Sapphic Book Tag

It’s the 23nd of Pride Month.

I’m doing this tag today in celebration.

Theresa, this tag’s creator, used well-known mainstream sapphic books for each of the prompts.

Since I recced multiple books for most of the prompts, you’re getting…four times the recommendations? YOU’RE WELCOME.

Crier’s War by Nina Varela

An enemies-to-lovers book

As you may know, Enemies-to-Lovers is my FAVORITE TROPE.

Julia Ember has an f/f retelling of The Phantom of the Opera out in November.

You’ve heard me TALK ABOUT IT A LOT because I’m REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IT.

PREORDER RUINSONG OR FACE THE WRATH OF THE ANGEL OF MUSIC.

(Also, whatever you might think about the Angel of Music, he is NOT your dad.)

 

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

A book about a celebrity, real or fictional

Something to Talk About is a fake-dating romance about an actress and her publicist.

This book has already become a romance staple, so get your hands on a copy if you can.

 

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

A book with Asian representation

I am seeing TONS more Asian rep in YA books this year, so I have MANY RECS.

The Henna Wars is an f/f enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance with a Desi protagonist.

We Are Totally Normal is an m/m contemporary romance with a South Asian protagonist.

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali has a sapphic Bengali protagonist who lives in Seattle (!!!).

FINALLY, I’ll Be the One has a bisexual Korean protagonist.

Any one of these books would look beautiful on your bookshelf.

Take one home today!

 

These Witches Don’t Burn

A book with magic

My favorite and most recent magical read was The Mermaid, The Witch, and The Sea.

I loved this book and its romance.

I also loved the stakes of the magic system – witches can work miracles, but always at a price.

 

This is How You Lose the Time War

A book with star-crossed lovers

I may have taken this prompt a tad literally, but I am so pleased with myself it hardly matters.

The Sound of Stars features a romance between a biromantic demisexual Black girl and a space alien.

Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee features a bisexual middle-schooler falling for a female classmate.

Cemetery Boys has a trans boy in love with a ghost. TALK ABOUT STAR-CROSSED.

 

Wilder Girls

A book you would take on a deserted island

I would take The Midnight Lie.

The first half of the book is so real and comforting to me; the pining between the characters is next-level.

As for the second half, I would gladly spend my island hours writing fix fic for it.

If allowed, I would also take two Sarah Gailey novels, When We Were Magic and Magic for Liars, because every book they write is perfect and these books are total comfort reads.

Also, yes, you’ve seen me talk about these books a lot because I am obsessed with them.

 

The Miseducation of Cameron Post

A book-to-movie adaptation

Freakshow, a book I read a MILLION years ago, finally received a film adaptation.

The lead in Freakshow is genderqueer and falls for the school jock…because of course he does.

Also, the book was written by James St. James, close personal friend of murderer Michael Alig.

Look that up! (Don’t look it up.)

Disobedience is a sapphic book about the Hasidic Jewish community that was made into a film in 2019.

It is SUPER NOT MY JAM, but sapphic AND Jewish rep? That’s a plus.

 

How to Make a Wish

A book you wish you had right now

I have a lot of unread books at the moment, so I’m not exactly hurting for reading material.

That said, I would like to devote myself to The Priory of the Orange Tree, a sapphic doorstopper fantasy novel.

I FINALLY received my copy of Gideon the Ninth, so I’m diving into that on my off-time.

It is WILD.

 

The Priory of the Orange Tree

The biggest book you ever read

Probably Winter by Marissa Meyer? In actuality, it was an A Song of Ice and Fire book, but I’m trying to block that series from my memory.

A book that FELT like the longest book I’d ever read was Witches of Ash & Ruin. I thought it would never end.

The book features a biphobe who’s meant to be sympathetic and is AT LEAST 9000 PAGES LONG.

 

Sawkill Girls

A spooky book

Some horror novels by Black authors:

Deathless Divide, the sequel to Dread Nation, starring two sapphic zombie hunters baybeeeee!

The Deep, a novella that skewers slavery, explores sexuality, and examines trauma with mermaids! (Even better: the novella is based on a song by the group clipping. THAT MEANS MY CRUSH DAVEED DIGGS HAD A HAND IN THIS STORY.)

The Year of the Witching, an upcoming horror novel where I’m pretty sure a witch revenge-murders an entire cult.

 

 

Recommend a sapphic book

My favorite sapphic book of all time is Everything Leads to You.

I am four seconds away from rereading this book. I can’t recommend it enough.

I also really love Would You Rather?, Katie Heaney’s coming-out memoir.

I just finished a reread and I love this book more than ever.

Finally, a recent release that I adored (and have already read twice) was Noelle Stevenson’s The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures.

There’s a lot of difficult mental health stuff in this book. That’s part of why I liked this book so much; it’s comforting to know that someone I admire also struggled and survived.

Happy Pride! (Or Wrath or whatever you’re currently celebrating.)

I am deep in reread territory and will thus be revisiting some of my favorite sapphic books.

Definitely do this tag if you’re interested and – if possible – rec some of your favorite sapphic reads.

I’ve preordered a bunch but I could always use more.