LGBTQ Book Reviews

Reviews of books with canon LGBTQ+ characters • All book reviews • WLW books • MLM books • Trans books • Happy endings • About coming out • Not about coming out

[biandlesbianliterature]

Trans WLW Books

Here are some lighter trans wlw books:

Double Exposure by Chelsea Cameron

Roller Girl by Vanessa North* (review)

Cinder Ella by S.T Lynn

Stage Dreams by Melanie Gillman

Thrall: Beyond Gold and Glory by Barbara Ann Wright

Sarah, Son of God by Justine Saracen

Robins in the Night by Dajo Jago

Love Rampage by Alex Powell [Out of print since LT3 closed, hopefully will be republished]

Witch, Cat, and Cobb by J.K. Pendragon

Manifest by Alden Lila Reedy  [Out of print since LT3 closed, hopefully will be republished]

And then these ones are a little darker, typically dealing with a lot transmisogyny:

Dreadnought (review) & Sovereign (review) by April Daniels (the first book does deal with her coming out)*

Just Girls by Rachel Gold (review)*

Nevada by Imogen Binnie (review)*

A Safe Girl to Love by Casey Plett (review)*

The Broken Forest by Megan Derr

The Collection: Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard by Tom Léger (review) (includes several f/f stories)

* I have read and can recommend these. The others I am basing off recommendations, so there might be trigger warnings I’m not aware of.

Also check out the Goodreads list Trans Lesbian & Bi Women Books

[queerbookcorner]

Continuing our Queer Historical Fiction month with those from Antiquity. Those marked with ✧ have magical realism or minor fantasy elements. 

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller ✧

The Other Sappho by Ellen Frye

The Last of the Wine by Mary Renault

The Mask of Apollo by Mary Renault

Gladiatrix by Russel Whitfield

Sword of the Gladiatrix by Faith Justice

[lgbtqreads]

Atmospheric f/f novels you'd recommend? Any genre and age range.

The Lost Coast by Amy Rose Capetta (YA Fantasy), How to Make a Wish by Ashley Herring Blake (YA Contemporary), and the upcoming The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake (YA Contemporary).

[queerbookcorner]

Next up is a reclist of queer books featuring major characters who are disabled or neurodivergent/have a mental illness of some kind. Those with a  ★ and in bold are my personal favorites. Check them out!

Weekend by Jane Eaton Hamilton (Heart Condition)

Just Between Us by J. H. Trumble (HIV/AIDS)

Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi (Chronic Pain)

★ The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O’Neill (wheelchair user)

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt (HIV/AIDS)

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde (Asperger’s, Anxiety)

Not Otherwise Specified By Hannah Moskowitz (EDNOS- Eating Disorder)

★ Ziggy, Stardust & Me by James Brandon (Asthma, Anxiety)

Fortitude Smashed by Taylor Brooke (Dissociative Dysthymia)

This is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kheryn Callender (Deafness)

Top Ten by Katie Cotugno (Anxiety)

You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner (Deafness)

Unspeakable by Abbie Rushton (Mutism)

The Unintentional Time Traveler by Everett Maroon (Epilepsy)

The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller (Anorexia)

History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera (OCD)

Been Here All Along by Sandy Hall (Dyslexia, Anxiety)

We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson (Depression)

Run by Kody Keplinger (Blindness)

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon (Autism)

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson (Amputee)

★ The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue (Epilepsy, Hearing loss)

Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas (Cerebral Palsy)

Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley (Agoraphobia)

★ Timekeeper by Tara Sim (PTSD)

Otherbound By Corinne Duyvis (Amputee, Mutism)

Black Iris by Elliot Wake (Bipolar and Borderline Personality Disorder)

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert (Ménière’s disease, Bipolar Disorder, Hard of hearing) 

★ Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens (Various)

So Lucky by Nicola Griffith (Multiple Sclerosis)

[lgbtqreads]

What wlw books should I have on my summer reading list?

Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan, Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi, Royals by Rachel Hawkins, and Going Off Script by Jen Wilde are all fun new beach read-y books!

[lgbtqreads]

wait what are the other f/f YA romcoms??! other than her royal highness? (thank you!)

