The building tension between Vivian and Jules is just perfect. Like, how can two people practically be fucking without actually fucking yet?! The (super) slow burn is worth it!!

​I’m jumping straight into Above All Things the second I finish this.

Liked the author’s other book as well (Blood on her Tongue)

So i finished the book today and I just want to make sure I understood correctly.

Is Gideon...gone? I know in the epilogue it says that Harrow has become a lictor (I'm not sure if that's the right spelling as I've listened to the audiobook), but after reading the prologue of the second book, there was a mention of Harrow being only half of a lictor. The epilogue of Gideon the Ninth also mentioned they hadn't found Gideon's body, so I'm assuming that will be explained in the second book.

I just have to know - is Gideon dead? Is her energy inside Harrow but whatever made her, her, is gone? Is it something completely different??

I want to keep spoilers to a minimum, but if she is gone, i would like to know. I'll miss her 😭 if she is in the second book, I also want to know, but no other spoilers apart from that, please!

Which publisher has the biggest choice of Australian authors? I know and buy most my e-books either directly from the authors, or from Ylva publishing. Any others you can recommend? Thank you.

Currently finished chapter 6 I am absolutely loving it!!!

I love love LOVE the writing, how descriptive it is. Every sentence feels like a juicy berry popping between my teeth.

I'm not entirely sure of the things happening at all times, like I get that the Agency and the Garden are at war but I'm having a bit of a hard time comprehending the finer details and descriptions of some things.

Also the dynamic between Red and Blue is just chef's kiss. I love watching their letters shift from taunts and goading into genuine curiosity about one another.

Some of my favorite moments are the way they address eachother, 'My perfect Red', 'My Dear Mood Indigo'. And the line 'She’s kept her gloves clean, for the most part, but now she stains them red as a name.' killed me a bit. And 'dear Cochineal' ughhh.

Can't wait to see how this goes!

Hi, can anyone recommend vampire books set in a school? I’ve already finished The Book of Blood and Roses by Annie Summerlee and really liked it. I also enjoy action-packed books set in schools or boarding schools.

How am I supposed to wait until February for the new Haley Cass novel? Arrgghh!

Basically what the title says. I'm looking for any wlw books or AO3 fics with a short masc sub and a tall femme domme.

I really liked For The Price (Love In Vancouver) and the Kingdom of Immortal Lovers series, so I'm looking for more stuff like that. If you've read anything similar, please let me know! Thanks!

I'm really craving a romance with a hot, slightly cocky but in a funny endearing way butch woman.

I really love Sarah Waters books, I want to really connect with the character rather than just a superficial romance book. I also loved Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.

Looking for something more contemporary. I have Atmosphere next to read, and One Stop and Delilah Green Doesn't Care on my list.

But are there any books you've read where the butch love interest just makes you go 'omg, wow'?

Thanks!

Hey fam been reading some good small town sapphic romances and I need more recommendations. I’m already working my way through the Clover Lake series and am about halfway to a 3rd of the way through the Sapphire Springs series. I also read The Right Kind of Wrong recently. If anyone has any other recommendations I’m always greatful to hear them.

Happy Reading yall!!

I'm wondering if anyone has sapphic romantasy recommendations for stories based in or somewhat involving Atlanta? I like cozy romance but am open to other genres if you highly recommend something.

TYIA!!

I've read a few pretty good ones lately, but I'd love recommendations that are particularly artistically written.

In the age of AI, I feel like it's more important than ever to read and appreciate art ❤️

I read sunburn last year and since that I've been looking for a similar book. I didn't find a book with a similar level of introspection, yearning and poetry. I already read the safekeep and fingersmith.

I'm currently reading a dark romance, but i wanted something like sunburn. Someone please save me 😭🙏

31f usa
i just started my first sarah waters book (fingersmith), would anyone like to read it w me?
i’m also going to pick up tipping the velvet soon

I finished The Priory Of The Orange tree and now I’d like to read more fantasy starring a Queen or a princess. Does anyone know a good one like this?

P. S: I would strongly prefer if none of the MCs is engaged to a man, like at all.

P.S 2. Focus on fantasy! But I accept other recs too.

