All The Sapphic Books I’ve Ever Read // Part Two

This post was originally posted on tomesofourlives on June 18, 2020 and can be found here.

Hi, friends!! I have no idea if anyone remembers, but last year I made a list of the 22 sapphic books I had read at that point in time. Since I made that post, I have read 28 more sapphic books. That means I have read 50 sapphic books? That is kind of crazy to think about but there are literally so many more I need to read, this is barely the beginning. Anywho, we have 28 books to cover today, so let’s just jump right in. Just as a note, these posts will normally be 25 books long, it just didn’t work out that way this time!!

(Also I took away the “you might not like this if” section that I had last time bc I am lazy.)

I. The Summer of Jordi Perez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding

• What’s it about? Abby Ives has the perfect summer and internship planned out, but everything goes off the rails when she starts falling for the other girl at her internship.
• Do I Recommend it? Honestly? No. There was a lot of underlying fatphobia in this book and I was very uncomfortable the whole time I listened to the audiobook.

II. 10 Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac

• What’s it about? When Maeve finds herself in Vancouver with her somewhat estranged dad, she has to deal with her anxiety, her dad’s relapse, and her crush on a girl in town.
• Do I recommend it? Yes! It is a heavier read, but I really enjoyed it and it made me feel seen.

III. Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

• What’s it about? Gonna be completely honest and say I do not remember. Sapphic horror. Monster? Rock? This could be completely wrong.
• Do I recommend it? I honestly can’t say if you like horror you’ll like this or anything, so I would check out some other reviews and get back to me.

IV. Her Name in the Sky by Kelly Quindlen

• What’s it about? Hannah is trying to finish out her senior year of high school at her Catholic school while keeping her crush on her childhood best friend a secret.
• Do I recommend it? So many people like this book, so I feel like if you are interested you should check it out. That being said, I personally didn’t really enjoy anything other than the religion and sexuality aspect.

V. It’s Not Like It’s A Secret by Misa Sugiura

• What’s it about? This book follows Sana as she moves from a smaller town to a city in California. Once there, she looks more into herself and her family and forms real relationships with her peers.
• Do I recommend it? Not particularly, I encourage you to look into own voices reviews.

VI. Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi

• What’s it about? A sapphic, diverse Gilmore Girls where Rory falls in love with Paris.
• Do I recommend it? YES!!!! I literally loved this book so much, please read it. It has the same vibes as Gilmore Girls and it is perfect.

VII. The Avant-Guards, Vol. 1 by Carly Usdin

• What’s it about? This is a graphic novel about an underdog basketball team and how they all come together as a group.
• Do I recommend it? Yeah!! Super cute, lots of good messages about teamwork. (Also, it’s short, so it’s a good reading challenge boost!)

VIII. Wicked Sweet by Chelsea M. Cameron

• What’s it about? This is enemies to lovers combined with the dark grumpy one and the sweet happy one falling in love and it’s just really cute.
• Do I recommend it? Yes! It’s nothing revolutionary but it is super sweet and cute and I really enjoyed it.

IX. Princess Princess Ever After by Katie O’Neill

• What’s it about? This is a short and sweet graphic novel where the princess saves the princess.
• Do I recommend it? Yeah!

X. Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake

• What’s it about? Ivy’s house is destroyed in a tornado and she starts finding bits of her private journal in her belongings, she learns more about herself as she tries to put the pieces of her life back together.
• Do I recommend it? YES!! This book was so good and teaches such important lessons for a middle grade audience, I could not recommend it enough.

XI. Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins

• What’s it about? Millie goes to a boarding school in Scotland where she ends up rooming, and falling in love with, Flora, a Scottish princess.
• Do I recommend it? Yes. So much. Many recommendations from me. It is one of my books that I reread parts of when I am sad, I just love it so much.

XII. The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

• What’s it about? I’m gonna be honest and say I have no idea how to summarize this one. It was gay and there were dragons.
• Do I recommend it? Yeah! So many people have loved it and I would have been one of those people if I had enough brain cells to comprehend it, but I don’t, and high fantasy continues to go right over my head.