Try Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan, Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi, and Amelia Westlake Was Never Here by Erin Gough! Had a post on new queer rom coms on the site yesterday, which I’ll link here since it has all the links and blurbs! https://lgbtqreads.com/2019/06/13/tbrainbow-alert-queer-ya-na-rom-coms/

Also, Jen Wilde is always good for f/f YA fun! I don’t know if I’d call them “rom coms” just because they don’t play with rom com tropes as much but they are definitely good picks for rom com fans. Check out her stuff and The Summer of Jordi Perez by Amy Spalding!

[sapphicbookclub]

Pride Flag Book Recs! 🌈

Have some f/f book recommendations corresponding to the pride flag colors, just in case you might want to have a rainbow on your bookshelf!

Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow, Beneath the Surface by Rebecca Langham, Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard, Better Off Red by Rebekah Weatherspoon, Daughter of Mystery by Heather Rose Jones

Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth, Poppy Jenkins by Clare Ashton, Taking Flight by Siera Maley, Ask the Passengers by A.S. King, An Accident of Stars by Foz Meadows

The Fletcher by K. Aten, Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee, Perfect Rhythm by Jae, Forgive Me If I’ve Told You This Before by Karelia Stetz-Waters, Banshee’s Honor by Shaylynn Rose

Storm Season by Pene Henson, Adaptation by Malinda Lo, When Women Were Warriors by Catherine M. Wilson, A Story of Now by Emily O’Beirne, Marian by Ella Lyons

Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie, You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour & David Levithan, Dreadnought by April Daniels

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde, Love Beyond Body, Space, and Time, Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley, Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova, We Awaken by Calista Lynne

Happy Pride Month Reading!  ❤️💛🧡💚💙💜

[biandlesbianliterature]

Winners of the 2019 Lambda Literary Awards!

Lesbian Poetry: Each Tree Could Hold a Noose or a House by Ru Puro

LGBTQ Nonfiction: Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry by Imani Perry

Lesbian Memoir/Biography: Chronology by Zahra Patterson

LGBTQ Anthology: Fiction: As You Like It: The Gerald Kraak Anthology Volume II edited by Jacana Media

LGBTQ Anthology: Nonfiction: Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture edited by Roxane Gay

See the full list here.

[butchfemmelove]

gnc/butch woman literature masterpost

the op of this post was a terf so i’m reposting it because i think these resources are important and useful!! i have not read all of these resources myself, so let me know if there’s an issue with any of them and i’ll remove it!

———————————–

LESBIAN FICTION-

Stone Butch Blues - Leslie Feinberg [pdf]

Crybaby Butch - Judith Frank

Far from Xanadu - Julie Anne Peters

Persistent Desire - Joan Nestle

Annie on my mind- Nancy Garden

Keeping you a secret- Julie Anne Peters

Leaving L.A.- Kate Christie

Me and you and daisies- Lily R. Mason

The world unseen- Shamim Sarif

Wildthorn- Jane England

Tipping the velvet- Sarah Waters

Dare truth or promise- Paula Boock

And Playing the role of herself- K.E. Lane

Hunter’s Way- Gerri Hill

Ash- Malinda Lo

The price of Salt- Patricia Highsmith

Patience & Sarah- Isabel Miller

The Gravity between us- Kristen Zimmer

Her name in the sky- Kelly Quindlen

Taking the long way- Lily R. Mason

Fingersmith- Sarah Waters

Everything Leads to You - Nina LaCour

She’s My Ride Home - Jackie Bushore

NONFICTION-

Our Right to Love: A Lesbian Resource Book by Ginny Vida

Lesbian/Woman by Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon

Family Values: Two Moms and Their Son by Phyllis Burke

Inseparable: Desire between Women in Literature by Emma Donoghue, (Knopf)

My Lesbian Husband: Landscape of a Marriage by Barrie Jean Borich

Butch is a Noun, by S. Bear Bergman.- a collection of essays written by the author exploring what it means to be butch

Dagger: On Butch Women, edited by Lily Burana and Roxxie Linea Due.

The Persistent Desire, A Femme-Butch Reader, edited by Joan Nestle.

Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme, edited by Ivan E. Coyote and Zena Sharman

Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth-Century America, by Lillian Faderman

Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold- Elizabeth Kennedy & Madeline Davis

COOL WEBSITES:

Lesbian Herstory Archives - this is the coolest website ever for browsing stuff about lesbians in history

(and Here’s a link for the Lesbian Herstory Archives’ audio tapes collection, its really cool check it out! Great for finding interesting stuff if u dont know what to read/listen to and would like to kill some time :D !)

The Lesbrary - super cool blog dedicated to lesbian literature

Good Lesbian Books-  cool website. Heres a link to their list of Free Stuff :)

Books to watch out for - lesbian book reviews and literary news

Lesbian Fiction Review

Lesbian Science Fiction

Sistahs on the Shelf - Cool site dedicated to Black Lesbian fiction. Reviews, News, Recommendations, Authors n more

Canadian Lesbian Book Blog

Biblioteca Feminista - Books/ book recommendations in Spanish, English, French, Portuguese and Italian

List of Lesbian Authors’ sites

Lesbian full-text works on the web - list of lesbian content available for free on the web. Mostly older works

LGBT books for teens

UK Lesbian Fiction

Women and Words - site devoted to bringing news, interviews, writing tips, giveaways and more

The Book Dyke blog

LGBT Romance Novels

Lesbian History Bibliography

Bella Books

[biandlesbianliterature]

LGBTQ Reads Fave Five: F/F Romances Set in College

Out On Good Behavior by Dahlia Adler

Learning Curves by Ceilie Simkiss

Take Them By Storm by Marie Landry

Treasure by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Chord by Chelsea M. Cameron

[image description: covers of the books listed above, as well as the text “Fave Five: F/F College Romances”]

[thepaige-turner]

ig: thepaige_turner

[yabookers]

Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy

I’ve been chased my whole life. As a fugitive refugee in the territory controlled by the tyrannical Mercer corporation, I’ve always had to hide who I am. Until I found Excalibur. Now I’m done hiding. My name is Ari Helix. I have a magic sword, a cranky wizard, and a revolution to start. When Ari crash-lands on Old Earth and pulls a magic sword from its ancient resting place, she is revealed to be the newest reincarnation of King Arthur. Then she meets Merlin, who has aged backward over the centuries into a teenager, and together they must break the curse that keeps Arthur coming back. Their quest? Defeat the cruel, oppressive government and bring peace and equality to all humankind. No pressure.

Disclaimer: I received a copy free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

When Ari pulls Excalibur from an old tree on Old Earth, she starts a cycle that has been repeating for centuries. She is deemed to be the 42nd reincarnation of the legendary King Arthur. Merlin, who has been ageing backwards and has only one cycle left, needs to train Ari up so she is ready to lead humanity against its greatest threat. But, Arthur’s reincarnations always end up repeating the same doomed cycle – pull Excalibur, fall in love with Guinevere-only to end up broken-hearted- and then killed by the enchantress Morgana. Ari is different, and in her, Merlin sees a chance to finally put the cycle to rest.

‘”That’s what resistance looks like, Merlin. It’s not one glorious, shining victory. It’s a torch that you keep burning, no matter what.”‘

I’ve been looking forward to reading Once & Future since it was announced. I’ve been wanting a queer Arthurian retelling for so long and Once & Future really delivered. It had an f/f romance and an m/m romance too, it also featured a disabled side character, an ace side character, and a non-binary side character and plenty of characters of colour too!

At the heart of the story, Once & Future is about fighting oppression and injustice. About fighting for the little guy against the big bad corporation, and about what happens when good people do nothing but also about what happens when good people actually do something.

Once & Future is sort of a mash-up of different genres, it has fantasy elements, science fiction elements, and comedic elements and for the most part, it does work. I enjoyed the more medieval aspect of Lionel mixed in with the science fiction aspects of space stations and intergalactic politics. Cori McCarthy and Amy Rose Capetta manage to take a well-known legend and create it into something really original.

Some of the characters were the highlight of the book. I loved both Merlin and Ari, our main protagonists. I really loved Morgana and Gwen and I loved the complexity of their characters.

One of the reasons this isn’t getting five stars from me is because the group dynamics weren’t always as fleshed out as they could have been and sometimes I found it hard to really care about their friendship. The pacing also felt a little rushed at times and revelations and twists were not always well placed, and sort of thrown in your face a little bit, Once & Future is probably a book that could have done with being longer and a little more fleshed out in general.

