Sometimes we’re so desperate for a sapphic love story that we need to read whatever we can find. If there are hints of a female-female romance, you will read it and suffer through the terrible books to get that little inkling of a lesbian romance. So, we will discuss good books that feature a lesbian love story, and you’ll enjoy some of these.
15 lesbian romance books (Sapphic Love Story)
A lesbian relationship is one of the most complicated feelings and emotions among queer people. I have some lesbian friends who teach me many lessons about their sexuality.
As I want to know more about them, I try to read at least 3 books in a month. So I already read 100+ lesbian-related books where I found some awesome stories. Now, I will review my favorite 15 lesbian romance books for you. Let’s enjoy it!
| Name | Key Focus | Average review (Goodreads) |
|---|---|---|
| The Falling in Love Montage | Two proud lesbians try to deal with their problems. | 3.9 |
| Not My Problem | A campus love story with helping each other. | 4.2 |
| The Scapegracers | Two friends bond in a relationship at a Halloween party, falling into magic. | 3.9 |
| Music from Another World | Two different religious friend turns into romance and deals with difficulties. | 4.2 |
| Queen of Coin and Whispers | A revengeful love story in a fantasy world. | 3.7 |
| A Dark and Hollow Star | A suspenseful fairy romance with a murder mystery. | 3.8 |
| The Abyss Surrounds Us | In a dystopia situation, a romance between a pirate and a sea monster. | 3.9 |
| Into the Drowning Deep | A strong female lead character’s adventure and love story. | 4.0 |
| Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit | It’s a love triangle story that deals with religion and sexuality. | 3.7 |
| Tell Me How You Really Feel | An enemies-to-lovers situation between two different queer people. | 3.7 |
| Hurricane Child | The protagonist searches for her mom and makes a relationship with her friend. | 3.8 |
| The Midnight Lie | Two lesbian struggles with their sexuality and magic. | 3.9 |
| Gideon the Ninth | Two lesbians find their love story and deal with enemies in a magical world. | 4.2 |
| The Henna Wars | Two childhood friends represent their cultural situations and identity. | 4.0 |
| Honey Girl | A multicultural romance that deals with mental issues and many questions. | 3.7 |
1. The Falling in Love Montage
Our heroine is Saoirse, who’s finished her final year of school. At the beginning of summer, she goes to an end-of-year party and meets Ruby. After rescuing a kitten together, these two instantly hit it off instantly and decided to have this summer fling based on the falling in love montages of popular rom coms.
It’s light and positive, but you also deal with some difficult situations as Saoirse’s mother has dementia, which isn’t easy for anyone involved. You’ve got two proud lesbians front and center. Ciara Smyth writes the most authentic characters, humor, and relationships.
Author: Ciara Smyth
Publisher: HarperTeen
Average Customer Review: (4.5 out of 5, on Amazon)
Tropes: Romcom, Family-drama, Angsty, Emotional, Mental-health
Number Of Pages: 368
Item Weight: 15.2 ounces
Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.17 x 8.25 inches
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
2. Not My Problem
The story follows Aideen, who is having a rough time. She’s got a difficult home life with her best friend. So Aideen’s not doing very well academically because she’s got so much more on her mind. One day she comes across her nemesis, Maeve. Having a breakdown, she somehow roped into pushing her down the stairs to fix her problem.
Then this begins Aideen on a journey of helping others, doing them favors, and starting a friendship with Maeve. Also, it progresses into the romance between her and Maeve. The characters, relationships, and humor are so authentic and realistic. Everything’s handled very well with such grace, and I adored reading about this lesbian/wlw relationship.
Author: Ciara Smyth
Average Customer Review: (4.6 out of 5, on Amazon)
Tropes: Loners & Outcasts Fiction, Enemies-to-lovers, Humor, Magic
Number Of Pages: 368
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
3. The Scapegracers (Scapegracers)
Sideways Pike is a teenage lesbian witch. She is invited to the popular girls’ Halloween party to perform a little magic trick. When this goes awry, the girls end up bonding and becoming friends. We follow their friendship mostly. That’s the main focus of this book. Sideways explores magic, forms a coven, and deals with witch hunters.
The story has fun teenage things like going to the cinema, getting Sideways a girlfriend, and throwing parties. These girls love each other unconditionally, and you can enjoy reading it. I loved the writing style of this book. Sideways’ narration is very much a teenage girl, but it is gothic and intricate writing that works so well. Both hardcover and paperback are good in quality.
Author: H.A. Clarke
Publisher: Erewhon
Average Customer Review: (4.5 out of 5, on Amazon)
Tropes: Wizards & Witches, Urban Fantasy, Friendship-goals
Number Of Pages: 400
Reading age: 14 years+
Grade level: 9 – 12
Item Weight: 11.2 ounces
Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
4. Music from Another World
This book is told through an epistolary format so letters and diary entries. You follow two girls assigned as pen pals in California in the seventies. Tammy is a closeted lesbian living in Orange County with her family, who are uber-religious, and she has to protest her right to exist. So it’s not a good situation, and reading her early parts had me so emotional.
