Underrated tropes BookTok isn’t talking about yet: The Platonic Soulmate
Romance gets sold to us as the endgame: the kiss, the wedding, the happily-ever-after. But what about the other kind of love? The friends who keep us standing. The ones who show up at 1am, who let us cry into their hoodie, who remind us we’re not as alone as our brains try to convince us. Heartbreak loves to tell us the world has ended. That we’ve blown our only chance at love, that nobody could possibly understand. And yet, there’s always that person who never leaves. The one who picks up the call, sits with you in silence, and sticks around when everything else falls apart. That’s a platonic soulmate. They don’t break you. They’re the ones who piece you back together. Some of the strongest relationships in fiction aren’t romantic at all. They’re the friendships that end up defining entire lives, bonds that feel just as inevitable as any great love story. They don’t always get TikTok edits or grand declarations, but when you find one on the page, it stays with you.
Here are five books that remind us that when romance ends, love doesn’t.
1. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Sam and Sadie fight, forgive, fall out, and keep circling back to each other. Their decades-long creative partnership is the real love story of their lives, even though it’s never romantic. Messy, brilliant, and heartbreaking, this is a book about how friendship can be the greatest bond you ever get.
2. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
This book never raises its voice, but it still wrecks you.
At its centre is Stevens, a butler, and Miss Kenton, whose connection
with him is built on respect and restraint rather than passion. It’s a
story about everything unsaid, and how a bond can shape you even
when it isn’t named out loud.
3. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Ove does not want friends. He wants to be left alone with his routines and
his grumpiness. But when new neighbours arrive and won’t leave him be,
something unexpected happens. The friendships that form around him are
funny, touching, and life changing. Proof that sometimes the soulmates
you need are the ones you’d never go looking for.
4. Still Life by Sarah Winman
A sprawling story set in Florence about chance encounters turning
into chosen family. These characters stumble into each other’s lives
and end up building something lasting and beautiful together. It’s warm, joyful, and a
reminder that love stories don’t always look the way we’re told they should.
5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Charlie survives high school because of Sam and Patrick. They don’t fix
him, but they make him feel like he belongs, and sometimes that’s
everything. Their friendship is messy, imperfect, and exactly what Charlie
needs to step into himself. It’s the kind of story that makes you grateful
for the people who pull you out of the dark just by being there.
Romance will always hog the spotlight, but these books prove love isn’t limited to it. Platonic soulmates, the friends, neighbours, and chosen families who hold us steady, deserve just as much space in the conversation. They’re the ones who stay. They’re the ones who make life liveable when romance falls apart. So if heartbreak’s got you convinced the world is ending, grab one of these. They might just remind you that love hasn’t gone anywhere.