So, I just finished The Whole Truth, and loved it very much. There are a couple of Easter Eggs/nods towards the Those Who Wait series, such as referencing one of the characters reading a book by Katherine Spencer and reference to the Thompson Foundation, but I was struck by another one that maybe isn't as explicit but seems likely(?). Near the end of the book, one of the characters is reading a woman's memoir, and it's about how that woman's life was set in stone and she was on the path she always wanted, but then went in a different direction than what she had always planned, and how she dealt with it. I feel like that is, perhaps, maybe, the biography Sutton wrote about Charlotte in Midnight Rain? Which would perhaps mean that The Whole Truth is set in that latter timeline?. Which I would honestly love, because I like those versions of the characters and their story more. I know, I know, reading way too much into a throw away line that means nothing. Sigh.

I feel super uneducated about lesbian history.
I would love to know more about literally anything from any point in history.

***
The only thing is I NEED it to be an audiobook.
***

My dyslexia puts a hard stop on traditional reading.
——-

I recently read these non fiction books… they are not lesbian specific but they are super LGBTQ+ friendly and I felt like they have pertinent information.

Eve by Cat Bohannon - How the Female Body Drove 200
Million Years of Human Evolution

Wordslut by Amanda Montell- A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language

The authors read their own work and you can tell how much they love the subject while they are reading it to you… I would love anything that has that kind of feel.
——

I have been reading so much sapphic smut that I am putting my TBR in horny jail for a bit.

Thank you so much fellow readers.

I loved the book although I’m quite sad that it ended so abruptly and it didn’t have a HEA like I thought it would, genuinely feel depressed now because of it ngl

hey guys,

i love to read a couple of cozy, corny christmas novels every year to bundle up and get into the holiday spirit :') i‘d love to get some recs from you, especially for a butchfemme dynamic!!

I started writing a story in my spare time a while back, and as someone with no formal writing background who had never even read a romance novel before starting this project, im having a lot of fun learning the craft.

I’ve started reading more intentionally, treating books as study material for things like sentence structure, pacing, and plot construction. The problem is that I’m having a hard time finding books that are relevant to what I’m trying to write.
For context, here’s the general premise of my story:

The two main characters are childhood friends from wealthy families who eventually fall in love as teenagers. Their relationship ends in a brutal breakup, leaving them with years of resentment and unresolved feelings.

Over a decade later, they cross paths again under suspicious circumstances. One of them becomes entangled in a dangerous debt that leaves her isolated and the center of attention in the world of the other woman’s family: a powerful criminal dynasty with deep ties to politics and corruption.

As they become caught up in a sea of criminal alliances, internal power struggles, and battle over succession, the two women must figure out whether they can trust each other again while plotting to bring the entire empire down.

I’m primarily looking for sapphic fiction with a criminal undercurrent, ideally with some combination of complicated romance, morally gray characters, and stories that are more plot driven. That said, I’m absolutely open to non-sapphic books if they do something particularly well in those areas.

Here’s what I’ve read so far and how it’s helped me:

Books that helped:
The Counterpart by Ruby Landers - This was probably the closest to what I was looking for. I loved it and found it especially useful as a reference for the kind of story I want to write.

Only Hope - I enjoyed the writing and was able to learn from the descriptions and slow-burn romance. However, it felt more character-driven than plot-driven, so it wasn’t as helpful for studying the kind of intricate plotting I’m aiming for.

Wiseguy and The Godfather - Neither is an exact match for my story, but both gave me a lot of insight into criminal organizations. Mine is not mafia themed, but there were plenty of parallels I could draw inspiration from.

Books that didn’t help as much for my purposes:

The Price of Salt (Carol) - I actually really enjoyed this one, but the style felt too dated for modern writing.

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care - The writing itself was fine, but I found the characters and plot frustrating.

I’d also appreciate any advice on how to sift through the sea of AI slop. As someone which no writing experience, and didn’t even read romance until now, I feel like I might not have the necessary skills to distinguish between good and bad writing sometimes, and I’d hate to spend so much time studying, only to be taking reference from AI work and end up writing like an AI.

I’m doing this purely because I enjoy the learning process. I’d love to create something traditionally, entirely human-written, and I’m not particularly concerned about whether it sells. I just want to keep improving and learn from authors who do these things well.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!