Listen, I’m gay as hell and I love a good book about two ladies falling in love. That’s it, that’s my full list of requirements for things that INSTANTLY make me happy in a book. Today I’m talking about lady love, and lots of it, so get out a notebook or just be ready to open up lots of Goodreads pages because I’m talking about f/f romances and why I love them.
This f/f romances sticks out to me forever and always because of how awkward and earnest it is. It’s a highschool romance with superpowers, yes, but it’s also about two nerdy girls who are super hardcore crushing on each other but don’t totally know how to acknowledge it, and I live for that. Honestly, Jess and Abby work for me because they’re super adorable and we all know it.
This was the first book I ever read about ladies falling in love that made me fully swoon, because they are soft and they are the most aesthetic-y wlw in the world, god help me. They are invested in learning about one another, about gaining a deeper understanding of where they are each coming from, and in making space for the other in their life. I love them I love them.
So I’ve talked about my love for retellings in another post this month, and I feel like it’s pretty easy to guess that mixed in with my love for retellings and fairy tales I must have a fondness for princesses. Yes, I do. You know what’s better than one princess? Two princesses falling in love with each other. Thus why Denna & Mare occupy 90% of my heart at a given time. Don’t even talk to me about the first time they hold hands, it’s been two years and I’m still not over it.
I can’t really talk about this as much, but lord the number of times I cried over these two is…. a lot…. it’s a looooooot. They’re good, great, wonderful, and fantastic. And so is this book, don’t let the remarkably heterosexual title fool you. It’s gay as hell, and I don’t plan on ever recovering.
The whole center and heart of this book is Celie’s long-term struggle with the men in her life, finding her own strength, and eventually knowing that she can survive on her own. But along that journey, finding Shug and learning new ideas about God and life and love is so essential, and I think it’s their longterm ups and downs that really define my love for these two. They aren’t a perfect couple, they go through so many things, but they are stronger for knowing each other and that is my shit right there.
I just knew that when a girl-meets-girl romance began with a conversation about Doctor Who that it would be all I would ever need. Throw in some Harry Potter, and a very light Lord of the Rings reference and I’m suitably done for. They’re both living in a world of really high drama and manage to be adorable and nerdy at all times, which makes them perfection in every way.
Soft girlfriends make me soft inside, so you can only imagine what this book did to me. Eva & Grace work because they are both going through extreme emotional times, but they’re supportive and nice and they help make each other laugh when they need that moment. Also they have cute ass dates, so that’s overwhelming for sure.
More like *the summer of creative lesbians who are super inspired by their romantic partner* I mean wow. This is like my ultimate aesthetic: super upbeat, bright lesbian falls for all black-wearing, dramatic artsy lesbian. Plus they also go on cute ass dates, a previously established mega-weakness of mine. The two of them being thoughtful and picking out fun activities they just know the other will love, then watching their date the whole time in wonder at her beauty and fascination?? Oh my god??? Pure?????
It’s weird how this soft, aesthetic heavy book about a small town in the south is also about murder and also about ladies falling in love. The thing with Ruth and Idgie is that their love is incredibly subtle, and goes mostly unconfirmed. It’s clearly there (I mean, they live one damn domestic life together) but it isn’t really discussed by the people around them. I just think it’s soft, and it’s an undying dedication to one another, and it’s a deep form of caring that I love with all my heart.
That’s all for today! I hope you appreciated my gushing. I feel like I’ve been so lucky to live in a time with so many more f/f romances, but I’m constantly on the lookout for more so please let me know what some of your favorite f/f romances in books are. And keep an eye out for my next post about my favorite m/m romances, coming soon!
The Shattering by Karen Healey : What do Keri, a closeted Maori rugby player, Janna, a beginner Wiccan bassist, and Sione, a Samoan brainiac all have in common? Their older brothers all committed suicide. And as the trio begins to map out the patterns and investigate the eerie perfection of their small town, they begin to wonder if those suicides may have been something more ominous.
Gretel: A Fairy Tale Retold by Niamh Murphy : True to its title, this novella (free on Amazon btw) is a retelling of Hansel and Gretel that ends with two wlw together. Since most everyone knows the story I won’t give away the whole plot but trust me, it was a quick happy read.
