It would be a downright lie if I told you guys romantic relationships don’t heavily impact my reading experience, especially when it comes to fiction novels. Admittedly, I’ve trudged on series of books just to find out what happens between two characters, even if I didn’t necessarily care that much about the story itself.

The thing is, though, when it comes to fictional relationships, may it be in Fantasy or Romance, there’s always a thirst for MORE. That’s because their story is confined by the number of pages in the books, and there’s really no way for you to get more out of them than what the author intended–unless, you know, you delve into the world of FAN FICTION .

There’s a number of bookish relationships I just need more of because there’s simply not enough content for me to go on after the books. And I’m very picky when it comes to the romantic relationships I support, so you can trust this list!!

I need communication, understanding, respect, and just a mature connection that isn’t torn apart by selfish and cold-hearted tropes–NO “I’m ignoring you because you spoke to that guy,” or “I’m being cold to you because I have deep feelings for you” here, thank you very much.

Disclaimer: There are a lot of other romantic pairings I absolutely adore, but this list is purely for those that don’t have 2-3 books of lovin‘ (which is just not enough, in my opinion).

So here we go, five bookish couples that I NEED to see more of (YA Fantasy and Romance edition):

Mariko & [Spoiler] (Flame in the Mist duology by Renée Ahdieh

Mariko and [spoiler], sigh. I love this pair mainly because Mariko is such a strong-headed and smart female lead, and even in love she is always so sure about her actions. The first book literally starts off with Mariko on her way to meet her betrothed–a man she never met before–and feeling burdened as she wishes she wasn’t about to be shipped away for marriage in the name of political alliances. Well, lo and behold, her entourage gets hijacked by a group of bandits, and Mariko escapes with a vengeance to find out who wants to see her dead. When she finally does fall in love, she’s torn apart by duty to her family (get married) and duty to herself and her friends (save the man she loves).

“Sleep well, Lady Mariko. You are loved. It isn’t enough, but it’s all I have.”

Shahrzad & Khalid (The Wrath & The Dawn duology by Renée Ahdieh)

So if you can’t already tell, I’m a big fan of Ahdieh’s storytelling and just the way she writes her female leads. In this one, we follow Shahrzad and the Caliph of Khorasan, Khalid. Khalid is a young king who takes in a new wife everyday, only to kill her in the morning. Shahrzad volunteers to be his next bride to avenge her murdered friend, using her stories and wits to ensure her survival and kill the king. Each morning, she expects to be dead, but for some reason, she lives on. I absolutely love this pairing, just with Shahrzad’s sharp and sassy tongue, and seeing Khalid’s harsh facade slowly fade away. It’s also heart-wrenching to witness the two fight with themselves and other people to figure out how they felt about one another, especially with everything Khalid did in the past.

“I love you, a thousand times over. And I will never apologize for it.“

Vin & Elend (Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson)

There’s really not a lot of romance to begin with in this series, mainly because so much world-saving is happening that romantic relationships aren’t really at the top of our protagonists’ list of priorities. Despite that though, Brandon Sanderson was able to create such a deep connection between Vin and Elend that goes beyond fluff (although I’d like to see some fluff as well, pls) in just a number of pages. This dynamic as well is just a power couple through and through as they team up to literally save the world.

She smiled up at him. “You found me.”

“For all the good it did,” he said wryly. “It doesn’t look like you needed our help very much…”

“That doesn’t matter,” she said. “You came back. No one’s ever come back before.”

Chloe & Red (Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert)

Oh, this book. These two are just basically all the things I think make up a healthy mature relationship on paper. Chloe moves out of her family home for the first time in 31 years, and moves into an apartment with superintendent Red. She has a list of things she wants to do to “get a life,” and Red helps her out–easy peasy. The thing that really makes this story stand out is the way both of them deal with emotional vulnerabilities to become closer, and also the way they genuinely care about one another, even outside the whole romance department. On top of their story as a pair, this book also beautifully portrays two people learning to love and accept themselves, which can get emotional, tbh.

This is a whole book exploring their story, BUT I NEED MORE. I love these two so much.

“You think this is a big deal because, no offense, you’ve had a lot of people in your life who claimed to care about you but didn’t act like it. That’s not me. I can cook, and right now, you can’t. So I’m doing it for you because that’s how people should behave; they should fill in each other’s gaps. Don’t think about it too hard.”

Dani & Zafir (Take A Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert)

Another Hibbert book, I know–but it’s just so well-deserved! This is the second installment in the Brown Sisters series after Chloe and Red’s story, and let me tell you, this is everything I loved about the first book, taken to a whole new level. Again, there’s communication, mutual respect, self-love, emotional vulnerabilities, body positivity, and mental health discussions all throughout the novel, and it was such an enjoyable ride. We have one goal-oriented, sassy, and sexually positive Dani Brown, and an ex-pro wrestler, family-oriented, and hopeless romantic Zafir in a story of commitment and acceptance. Trust me, you won’t regret checking this out.

“At the time, it was romance novels that reminded me. Since you’ve never read one, that probably sounds weird. But it’s all about emotion, Dan—the whole thing, the whole story, the whole point. Just book after book about people facing their issues head on, and handling it, and never, ever failing—at least, not for good. I felt like my world had already ended unhappily, but every book I read about someone who’d been through the worst and found happiness anyway seemed to say the opposite.“

“Like my story didn’t need to be over if I didn’t want it to.“

Fair warning for Tibbert books: we have a lot of explicit and mature scenes in these steamy books, so please proceed with caution.

I’d love to hear from you:

• Have you read any of these couples/books?
• Who are some bookish relationships YOU want to see more of?
• Favorite romantic tropes? (Mine’s probably friends to lovers, or the classic fake dating scenario)