XIII. Drum Roll, Please by Lisa Jenn Bigelow

• What’s it about? A girl goes to a summer camp dedicated to music, while there she develops a crush on a girl and makes some new friends.
• Do I recommend it? Yes! This was such a cute middle grade and I really enjoyed it.

XIV. Far from You by Tess Sharpe 

• What’s it about? Sophie comes home from rehab in order to try and figure out who murdered Mina, her best friend and crush.
• Do I recommend it? Yes!! I can’t wait to reread this book, it was so good and the characters were A+.

XV. Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno

• What’s it about? Georgina has been waiting for her magic to come in, but when mysterious things start happening around the island she realizes there are more pressing matters.
• Do I recommend it? Yep!

XVI. Wilder Girls by Rory Power

• What’s it about? Female lord of the flies expect more horror-esque.
• Do I recommend it? Yes! This book was A Lot for me because I don’t handle gore well, but so many people have loved it.

XVII. The Breakaways by Cathy G. Johnson

• What’s it about? A group of kids all end up on the same soccer team, despite the fact that none of them really want to be there.
• Do I recommend it? Yeah! This was really cute for a middle grade. I have seen reviews saying that they thought it was missing plot and character development, but it was a cute graphic novel that I didn’t take too seriously.

XVIII. Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry

• What’s it about? Raya follows her best friend turned lover to conversion therapy.
• Do I recommend it? Um. No. If you want a book that deals with this topic, I encourage you to check out The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth.

XIX. We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

• What’s it about? After being married off to the same guy, two girls join the revolution. (That is the best I can summarize it in a sentence but it is so much more than that and also idk if that is even completely accurate, so please look at the actual summary linked above).
• Do I recommend it? Yes! I still need to read book two, but I absolutely love this world and these characters to death.

XX. Far From Home by Natalie Brunwick 

• What’s it about? This is a Christmas romance where two roommates find themselves catching feelings for each other when they spend Christmas together at one of their houses.
• Do I recommend it? Okay, so like, I gave this two stars. That being said, I am looking back on it fondly writing this because the Christmas and Hallmark vibes were very much there.

XXI. Heavy Vinyl, Vol. 1 by Carly Usdin

• What’s it about? An underground fight club that is also super gay.
• Do I recommend it? Yes! So fun, so badass, much enjoyment.

XXII. The Gay Girl’s Guide to Ruining Prom by Siera Maley

• What’s it about? Zoey agrees to help get back at her best friend’s ex, but she does the one thing she shouldn’t and falls for her instead.
• Do I recommend it? Yes!

XXIII. Sweetest Thing by Natasha West

• What’s it about? The Great British Bake Off, but behind the scenes where two of the competitors fall in love with each other.
• Do I recommend it? Yes!!! This was so cute and quick and trope-y and it is literally the perfect sapphic pick me up read.

XXIV. Goldie Vance, Vol. 1 by Hope Larson

• What’s it about? Goldie tries to track down a thief at the hotel she works at but uncovers that it may go deeper than she ever thought.
• Do I recommend it? Yeah! I wasn’t like, in love with it, but it was a super cute and quick graphic novel.

XXV. The Summer of Impossibilities by Rachael Allen

• What’s it about? Sisterhood of the traveling pants, but make it sapphic and YA.
• Do I recommend it? I really really really loved this book, I had a complete meltdown over it, but in a good way.

XXVI. The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston

• What’s it about? A celebrity and a fangirl switch places at a comic con, chaos ensues.
• Do I recommend it? Um. Hard question. If you liked the first book, yes. If not, probably not.

XXVII. Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert

• What’s it about? Little and Lion is mainly about the relationship between Suzette and her older brother who is dealing with bipolar disorder, but it is so much more than that and I feel like I cannot accurately encapsulate all of it in a sentence or two.
• Do I recommend it? 100% yes. I really really enjoyed this and how open it is about mental health and meds and doctors and I loved Suzette and so much more. I basically loved everything.

XXVIII. Of Ice and Shadows by Audrey Coulthurst

• What’s it about? Gay magic princesses, part two.
• Do I recommend it? Yes! These were so fun and gay and I really enjoyed them. Though I should probably disclaim that anything with a gay princess has my approval.