The Witch Sea by Sarah Diemer : When Nor washes up on the shore of Meriel’s island, she’s positive it’s just another trick from a vengeful sea god. Her family has vowed to imprison him and prevent the destruction of humanity and she’s the current generation. As this short story (again, free on Amazon) progresses, this narrative becomes much muddier and Meriel questions whether she really is doomed to live a desolate lonely life.
Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova : Alex wishes her magic would just go away, which isn’t feasible given that she’s the most powerful bruja in generations. That’s tested when a spell-gone-wrong forces her to venture into a fantasy landscape to rescue her family.
I only listed contemporary ones since most fantasy butch women fall under the “woman disguised as a man” trope, which is still fine but I wasn’t sure if it was what you were looking for.
Anonymous: Do you know any books with lesbian characters (can take or leave romance) with autistic characters, preferably written by autistic people? Or any just written by autistic people?
Here’s some free fiction online: https://giganotosaurus.org/2016/02/01/the-scrape-of-tooth-and-bone/ (h/t @shiraglassman) for a queer autistic MC written by an autistic author, but unfortunately, I have yet to find a novel that fits. But for a book with lesbian characters and an autistic author, try This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp. (Obvious major content warning for gun violence.) I’d also recommend you try Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde, which has an autistic main character and a bisexual main character in an f/f romance (and the author is autistic as well). (Otherbound and On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis are also great reads by an autistic author - the former has a bisexual main character and the latter has no romance but a lot of queer secondary characters, and the main character is autistic.)
guiding-light-deactivated201902: Do you have recs for lesbian books where the majority of the characters are women? Like Juliet Takes a Breath? Idk it seems like in most lesbians books I've read, the protag is surrounded by men except for their love interest and I'm kinda bored with it.
For sure! I feel like I’ve read tons more that match this, but I’m having trouble bringing them to mind. Here are the first ones I thought of:
The line between best friend and something more is a line always crossed in the dark.
Jess Wong is Angie Redmond’s best friend. And that’s the most important thing, even if Angie can’t see how Jess truly feels. Being the girl no one quite notices is OK with Jess anyway. While nobody notices her, she’s free to watch everyone else. But when Angie begins to fall for Margot Adams, a girl from the nearby boarding school, Jess can see it coming a mile away. Suddenly her powers of observation are more curse than gift.
As Angie drags Jess further into Margot’s circle, Jess discovers more than her friend’s growing crush. Secrets and cruelty lie just beneath the carefree surface of this world of wealth and privilege, and when they come out, Jess knows Angie won’t be able to handle the consequences.
When the inevitable darkness finally descends, Angie will need her best friend.
“It doesn’t even matter that she probably doesn’t understand how much she means to me. It’s purer this way. She can take whatever she wants from me, whenever she wants it, because I’m her best friend.”
A Line in the Dark is a story of love, loyalty, and murder.
A vibrant debut novel, set in Brooklyn and Bangladesh, Bright Lines follows three young women and one family struggling to make peace with secrets and their past.
For as long as she can remember, Ella has longed to feel at home. Orphaned as a child after her parents’ murder, and afflicted with hallucinations at dusk, she’s always felt more at ease in nature than with people. She traveled from Bangladesh to Brooklyn to live with the Saleems: her uncle Anwar, aunt Hashi, and their beautiful daughter, Charu, her complete opposite. One summer, when Ella returns home from college, she discovers Charu’s friend Maya—an Islamic cleric’s runaway daughter—asleep in her bedroom.
As the girls have a summer of clandestine adventure and sexual awakenings, Anwar—owner of a popular botanical apothecary—has his own secrets, threatening his thirty-year marriage. But when tragedy strikes, the Saleems find themselves blamed. To keep his family from unraveling, Anwar takes them on a fated trip to Bangladesh, to reckon with the past, their extended family, and each other.
Sadly, I know only a handful and I personally haven’t read them so I can’t guarantee their quality of rep. If any of our followers have read these or any others please share with us!
