Hoohoo, guys!
How long has it been since I did a tag? Mh, long enough that I can’t even remember it. But I sure as hell won’t pass the Sapphic Book Tag which was created by Theresa @ Sappho’s Library. If you see this post, please feel tagged by me and check out Theresa’s video!
The rules are to find a book to every sapphic book prompt. They don’t have to necessarily be sapphic books. I shall try to recommend as many sapphic books as I can, but I know I won’t find a book for every prompt.
*note: MC = main character, LI = love interest, PoV = point of views, wlw = women who love women, mlm = men who love men
Crier’s War – A book with the enemies to lovers trope
For this prompt I choose Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta. It’s a fast paced story full of action and messy characters with even messier relationships. It has found family, angry girls and mecha deities.
Rep: wlw MCs and side characters, Korean-coded MCs
The shadow of Godolia’s tyrannical rule is spreading, aided by their giant mechanized weapons known as Windups. War and oppression are everyday constants for the people of the Badlands, who live under the thumb of their cruel Godolia overlords.
Eris Shindanai is a Gearbreaker, a brash young rebel who specializes in taking down Windups from the inside. When one of her missions goes awry and she finds herself in a Godolia prison, Eris meets Sona Steelcrest, a cybernetically enhanced Windup pilot. At first Eris sees Sona as her mortal enemy, but Sona has a secret: She has intentionally infiltrated the Windup program to destroy Godolia from within.
As the clock ticks down to their deadliest mission yet, a direct attack to end Godolia’s reign once and for all, Eris and Sona grow closer–as comrades, friends, and perhaps something more.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – a book about a celebrity (real or fictional)
The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan is a romance between a rabbi and an adult performer. It focuses on relationships, sex positivity and faith. It’s fun and sweet and hot while making you think.
Rep: bi Jewish MC, Jewish MC
Naomi Grant has built her life around going against the grain. After the sex-positive start-up she cofounded becomes an international sensation, she wants to extend her educational platform to live lecturing. Unfortunately, despite her long list of qualifications, higher ed won’t hire her.
Ethan Cohen has recently received two honors: LA Mag named him one of the city’s hottest bachelors and he became rabbi of his own synagogue. Taking a gamble in an effort to attract more millennials to the faith, the executive board hired Ethan because of his nontraditional background. Unfortunately, his shul is low on both funds and congregants. The board gives him three months to turn things around or else they’ll close the doors of his synagogue for good.
Naomi and Ethan join forces to host a buzzy seminar series on Modern Intimacy, the perfect solution to their problems-until they discover a new one-their growing attraction to each other. They’ve built the syllabus for love’s latest experiment, but neither of them expected they’d be the ones putting it to the test.
Girls of Paper and Fire – A book with strong feminist themes
With a dust bowl setting and a deathly game between goddesses afoot, Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost centres on witty, resourceful characters fighting to survive.
Rep: wlw MC & LI, wlw side characters, Comanche side character, black characters
In this sweeping Dust Bowl-inspired fantasy, a ten-year game between Life and Death pits the walled Oklahoma city of Elysium-including a girl gang of witches and a demon who longs for humanity-against the supernatural in order to judge mankind.
When Sal is named Successor to Mother Morevna, a powerful witch and leader of Elysium, she jumps at the chance to prove herself to the town. Ever since she was a kid, Sal has been plagued by false visions of rain, and though people think she’s a liar, she knows she’s a leader. Even the arrival of enigmatic outsider Asa-a human-obsessed demon in disguise-doesn’t shake her confidence in her ability. Until a terrible mistake results in both Sal and Asa’s exile into the Desert of Dust and Steel.
Face-to-face with a brutal, unforgiving landscape, Sal and Asa join a gang of girls headed by another Elysium exile-and young witch herself-Olivia Rosales. In order to atone for their mistake, they create a cavalry of magic powered, scrap metal horses to save Elysium from the coming apocalypse. But Sal, Asa, and Olivia must do more than simply tip the scales in Elysium’s favor-only by reinventing the rules can they beat the Life and Death at their own game.
These Witches don’t burn – a book with magic
Fairies, deities, humans hungry for more. A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth has it all. It’s told from many, very different PoVs that all tell different parts of the same story. Set in Toronto and Nevada, this book explores magic, growing up and finding yourself.
Rep: lesbian MC, queer MC, gay MC, bi MC, genderfluid side character
The “ironborn” half-fae outcast of her royal fae family.