Overall, Once & Future is a good science fiction novel that is diverse and inclusive and is a book that I would highly recommend & I am definitely looking forward to the sequel. 

Rating: ★★★★☆ | book depository

[biandlesbianliterature]

Can you recommend any books that are essentially wlw rom-coms/ hallmark movies? I’m dying for a version of the city girl is stuck in a small town, instantly gets on the wrong side of the hot mechanic, they snark, they start to bond over something, is this a date? Oh no a secret or misunderstanding drove them apart, wise local clears it up, tearful reunion and love confessions trope.

I wish I could recommend something that exactly matches your description! It sounds excellent. Bad news: I don’t know an exact match, and I haven’t read a ton of rom-coms myself. Good news: there are lots of f/f rom-coms out there, and I can point you towards people who have read a lot more of them! I’ll start with my recommendations, which are just light reads with a central romance, though they might not exactly fit the Hallmark movie part:

The Brightsiders by Jen Wilde (review) (YA)

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde (review) (YA)

Rescued Heart by Georgia Beers (review)

Knit One, Girl Two by Shira Glassman (review)

Roller Girl by Vanessa North (review)

Sugar Town by Hazel Newlevant (review) (Comic)

My go-to light and happy wlw books, which also have a romance, tend to be comics, especially all-ages comics. That’s not exactly what you asked for, but I couldn’t help listing them just in case:

Kim Reaper: Grim Beginnings by Sarah Graley (review)

Goldie Vance Vol. 1 by Hope Larson (Author) and Brittney Williams (illustrator)

Space Battle Lunchtime Volumes 1 & 2 by Natalie Riess (review)

Jem and the Holograms by Kelly Thompson and Sophia Campbell

On to recommendations from people who read more f/f romances that I do:

Royally Yours by Everly James: Whitney at the Lesbrary recommends this “secret royalty” book for fans of Hallmark movie A Royal Christmas.

@shiraglassman recommends Carolyn for Christmas by Lucy Carey as an “enemies to lovers lesbian romcom about former friends competing over the choir solo in the Christmas concert“

@noneedtosparkle recommends Poppy Jenkins by Clare Ashton!

Dahlia Adler’s (@lgbtqreads) recommendations of f/f YA rom-coms:

The Summer of Jordi Perez by Amy Spalding

Dating Sarah Cooper by Siera Maley 

Nothing Happened by Molly Booth 

Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown 

Style by Chelsea Cameron

Under the Lights by Dahlia Adler

This list of wlw feel-good, fluffy, or rom-com books, including more recommendations from Shira Glassman.

The Lesbian Review is a great resource for f/f romances, because they tag absolutely everything. Here are a few tropes you might be interested in: Sweet Romance, Small Town, Enemies to Lovers

LGBTQ Reads has a page for settings, and here are two you might find appealing: Bakery (Sugar by Karin Kallmaker) and Coffee Shop (The Violet Hill series by Chelsea M. Cameron).

Also check out LGBTQ Reads tropes page, especially “Enemies to Lovers.”

Lesbian Book Bingo has a page of recommendations of lesbian romcoms, as well as the most read books in that category.

I hope that helps!

If you like what we do here at the Lesbrary and Bi & Lesbian Literature, consider supporting us on Patreon! Patrons also have access to exclusive vlogs, and $2 and up Patrons get entered in a monthly giveaway of queer women books!

[biandlesbianliterature]

2019 Sapphic Books To Add To Your TBR (40+ Titles)

We are entering a golden year of queer lit, especially YA. There is so much coming out in 2019! So many titles, in fact, that it would be very easy to miss some of the awesome offerings that are buried in sheer numbers. Here is my completely subjective, not-at-all exhaustive list of more than 40 titles on my personal TBR.

[biandlesbianliterature]

Lesbrary Link Round Up: January 2 - 31

[image description: a collage of 16 covers of the books mentioned in the links below, with the text “Lesbrary Links: Jan 2 - 31]

This is the Lesbrary bi-weekly feature where we take a look at all the lesbian and bi women book news and reviews happening on the rest of the internet!

