Top Ten Tuesday used to be a weekly post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, but was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. “It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” This is definitely something I can understand and want to participate in.
I’ve always looked at Valentine’s Day as one of those Hallmark holidays that’s focused more on consumerism than anything else. Maybe it’s my natural cynicism, maybe it’s because I’m jaded about relationships, maybe it’s because I’m rarely part of a relationship when this day rolls around, but I’ve long practiced a different tradition on Valentine’s Day. Since I’m never the only one of my friends who are single at any given time, I’ve gotten tog ether with one or more of my single female friends and celebrated what we’ve always called Galentine’s Day, way before this was a recognized thing. So instead of talking about books featuring romantic relationships, I want to talk about books that feature strong female friendships, since that’s what I have always relied on and value the most in my life. Here are some of my favorites:
- Pieces of Me by Kate McLaughlin — the relationship between Dylan and Izzy is one of those comfortable ones where they know your secrets and can read you like a book, the kind where you just get each other.
- Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano — Finlay is an absolute hot mess of a single mom, and Vero is the nanny turned sidekick turned roommate turned bestie, and I loved the connection that these two develop over the course of this series.
- The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso — okay, so Ryx isn’t really socialized very much since her power kills anyone she touches, but over the course of this series, she becomes part of a little group that accepts her as she is, and I loved watching her get comfortable being friendly with Kessa and Ashe, the other two women in the group, as they both teach her different aspects of friendship.
- A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik — this is another example of female relationships that developed and strengthened over the course of a series. El, Lu, and Aadhya form their own little group during the first book, and I loved watching El come out of her tough little shell and learn how to accept friendship.
- Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake — so Delilah is kind of the odd woman out, but when she returns to her hometown she walks right into a group of three close-knit friends that she’s always been on the outside of. However, things change as she gets close to one of them, and becomes absorbed into the group.
- The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper — when everything in their life was ripped from them, Amara and Dido leaned on each other to maintain any sense of normalcy, but each of the women in the brothel also supported the others in their own way.
- The Change by Kirsten Miller — the four women in this story are the epitome of female friendship! They are creating their own path in their life, but each making the use of their unique skills and supporting each other.
- Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop by Darci Hannah — a good cozy mystery needs a great relationship between friends, and baker Lindsey and social media influencer Kennedy fit the bill perfectly!
- The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton — these sisters are super close and do everything together until they reach the capital, and for the first time in their life, they’re finally separated. But the relationship between them is so important, and the story focuses a lot of attention on the bond between all of them and how it changes.
- The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith — As the librarian of the Unwritten Wing in Hell’s Library, Claire has a pretty important job, and Verity is her assistant. They have a long time to work together, and I love to see how their connection changes from strictly professional to something more, and how well they know each other.
- The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch — as a special bonus, I had to include a bromance on here, and the best one I could think of was Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen.
What are some of your favorite books featuring female friendships or bromances?
Categories: Top Ten Tuesday
Leah's Books 
Fabulous tweak of the theme! I’ve read a couple of these and agree that the focus is female friendships – and I like those stories too so I’m going to check out Wolf Den, Library of Unwritten and Lies of Locke Lamora (I think my son has the series so I’ll just have to borrow it!) Have a great reading week!
Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys
https://www.bookshelfjourneys.com/post/ttt-love-stories
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Thank you! I’m so glad to hear that I’ve inspired you to read some more of the books on this list. Enjoy your week!
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The ‘Finlay Donovan’ book sounds fun so I’m hoping to read that one at some point. 🙂
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It really is! I loved the audiobook version, so I’d recommend that if you do audio, and really hope you enjoy it when you get around to it!
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One book that stands out to me that I’ve read with a strong female relationship is The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margo.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/my-ten-favorite-fictional-families/
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I haven’t read that one, but I’m clearly going to have to now, since I really love books with female relationships! Thanks for the heads up Pam, and have a great week!
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Just be prepared for some tears.
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Galentine’s Day is awesome. I love this post.
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-books-i-liked-about-asexual-characters/
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Thank you! Happy Galentine’s Day to you Lydia!
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I’m listening to the third Finlay Donovan now. I don’t like how Finlay always calls Vero her nanny instead of her friend!
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That definitely got to me too, especially since by the third book they’re clearly ride or die type besties! Hopefully Finlay gets with the program soon.
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I love your take on this topic. Here is my post- https://paigesofnovels.com/2023/02/14/top-ten-tuesday-favorite-couples-love-freebie/.
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Thank you!
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I love a good female friendship in a book. My last read, Powerless by Elsie Silver showcased that as well. Happy Valentine’s Day!
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Oooh, I’ll have to check that one out! Happy Valentine’s Day to you as well!
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Great list! I haven’t read any of these yet, but the Finlay Donovan series, A Deadly Education and The Wolf Den are on my TBR so I’m happy to hear they feature great friendships!
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Thanks, and I hope you enjoy them when you get to them! I can’t resist a good story with a strong female friendship.
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Galentine’s Day is a great idea! I’m glad you’ve made celebrating it a fun tradition to look forward to every year. I also love books featuring tight female friendships. The only one I’ve read on your list, though, is MURDER AT THE BEACON BAKE SHOP. I’ve only read the first book. I definitely need to continue on with the series.
Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
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I’ve been doing some kind of version of Galentine’s day for years, and I love the idea of having this tradition! I’m so glad to hear that you’ve read the start of one of my favorite series – and the rest of the books keep getting better, so I hope you continue reading the series.
Happy Wednesday, Susan!
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I love reading about strong female friendship in books as well!
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I always like books with strong friendships. I feel you on not being in a relationship when Valentine’ comes around.
My TTT: https://snapdragonalcoveblog.wordpress.com/2023/02/14/top-ten-tuesday-guns-and-roses/
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Absolutely!
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I ADORE the take you did for this one! Strong female friendships depicted in novels is my favorite, and you picked some awesome books. I hope you had a great Galentine’s Day with your friends. Being around people you love is what it’s all about.
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Thank you Leelynn! So good to see you here!!! I’ll take supportive women over catty women every single time, and I did a virtual galentines on the day! So nice, and then will do something with another galentine during the week. Hope you had a wonderful day as well. 💙
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