A tempestuous Fury, exiled to earth from the Immortal Realm and hellbent on revenge.
A dutiful fae prince, determined to earn his place on the throne.
The prince’s brooding guardian, burdened with a terrible secret.
For centuries, the Eight Courts of Folk have lived among us, concealed by magic and bound by law to do no harm to humans. This arrangement has long kept peace in the Courts—until a series of gruesome and ritualistic murders rocks the city of Toronto and threatens to expose faeries to the human world.
Four queer teens, each who hold a key piece of the truth behind these murders, must form a tenuous alliance in their effort to track down the mysterious killer behind these crimes. If they fail, they risk the destruction of the faerie and human worlds alike. If that’s not bad enough, there’s a war brewing between the Mortal and Immortal Realms, and one of these teens is destined to tip the scales. The only question is: which way?
Wish them luck. They’re going to need it.
You should see me in a crown – a book with royalty
This book even has royalty in the title: Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins. It follows an american girl at a Scottish boarding school, where she discovers her new roommate is the Princess of Scotland. While this book isn’t exactly among my favourites, it’s fun and light and a quick read.
Rep: bi MC, lesbian LI
Millie Quint is devastated when she discovers that her sort-of-best friend/sort-of-girlfriend has been kissing someone else. And because Millie cannot stand the thought of confronting her ex every day, she decides to apply for scholarships to boarding schools . . . the farther from Houston the better.
Millie can’t believe her luck when she’s accepted into one of the world’s most exclusive schools, located in the rolling highlands of Scotland. Everything about Scotland is different: the country is misty and green; the school is gorgeous, and the students think Americans are cute.
The only problem: Mille’s roommate Flora is a total princess.
She’s also an actual princess. Of Scotland.
At first, the girls can barely stand each other-Flora is both high-class and high-key-but before Millie knows it, she has another sort-of-best-friend/sort-of-girlfriend. Even though Princess Flora could be a new chapter in her love life, Millie knows the chances of happily ever afters are slim . . . after all, real life isn’t a fairy tale . . . or is it?
This is how you lose the Time War – a book with star-crossed lovers
The main romance in Victories Greater than Death by Charlie Jane Anders is star-crossed in the literal and metaphorical sense. Star-crossed because one of them is an alien while the other is human, and because they literally fly through space.
Rep: wlw MC, bi trans Brazilian LI, Chinese side-character, queer and nonbinary main characters, polyamorous relationships
Tina never worries about being ‘ordinary’—she doesn’t have to, since she’s known practically forever that she’s not just Tina Mains, average teenager and beloved daughter. She’s also the keeper of an interplanetary rescue beacon, and one day soon, it’s going to activate, and then her dreams of saving all the worlds and adventuring among the stars will finally be possible. Tina’s legacy, after all, is intergalactic—she is the hidden clone of a famed alien hero, left on Earth disguised as a human to give the universe another chance to defeat a terrible evil.
But when the beacon activates, it turns out that Tina’s destiny isn’t quite what she expected. Things are far more dangerous than she ever assumed. Luckily, Tina is surrounded by a crew she can trust, and her best friend Rachael, and she is still determined to save all the worlds. But first she’ll have to save herself.
Cinderella is Dead – a book that reimagines or retells another story
One of my favourtie books of all time, The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston, is a retelling of “The Prince and the Pauper” in which a film star and a fangirl get swapped by accident, help each other out at a convention and make a lot of trouble.
Rep: wlw MC, lesbian LI
Imogen Lovelace is an ordinary fangirl on an impossible mission: save her favorite character, Princess Amara, from being killed off from her favorite franchise, Starfield. The problem is, Jessica Stone—the actress who plays Princess Amara—wants nothing more than to leave the intense scrutiny of the fandom behind. If this year’s ExcelsiCon isn’t her last, she’ll consider her career derailed.
When a case of mistaken identity throws look-a-likes Imogen and Jess together, they quickly become enemies. But when the script for the Starfield sequel leaks, and all signs point to Jess, she and Imogen must trade places to find the person responsible. That’s easier said than done when the girls step into each other’s shoes and discover new romantic possibilities, as well as the other side of intense fandom. As these “princesses” race to find the script-leaker, they must rescue themselves from their own expectations, and redefine what it means to live happily ever after.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post – a book you’d like to see adapted to screen
Ohhh, definitely Kings, Queens and In-Betweens by Tanya Boteju! I could imagine it so well on screen, the drag kings and queens, generally Nima’s life and summer. I think it would be amazing as a film!
