TTT: Favorite Couples

With the delightful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish moving on to other things, TTT is now hosted by just one of their contingent, That Artsy Reader Girl .  If you want to quadruple the size of your TBR AND find a bunch of great book blogs to follow head on over and check it out!

The topic this week, just in time for Valentines Day, is Favorite Couples in books. I was going to be all obstinate and talk about friends and pets and whatnot, but given the obvious connection to the holiday, I'll play along and talk about true love and soul mates. And so, logically, my list will have 14 couples. (Because Feb. 14--get it?)



Anne and Gilbert in the Anne of Green Gables series. I love the way their relationship develops over time, and the letters they wrote each other when separated.

“Gilbert, I'm afraid I'm scandalously in love with you.” (From Anne of Windy Poplars)

Sean and Puck in Scorpio Races. Gah. I was fully invested in their romance. 

“I say, 'I will not be your weakness, Sean Kendrick.'
Now he looks at me. He says, very softly, 'It's late for that, Puck.” 

Swoon.

Ari and Dante in, obviously, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. I was so happy for them when they figured it out. And there's a new book coming!

“I love swimming"
"I know," I said.
"I love swimming," he said again. He was quiet for a little while. And then he said, "I love swimming—and you."
I didn't say anything.
"Swimming and you, Ari. Those are the things I love the most.” 

Kaz and Inej in the Six of Crows duology. They've got issues, and may never be able to touch each other, but WOW is it an intense and, frankly, hot relationship. I just wish those pesky copyright laws didn't prevent me from dumping a bunch of fan art of them right here.

"I will have you without armor, Kaz Brekker. Or I will not have you at all." 

 BRB, gotta go cry for an hour or two now.

Lazlo Strange and Sarai in the Strange the Dreamer duology. I need to go re-read this right now. Love them so much.

"I think you're magical, and brave, and exquisite. And..." His voice grew bashful. Only in a dream could he be so bold and speak such words. "I hope you'll let me be in your story.” 

Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane in the LPW series One of the earliest marriage of intellectual equals I saw in print. 

“For God's sake, let's take the word 'possess' and put a brick round its neck and drown it ... We can't possess one another. We can only give and hazard all we have.”

Marko and Alana in the Saga series *Sobs endlessly*

“At first, he annoyed the shit out of me. Marko can be a self-righteous ass, he has no idea how to sit still, and worst of all, he laughs at his own jokes."

"Then why did you risk everything to be with him?"

"Because your son is so goddamn beautiful."

"Ha. I assure you, looks aren't forever."

"Oh, I know. I wasn't talking about his looks.” 

Jack and Ennis from "Brokeback Mountain" in Close Range. This short story hit me so hard. Years later when I saw the film, I was shocked at how many details I had remembered. I also felt that its position as the final story in the book really brought to life the environment this doomed love foundered in.

“The shirt seemed heavy until he saw there was another shirt inside it, the sleeves carefully worked down inside Jack’s sleeves. It was his own plaid shirt, lost, he’d thought, long ago in some damn laundry, his dirty shirt, the pocket ripped, buttons missing, stolen by Jack and hidden here inside Jack’s own shirt, the pair like two skins, one inside the other, two in one.” 

Nathan and Gabriel from the Half Bad series I'm not much of a shipper in books, and will usually accept the first relationship I'm handed, but I was rooting for these two from the very start.

“You've been away a long time. Were you lost?

I was wounded, not lost.”

(If you haven't read the series, that quote is actually more romantic than it sounds.)

  

Todd and Viola from the Chaos Walking series. It starts as a hesitant friendship and nearly gets derailed several times, but whether or not it was romantic, their love and support for each other kept them connected to the people they were and the people they wanted to become. 

“Todd!” she says again but this time in a way that asks me to look at her and I do and she stops Angharrad at the edge of the square and she’s looking at me, looking right into my eyes–

And I read her–

And I know exactly what she’s thinking–

And my Noise and my heart and my head fill up fit to burst, fill up like I’m gonna explode–

Cuz she’s saying–

She’s saying with her eyes and her face and her whole self–

“I know,” I say back to her, my voice husky. “Me, too.”

Katniss and Peeta. Forever. 

“You love me. Real or not real?"
I tell him, "Real.”

Scarlet and Wolf from The Lunar Chronicles. They had to work for it in ways the other couples didn't.

“I really am sorry for shooting you."
"Are you?"
Her touch lingered as it reached the end of the bandage, checking that it was still securely tied. "What does that mean?"
"I suspect you would shoot me all over again if you thought it would help your grandmother."
She blinked up at him, almost surprised to discover how close they were standing. "I would," She said. "But that doesn't mean I wouldn't be sorry about it afterward.” 

Simon and Baz in Carry On. You crazy vampire and wizard boys, you. 

“You were the sun, and I was crashing into you. I'd wake up every morning and think, 'This will end in flames.”

Eugenides and Attolia in The Queen's Thief series. Talk about hate-to-love. She CUTS OFF HIS HAND for crying out loud!

“Unable to guess the answer, she asked, 'Who am I, that you should love me?'
'You are my Queen,' said Eugenides. She sat perfectly still, looking at him without moving as his words dropped like water into dry earth.
'Do you believe me?' he asked.
'Yes,' she answered.
'Do you love me?'
'Yes.'
'I love you.'
And she believed him.” 

SO MUCH ROMANCE. I always say I don't like romances, but honestly, I adore all of these couples, and their relationships are central to their stories. It also appears I need to read more F/F love stories.


And then there's this epic romance. 💕