A.L. Sowards
Honestly, my favorite fictional couple is always whoever I’m writing about at the time. There’s just something about creating characters and manipulating how they interact that’s hard to beat.
But I don’t think that’s what the question meant. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I think I’ll go with Kate Sutton and Christopher Heron from the Perilous Gard. It’s a YA book I first read decades ago, and that long association may have a role to play in them being my favorites. Both are great characters—Kate is strong, curious, and determined. Christopher is haunted by misplaced guilt and has a bit of a martyr complex, but he’s inherently good. I like the initial bickering between them, then how they grow together and support each other through difficult times. I also loved that there were really good reasons why they never talked about how they felt for each other, which made for a great resolution. Bonus—their relationship is wholesome enough for younger readers to watch play out. I wouldn’t call the book a romance. It’s more an adventures story, and I’ve found that my favorite fictional couples are never the ones in straight romances. I like the love story to be an addition to the plot, rather than the main driver.
Other couples worth mentioning: Vin and Elend from the Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson, Kit and Nat from The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare, Alan and Kate from Dead Cert by Dick Francis, and Eugenides and the Queen of Attolia from the Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner.
But I don’t think that’s what the question meant. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I think I’ll go with Kate Sutton and Christopher Heron from the Perilous Gard. It’s a YA book I first read decades ago, and that long association may have a role to play in them being my favorites. Both are great characters—Kate is strong, curious, and determined. Christopher is haunted by misplaced guilt and has a bit of a martyr complex, but he’s inherently good. I like the initial bickering between them, then how they grow together and support each other through difficult times. I also loved that there were really good reasons why they never talked about how they felt for each other, which made for a great resolution. Bonus—their relationship is wholesome enough for younger readers to watch play out. I wouldn’t call the book a romance. It’s more an adventures story, and I’ve found that my favorite fictional couples are never the ones in straight romances. I like the love story to be an addition to the plot, rather than the main driver.
Other couples worth mentioning: Vin and Elend from the Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson, Kit and Nat from The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare, Alan and Kate from Dead Cert by Dick Francis, and Eugenides and the Queen of Attolia from the Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner.
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