#June’s Sapphic Book Rec and Review

[taemstudy]

“Written in the Stars” - Alexandria Bellefleur

Hello all, my name is June, and I am on the hunt for every sapphic novel I can get my hands on so you don’t have to. I believe I was robbed of great sapphic novels growing up so there’s no time like the present to catch up on the novels I missed!

Disclaimer: I am unapologetically biased towards romcom books and all my opinions are 100% subjective. You are more than welcome to disagree with me.

Here is the first book I read this year, “Written in the Stars” by Alexandria Bellefleur.

This is the first book in a trilogy - all of which are able to be read on their own with minimal confusion. I’ve read 2/3 - the other I will also be reviewing!

The synopsis, as per GoodReads: 

“After a disastrous blind date, Darcy Lowell is desperate to stop her well-meaning brother from playing matchmaker ever again. Love—and the inevitable heartbreak—is the last thing she wants. So she fibs and says her latest set up was a success. Darcy doesn’t expect her lie to bite her in the ass. Elle Jones, one of the astrologers behind the popular Twitter account, Oh My Stars, dreams of finding her soul mate. But she knows it is most assuredly not Darcy... a no-nonsense stick-in-the-mud, who is way too analytical, punctual, and skeptical for someone as free-spirited as Elle. When Darcy’s brother—and Elle's new business partner—expresses how happy he is that they hit it off, Elle is baffled. Was Darcy on the same date? Because... awkward. When Darcy begs Elle to play along, she agrees to pretend they’re dating to save face. But with a few conditions: Darcy must help Elle navigate her own overbearing family over the holidays and their arrangement expires on New Year’s Eve. The last thing they expect is to develop real feelings during a fake relationship. But maybe opposites can attract when true love is written in the stars?”

I mean what more could I have asked for to kick off my year of reading only sapphic novels? I’ve always been a sucker for the fake-dating trope, and I felt that Bellefleur executed this trope quite well. The banter between Darcy and Elle felt natural, well paced, and I believed the chemistry between them. It’s always such a treat when a writer can convey that unspoken phenomenon of gradually catching feelings without having to tell me or without jumping from 0 to 100.

One thing I really enjoyed about this novel was how starkly different Elle and Darcy were. It’s fun seeing two contrasting characters find common ground, and the fact that they fell in love was a real pleasure to read.

Fair warning, this book does contain two spicy scenes if I remember correctly. If that type of stuff isn’t your scene, then I would not recommend. I personally enjoyed them and they felt believable- like another lesbian couple would do the same so points for that! The scenes themselves are standard vanilla stuff, nothing too crazy but still pleasant to read. I thought it was tasteful and the progression towards that point felt natural.

The novel ends with your average run-of-the-mill romantic gesture (which I’ve come to learn is quite common in sapphic romcom-esque novels) and although I was anticipating it, I can’t deny it was very sweet and definitely gave me the warm fuzzies. Needless to say, I devoured this one and finished the book with a smile on my face. Recommended!

Overall rating: 4.5/5

#sapphic #ya novel #adult novel #novel #sapphic books #books #book rec #book recommendations #June’s Sapphic Book Rec and Review

[stardustandrockets]

Where's your favorite place to read?

When it's not a THOUSAND degrees, I like reading outside. A few weeks ago I sat on a bench at the park area of one of my favorite shopping centers after running some errands. I definitely had sweat dripping down the backs of my legs by the time I decided it was time to go, but there was a breeze, and all things considered, it was rather pleasant.

Mooncakes was a cute graphic novel about Tam, a nonbinary werewolf trying to thwart an evil magical cult, and Nova, a deaf witch trying to figure out her place. It's got great deaf rep, accommodations for using magic, queer joy, and Chinese cultural rep. Not only is it about thwarting the bad guys, but it's heavily about family, too.

I really enjoyed this quick graphic novel read. Definitely worth picking up!

#mooncakes #suzanne walker #wendy xu #werewolves #witches #magical world #chinese american #nonbinary #lgbtq reads #lgbtqia #queer book recs #queer reads #read with pride #read queer all year #read more sapphic books #stardust book recs #stardust reviews books #stardustandrockets #backlog from june #june 20

[a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit]

