Sometime you fall in love with a character because they remind you of yourself or someone else you know. Or maybe it's because they make you smile or empathise with their circumstances. Sometimes it's just because they are a great villain. Many of the characters in this list are from sequels (all the better to know them) or books made into movies (easier to put a face to the character).

1. 1. Bridget Jones - Helen Fielding

   She makes you laugh, cringe and cheer. No women sums up the life of a chain-smoking, social-drinking, weight-watching singleton better than Bridget.

2. 2. Rebecca Bloomwood - Sophie Kinsella

   Who wouldn't love this whirlwind with maxed-out credit cards? And the best bit is we can follow the Shopaholic's antics through five books.

3. 3. Miranda Priestley - Lauren Weisberger

   The female villain of The Devil Wears Prada is cruel, rude and overdemanding. And of course exquisitively dressed. She'll definitely make you feel better about your own boss.

4. 4. Walsh sisters - Marian Keyes

   These Irish sisters have certainly added a few grey hairs to their parents' heads - there's Claire whose husband left on the day their baby was born; Rachel whose fondness for recreational drugs led her to a rehab clinic; Maggie who left her husband to head for LA; Anna who gets badly injured and Helen who never seems to be in work.

5. 5. Tracie Martin - Alison Kervin

   She may not be quite Posh Spice but Tracie is Queen of the WAGs in our book. Who else perfects the WAG look of orange skin, yellow hair, indecently short skirts and tower-high heels - while still being a charming, yet somewhat clueless, character.

6. 6. Rose Feller - Jennifer Weiner

   Apart from sharing a shoe size, attorney Rose is so unlike her wild sister Maggie. But in In Her Shoes, Rose learns to live a different type of life.

7. 7. Rosie Dunne - Cecelia Ahern

   From a naughty schoolgirl passing notes in class to a single mother trying to forge a career, we are with Rosie through several decades of her life and pray she'll get together with her soulmate in Where Rainbows End.

8. 8. Rachel White and Darcy Rhode - Emily Giffin

   These best friends fall out over the same man but in Something Borrowed, then Something Blue your sympathies will swing between the pair.

9. 9. Jemima Jones - Jane Green

   You'll be right behind Jemima J as she undergoes her transformation to look like her altered after photo.

10. 10. Kettle sisters (Cat, Lyn and Gemma) - Liane Moriarty

    Right from the opening restaurant fight, the triplets of Three Wishes will leave a lasting impression.