What are your favorite contemporaty fiction books about healthy relationships?

[A.A.B]

I am loving this group's recommendation section, so I decided to join and add my question here, too.

Similar questions were asked before on different forums, but rarely answered, and the answers I found span classics, historical fiction, fantasy and sci-fi. The last similar thread I found dates back a few years with no new answers. So here we go:

I am looking for contemporary (last 30-40 years) setting novel that features characters building/having a healthy relationship with each other.

What is a "healthy relationship"? Here is my definition:

A relationship between two people where both partners
- treat each other with respect,
- can easily communicate with each other about anything,
- trust each other enough to avoid stupid misunderstandings,
- strive to learn more about each other in a non-intrusive way,
- support each other through hardships and in achieving personal goals/dreams,
- have a fairly balanced footing (no patronizing/domineering of one over the other),
- don't stalk/control/possess/restrict/abuse each other
(seems obvious, but you'd be surprised...)

The characters don't need to start out that way, but should build such a relationship at some point in the book. In fact, if the book features a believable process of building such bonds, it would be amazing.

So, have you ever read such a book?

Because it seems like a desert out there. I am sick and tired of reading variations of people messing each other up - sure, there is enough of that in real life, but in real life that's not all there is. Yet, so far I haven't found fictional reflections of the later.

[siriusedward]

Whispering Rock
Just Over the Mountain
Temptation Ridge
Cherish Hard
Rock Hard
All He Ever Dreamed
It Happened One Wedding


These are comtemporary romance of course.But they are all good in their way.The main characters respect support and treat each other well.

[A.A.B]

Thank you! I very much appreciate your recommendation and the way that you took time to find and list those books. I will check them out.

Although I expected that the answers to my questions would feature some romance novels, the sparsity of answers (I gave it a year and the topic seems to have stayed close to the top of the board here) and the lack of genre variety makes me sad.

Thank you again for giving me some hope!

[siriusedward]

To The Bright Edge of the World has a good healthy relationship and its an epistolary novel..not romance..

[siriusedward]

A.A.B wrote: "Thank you! I very much appreciate your recommendation and the way that you took time to find and list those books. I will check them out.

Although I expected that the answers to my questions woul..."

You are welcome, A.A.B .

[A.A.B]

siriusedward wrote: "To The Bright Edge of the World has a good healthy relationship and its an epistolary novel..not romance.."

Oh, thank you! I usually like epistolary novels, so I am already looking forward to this book.

Do you write reviews of the books you read? May I add you as a friend?