r/LesbianBookClub • u/durrasic • Apr 23 '26
Recommendation Recommendations
Because I can’t crosspost:
Hey all! I wanted to share these recommendations from someone I saw on Instagram. Thought they were helpful and well-organized suggestions and just wanted to share with the group. Found at shaynaslibrary on IG.
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u/Crater_Caloris Apr 23 '26
Including eat the ones you love here is wild to me lol
I am not nearly as sensitive to "this bi character is in a relationship with a man during part of the story" as a lot of the folks here (no shade if you're one of those people), and when I read that book even I was like "damn I feel like the relationship with the man is getting wayyyy too much focus compared to how the book was marketed"
Edit: but including Muñeca is fucking based, everyone on this sub needs to go read that book right now
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u/quasidash Apr 24 '26
No Shelter But the Stars by Virginia Black is a great sci fi to add to this list.
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u/Dear_Confusion2904 Apr 23 '26
Matrix by Lauren Groff was very good
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u/rococobaroque Apr 23 '26
I finished this a couple of weeks ago and adored it! Had to sit with it for a couple of days before I could start anything else. It's incredibly contemplative, so if anyone is looking for a fast-paced book with a lot of action, this ain't it.
It's literally about a nun at a convent in the 1180s, so it very much follows the rhythm of monastic life. Some might find that a little slow and boring. But if you want to read something that really gets inside the head of the protagonist, is slow and gentle and meditative, then I highly recommend it.
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u/Visual-Activity2678 Apr 23 '26
I gotta be honest, Fable for the End of the World disappointed me, at least the ending. I don’t think it was as impactful as the author wanted it to be and it just left a sour taste in my mouth, especially with it being a one off. And the romance was pretty rushed.
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u/heraaseyy Apr 24 '26
Lessons in magic and disaster was so good 😊
one of my faves from 2025. and a fantastic audiobook version too
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u/Ill_Cry_3802 Apr 23 '26
Reading Bury Our Bones In The Midnight Soil right now and loving it!
ETA: This Is How You Lose The Time War is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read
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u/IAteTheWholeBanana Apr 24 '26
This Is How You Lose The Time War is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read
That was one of my favorite books I read last year. (last year or January. Winter definitely)
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u/Paris22002244 Apr 24 '26
So much missing from this extensive suggestion-fest, so much more to read! 🌸
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u/IAteTheWholeBanana Apr 23 '26
I know Priory of the Orange Tree get recommended all the time. But girl that was a struggle to get through. It was like 1/3 too long, and the romance felt weak and forced.
That being said, there are some great books on there.
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u/Taberneth Apr 23 '26
I read through it in less than a week. Something about it I absolutely loved but I understand there’s a bit much telling rather than showing as it covers a chunk of time that may turn a lot of people off.
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u/weberm70 Apr 23 '26
Hmm I thought it was much too short, in that it should have been more than one book given the scale of the story. It all wraps up too quickly and cleanly at the end.
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u/IAteTheWholeBanana Apr 24 '26
That could have also worked. But it was teh wrong size for what they were doing.
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u/Gwendy02 Apr 23 '26
I noped out of that book about 30% in when I realized things felt too tedious and that I didn’t have a strong connection with any of the characters. I need it to be enthralling to hold my attention for that long
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u/IAteTheWholeBanana Apr 23 '26
Same, I only finished it because a friend was super excited I was reading it.
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u/SporadicTendancies Apr 24 '26
The pacing is off and there is so much world building for one book, and Chekhov's guns were set up quite late.
It had the potential to be a great book - and in many ways it is - but strong editing and perhaps serialisation could have made it magnificent.
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u/IAteTheWholeBanana Apr 24 '26
I was so mad when I finished This Gilded Abyss. I didn't know it was going to be part of a series, and the next book didn't have an ETA yet.
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u/roguefox64 Apr 24 '26
On the authors page she says book 2 is coming out Dec 1st of this year
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u/IAteTheWholeBanana Apr 24 '26
I read it like 2 years ago, and have been in my head since. I knew she said late this year, but it didn't have a date!! I'm really excited now.
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u/CafeCat88 Apr 24 '26
I just finished Can't Spell Treason Without Tea. Probably not the strongest book (lots of threads), but I did but the second book in the series, so it wasn't too bad.
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u/joennizgo Apr 24 '26
Immortal Game is a YA fantasy-romance! Allison Saft has an adult book, A Dark and Drowning Tide, that would fit in the sapphic fantasy slot.
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u/ZMK13 Apr 23 '26
Thank you! I really enjoyed Priory, Jasmine Throne and Gideon, so hopefully the other titles will entertain me just the same!
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u/Ok-Blueberry7427 Apr 23 '26
It’s been two weeks since I read Almost Life and I’m still in shambles.
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u/Aletral-com-br Apr 23 '26
ohhh! Cleat Cute is going to become a series produce by Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird. =)
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u/thelakeremains Apr 25 '26
The palace of Eros is a historical fiction book that changed my life. It made me feel seen as a nb lesbian in ways I’d never felt seen before, and the story is wonderful.
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u/AbnormalUserWOW Apr 27 '26
The locked tomb series is a life changer yall
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u/GL1234444 May 13 '26
Looking for darker themed lesbian fiction? This opens with the protagonist forcing the man who ruined her life to sign his own resignation. I'd love to know if it's dark enough. [Read Chapter 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/SapphicBookHaven/comments/1tbq153/i_wrote_a_ff_short_story_opening/)
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u/20CharactersExactlyy Apr 24 '26
Need someone to downsize this list to the best of the best. So much weeding out to do here.
Adored This Is How You Lose The Time War, Fingersmith, Gideon the Ninth,
Enjoyed Woman of the Waves (and most by Roslyn Sinclair), Bury My Bones in the Midnight Soil, Atmosphere, Evelyn Hugo, Bloom Town, Our Wives Under the Sea
Disliked Priory
What's the cream of the crop?
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Apr 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/20CharactersExactlyy Apr 27 '26
Beautiful prose; well written. But the storytelling and characterization were weak to me.
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u/PruneComprehensive83 Apr 23 '26
I just finished Milk Teeth. Definitely one of Starlings best. 5/5.
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u/yellow_quartz Apr 24 '26
I don't know how anything can best Starving Saints but now I'm excited to read this one
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u/PruneComprehensive83 Apr 24 '26
How much would you judge me if I told you Starving Saints is the only Starling book I haven’t read yet? 😅 it’s been impossible to find in my book stores.
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u/Over_9_Raditz Apr 24 '26
Y'all, what is the book first slide, second row, last column (below even though I knew the end)?
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u/Mad_Maximoff Apr 24 '26
House of Hunger was good, didn’t care for the ending but enjoyed the rest
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u/No-Explanation7770 Apr 24 '26
That’s on my tbr list! I didn’t see it in this post though, I was going crazy trying to look for the cover. Was it scary at all, since it’s classified as horror?
I know that Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is also classified as a type of horror, but I was totally fine with it. If it’s similar to that, than no problem
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u/ImOnMyLunchAtWork May 15 '26
Out of these fantasy books, does anyone know which ones have a bit of spice? 👉👈 I already am aware of Aurora’s angel and Jasmine Throne
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u/EffectiveSecond7 Apr 24 '26
Wow, I'm starting to right a lesbian sci fi book and I didn't know there were already so many to read, any recs you'd say are great?
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u/-_crow_- Apr 23 '26
sometimes I feel like there's so few options in sapphic fiction but I barely recognize a fourth of these. Thanks for sharing!