I remember back in middle/high school reading books like More Happy Than Not (Adam Silvera), The Song of Achilles (Madeline Miller), We Are The Ants (Shaun David Hutchinson) Carry On (Rainbow Rowell), etc. I would be absolutely CONSUMED by them. Since graduating/getting older/going to college, I haven't found ANYTHING that scratches that itch. Maybe my brain chemistry is just different, I don't know LMAO. I'm honestly not a huge fan of the wave of happy, marketable queer literature that's been trending/recommended to me. Not saying it's bad or anything, just not my taste. SO BASICALLY anything queer, romantic, leaning more towards the serious/sad side of things, weird/horror elements are not off the table. No YA please unless the book is life changing haha. Would ESPECIALLY appreciate something sapphic, as a queer woman myself. Good sapphic romances are soooooooooooooo hard to find. THANKS A BUNCH
by c_wunshine
8 Comments
This is more erotica-with-a-plot-and-feelings, but I really enjoyed the character dynamic in The Lily and the Crown by Roslyn Sinclair. It hit that “weird lesbians” niche for me and it was funny with a HEA. I’d also recommend Lee Winter for a different kind of weird lesbian fiction; I found Requiem for Immortals quite good.
You absolutely need to check out Sarah Waters. All her novels are sapphic, dark, often gothic or gothic-adjacent historical fiction, with the exception of The Little Stranger (which is everything I listed except there’s no sapphic relationship). Would I call her novels straight-up romances? Definitely not. The closest one I’d say is Tipping the Velvet, but it’s still not a full-on romance in the genre sense. But if you’re looking for incredibly written, thoroughly researched, dark novels with lesbian relationships at their core, IMO you can’t do better than Sarah Waters. Maybe start with Tipping the Velvet, or Fingersmith (one of my favorite books of all time – the PLOT!!!).
Check out Cat Sebastian’s books, particularly the most recent two. I absolutely loved them.
Call me by your name. My favorite book, my favorite movie. It’s perfect
The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson isn’t really a romance but it does have a central sapphic relationship that is an absolute gut punch.
Also, not a book but if you haven’t watched the film Portrait of a Lady on Fire I’d highly recommend it. It’s stunning.
*In Memoriam* by Alice Winn
For absolutely massive piles of pining, hockey m/m romance written by a woman, try Rachel Reid. So much pining, angst, more pining, more angst, some hockey in the mix.
Well I didn’t pick it for the romance but In Memoriam by Alice Winn is one. A WW1 tale, but it’s really the 2 guys and their relationship. Loved it!!