Sapphic Romance Books to Read in One Sitting
The sapphic romance genre has had a genuine boom in the last few years. More books, more variety, better craft. These are the ones that are genuinely hard to put down. Pick one based on your current mood and surrender your afternoon to it.
For the Hate-to-Love Fan: She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen
Scottie Zajac has just been dumped by her girlfriend and crashes her car into the most popular girl in school. Now they have to carpool. It is exactly as fun as that sounds. Quindlen writes YA romance with real comic timing and genuine warmth. The enemies-to-lovers tension is well-constructed and the resolution is satisfying without being rushed. This is the book you read when you want to smile at your phone on public transit and not care who sees.
For the Grumpy-Sunshine Addict: Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake
Delilah Green has spent years avoiding her hometown and her complicated feelings about the family she left behind. She comes back to photograph her stepsister Astrid’s wedding and falls for Claire Sutherland, Astrid’s friend and a bookstore owner (publisher’s series guide). This is the first in the Bright Falls series and it is extremely good. The tension is slow-built and the payoff is worth every page. Blake writes banter as well as anyone in the genre.
For the Fake-Dating Fan: Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date by Ashley Herring Blake
Romance writer Iris Kelly is not looking for a relationship. After a disastrous one-night stand, she meets the same woman again during a local production of Much Ado About Nothing. A fake relationship follows, and the feelings become harder to keep offstage. Read the publisher’s Bright Falls series guide for the full description.
For the Renovation Rivalry: Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake
Interior designer Astrid Parker takes on a televised inn renovation. Carpenter Jordan Everwood has different ideas about the building’s future. Their clashing plans give way to a different kind of tension. Find the book in the publisher’s Bright Falls series guide.
For the Contemporary Drama Fan: Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur
Elle is an astrologer and Darcy is an actuary. Darcy’s brother sets them up on a disastrous blind date, and they end up pretending to date to keep their families happy (Kirkus Reviews). This is extremely cozy and the romantic tension is done well. The two leads have a dynamic that feels earned rather than manufactured. A great one for a cold weekend.
More Sapphic Romance and Broader Queer Reading
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston sends a woman falling for someone stuck on a time-displaced subway train, and it’s as delightful as that sounds. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas is YA paranormal romance with a trans lead summoning the wrong ghost. Loveless by Alice Oseman explores aromantic and asexual identity through a protagonist going to university. All essential.
Cancel your plans. Block off six hours. You know what you’re doing today.