Love is in the air!
Valentine’s Day is, I’m convinced, a holiday celebrated by no one as intensely as it is by middle schoolers. They come to school with Valentine’s cards for everyone they know, heart-shaped balloons for their friends, candy is passed around freely from person to person, candy grams or carnations are sent to friends and secret crushes! And lets not forget the infamous Valentine’s Day Dance! If we’re lucky us teacher’s sometimes get remembered in all the hub-bub and a student (or two) will gift us with a Disney Princess card or a little bag of candy. I really do love my job.
So, I love my job and I love a good romance. Today’s top ten list is my favorite fictional romances. Most are from Young Adult or Middle Grades fiction, but a few adult titles (not that kind of adult!!) may have snuck in too!
Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Oh, that’s not a book cover you say?! Oh Colin Firth isn’t who Jane Austen based the character on?! I do not care, because I strongly believe that had Jane Austen been aware of Colin Firth she would have been equally as pleased with the decision to cast him as her leading man. Book or movie Elizabeth and Darcy are easily my favorite fictional couple!
Anna and Etienne St. Clair
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
This romance blossoms so slowly it’s so beautifully painful! I loved the reality of this relationship; sometimes you fall for someone and the timing isn’t right, sometimes it can take forever.
Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark
The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
The Girl on Fire + The Boy with the Bread! Come on! Their love is based on helping each other through hardship. They are both there for each other through the pain and struggle, that’s what love is.
Tessa Gray and Will Herondale
The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare
A romance set in Victorian London?! An American girl and Welsh guy both with supernatural powers? Enough said!
Katsa and Po
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Katsa is strong and prideful. Po loves her enough to break through the barriers she puts up. That’s love!
Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Mr. Rochester is the first person to really notice Jane; to notice that she’s more than just a quiet governess. Le sigh…
Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe
Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery
They annoy each other as children, but their love grows throughout the years. He even waits for her to finish school before they get married. Way to go Gilbert! 
Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
Best friends turned crushes is one of my favorite plot lines and Ron and Hermione are an awesome couple. They compliment each other’s talents and strengthen each other’s weaknesses.
Ani and Geric
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Both Ani and Geric fall in love without realizing the other’s true identity, so they get to know the real person first. Fairy tale magic!
Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
I have a special spot in my heart for Catherine and Mr. Tilney; she’s a voracious reader and he’s a pastor. Sounds like a couple I know very well…! I can’t put my finger on it, but I feel a connection to them!
I hope I didn’t forget anyone! Who are some of your favorite fictional couples?
Also, don’t forget to enter to Tempest Audiobook Giveaway here until Sunday Feb 20.
I found the relationship between Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester interesting in that, yes, he was the first to really notice her, but they always seemed to be putting each other down–especially in terms of their looks. The attraction between them obviously went a lot deeper. The way Charlotte Bronte wrote this relationship is one of the reasons JANE EYRE is one of my favorite novels of all time.
Hi there, over from YA Highway! Niiiiiiice, this list is! I would add THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE and DELIRIUM (darn, the names are escaping me, sorry)!
I love your list!! I share most of them, though I haven’t read The Goose Girl yet. And I totally agree—if Jane Austen had known Mr. Firth I’m confident she would have approved. Happy Valentine’s Day!
You had some of my favorites, but my all time favorite is from The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (the MOVIE, not the TV show). Love how combative they are in the beginning, but he gives up so much to let her have a life. Plus, she turns into a writer: Blood and Swash, aargh!
I love these kinds of posts for the wonderful book recommendations I can get. I’ve read a handful of these and a few are on my TBR pile. They are GREAT stories and I’m a definite Jane Eyre fan! (surly love interests, FTW)
Also, Katniss + Peeta = sexy toast!
I love this post idea! You have some great choices there.
The couple in The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks comes to mind right off the bat for me. Timeless love, until the end.
xxkk
Christine
@thatgalkiki
You have amazing taste in fictional romances
I agree with all of the above!
I love all your couples! I also love Jamie & Clare from Outlander!
What? Not Edward and Bella? Just kidding.
Aww… so many of these are my favorites too! Anna & Etienne, Hermione & Ron, Katsa & Po, Darcy & Elizabeth… the fictional world has so many wonderful, giddy-making romances
anne and gilbert! lizzie and darcy! anna and etienne! ron and hermione! love all those couples. happy valentine’s day!
Oh, how I love love love Katsa and Po!
And my friends and I have a party every year where we set up paper bags and all of us trade valentines “just like we did in elementary school!” Except for our international friends – to whom we had to explain the custom.
Love your list! I have got to read Anna and the French Kiss – keep hearing such great things about it. I’m too brain fried at this point of the day to think of some of my favorite literary couples but I’m sure I’ll wake up at 2 a.m. and go “doh! I should have said….”