Happy Tuesday, y’all! This week, Jana, over at That Artsy Reader Girl, is asking us to share our favorite character relationships. These can be romantic relationships, but they don’t have to be. For someone who enjoys reading romance, that seemed like too easy of a route to go. But those relationships are supposed to be ones we enjoy and cheer for. Instead, I decided to look at the platonic relationships I’ve encountered in my recent reads that I genuinely enjoyed seeing. Who wants to see what my favorite platonic relationships are?
Some of these relationships are family based. Others are more like a found family. While others developed out of random circumstances.
Titles are linked to Goodreads. Cover images are linked to Amazon.
Now, let’s look at some of my recent favorite platonic relationships!
Lucky & Stella from VenCo by Cherie Dimaline
Lucky is the granddaughter doing her best to take care of Stella, her grandmother. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell who is the older of the two with how Lucky takes care of Stella. But the love between the two of them is visible from the beginning.
Tanner & Louise from The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise by Colleen Oakley
Tanner is angry at the world for what happened to her. Louise is a woman of many secrets. When they come together at first, it’s like oil and vinegar. But as they spend more time together, you can see them starting to mix quite well.
Viv & Thimble from Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
You would think a rattkin would be intimidated, even terrified of an orc. But Thimble only wants to be able to bake and create delicious treats for Viv to sell in her shop. While he doesn’t speak much, there is a lot of respect between the two of them.
Perdu & Max & Cuneo from The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George
When Perdu sets sail, he’s on a mission to find what he’s lost. He wants to complete this mission on his own. But he finds himself with two passengers. Along the way, Max and Cuneo help Perdu and themselves come to terms with the past and find the ability to move forward.
Carl & Schascha from The Door-to-Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn
Carl only wants to complete his rounds and deliver his books. His friends are the people he sees when he has their orders. Along the way, he finds himself being followed by Schascha, a little girl who is eager to see what he’s doing.
Twilight & Anya from Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo
Twilight has always worked alone. He’s a spy, after all. Why would he work with others or have any relationship? His new mission changes that, and he finds himself needing a child. Anya has never had a real family and sees Twilight as the person she wants to stay with.
Yasuke & Nobunaga from The African Samurai by Craig Shreve
For most of his life, Yasuke has been treated as lesser than everyone else. Nobunaga is different; he treats Yasuke with respect. As such, Yasuke works harder to help Nobunaga in his battle to reunite Japan.
Liam & Clara from A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
Liam moves to the house he inherited from someone he doesn’t remember. Clara is a little girl searching for normalcy after her sister disappears and her neighbor enters the hospital. Against his better judgment, Liam finds himself helping Clara.
Josefa & Hinnah & Violet & Emilie from A Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar
While they live in the same Dublin boarding house, the girls come from different walks of life. They want more from life and think they have found a way to make all their dreams come true. They must put aside their differences to work on their common goal.
Maddy & Baby from the Baker Street Mystery Series by Valerie Burns
Maddy inherited her aunt’s house, baking business, and English mastiff, Baby. She has no experience running a bakery or caring for a dog, especially one as large as Baby. But Baby trusts Maddy from the beginning. And they develop a loving relationship.
The cover pictured is for book one in the series, which I read in 2022.
And those are some of my recently discovered favorite platonic relationships! Have you encountered any of these relationships? What are some of your favorite platonic relationships?
Are you looking for some more books to read? Check out my other bookish lists, reviews, and monthly reading wrap-ups.
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Yes! All the relationships in L&L were so good!
Fab list!
I’ve only read A Town Called Solace from your list, which I really enjoyed. Have you read her new on Tom Lake yet?
No I haven’t, but I will definitely give it a look.
I love reading books that include strong friendships!
Here is my Top Ten Tuesday post.
These all sound like good reads.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
I need to read more about Colleen’s. I think I’ve seen that one around the book list/social media part of the Internet but am not sure if I’ve read what the story is. It sounds interesting though! Thanks so much for visiting my website today.
I hope you enjoy it when you give it a try.
I’ve not read any of these but I’ve heard such good things about Legends & Lattes!
Tanner and Louise is showing up on a few lists this week I must move it up my tbr!
I’ve not heard of these books but I love how you built a post around platonic relationships. Soo fun!!
When platonic relationships are done well, they steal the spotlight. I haven’t read any of these, but want to read Legends & Lattes.
I have not read any of these. I would add Agatha and Tony from Dead Wrong by Vanetta Chapman. It is one I read recently. Have a great rest of the week!
Legends and Lattes sounds so fun!
These are great picks! Thimble and Viv made my list this week, too. Oh, and I don’t think I ever thanked you for recommending The Door-to-Door Bookstore! I read it recently and really enjoyed it.
My TTT: https://bookwyrmknits.com/2023/09/12/top-ten-tuesday-favorite-platonic-character-relationships/
Nicole, I’m so glad you enjoyed The Door-to-Door Bookstore!
Omigosh,I LOVE Anya and Twilight!!!
I’ve been meaning to read A Town Called Solace. Now that I know it has siblings in support of each other I will move it up on the list.
They aren’t siblings, but Liam helps Clara to find her sister.
I loved Thimble in Legends & Lattes!
The only one I’ve read out of these is Legends & Lattes. Thimble was straight up my favorite character. So cute. I wanted to put him in my pocket. I love his relationship with Viv. And how he could probably ask her to go to some random faraway, dangerous place for ingredients and she’d do it just for him and his tasty treats. ☺️
I think I would too!
Sometimes I think romance authors get lazy with the development of the relationship, as if they feel like the genre itself is enough to explain why they’ve fallen in love (this is not true of all romance books by any means, though). Platonic relationships can often require more work to develop, which can make them more special. Nice list!
I agree wholeheartedly!
I liked this focus.
I have only read A Town Called Solace and that’s a wonderful book. Mary Lawson is one of my favourite authors.
Thanks for visiting my TTT this week.
I haven’t read any of these, but I like your descriptions. It’s easy to see why these relationships are your favorite!
Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
What a cool list. I’ve heard good things about Legends and Lattes, but I’ve not read it. Hope you have a great week! 😀
That Dublin one sounds interesting! I recently watched a series on Netflix about a group of Dublin girls, so the accident is firmly fixed in my head for the moment.
Viv and Thimble was so much love <3 Really appreciated that friendship. All relationships in that book though.
Agreed! The whole cast is a great example of found family and friendships.
Legends & Lattes is a great example, the whole book is hearwarming and so cozy
You absolutely nailed it with this list! And the way that Viv and Thimble interact in Legends & Lattes is amazing.
I love Twilight and Anya so much!
Tanner and Louise is such a good one. I wish I had thought to put them on my list this week.
Nice list! I haven’t read any of these yet, but I hear such great things about Legends & Lattes. Happy reading this week!