Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week’s theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!
This week’s theme is about our favourite platonic relationships, and I love me a good platonic relationship in a book, whether it’s between family or friends.
As someone who values my friendships far more than any kind of romantic relationship, I love it when friendships are portrayed well in fiction. In fact, unless it’s done really well, one of the romantic tropes I most dislike is the friends to lovers trope. Friendships are equally powerful and valid relationships and they deserve more love.
Isabella and Tom from The Memoirs of Lady Trent by Marie Brennan: Frankly there aren’t enough opposite sex platonic relationships in fiction, at some point there always seems to be some kind of romantic tension, but Isabella and Tom’s friendship is one of my favourite things about this series. I love that their friendship develops out of mutual respect and, like many of the best friendships out there, they actually start out hating each other.
Maia and Chenelo from The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison: This entire book is a celebration of friendship in all its forms, but I think it says a lot about Addison’s writing that, even though Chenelo is dead and someone we only meet through the times Maia talks about her, we still get such a strong sense of the kind of woman she was and the kind of relationship she and Maia had. I adore Maia’s love for his mother, and that he never hides it.
Nina and Inej from Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: I love all of The Dregs, but I especially love female friendships and Nina and Inej’s relationship is one of the best examples I’ve come across. There’s no competition between them, they just support one another even though they’re two very different people, and I love how much they love each other.
Alexia and Genevieve from the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger: More female friendship! I love that these ladies bond over science and that, again, they’re very different people but they support one another and clearly care about each other a great deal.
Essun and Nassun from The Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin: The best way for a book or series to carve a permanent place in my heart is for it to include mothers and daughters at its centre, and Essun and Nassun are one of the best examples of a turbulent, complicated mother and daughter relationship done exquisitely. In my opinion Essun is one of the best heroines in SFF.
Liesel and Hans from The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: As much as I love Liesel’s friendship with Max, it’s her relationship with her foster father, Hans, that made this book brilliant for me. Their relationship is so pure and loving and sweet and I’m still not over it.
Lirael and The Disreputable Dog from Lirael by Garth Nix: Because what woman doesn’t want a talking dog for a best friend? I desperately need to re-read The Old Kingdom books, it’s been years, but I loved the friendship between Lirael and The Disreputable Dog when I was younger.
Cinder and Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer: More opposite sex friendship! Cinder and Thorne’s relationship was one of my favourite things about this series; I adore Cinder with Kai and Thorne with Cress, in fact Cress is my favourite book in the series, but some of my favourite scenes were the scenes where Cinder and Thorne annoyed the hell out of each other like the siblings they’d never had.
Monty and Felicity from The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee: One of the reasons I loved Monty and Felicity’s relationship was because I loved how realistic it was. Not every family has siblings who are close, although I do love reading those relationships, and I so enjoyed reading about a pair of siblings who annoyed the hell out of each other, didn’t particularly like each other very much, but who pulled through for each other when it really mattered.
Nancy and Minerva from Pirates! by Celia Rees: I’ve mentioned before how much I loved Celia Rees’s books growing up, and Nancy and Minerva’s friendship is one that’s always stayed with me. Who doesn’t want to read about two girls who run away from home to become pirates?
What did you talk about this week?
Jessticulates 
I didn’t know that about the Marie Trent book, but that’s awesome! There defintiely need to be more platonic male/female relationships. It always bothers me when there is this need for them to get together.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ugh I know, I hate it!
LikeLike
Oh yes Essun and Nassun do have a great relationship!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Their relationship is so compelling, I loved that series so much. I can’t wait to go back and read Jemisin’s earlier series now!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve been wanting to read that Marie brennan series for a while now, so nice bonus to know there’s a good friends relationship in it too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I highly recommend the audiobooks!
LikeLike
I agree. Why can’t friends just stay friends? We need more books with strong friendships!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Definitely! I do love a good romance in books, but I’d like to see fewer books where the protagonist can have both a romance and amazing friendships rather than one or the other.
LikeLike
So many great characters!
Lauren @ Always Me
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love them!
LikeLike
Liesel and Hans! Brilliant choice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks – I love them!
LikeLike
The Book Thief was so good – and her relationship with Hans only made it better.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Agreed, I don’t think I would have loved The Book Thief as much as I did if not for Hans.
LikeLike
I completely love Alexia and Genevieve and the whole gang in The Lunar Chronicles. The Memoirs of Lady Trent has been on my TBR for a while, I’m so excited to hear that it has a opposite sex friendship!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I recommend checking out the audiobooks for the Lady Trent books – I really enjoy them!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! I’m a big fan of audios, so I’ll definitely check it out!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Leisel and Hans are good choices. Their friendship was so lovely.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thanks for stopping by earlier today.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They were my favourite part of that book to be honest. 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve heard of the Parasol Protectorate Series By Gail Carriger but never read it! Though I can agree that women supporting women should be prevalent in all books!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, I definitely recommend checking them out! They’re so much fun.
LikeLike
Yes to Lirael and the Disreputable Dog. They made it onto my list too 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love them so much. I really want to re-read The Old Kingdom books at some point!
LikeLike