#014 | Cute Couples: Our favourite couples & friends in fiction

Cute Couples: Our favourite couples & friends in fiction

‘Okay, Okay’. ‘As you wish.’ ‘You’re my person.’ All famous round the book world for being catchphrases of beloved couples and adored best friends. But are these our favourite couples? Stay tuned to find out!

Currently Reading

Each episode of Rants and Reviews we’re going to be sharing what we’re currently reading, so you can discover our favourite genes, add some books to your TBR pile, and hear us rave and rage about characters, plot, setting and more. 

Sophie is currently reading:

• The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Bell
• A Simple Favour by Darcey Bell
• Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan

Anjali is currently reading:

• Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare
• Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Main feature

(11:48) While we planned a couples episode, it was really hard to pick favourites from all the books that we’ve read over the year. We’ve decided to talk about our favourites/top likes of romantic couples, and also best friends or groups of friends. 

(12:50) Anjali kicks us off with couples from fiction. While her first thought was Hermione and Ron, but she’s not quite sure if she loves them … but they’re definitely up there. Sophie has different ideas. We may go off topic a little bit talking about the Marauders, but we’ll eventually get back round to the main point of this episode. 

(16:00) Eleanor and Park make an appearance on both our lists, as do Cath and Levi (check out our Rainbow Rowell episode for more details on those couples!) 

(18:15) Sophie brings up Anna and Étienne from Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins and Anjali chats about her love of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. Kell and Lila also pop up in the conversation, from V.E. Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic series. 

(20:30) Sophie’s top couple of all time (whom Anjali knows straight away), is … well, you’ll have to tune in to find out. But if you’ve been listening for a while now then you might be able to guess.

(22:00) Now we’re talking about pirates, as Anjali brings up Alosa and Riden from Daughter of the Pirate King, by Tricia Levenseller, and Sophie shares her love of the web series, Lore Olympus, and Persephone and Hades in that. 

(27:10) There’s a whole discussion about the characters in Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series, with a few comments about characters and couples in her other series. 

(32:50) We bring back the good ol’ days and have a quick Team Edward and Team Jacob discussion, and also Team Gale or Team Peeta. 

(34:28) The Princess Bride is one of Anjali’s all-time favourite movies, but she hasn’t read the book. But she does love Westley and Buttercup. Is book them the same as movie them? We spend a few minutes finding out when Anjali runs to a different room to get the book and has a mini reading session.  

(37:09) Callum and Sephy in Noughts and Crosses, by Malorie Blackman is Sophie’s next pick, and then Etta and Nicholas from Passenger, by Alexandra Bracken. 

(39:38) Strange the Dreamer and Muse of Nightmares, by Laini Taylor and Anger of Angels, by Sherryl Jordan are brought up by Anjali. 

(40:20) There’s an agreement over some characters in The Book Thief, and the Marauders come back to the spotlight. Legolas and Gimli, and Frodo and Sam’s friendships in The Lord of the Rings are some of Anjali’s favourites and Nina and Inej from Six of Crows and Cath and Reagan in Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Lastly, a John Green friendship. Anjali ends her list on Stanley and Zero from Holes.

(42:25) Sophie tells us her favourite friendship, which includes Fred and George, Astrid and Nick from Crazy Rich Asians, Percy, Monty and Felicity in The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, and also a fab five group in A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas.

Outro

Whether the couples and friendships in this episode made your cringe, or nod your head in agreement, we would love to know your thoughts. Who are favourite couples and friendships from fiction? Flick us a tweet or send a bookish post on Instagram!

Books mentioned in this episode

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Bell, A Simple Favour by Darcey Bell, Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan, Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare, Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab, Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller, City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern abridged version by William Goldberg, Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman, Passenger by Alexandra Bracken, Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor, Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor, Anger of Angels by Sherryl Jordan, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green, A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas, The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee, Holes by Louis Sachar, Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks.