Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new theme is suggested for bloggers to participate in. This week’s prompt is a Secondary/Minor Characters Who Deserve Their Own Book, but I’m twisting it just a bit.

Hello Readers! How are we in the last week of September?! While August was blissfully long for me, this month has been a return to the norm: a blur of days flying by!

I decided to simplify today’s topic a bit and come up with secondary characters who DID get their own books. I’m gonna try hard to stay away from the obvious ones that were clearly planned as a series, like books centered on different members of a family. I would love to find all books where a character unexpectedly got their own book—maybe because fans demanded it or the author loved the character so much, but that seems like a tall order.

🎉On September 10th I celebrated my 4th blogiversary. I’m hosting a few giveaways, so be sure to check them out and enter to win! 🎉

Let’s see which minor characters I found who got their own books!

(Link to Goodreads synopsis through book title.)

1

Felicity “Fizzy” Chen

When I think of characters who unexpectedly got their own books because they somewhat stole the show in their original book, I think of Fizzy from The Soulmate Equation. I even said in my original review that she needed her own book. Clearly I wasn’t the only one, because the writing duo of Christina Lauren decided to honor their many requests for Fizzy’s story in The True Love Experiment!

My review of The Soulmate Equation

2

Carrie Soto

Carrie Soto doesn’t even have a very big part in Malibu Rising, but she makes quite an impact. And it’s not a great first impression. But Reid does a wonderful job of taking what appears to be a ruthless character and making her human. I can have mixed reactions to Reid’s books, but I enjoyed both of these, even giving Carrie Soto is Back four and a half stars!


My review of Malibu Rising
My review of Carrie Soto is Back

3

Lord John Grey

When Lord John Grey first appears in the Outlander series it’s in the second book, Dragonfly in Amber, as a 16 year old English soldier. His appearance and interaction with Jamie and Claire is brief but consequential. Gabaldon took a very small character and created someone layered, who definitely deserved their own book and series. It starts with Lord John and the Private Matter, which I own but haven’t read yet.

4

Marie Lehr

When Marie appears in The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker, she’s an obstacle for our protagonist Calla because they’re both in love with the same man, Jonah. So she wasn’t a character who garnered much devotion. But Tucker makes readers love her AND root for her in Running Wild.

5

Magnus Bane

When we meet the immortal warlock Magnus Bane in the first Shadowhunter book, City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, he’s definitely memorable and very much deserving of his own book. The Bane Chronicles is a collection of short stories that follows Magnus throughout his long life, and is a must-read for fans of the series!

6

Nick and Charlie

When I fell in love with Nick and Charlie from the graphic novel series that starts with Heartstopper: Vol. 1 (2018), I had no idea that they’d originally appeared as side characters in Alice Oseman’s debut book Solitaire (2014), which is about Charlie’s sister Tori. Even though it was written first, from what I understand, Solitaire actually takes place sometime during Heartstopper: Vol. 4. I haven’t read Solitaire, but it’s known to be much darker than the Heartstopper series.

7

Coriolanus Snow

Coriolanus Snow is the villain in The Hunger Games, one of the most hated characters from the books, so many fans were not happy to hear The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the first new book in The Hunger Games universe in 10 years, would be a prequel about Snow’s beginnings. I was actually more impressed with Ballad than I thought I would be, but the film adaptation looks to be even better than the book! I’d still love a book about Haymitch’s time in the arena, though.

8

Diana Casillas

I’m a fan of romance author Mariana Zapata, and The Wall of Winnipeg and Me was one of my favorite slow-burns. When I discovered Vanessa’s best friend Diana has her own book, Wait for It, I immediately added it to my TBR. Now I just need to read it!

9

Duncan Carpenter

Happiness for Beginners (2015) by Katherine Center included Duncan—the immature brother of our protagonist Helen—who only appears briefly, but still manages to be memorable. He’s the strikingly more serious male lead in What You Wish For (2020), set several years later. You don’t need to read Happiness first, but it was a cool connection!

My review of What You Wish For

10

Bertha (Mason) Rochester

Lastly—but I think one of the more interesting characters to get their own story—is Bertha, Rochester’s first wife from Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte Brontë. Although written by a different author, Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) by Jean Rhys introduces the reader to Bertha before her unfortunate fate in Jane Eyre.

What’s your favorite book starring a secondary character? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!