People Are Sharing The Books That Genuinely Made Them Fall In Love With The Characters, And I'm Adding Each And Every One Of These To My TBR List

Buzz Feed

27-03-2025

Every now and then there is a book with a character so well-written, so well-developed, that you instantly fall in love with them.
Here are some of those books and characters:
1. The Lonesome Dove series:"I would read a hundred books about those characters and then ask for a hundred more."
— jjason82
"I think a big reason why we get so close to the characters is because we get to hear every character's thoughts in every situation. Third-person where everyone is sort of a main character. I feel so close to them all."
— grassclip
2. To Kill a Mockingbird:"Atticus Finch. I've read TKaM probably 10 to 15 times, and I learn more from him with every read. His knowledge just keeps on coming. Actually, all the characters in that book have something to teach us. It's my favorite of all time and it's just so dang beautiful but also heart-wrenching."
3. The Flowers in the Attic series: "As crazy as it sounds, it was as if I actually knew the characters personally and had a bond with each one of them. When they were happy, I was happy for them. When they cried, I hurt for them. And when the series was finally over, I cried so hard. I'm talking like literal body-racking sobs. My heart ached for their family so badly. Obviously they are just made-up characters, and I know I probably sound foolish. But I can't help myself. I often find myself thinking about the characters and their story and wishing I could check in on them to see how they're doing."
— u/Marandajo93
4. The Anne of Green Gables s eries: "I read ALL of the subsequent books and just fell in love with Anne and the Cuthberts."
— mindfulminx
"I enjoyed the Emily of New Moon books, too. They are a little darker than the Anne books, which I love, but are very good."
— Adventurous-Cook5717
"Marilla is one of my all-time favorite characters. I often imagine her disapproving of my poor decision-making. "
— doyoou
5. The Lord of the Rings series: "The characters live in my head rent-free. They're always there waiting for me to review parts of their story. "
6. The Harry Potter series: "There was a dread in the final books where you could feel everything crumbling and I didn't want anything to change nor anyone to get hurt, but I knew it was an inevitability."
7. The Discworld series: "I love Discworld for the same reason I loved Catch 22: It builds an ecosystem of characters that all inhabit their own space and, even if the book isn't about particular characters, it's fun as hell to see them show back up when you least expect. Like the zombie lawyer who knows the law because he's been doing it forever. All these gag characters show up and it's like old friends coming to visit with each Discworld book."
8.
Never Let Me Go: "Kathy from Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is a character who I think about all the time. It's like she is a real person and I think about her and the book as a real person and real events. She is just such a wonderful achievement in literature. I adore that book."
9. The Haunting of Hill House: "Shirley Jackson does such a good job of writing about isolated lonely women who are at the cusp of insanity (like Eleanor Vance). She also does such a good job of giving Eleanor an inner life and inner thoughts in the first part of the novel."
10. It: "The relationships between the core characters are so rich, deep, and authentic that by the end of that massive story, it is hard to let go of them. It's especially painful because the characters themselves start to forget each other at the end of the book as its power over them fades. The book is a wild cosmic mindfuck but the denouement is quietly beautiful and poignant."
11. The Stand: "Larry Underwood went from my least-liked character to my absolute favorite by the end. Harold Lauder is a great character as well — not likable, but a great character to read. Honestly, Stephen King has some of the best character development ever."
12. The Wheel of Time series: "I love all of the WoT characters because they're all so complex and flawed. I can't think of a single character who didn't absolutely piss me off at one point or another (except for maybe Thom), but I can't help but love them all for it. Nynaeve is hands-down my favorite literary character of all time. Her growth arc is so, SO well written. She goes from being a hilariously/frustratingly ironic comic relief character to one of the biggest hitters on a bunch of levels."
13. The Princess Bride: "When I finished The Princess Bride, I wanted a sequel immediately. I still long for a continuation of the story to magically appear. At least I can re-read the book as often as I like."
15. The Raven Cycle: "I first read it in middle school and have reread it multiple times since. Maggie Stiefvater's characters are so captivating — I don't think I've read any contemporary YA fiction that has characters quite as likable and memorable as them."
Scholastic, Inc. / Via barnesandnoble.com
— aliteralfool378
16. The Spellman Files series: "It's been a dozen years or so since the last entry with that beloved and hilarious crew, and I still think about Izzy, Henry, Rae, and the rest of the bunch."
S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books / Via barnesandnoble.com
— jamibc44
17. The Count of Monte Cristo: "Edmond Dantes in The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. It's a story of revenge that makes you so passionately root for his success in his journey to get back what was taken from him. I loved his character the entire story, and I never wanted to put the book down because I always wanted to see what he had planned next."
Penguin Classics / Via barnesandnoble.com
— wk2424
18. The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series: "When it came out, I was the exact age as the characters in the first book and so I grew alongside them. I loved their personalities, their banter, and their trials. Luckily, I've gotten to keep going with them for a while since Riordan published a sequel series and is now doing another fun shorter series. It gives me lots of comforting nostalgia."
Disney Publishing Group / Via barnesandnoble.com
— kat1701
19. The Hunger Games series: "I always find myself missing Katniss Everdeen."
Scholastic, Inc. / Via barnesandnoble.com
— sixeyedgojo
Which other literary characters are missing from this list? Let us know in the comments!
Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.