Best Book Couples

 

I would not dub myself as a "romantic," per say. Romance as a genre is one I tend to avoid. Plots with magic and action appeal to me more than those centered around a relationship. However, I am human, and there are some couples in my favorite books that I simply adore. We all have those couples that we root for or "ship." I suppose you could say this is a list of my fictional OTPs. 

gideon and harrow 

If you have read the fabulous and strange Gideon the Ninth, I am sure you loved the hate-to-somewhat love relationship between Harrow and Gideon the Ninth. I still need to pick up the recently released sequel, Harrow the Ninth, and I am so excited to dive back into this world and into their fun relationship dynamic. If you are looking for a book about lesbian necromancers in space, this is the novel for you. I mean, doesn't that just sound divine? Gideon the Ninth follows Gideon, a young warrior and member of the Ninth House of necromancy. Gideon and Harrow, bonewitch and the heir to the throne, have had a rivalry since childhood. When Gideon attempts to escape the Ninth House, Harrow foils her plans and makes her an offer: her freedom in exchange for acting as her cavalier in an upcoming event. The Emperor, founder and leader of the houses, has invited the leaders to participate in a game with a chance at becoming an immortal servant of the Emperor. But this game and its location are not what anyone expected and soon proves to hold more danger and secrets than you could imagine. It is witty, action-packed, and one of the best novels I read in 2020. A good hate-to-love relationship will always pull me in and the one between Gideon and Harrow was especially interesting.  

achilles and patroclus

I suppose you could point to the Iliad as evidence to appreciate Achilles and Patroclus' relationship. Popular modern opinion has finally tended to agree on the romantic nature to their relationship as evidenced in the ancient text. But in Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles, she made the romance explicit. Admittedly, their story made me melt and nearly cry. The transition from friendship to romance is seamless and natural. The care they hold for each other is one of the sweetest things I have ever read. In Madeline Miller's depiction, Achilles and Patroclus share a love that even the gods would be jealous of. While their story may be tragic, it is well worth telling. It is a familiar story told in a new, more direct way. Honestly, this one just may be my favorite. 

kaz and inej

Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows duology features a wide cast of characters. I love each one of the main characters (I even named my car after Nina) but I hold a particular fondness for Kaz and Inej. Six of Crows is set in a magical world with powerful people called Grisha who can manipulate different aspects of the natural world, such as the human body or water. But Grisha and the entire world are being threatened by the development of a drug that can heighten a Grisha's abilities to a dangerous extreme. The trade of this drug threatens to topple society and the economy worldwide. Kaz's group of criminals is hired to pull off an impossible heist: infiltrate the fortified Ice Court across the ocean and rescue the inventor, scientist Bo Yul-Bayur. If the group can pull this off, they would receive the biggest payday of their lives, and for some of them, much more than that. Kaz and Inej are very different people and their relationship is complicated but so satisfying. Their slow burn romance develops amidst betrayal, terror, and death. Nothing is better than witnessing them learning to care for each other in spite of, or perhaps because of, their traumas and faults.

will and tessa

No one writes an angst-ridden or star-crossed romance like Cassandra Clare. If you have read her second Shadowhunter series, The Infernal Devices, you became subject to the world's best love triangle. As much as I adored both pairings in this triangle, I, like everyone else, had a favorite. I always rooted for Tessa and Will to end up together. Their story begins in Clockwork Angel when Will helps rescue Tessa from the dark witches who were holding her hostage for their employer. You see, Tessa has a unique shape shifting ability. The shadowhunters, a race of nephilim born to battle demons, take her in. But her captors refuse to let her go so easily and soon they are all involved in a battle greater than they could have imagined. Their relationship was not an easy love, but certainly was a passionate one. I will always love their pairing. 

vasya and morozko

The Bear and the Nightingale does not place an emphasis on the romance yet it is alluring all the less. Katherine Arden's novel is set in the wilds of Russia and follows the life of young and unusual Vasya. After her birth, a strange man approaches Vasya's father and gives him a necklace for his daughter. This strange man is no other than the god of death and winter, Morozko. You see, Vasya is no normal child. She can see the old spirits of the house and of nature. But her new stepmother and local priest are forcing the old religion out to make way for devout Christianity. But without upkeeping the old traditions, the spirits begin to weaken and an older, more dangerous force begins to stir. Will Vasya and Morozko be able to stop this evil from awakening and save Russia? The two have a strange yet fond relationship. Despite all the odds stacked against them, you see their love flourish throughout the series. 

Do you have any favorite fictional couples?