[image description: the covers of Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert, Chameleon Moon by RoAnna Sylver, One Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole, Everfair by Nisi Shawl, and Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi.]

Autostraddle posted 8 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books with Queer Poly Relationships and What to Read When You’re Queer and Expecting: 6 Parenting Books That Smash The Patriarchy

Bella Books posted 10 novels about fresh starts and new beginnings and 7 Bella books set in winter to warm you up.

Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian posted The 10 Best Queer Books of 2018 (that I read, at least) and My 2018 Year in Reading: Favourite Books of the Year, Most Memorable Character, Best Cover, and More!

Lambda Literary posted New in January: Mesha Maren, Siddharth Dube, Rob Halpern, and Sarah Léon and New in February: Marlon James, Isaac Mizrahi, Nishta J. Mehra, and Christopher Castellani.

LGBTQ Reads posted New Releases: January 2019 and LGBTQ Romances for Under $2.

Women and Words posted Hot off the Press and Coming Attractions, Jan.-Feb. 2019.

YA Pride posted LGBTQIAP+ Book Quotes: Strength & New Beginnings and 16 LGBTQIAP+ Books by Black Authors.

[image description: the covers of Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls, Tailor-Made by Yolanda Wallace, Learning Curves by Ceillie Simkiss, Knit One, Girl Two by Shira Glassman, and The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan]

Jae posted The Most-Read Books for Lesbian Book Bingo in each category, including “women of colour,” “historical fiction,” “fake relationship romance,” and “foodie romance.”

Mary Oliver was remembered at Autostraddle, Lit Hub, and New Yorker.

“‘It has made me want to live’: public support for lesbian novelist Radclyffe Hall over banned book revealed” was posted at the Guardian.

An examination of a high school LGBTQ Literature class that started 20 years ago was posted at Daily Hampshire Gazette.

“Gay’s the Word: Inside Europe’s Only LGBT Bookshop” was posted at Vice.

“7 LGBTQIA+ Books For Young Adults That Are Set In The UK” was posted at Bustle.

“Queer Young Adult Books Help Me Reimagine My Past” was posted at Electric Literature.

“5 Gooey Lesbian Romances To Read Just in Time For Valentines Day” was posted at Women.com.

[image description: the covers of the books listed below]

You Always Change the Love of Your Life (For Another Love or Another Life) by Amalia Andrade was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Butch Heroes by Ria Brodell was reviewed at ALA GLBT Reviews.

Housegirl by Michael Donkor was reviewed at Pop Matters.

Flat: Reclaiming My Body from Breast Cancer by Catherine Guthrie was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

The Lesbian South by Jaime Harker was reviewed at Autostraddle and Lambda Literary.

[image description: the covers of the books listed below]

A Wish Upon a Star by Jeannie Levig was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Sister Love: The Letters of Audre Lorde and Pat Parker 1974-1989 edited by Julie R. Enszer was reviewed at Black Lesbian Literary Collective.

Venous Hum by Suzette Mayr was reviewed Black Lesbian Literary Collective.

If I Loved You Less by Tamsen Parker was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Lost Soul, Be at Peace by Maggie Thrash was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

Avant-Guards by Carly Usdin was reviewed at Autostraddle.

If you like what we do at the Lesbrary and Bi & Les Lit, support us on Patreon at $2 or more a month and be entered to win a queer women book every month!

[sapphicbookclub]

i think i heard about a book being released this year about nb wlw falling in love but i cant remember anything else about it! i was wondering if it rings a bell with you or any of your followers? thanks!

I know there are some but I’m not sure if you’re looking for a specific one or just any but these are the ones I can think of:

Out of Salem by Hal Schrieve

Everything Grows by Aimee Herman

The Lost Coast by Amy Rose Capetta (not main character)

Castle of Lies by Kiersi Burkhart (comes with a bunch of warnings so I list that one more just informatively than as a recommendation)

Some Girls Bind by Rory James (no romance but you might be interested)

There’s a bunch of “older” books with sapphic nonbinary characters out there but these are the ones releasing in 2019.

[biandlesbianliterature]

Marthese reviews Sappho’s Fables, Volume 1: Three Lesbian Fairy Tale Novellas by Elora Bishop

This month I’ve finally managed to read another retelling that has been on my TBR for years!