Goodreads asked Amber Foxx:

Who is your favorite fictional couple, and why?

Amber Foxx It’s hard to pick just one. My favorite couples appear in two very different mystery series, but I enjoy reading about their relationships for similar reasons. The couples are Jim Chee and Bernadette (Bernie) Manuelito in Tony and Anne Hillerman’s Navajo Mysteries, and Mma Ramotswe and Mr. JLB Matekoni in the Number One Ladies’ Detective Agency series. These are couples who are friends as well as lovers, well-matched in values and culture. They don’t get together through tumultuous whirlwind romances, but by getting to know each other over time. Although they sometimes disagree, they support and understand each other and see each other through hard times. In the early Tony Hillerman books, Jim Chee goes through some passionate romances of the opposites-attract type before he realizes that Bernie is the one for him. Their love is intense, but more believable to me than the way love is portrayed in romance novels. I’ve admired how Anne Hillerman writes this healthy marriage and keeps the scenes strong. (It’s easier to get material out of a conflicted and unhealthy relationship than a good one.) And Alexander McCall Smith also gets some solid stories from his protagonist’s relationship. Mma Ramotswe and Mr. JLB Matekoni are extraordinarily considerate of each other’s feelings and sometimes the humor and conflict come from their kindness.

I hope the next question is about favorite friendship pairs in fiction. I’ve got two of those, too.

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