Rep: biracial queer MC, wlw LI, queer side characters
Perpetually awkward Nima Kumara-Clark is bored with her insular community of Bridgeton, in love with her straight girlfriend, and trying to move past her mother’s unexpected departure. After a bewildering encounter at a local festival, Nima finds herself suddenly immersed in the drag scene on the other side of town.
Macho drag kings, magical queens, new love interests, and surprising allies propel Nima both painfully and hilariously closer to a self she never knew she could be—one that can confidently express and accept love. But she’ll have to learn to accept lost love to get there.
How to make a wish – an upcoming release you “wish” you had right now
There is one answer and one answer only for me: A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee. I cannot wait to have this book in my hands!
Felicity Morrow is back at Dalloway School.
Perched in the Catskill mountains, the centuries-old, ivy-covered campus was home until the tragic death of her girlfriend. Now, after a year away, she’s returned to graduate. She even has her old room in Godwin House, the exclusive dormitory rumored to be haunted by the spirits of five Dalloway students—girls some say were witches. The Dalloway Five all died mysteriously, one after another, right on Godwin grounds.
Witchcraft is woven into Dalloway’s history. The school doesn’t talk about it, but the students do. In secret rooms and shadowy corners, girls convene. And before her girlfriend died, Felicity was drawn to the dark. She’s determined to leave that behind her now; all Felicity wants is to focus on her senior thesis and graduate. But it’s hard when Dalloway’s occult history is everywhere. And when the new girl won’t let her forget.
It’s Ellis Haley’s first year at Dalloway, and she’s already amassed a loyal following. A prodigy novelist at seventeen, Ellis is a so-called “method writer.” She’s eccentric and brilliant, and Felicity can’t shake the pull she feels to her. So when Ellis asks Felicity for help researching the Dalloway Five for her second book, Felicity can’t say no. Given her history with the arcane, Felicity is the perfect resource.
And when history begins to repeat itself, Felicity will have to face the darkness in Dalloway–and in herself.
The Priory of the Orange Tree – A big book! a real chonker of a book!
Uhhhh, apparently I do not read many books as big as Priory. So I guess I’m going ahead and name another book by Samantha Shannon, The Mask Falling. It’s the fourth book in The Bone Season series and had me in shambles on the floor. 10/10 would recommend reading.
Rep: demi MC, pan LI, queer side characters
Dreamwalker Paige Mahoney has eluded death again. Snatched from the jaws of captivity and consigned to a safe house in the Scion Citadel of Paris, she finds herself caught between those factions that seek Scion’s downfall and those who would kill to protect the Rephaim’s puppet empire.
The mysterious Domino Program has plans for Paige, but she has ambitions of her own in this new citadel. With Arcturus Mesarthim-her former enemy-at her side, she embarks on an adventure that will lead her from the catacombs of Paris to the glittering hallways of Versailles. Her risks promise high reward: the Parisian underworld could yield the means to escalate her rebellion to outright war.
As Scion widens its bounds and the free world trembles in its shadow, Paige must fight her own memories after her ordeal at the hands of Scion. Meanwhile, she strives to understand her bond with Arcturus, which grows stronger by the day. But there are those who know the revolution began with them-and could end with them.
Honey Girl – A tiny baby short book
Ah, Lucky Girl by Jamie Pacton! It’s the shortest book I’ve read in a while and I loved it so much. It deals with grief and happiness and trust and finding your place in the world. It’s also very fun!
Rep: bi MC, Korean-American side character
58,642,129. That’s how many dollars seventeen-year-old Fortuna Jane Belleweather just won in the lotto jackpot. It’s also about how many reasons she has for not coming forward to claim her prize.
Problem #1: Jane is still a minor, and if anyone discovers she bought the ticket underage, she’ll either have to forfeit the ticket, or worse,
Problem #2: Let her hoarder mother cash it. The last thing Jane’s mom needs is millions of dollars to buy more junk. Then….
Problem #3: Jane’s best friend, aspiring journalist Brandon Kim, declares on the news that he’s going to find the lucky winner. It’s one thing to keep her secret from the town — it’s another thing entirely to lie to her best friend. Especially when . . .
Problem #4: Jane’s ex-boyfriend, Holden, is suddenly back in her life, and he has big ideas about what he’d do with the prize money. As suspicion and jealousy turn neighbor against neighbor, and no good options for cashing the ticket come forward, Jane begins to wonder: Could this much money actually be a bad thing?
