I am probably, maybe too enthusiastic about this list considering I am not even remotely committed to this top ten because I have read a lot of books this year where I have fallen for the couples in the books, but for now, here are my top ten! Please feel free to share yours!
Rome and Janelle from Only for the Week
Only for the Week has some of the sweetest content that I am truly so wildly in love with, including but not limited to a yacht trip to spend the day relaxing. My dream.
Harlow and Acyn from All I’ve Wanted All I’ve Needed
The love I feel for Acyn and Harlow individually is really only outweighed by love of them together. I fell in love with the way Acyn supports Harlow and reminds her to take care of herself and prioritize herself and her own wants and needs above everyone else’s. A true book boyfriend, but also, a true partnership. I really appreciated them together.
Nova and Charlie from Business Casual
I adore Charlie and Nova. Really, each book in this series has a couple that I love so much. But Business Casual was the 2024 release in the series and y’all, I fell in LOVE. Nova and Charlie both support one another so much and are so soft, but also so sexy. I had such a fun time with this book and this series in general. I will return to it again and again.
Athena and Matthew from At First Spite
The way this book had me sobbing in my room because it absolutely shattered and healed me in one. Athena has a pretty major depressive episode in this book and the scene depicted in the special edition art by Lena Kauffman is such a gorgeous and stunning scene. I loved the way Athena and Matthew loved one another. I loved each of them individually and together. Just all around, obsessed.
Skylar and West from Wild Eyes
The way I love every character in Wild Eyes so much. I love West and Skylar, but also West’s kids. I love them all. I love the side characters. I love the setting. I love the vibes of this book so freaking much I just want to give this book a hug. And also, I love that West is this fun, carefree guy who can turn on the serious the moment he needs to and the way he loves Skylar so fiercely. Similarly, I love that Skylar is so guarded, but is able to completely let go to love West and his kids. Obsessed.
Eddie and Mark from You Should Be So Lucky
I hope you’ll go and like gillowallflower’s post because Cat mostly had just regular posts about the books and I’m trying to give y’all more of a vibe-y experience as I walk through my favorite couples. But I truly loved You Should Be So Lucky and I don’t understand how anyone could not love it. I just find it such a perfect book and I loved these two characters so much together and apart. Just, perfection.
Vanessa and Elle from How You Get the Girl
Another shout out moment, this time to the.bookish.b because I’m truly obsessed with the post she put together, specifically the quote that is in slide two of this post. I loved How You Get the Girl and particularly loved the ace rep with Julie. But also, just the book in general is so soft but angsty and just absolutely stunning.
Misery and Lowe from Bride
Absolutely obsessed with the way the peanut butter is on the counter in this fan art of Bride from summergrove!! Once again grateful for other people whose creativity extends toward visual media in a way that my creativity simply does not. But truly, Misery and Lowe were such a vibe, I had so much fun with Bride. And, as I was scrolling Ali Hazelwood’s instagram, I realized that she might be almost as obsessed with Nalini Singh as I am, which makes so much sense to me. Bride truly was such an excellent foray into the paranormal for Hazelwood and it’s an area I want to watch her return to again and again. So here’s hoping she does!
Jesse and Lulu from The Friendship Study
Okay, genuinely, I need to try harder with my aesthetic content next year, like do you SEE this post from adagetsliterary?? I’m in love. Anyway, speaking of being in love, Jesse and Lulu from The Friendship Study stole my heart pretty early this year. I think it was one of the first books of the year I read as an ARC and IMMEDIATELY purchased a physical copy because I was so in love with it. I still haven’t re-read and annotated it, but it’s still high on my list of books to do that with because this book is gorgeous. The friendship these two build? Stunning. The romance??? Impeccable. I love this so much. Also, the way this book tackles loneliness is out of this world. I loved it so very, very much.
Saeris and Kingfisher from Quicksilver
The way that I fell in love with this book, head over heels, nearly immediately after pressing play on the audiobook… Y’all. I already want to re-listen to it and I finished it maybe two weeks ago. I love Kingfisher and Saeris so much more than I ever could have predicted. Like… love them Sienna and Hawke, Cassian and Nesta, and almost Rowan and Aelin levels. That is absolutely wild to me. But truly, obsessed with this book feels like an understatement and I cannot recommend this book enough. (Especially on audio!!)
Closing Thoughts
Truly, the amount of couples I could have kept telling y’all about, but I have to cut myself off somewhere. Perhaps I’ll give in and do a Top 24 of 24 or something so that I can shout some more books out from the rooftops. What couples did you fall in love with this year? I can’t wait to hear or see some of your content so please let me know if you’ve made similar year end wrap up posts!! This is my favorite time of the year on the bookish internet and I’m really looking forward to a plan I’m cooking up about other people’s favorites.
xx
firewhiskeyreader 