Book Review: Satisfaction Guaranteed by Karelia Stetz-Waters

Finally! A sapphic romance where satisfaction is guaranteed when it comes to humor, emotion, individual character growth, sex, and love! That's a tall order for a book about two opposites - Cade Elgin and Selena Mathis - who are tasked with saving a floundering sex toy shop from the edge of failure in Portland after the owner, Ruth (Cade's aunt; Selena's friend), dies and decrees them co-inheritors of her business/estate for the next six months. Yet, tall order or not, the author manages to strike a good balance between amusing and heartfelt. I couldn't have asked for better harmony on that score. I was happy to laugh with these characters. To emote. I was happier still to be met with oodles of sex positivity and vocalness about female pleasure. The openness surrounding these topics was refreshing to say the least. Wonderful. Sexy, too. As one would expect from a story about a sex toy shop, however, outrageous elements do populate the plot. That's part of the fun! One of the things I liked best. For instance, not only is there a Paint Your Vulva night and a Bouncy House of Breasts at the Sexpo but most of the Elgin family, save Cade, is a free-spirited, marijuana-smoking, let's-buy-alpacas-even-though-we-have-no-use-for-them bunch who dress in gold lamé for a funeral and prefer to let the universe "take the wheel and steer," as Carrie Underwood would say. If that doesn't sound like it's for you, that's fine. However, if you're up for a splash or two of absurd in tolerable doses, then prepare yourself for a barrel of laughs. (I still can't get the neon clitoris sign or the wall of dildos out of my head. I giggle just thinking about them.) I will caution you and say that the main characters have a bit of a "not good enough" complex, though. It's the major obstacle in their romance. That typically isn't my cup of tea, but I think it works well in this book. I say that because Cade and Selena both have individual journeys where they must learn how to be accepting of themselves and of love. For Cade, that means seeing herself as more than a straight-laced "boring accountant" who will never be able to orgasm; for Selena, it means no longer labeling herself a "fuck up" due to her failure as an artist and the degradation she suffered in a past relationship. Cade and Selena are easy to root for as a pairing. Most everything between them is conducted in a mature, healthy fashion. Though clearly opposites in personality, in dress (hello oversized gray sweaters and purple faux-feather jackets!), they bring out the best in one another. They're supportive. They're honest. They're sweet and compassionate. They push each other out of their comfort zones. Most of all, though, they're open about what they like and don't like, staying respectful of the sexual/emotional boundaries that have been put in place. Such a delight! I'd recommend this to any of you who are in the mood for a fun, steamy, somewhat unconventional and uproarious F/F romance this summer. Many thanks to NetGalley and Forever Grand Central Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my review.

3.5/5 stars

**Follow me on Goodreads

#ashlee bree's book reviews #satisfaction guaranteed #karelia stetz-waters #arcs #contemporary #romance #sapphic romance #lgbtq #lgbtq representation #recs: ashlee approved! #read may 2021 #coming june 2021 #boobklr #book reviews #a perfect book for pride month

[biandlesbianliterature]

[image description: a collage of the books listed below, with the text “Lesbian & Bi Lit: Lesbrary Links, May 25 - June 7]

[image description: the covers of Everfair by Nisi Shawl, Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey, (You) Set Me On Fire by Mariko Tamaki, Her Head: A Village by Makeda Silvera, and In Search of Happiness by Sonwabiso Ngcowa] 

Autostraddle posted

Lez Liberty Lit: Fragile

8 Urban Fantasy Books That Feature Queer Women and How to Live in Paris, Get Kissed a Lot, Write a Memoir About It

You Should Go: Brush Up Your ’90s Activist History with Lesbians to Watch Out For

BiblioSapphic posted Sapphic Stories || Around the world.

[image description: the covers of Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde, The Summer We Got Free by Mia McKenzie, Goldie Vance Vol. 1 by Hope Larson and Brittney Williams, and Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee]

Gay YA posted Introduction to GayYA’s 2017 Blogathon.

LGBT@NYPL posted

#RainbowReading: Pride Month at NYPL

#RainbowReading for Kids: 30 Books for 30 Days of Pride Month 2017

#RainbowReading for Teens: 30 Books for 30 Days of Pride Month 2017

#RainbowReading for Adults: 30 Books for 30 Days of Pride Month 2017

[image description: the covers of Big Big Sky by Kristyn Dunnion, Solace: Writing, Refuge, and LGBTQ Women of Color by S. Andrea Allen and Lauren Cherelle, Revolutionary Girl Utena Deluxe Box Set by Chiho Saito, Sisterhood by Julie R. Enszer, and Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown]

LGBTQ Reads posted Around the Blogosqueer: Great Rec Posts/Databases.

Ylva Publishing posted Ruined Panties and Orgasmic Screamers—The All-Time Biggest Peeves in Lesfic.

Solace: Writing, Refuge, and LGBTQ Women of Color edited by S. Andrea Allen and Lauren Cherelle was reviewed at Lambda Literary. 

Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin was reviewed at South China Morning Post.

Revolutionary Girl Utena, Volume 2 by Chiho Saito was reviewed at Lambda Literary.

The Edge of the Abyss by Emily Skrutskie was reviewed at Rich In Color.

For even  more links, check out the Lesbrary’s twitter! We’re also on Facebook, Goodreads, Youtube and Tumblr.

Keep up with all the Lesbrary posts and extra content by signing up for the Lesbrary newsletter!

Support the Lesbrary on Patreon at $2 or more a month and be entered to win a queer women book every month, as well as getting exclusive Lesbian Literature 101 updates! Or buy us a coffee on ko-fi as a one-time donation!

#queer books #lesbian books

[taemstudy]

June’s Sapphic Book Rec and Review

As a certified Sapphic™️ and reading enthusiast, I made it my New Years Resolution to read as many Sapphic novels as I possibly can get my hands on. 

Being raised in a religious household, I always felt there was something off about me because I was so conditioned into comp-het. LGBT centered books really could’ve helped me figure my shit out sooner and would’ve saved me so much confusion. So I set myself out to find any and all noteworthy sapphic novels so you don’t have to. I’ll go through the books I’ve read so far this year, what I liked and did not like about them, spoiler free! Spoiler free that is, unless there are some contents of the novel I must get off my chest - in which case all spoilers will be marked. 

As I read more, you will be the first to know. If you read any of my recs, I’d love to know what you think!

#sapphic #books #book review #book rec #sapphic book #sapphic books #June's Sapphic Book Rec and Review #ya novels #adult novel #novel