Sawkill Girls – a spooky book
Listen, I don’t do spooky. I scare way too easily and I just… don’t really enjoy spooky things? And while I did enjoy As I descended by Robin Talley, it was too spooky for me. I’ll still leave this here because it has ghosts and sapphics! And I just saw that it’s also a retelling of Macbeth and suddenly so much makes sense omg.
Rep: disabled lesbian MC, Latina bi MC, gay side characters
Maria Lyon and Lily Boiten are their school’s ultimate power couple—even if no one knows it but them.
Only one thing stands between them and their perfect future: campus superstar Delilah Dufrey.
Golden child Delilah is a legend at the exclusive Acheron Academy, and the presumptive winner of the distinguished Cawdor Kingsley Prize. She runs the school, and if she chose, she could blow up Maria and Lily’s whole world with a pointed look, or a carefully placed word.
But what Delilah doesn’t know is that Lily and Maria are willing to do anything—absolutely anything—to make their dreams come true. And the first step is unseating Delilah for the Kingsley Prize. The full scholarship, awarded to Maria, will lock in her attendance at Stanford―and four more years in a shared dorm room with Lily.
Maria and Lily will stop at nothing to ensure their victory—including harnessing the dark power long rumored to be present on the former plantation that houses their school.
But when feuds turn to fatalities, and madness begins to blur the distinction between what’s real and what is imagined, the girls must decide where they draw the line.
The Midnight Lie – a book with an intoxicating romance
The first book that came to my mind is the one I’m going to stick with: The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi. The whole series is one of my absolute favourites and I love the characters and their dynamics and the romances SO MUCH.
Rep: Indian MC, autistic Jewish MC, bi Filipino MC, queer side characters
It’s 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.
To hunt down the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from his home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in arms if not blood.
Together, they will join Séverin as he explores the dark, glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the course of history-but only if they can stay alive.
The Henna Wars – a book that explores a culture different from your own
For this one, I’m going to pick Clap when you land by Elizabeth Acevedo, a beautifully written verse novel I read last year and loved. It deals with grief and hurt and family, love and trust.
Rep: wlw Dominican-American MC, Dominican MC, wlw side character
Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…
In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.
Separated by distance – and Papi’s secrets – the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered. And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.
Papi’s death uncovers all the painful truths he kept hidden, and the love he divided across an ocean. And now, Camino and Yahaira are both left to grapple with what this new sister means to them, and what it will now take to keep their dreams alive.
The Falling in Love Montage – a rom com
Oh god, the tears of laughter I had but also the cringe and secondhand embarassement… I think very fondly of Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan which I had to put down several times because of all three of the afore mentioned. But it was so. Much. Fun.
Rep: bi MC, lesbian LI, queer side characters
Elouise (Lou) Parker is determined to have the absolute best, most impossibly epic summer of her life. There are just a few things standing in her way:
– She’s landed a job at Magic Castle Playland . . . as a giant dancing hot dog.
– Her crush, the dreamy Diving Pirate Nick, already has a girlfriend, who is literally the Princess of the park. But Lou’s never liked anyone, guy or otherwise, this much before, and now she wants a chance at her own happily ever after.
– Her best friend, Seeley, the carousel operator, who’s always been up for anything, suddenly isn’t when it comes to Lou’s quest to set her up with the perfect girl or Lou’s scheme to get close to Nick.
– And it turns out that this will be their last summer at Magic Castle Playland–ever–unless she can find a way to stop it from closing.
Recommend a sapphic book
There really are a lot of books I could recommend. But here is one of my favourite underrated books which you should totally read: Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee! Please do yourself a favour and read this superhero story that is both cute and full of action and mystery. It’s a light, quick read.
Rep: Chinese-Vietnamese bi MC, wlw LI, trans Black side character, Latinx side character
Welcome to Andover… where superpowers are common, but internships are complicated. Just ask high school nobody, Jessica Tran. Despite her heroic lineage, Jess is resigned to a life without superpowers and is merely looking to beef-up her college applications when she stumbles upon the perfect (paid!) internship—only it turns out to be for the town’s most heinous supervillain. On the upside, she gets to work with her longtime secret crush, Abby, who Jess thinks may have a secret of her own. Then there’s the budding attraction to her fellow intern, the mysterious “M,” who never seems to be in the same place as Abby. But what starts as a fun way to spite her superhero parents takes a sudden and dangerous turn when she uncovers a plot larger than heroes and villains altogether.
Have you read any of these books? What are your favourite sapphic books?
Until next time,
