Today, after quite a while, it’s time for another book tag! Even though pride month is just behind us, what a better way there is to celebrate my birthday online, than by posting a blogpost full of sapphic books! Some you might already know, some you might have never heard of, and some that might surprise you by being queer!
This tag was originally posted by Theresa from sappho’s library. You can find the original youtube video (and if you somehow have not checked out her channel yet) here!
For the Enemies to Lovers trope I have decided to go for Gideon the Ninth by Thamsyn Muir, even if it doesn’t completely fit!
It is no secret that I have adored this series so far and even have influenced some people into picking it up by not quite shutting up about it – Sorry Michelle, but you love me for it.
Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service.
Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die. Of course, some things are better left dead.
Now, I do not know which book you imagined I might recommend here, but a book about a celebrity is a very easy pick here. This is a very recent read for me, one that I picked up after Michelle loved it (you can find her reading vlog here), and really enjoyed.
Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner is exactly that!
I also want to shout this book out because of the jewish and asian rep, which I feel does not get mentioned too often with this specific book. It is a bit more of a slowburn romance, but honestly, that’s why I loved it so much.
Hollywood powerhouse Jo is photographed making her assistant Emma laugh on the red carpet, and just like that, the tabloids declare them a couple. The so-called scandal couldn’t come at a worse time–threatening Emma’s promotion and Jo’s new movie. As the gossip spreads, it starts to affect all areas of their lives. Paparazzi are following them outside the office, coworkers are treating them differently, and a “source” is feeding information to the media. But their only comment is “no comment”.
With the launch of Jo’s film project fast approaching, the two women begin to spend even more time together, getting along famously. Emma seems to have a sixth sense for knowing what Jo needs. And Jo, known for being aloof and outwardly cold, opens up to Emma in a way neither of them expects. They begin to realize the rumor might not be so off base after all…but is acting on the spark between them worth fanning the gossip flames?
If you’ve been around for any kind of time on this blog, you know that I read this book in January and have not shut up about it. Reading this novel was the main reason for me picking up Ash a bit later. Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo is a beautiful piece of fiction that will pull on your heartstrings.
I just adored this book so much, and even though historical fiction is not everyone’s cup of tea, I feel like this might be a nice middle ground for a lot of people. I felt so many emotions reading this novel, that I just cannot wait to reread it at some point, and genuinely think everyone should at least give it a go.
Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club.
America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.
For this prompt, I cannot help but pick a book that I haven’t heard that many people talk about, but that I absolutely adored when I read it. Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno.
It’s been about two years since I read this, but what I remember very fondly from it is the sweet romance, the beautiful scenes around the water, but also the events at the core of the novel. This novel is so strong when it comes to both queer love (the main character is lesbian and the love interest is bi) but also familial love.
Maybe it is because I read this together with my girlfriend before we even lived together, but I remember this book so fondly, and I really hope you give it a chance, especially now that summer is approaching.
Georgina Fernweh waits with growing impatience for the tingle of magic in her fingers—magic that has been passed down through every woman in her family. Her twin sister, Mary, already shows an ability to defy gravity. But with their eighteenth birthday looming at the end of this summer, Georgina fears her gift will never come.
An island where strange things happen . . .
No one on the island of By-the-Sea would ever call the Fernwehs what they really are, but if you need the odd bit of help—say, a sleeping aid concocted by moonlight—they are the ones to ask. (read more)
This is the first book on this list that I have not personally read, but am very excited about picking up. Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta is a novel that is star-crossed lovers in one of the purest forms.
Yes, the novel does feature war, but I’ve always seen it as staple queer fiction, so I am very excited to pick it up, hopefully soon.
Ijeoma comes of age as her nation does; born before independence, she is eleven when civil war breaks out in the young republic of Nigeria. Sent away to safety, she meets another displaced child and they, star-crossed, fall in love. They are from different ethnic communities. They are also both girls.
When their love is discovered, Ijeoma learns that she will have to hide this part of herself. But there is a cost to living inside a lie.
The second book on this list that I haven’t read yet, but would really love to get to, is a perfect fill for this prompt. If there is any book that I would want to be on a deserted island with, is Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon.
It’s been established that I really love Samantha Shannon’s writing, but the idea of having a really thick book with me sounds incredible.
A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.
The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction – but assassins are getting closer to her door.
Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.
Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.
Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep
I really wish this question wasn’t as easy to answer. The Price of Salt/Carol by Patricia Highsmith is one of those books that I adore with all of my heart. If you know me in real life, I have probably already babbled your ear off about it, made you watch the movie an obnoxious amount of time or even pulled you into a buddy read with me. Having read this book three times, I can tell you that every single time, I still find new things to love and admire, so if you would have any qualms about picking it up – please do!
If you do not feel up to picking up the book, at least watch the movie – I promise that you will not regret it.
Therese is just an ordinary sales assistant working in a New York department store when a beautiful, alluring woman in her thirties walks up to her counter. Standing there, Therese is wholly unprepared for the first shock of love. Therese is an awkward nineteen-year-old with a job she hates and a boyfriend she doesn’t love; Carol is a sophisticated, bored suburban housewife in the throes of a divorce and a custody battle for her only daughter. As Therese becomes irresistibly drawn into Carol’s world, she soon realizes how much they both stand to lose…First published pseudonymously in 1952 as The Price of Salt, Carol is a hauntingly atmospheric love story set against the backdrop of fifties’ New York.
There are a lot of books that I want to read, that are coming up soon, but there is one that I really cannot wait to be released. She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan is one of those novels that grabbed me the second that the cover was released, and that I feel like I’ve been waiting for forever.
Please, be on my doorstep already, I beg of you.
In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness…
In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.
When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother’s identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.
After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu takes the chance to claim another future altogether: her brother’s abandoned greatness.
When it comes to queer books, I have to admit that there are not that many incredibly long ones that I have read. Some of my more recent reads though, fit this prompt perfectly – which is A Dark And Hollow Star.
It is one of the books that made it among my recent favorites – and at just over five hundred pages, it’s not the shortest either. That being said, it’s been a really long time since I read a fae novel, and really loved it. This book kept me drawn in, kept my attention with the characters at every single moment and in moments had me on the edge of my seat. If you have not checked it out yet, I really recommend this debut!
Choose your player.
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.
I love spooky books, even if I do not read them often enough. But one of the Spooky Bitches Book Club picks, really managed to hit the sweet spot for me, and that is Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant.
It features deep sea horror, a diverse cast of characters and mermaids, all the while including a sapphic couple, a deaf character, etc.
Seven years ago, the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a “mockumentary” bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy.
Now, a new crew has been assembled. But this time they’re not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life’s work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.
Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves. But the secrets of the deep come with a price.
Admittedly, I always have a lot of fun with these tags – it allows me to go back into the books I’ve read and remember the good times that I had with them! While I know that a lot of these books are very mainstream and are widely read, I hope that some manage to surprise you!
As always,
honeycomb library 
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