TTT: Fictional Platonic Relationships

Friendsies! As much as I adore romance in the books I read (and boy, do I enjoy the romance), sometimes I just like reading books where friends remain friends, and they’re practically THE best of friends because honestly, why ruin the relationship by falling in love with each other anyway?

FREEBIE: Top Ten Platonic Relationships in Books

Cinder and Thorne (The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer) – Well, of course this was going to be topmost on my list, because these two spawned the idea of this week’s TTT to begin with. Cinder and Thorne both have their own significant other, and where many YA books tend to throw in several love interests to give the heroine options, I am so, so glad this was not the case in The Lunar Chronicles.

Wade/Parzival and Aech (Ready Player One by Ernest Cline) – This was a friendship borne from virtual reality. Parzival and Aech are both OASIS experts who’ve managed to make it to the top of the Easter Egg hunt online. While it takes until the very end of the novel for the two to actually meet, their camaraderie was admirable, even when they’re competing toe-to-toe with the top prize.

Rhy and Kell (Shades of Magic by V.E. Schwab) – Well, this is probably the weakest of my “platonic relationship” points on the list, not because the brotherhood or the friendship and camaraderie isn’t there, but because every so often, their chemistry has the potential to spark into something more. Not that it will, mind you. I think Schwab’s established the relationship goals of her characters, but damn. Rhy and Kell DO love each other. Platonically speaking, of course.

Kylar Stern and Logan Gyre (The Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks) – Bromance to the max! The first time these two meet, they pretty much get into a fisticuffs. However, to keep to his Kylar Stern persona (a distant cousin of a lesser noble line), he befriends Logan. For the most part, you don’t really see either of them on the same page in the novels, but they do become good friends and it shows by the end of the series.

Jamie Fraser and Murtagh (Outlander by Diana Gabaldon) – Alright, I’ve only read the first book and most of my Outlander knowledge comes from the TV show. What I do know is that Murtagh is the sort of loyal friend to have throughout all this, and he really loves his nephew Jamie like he was his son. Their relationship makes me smile in any case, and I love Murtagh.

Mercy Thompson and Ben (Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs) – So I feel like Mercy plus anyone NOT Sam or Adam can be added here, but I do like that some of the guy friends she has don’t think of her as a potential romantic interest. Warren was a given since he bats for the other team, but Ben. I like Ben. He’s rude and British and has a problem with women, but I think he grows on the reader like a fungus in a damp, dark place. And Mercy certainly grew on him to the point where the two are good friends.

Simon Snow and Penelope Bunce (Carry On by Rainbow Rowell) – I loved that Rowell did this. Penny is the Hermione Granger of Carry On but she does not find any of the boys in the school attractive, choosing instead to have a relationship with a foreign boy across the Atlantic. She does, however, love Simon Snow, and is his best friend. She and Simon are in a platonic relationship, but it’s a beautiful one.

Zeke and Four (Divergent by Veronica Roth) – I totally dug that bro-hug somewhere near the end of Allegiant (or was it Insurgent). The two are best friends, and even though the whole thing with Uriah (and maybe a few others) kind of dampened the relationship, I think there’s every possibility of jumping back from that pain and hurt and moving on. IT CAN HAPPEN, YOU GUYS.

Agnieszka and Kasia (Uprooted by Naomi Novik) – I’ve always loved this friendship! I wasn’t expecting Kasia to show up again after Nieshka gets taken away to live with the Dragon, but she does, and their relationship does have a certain strength to it.

Lirael and Sameth (Abhorsen by Garth Nix) – Before they found out they were related to each other, Lirael and Sameth were just friends. Well, I think Sam did find his young aunt a wee bit attractive at first impression, but Lirael shut down this line of thinking immediately, and the two moved on from that awkwardness to save the world entire.

Did you have any favorite platonic character relationships?