from the Grisha trilogy (Leigh Bardugo)

Ah, Nikolai. What’s not to love about Nikolai? He’s the too-clever fox, the privateering prince, the ever-charming king of scars and oneliners. Even though he’s not in the first book of the trilogy at all, he still managed to make such a good impression on me that he became my favourite character in it.

“I took a breath. “Your highness—”
“Nikolai,” he corrected. “But I’ve also been known to answer to ‘sweetheart’ or ‘handsome.”

Kenji from the Shatter Me trilogy (Tahereh Mafi)

Trust Kenji to bring a little humor and lightheartedness to the mix when the Juliette-Adam-Warner drama is getting a bit much. (Not that I don’t love their drama!) Kenji is a great friend to Juliette, always honest and calling her out when it’s needed, but also always helping her and being there when she need someone. He is caring and always there to lighten up the mood with a silly joke.

“The man is moody as hell.”
“I am not moody—”
“Yeah, bro.” Kenji puts his utensils down. “You are moody. It’s always ‘Shut up, Kenji.’ ‘Go to sleep, Kenji.’ ‘No one wants to see you naked, Kenji.’ When I know for a fact that there are thousands of people who would love to see me naked—”

Zuzanna from the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy (Laini Taylor)

Like most of the others on this list, Zuzanna is the best friend everybody wants. She’s loyal, brave, feisty and hilarious. And her relationship with Mik is every bit as epic (though slightly less dramatic… maybe) as Karou and Akiva’s.

“You are a conniving, deceitful hussy. I stand in awe.”
“You’re sitting.”
“I sit in awe.”

Magnus Bane from the Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices (Cassandra Clare)

I think practically everybody in the whole world who has read these books loves Magnus Bane. And for good reason. From his magic skills and wise cracking to his love of glitter and Alec, the cat-eyed high warlock of Brooklyn is one of the highlights of this series.

“Malachi scowled. “I don’t remember the Clave inviting you into the Glass City, Magnus Bane.”
“They didn’t,” Magnus said. “Your wards are down.”
“Really?” the Consul’s voice dripped sarcasm. “I hadn’t noticed.”
Magnus looked concerned. “That’s terrible. Someone should have told you.” He glanced at Luke. “Tell him the wards are down.”

Xemerius from the Ruby Red trilogy (Kerstin Gier)

I never could have predicted I would someday want my own immortal gargoyle demon sidekick, but ever since reading this series it has become one of my biggest wishes. The scenes in the books were he was providing a running commentary on Gwen’s love life were hilarious.

“That morning, the two eagerly awaited fairy-tale princes had left their white horses in the stable for once and traveled by Tube,” declaimed Xemerius unctuously. “At the sight of them, the eyes of the two princesses shone, and when the two concentrated sets of young hormones collided, expressing themselves in the form of embarrassed kisses and silly grins, the clever and incomparably handsome demon unfortunately had to throw up in a garbage bin.”

Roar from the Under the Never Sky trilogy (Veronica Rossi)

Roar is the best example that a platonic friendship between men and women is not only possible, but that it can be epic. The friendship between Roar and Aria is so perfect and beautiful, it’s one of the reasons I fell in love with this series.

“Roar’s smile widened. “I know. You missed me.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s barely been three weeks since I last saw you.”
“Miserable stretch of time.” He said.”

Vida from The Darkest Minds Trilogy (Alexandra Bracken)

I’m still only halfway through the final part in this series, but I can’t help but love Vida. She wears her anger and rudeness as an armour and though she does not show it easily she cares deeply for her friends. Plus she is really badass so I would feel a lot better if she was around. Also, her and Chubs’s bantering is comedy gold.

“Just shut up and start sucking each other’s faces already,” Vida grumbled, leaning awkwardly against the stump. She would never admit it aloud, but I knew the burns on her back her eating her alive with pain. “I’m trying to make up for the sleep I lost when you started screeching at each other like cats in heat.”
“Miss Vida,” Liam said, “has anyone ever told you that you are positively the whipped cream on the sundae of life?”
She glared at him. “Anyone ever told you your head is shaped like a pencil?”

Finnick from the Hunger Games trilogy (Suzanne Collins)

Katniss and Peeta are some of my all-time favourite main characters, but I love Finnick just as much, if not even that teensy bit more… When we first got to know him it was unclear where his character would go. It would have been easy to make him just a charming and cocky but one-dimensional and forgettable character. But then he exceeded that and became a fully-dimensional and enjoyable character that you can’t help but fall in love with.

“Finnick?” I say, “Maybe some pants?”
He looks down at his legs as if noticing his outfit for the first time. Then he whips off his hospital gown leaving him in just his underwear. “Why? Do you find this” — he strikes a ridiculously provocative pose — “distracting?”
I laugh. Boggs looks embarrassed and Finnick looks more like the guy I met at the Quarter Quell”

What do you think about these characters? Do you have any side characters you might just love that little bit more than the main character?