Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
Hi everybody, and welcome to a new Top Ten Tuesday!
I’m sorry I’ve been a bit MIA – life has been lifeing – but today I’m back with some of my favorite secondary characters. I struggled a bit with this post though and only managed to come up with 8 instead of 10, so we’ll just roll with that 🤷♀️ Here we go!
Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman
There are so many loveable side characters in this series, but my all-time favorite has to be Elle, the wheelchair-bound resident of an elder care facility who turned into a badass flying Frost Maiden with a potty mouth.
“You come for Donut or Carl, you come for all of us. I will freeze the blood in your veins and make your genitals shatter like glass!”
The Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas
Technically, Manon Blackbeak becomes one of the main characters, but she kind of starts of as a secondary character so I’m counting her. My all-time favorite witch is just too amazing not too mention
“We are The Thirteen, from now until the darkness claims us.”
The Fourth Wing series by Rebecca Yarros
I will riot if any harm will fall upon Ridoc, the jokester with a heart of gold!
“Look at you!…Look at you from a distance!”
The Alex Stern series by Leigh Bardugo
I think we’d all be lucky to have a friend like Pamela Dawes in our lives!
“I’ll get the whiteboard,” said Dawes.
“Is it a magical whiteboard?” asked Turner sourly.
Dawes cast him a baleful look. “All whiteboards are magical.”
Enchantra by Kaylie Smith
He’ll be the main character in his own book soon enough, but Sevin Silver also stole the show as secondary character in Enchantra.
“Forget Rowin, what do you think about marrying me instead? Your chances of winning wouldn’t be as good, but I’m much more fun.”
The Red Winter trilogy by Annette Marie
Yumei will always be my favorite grumpy master of shadows!
“You think I came all this way to play nursemaid to a bumbling fox and a fragile human?”
The Fae & Alchemy series by Callie Hart
If we’re talking about characters who steal the show from the main characters, Carrion Swift is another character that comes to mind.
“She isn’t my girlfriend. She’s my mate,” Fisher said quite amicably. “And if any part of your body, literally any part of it, comes into contact with hers, then I will remove it.”
Carrion thought about this. “What about if she’s hanging off a cliff by one hand and can’t hold on much longer? Can I touch her then?”
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
No list of favorite secondary characters is complete without Samwise Gamgee, the best friend a hobbit can have!
“There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.”
Tell Me:
Do we have any favorite secondary characters in common?
I struggled with this one as well, but ended up picking Manon too.
My TTT: https://laurieisreading.com/2026/05/19/top-ten-tuesday-favorite-secondary-characters/
Manon is amazing indeed 🙂
A great list. I struggled this week and had to do a lot of internet searching for names!
Have a great week!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2026/05/19/top-ten-tuesday-favourite-secondary-minor-characters/
Thanks, happy to hear I wasn’t the only one struggling with this topic! 😀
Honestly it took me ages finding books with good enough secondary characters and then finding their names 😂
I’ve seen Throne of Glass on so many lists this week – and well deserved, its side characters (that sometimes become quasi-main characters) are definitely one of its strongest points!
So true, the secondary characters of Throne of Glass are really amazing!
I loved Samwise!
He’s the best!
Nice picks, thanks for sharing your #TTT
Thanks! 🙂
I really should read the Fourth Wing series sometime.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
I hope you’ll love the Fourth Wing series if you decide to try it!
Yes I chose Manon too!
Manon is amazing! 🙂
Sorry life has been lifeing, I totally get that! I hope things settle down for you soon and you are able to get back into all your regular routines. I would not have been able to come up with 8, you did great. Have a good week!
Thanks so much!
Elle sounds like a lot of fun!
Here’s my TTT for the week: https://readbakecreate.com/ten-series-ive-caught-up-on-in-2026/
She is a hoot indeed 🙂
I haven’t read many of these but aww Pamela Dawes.
She’s the best indeed 🙂
Ugh, yes when life is lifeing. I get it!
Great list! LOTR has so many great secondary characters!
Haha thanks 🙂 Yes, LOTR is amazing when it comes to secondary characters indeed!
I am getting ready to start reading Dungeon Crawler Carl. I am looking forward to it!
I hope you’ll love the Dungeon Crawler Carl journey!!
Samwise is the best! Everyone needs a loyal friend.
Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
So true!
Aww, Samwise! I don’t remember much about the Lord of the Rings series, but I did love Sam!
Sam’s such an iconic sweetheart 🙂