Sharon, her pen pal, lives in San Francisco, and she’s dealing with her brother coming out as gay and reconciling that with the Catholic beliefs. These girls grow closer, and they form a deep friendship. You also begin to explore the gay rights movements at this time.
So it’s so raw, moving, and emotional. The letters convey emotions so well, and I was nervous about them. I hadn’t read a book told through an epistolary format before, but it worked well. So I highly recommend it.
Author: Robin Talley
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Average Customer Review: (4.6 out of 5, on Amazon)
Tropes: 20th Century United States Historical Fiction, Emotions & Feelings, Bisexual-pansexual, Friends-to-lovers
Number Of Pages: 384
Reading age: 13+ years
Grade level: 10 – 12
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
5. Queen of Coin and Whispers
The story has two young women (Lia and Xania) in a low fantasy world. Lia is a romantic new queen looking to root out the corruption in her kingdom, particularly in her court, to create a better place. On the other hand, Xania is looking to avenge her father’s death. They are brought together because they’re both after the same man, and Xania becomes Lia’s Whispers, which means her spymaster.
You follow them looking to better the kingdom through lots of politics and intrigue, falling in love. They are both lesbians, and it’s not explicit as in the world because it’s fantasy, but it is explicit otherwise. Xania is also demisexual, which is interesting because the author is demisexual. So it’s her voice. You’ve got the most amazing slow-burn wlw story, and it’s wonderful.
Author: Helen Corcoran
Publisher: The O’Brien Press
Average Customer Review: (4.4 out of 5, on Amazon)
Tropes: Fantasy romance, LGBT, Girl-power, Sapphic, Arc
Number Of Pages: 467
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle | Audio CD
6. A Dark and Hollow Star (The Hollow Star Saga)
This one is an urban fantasy novel that takes place mostly in Toronto. In this world, the faerie courts are real and thriving. We follow four queer teens who are all connected to these courts as they solve some gruesome ritualistic murders against the Ironborn population. It means the half-fae population.
Arlo is an Ironborn herself connected to the ruling court. Nausica is an ex-fury, and she’s an immortal lesbian. Vehan is the prince of the Seelie summer court and his brooding bodyguard, Aurelian. I loved all of them so much, and it’s such an exciting plot, world-building with a murder mystery aspect.
You’ve got so much queer rep: gay character, bi-character. Arlo is questioning, but the author has confirmed that she will be pansexual, and Nausica is a lesbian. Also, we have trans characters and gender-fluid character as well.
Author: Ashley Shuttleworth
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Average Customer Review: (4.5 out of 5, on Amazon)
Tropes: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Fae, Slowburn
Number Of Pages: 512
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
7. The Abyss Surrounds Us
We follow our main character, Cas, a sea monster trainer, the coolest thing ever. So she trains sea monsters and has a particular sea monster with which she grew up. One day when she goes out for the first time to attack the pirate ships that they are trained to attack, the ship is too much for her. Her sea monster is killed, and she is taken captive.
The person that she has taken captive ends up being the love interest. So it is an enemy to lovers, and it is so unique. Cas is also Asian or of some Eastern Asian descent. So if you’re looking for a pirate story with a lesbian relationship, this would also be a good book. The hardcover is of poor quality, but the paperback is incredible and cheap.
Author: Emily Skrutskie
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Average Customer Review: (4.5 out of 5, on Amazon)
Tropes: Pirate Action & Adventure, Enemies-to-lovers, Dystopia
Number Of Pages: 273
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle
8. Into the Drowning Deep (Rolling in the Deep)
This book represents a science fiction story that follows the main character, Victoria. All the characters are making a mockumentary about mermaids in the Mariana Trench. They go to film this mockumentary, and they are all attacked by mermaids. Then the footage comes back, and they have to keep it a secret like the government has to keep it a secret.
One of the girls on this expedition was her sister of Victoria. So she goes out on the second expedition to find out what happened. One of the main characters is also autistic. So if you’re looking for that type of representation with female-female romance, this would be a good one.
Author: Mira Grant
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Average Customer Review: (4.4 out of 5, on Amazon)
Tropes: Mermaids, Thriller, Horror, Female-lead, Urban-fantasy, Sci-fi
Number Of Pages: 440
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
9. Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit
It is an LGBT book that deals with religion as well. A girl (Joanna Gordon) who likes girls also deals with her father being a pastor. Her dad is a radio evangelist. So it deals a lot with her religion and sexuality. At the same time, Joanna moves from a big town where she is widely accepted to a small town where she has to stay closeted.
This book is essential for some people to read. A lot of people are looking for LGBT books that deal with religion. So I highly recommend this one for everyone, especially queer people, to discover them through the story.
Author: Jaye Robin Brown
Average Customer Review: (4.5 out of 5, on Amazon)
Tropes: Christian Relationship, Love triangle, Mental illnesses, Arc, Small-town
Number Of Pages: 432
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
10. Tell Me How You Really Feel
The story is about our main characters, Sana and Rachel. Sana is Middle Eastern, and Rachel is Jewish. Rachel is a film person who likes filming films. She’s a director for her film club, and she’s a bit of a bad at the beginning. Also, it needs to be taken down a couple of notches. Rachel’s behavior turns out Sana.
