I have read countless books about straight couples (mostly romance) and just want to read something about lesbian. Mostly every book I have found about them till now seems to be just smut and all but I want a proper story.
It can be of any genre and from any online reading sites too. I am just desperate from something
by NovaQueen_30
19 Comments
I recently read bad graces which is YA horror I believe, but it’s a cast of all girls and 4 of the 6 are lesbians
One last stop is new adult and has a bi + butch lesbian, sort of mystery with a bit of magic/scif? And I do mean only a little
I kissed Shara Wheeler is YA mystery type book
You might enjoy stuff by Lee Lynch. Her works are more old school but give an awesome look into lesbian culture of the time. If you want more light hearted stuff in the same vain maybe Karin Kallmaker.
My personal favorites:
YA- The Light Pirate (very not romance forward, mostly about near future climate change)
High Fantasy- The Priory and the Orange Tree (long, I love it but I love world building)
Historical Fiction- She Who Became The Sun (a bit military heavy for me, but I still thought the rest of it was great)
Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne – a cozy fantasy about a queen’s guard and powerful mage who run away together to start a book/teashop together. No spice.
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree. An Orc retires from adventuring to start a coffee shop. There’s a lesbian romantic subplot. No spice.
Even Though I Knew the End by CL Polk – Urban fantasy meets noir detective novels. Short, easy read.
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily Danforth – horror but more like fun spooky vibes plus some historical fiction.
Everything by Sarah Waters is absolutely brilliant and absorbing. She is a university professor who does meticulous research to create incredibly immersive lesbian historical fiction. I suggest starting with Tipping the Velvet or Fingersmith.
Home field advantage
Carol / The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith.
Oranges are not the Only Fruit.
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal el-Mohtar
Gideon the Ninth / locked tomb : the tag line is “Lesbian necromancefs explore a gothic palace in space”
The two avatar kyoshi books
The lost girls a vampire revenge story has a lesbian relationship at the core of it.
How about a sci-fi lesbian epistolary time travelling romance? **This Is How You Lose the Time War** by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone blew me away with the beautiful descriptions and a lesbian romance I adored.
I recently read the book that’s considered to be the very first lesbian novel. It’s The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall.
It was described later to be semi-autobiographical, and was published in 1928 to some praise but a larger general outcry. The author never wrote another book exploring sexuality again because of the homophobic backlash. But this one is a gem.
For a book from the 1920s, the prose isn’t hard to get through at all. It’s also a stunning portrait of the vivid and challenging lives of queer people. You’ll be surprised by how little sentiments have changed, nearly a hundred years later.
Desert of the Heart by Jane Rule is another good one, with a movie adaptation I really enjoyed.
If you like lesbian Holmes/Watson in space, try the novella The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older (there’s already one sequel with more forthcoming). Also sci-fi: Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh. I also second Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk, for urban fantasy mystery.
For historical romance, you might like Lex Croucher’s Infamous.
For graphic novels, anything by Alison Bechdel is great.
The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith
Murder Most Actual by Alexis Hall, it’s a murder mystery featuring a lesbian couple, absolutely no smut.
I Think I Love You by Auriane Desombre
Watcher of the Woods by Skyla Dawn Cameron
It’s a horror novel with a lesbian couple ending their relationship. No spice and no animal violence.
The Priory of the Orange Tree
One of the BEST fantasy novels I have ever read. Amazing world building; great characters and a fuckingly beautifully angsty lesbian couple