It’s enemies to lovers situation. It was funny and had many quotable moments here. The story is a little boring and has some presentation issues. Overall, you can enjoy it. I recommend this contemporary lesbian love story.
Author: Aminah Mae Safi
Publisher: OrangeSky Audio
Average Customer Review: (4.3 out of 5, on Amazon)
Tropes: Realistic Fiction, Enemies-to-lovers, Religion, Slowburn-romance
Number Of Pages: 312
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle
11. Hurricane Child
Our heroine Caroline Murphy is 12 years old black girl. She was born during a hurricane, which makes her very unlucky. She lives on Saint Thomas of the US Virgin Islands and goes to a tinny school. In school, Caroline’s not the most popular kid. A new character, Kalinda, moves in, and she becomes best friends with her. Then she realizes, even though she’s quite young, that she wants to be more than friends.
Caroline discovers her feelings and attraction through Kalinda. They fall in love then Caroline starts searching for her missing mom with Kalinda. There are some fantasy elements that I should not spoil. If you like adventure and romance, try this book.
Author: Kacen Callender
Publisher: Scholastic Audio
Average Customer Review: (4.5 out of 5, on Amazon), Teachers’ pick
Tropes: Magical Realism, Queer, Disability
Number Of Pages: 214
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle
12. The Midnight Lie (Forgotten Gods)
Nirrim lives in the Ward, a section of the city reserved for the lower class, and it’s incredibly strict. When she meets Sid, a rakish traveler, she questions this as Sid tells her that the High Kith (higher class) possesses magic. So Nirrim has to choose between continuing with her life and trusting Sid, who asks not to be trusted.
Even though this is a fantasy world, it is so explicitly lesbian. Also, you see Sid dealing with receiving the same arguments against her not being attracted to men as lesbians. On the other hand, Nirrim is dealing with compulsive heterosexuality. So being in a society where being straight is the norm and dealing with this is very struggling.
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Publisher: Farrar
Average Customer Review: (4.5 out of 5, on Amazon)
Tropes: High Fantasy, Rivals-to-lovers, Cultural-mythology
Number Of Pages: 362
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
13. Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb)
This book is about lesbian necromancers in space with a magical competition. We follow Gideon, who’s indentured to the Ninth House. In this society, nine Houses are necromancer families and form this part of the society. Gideon is indentured, and she’s not happy to be there. She wants out, and on her, god knows how many attempts she’s had to escape.
Gideon so nearly gets out on this one, but Harrowhark thwarts her, the Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire and Gideon’s enemy since infancy.
So Harrowhark has been summoned by the emperor to take place in a competition to become a Lyctor. That means she’ll be immortal and all-powerful. But she needs a cavalier, which means that she needs Gideon to be her swordswoman, and Gideon is roped into going with her.
So they arrive at this competition where they are in a house with many other people and don’t know who to trust. There’s no explicit romance in the series, but if there are enemies to the lovers, this is the best I have ever read.
Author: Tamsyn Muir
Publisher: Recorded Books
Average Customer Review: (4.5 out of 5, on Amazon)
Tropes: Humorous Fantasy, Strong-female-leads, Horror, Mystery
Number Of Pages: 448
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
14. The Henna Wars
The book is a rom-com following two girls with rival henna businesses in a school competition. The main character Nishat comes out to her Muslim family as a lesbian. She must deal with this and reconcile these two aspects of her identity. So it isn’t easy with her growing feelings for Flavia, her rival.
This book heavily focuses on culture and cultural discussions, and we are excited to read those aspects. Moreover, childhood friends to enemies to lovers are the best dynamic to read this one.
Author: Adiba Jaigirdar
Publisher: Listening Library
Award nominee: Goodreads Choice
Average Customer Review: (4.5 out of 5, on Amazon)
Tropes: Clean & Wholesome Romance, Contemporary
Number Of Pages: 400
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle
15. Honey Girl
This lesbian romance book is an adult contemporary following Grace, who has received her Ph.D. and has gone to Vegas to celebrate. She is very much an overachiever.
As pressures begin building and her responsibilities start weighing on her. She flees to New York for the summer to spend it with her new wife, who she barely knows. Here she can avoid her problems and questions about her future and fall in love with her beautiful and creative wife, Yuki.
It will hit very close to home in many aspects because of these deals with Grace, the loneliness of growing up and dealing with pressures. Overall, you will get an emotional gut punch and never forget them in real life.
Author: Morgan Rogers
Publisher: Harlequin Audio
Average Customer Review: (4.3 out of 5, on Amazon)
Tropes: Multicultural Romance, Neurodivergency
Number Of Pages: 241
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Library Binding | Kindle | Audio CD
Last words
Lesbian romance is popular among the lesbian community and trendy among all romance readers. Suppose you are a beginner in wlw romance, then at first try to know about them. It will be best to connect with the lesbian community or have lesbian friends directly. After knowing them properly, you can enjoy lesbian romance novels more smoothly and identify what is right or wrong.
Please ask me in the comment section if you have any suggestions, recommendations, or questions. I’m waiting for your valuable response.
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