There’s just something about sapphic love that feels special and all-consuming. In the realm of sapphic literature and media, there has been a historical tendency to depict these relationships as tragic narratives. Our love is riveting and profound, yet it never thrives outside of a spark. It can’t roar into a fire or exist in the mundane. As an avid reader of literary fiction, I’ve found myself drawn to tales of yearning and angst, but it’s crucial to recognize that sapphic love, like all forms of love, is incredibly diverse. It’s important that WLW romance novels reflect that.

In curating this list of sapphic love stories, my goal was to showcase the myriad facets of queer love. Some of these recommendations delve into the gentle, low-stakes terrain of coming-of-age romances, while others explore unconventional forms of queer love that might take you by surprise. I’ve intentionally omitted certain classics such as The Well of Loneliness, The Color Purple, The Price of Salt, and even The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. This decision is not a dismissal of their importance but rather an effort to spotlight more contemporary works. (Additionally, Evelyn Hugo stands well on its own with its mainstream success and it felt redundant to recommend it once again.)

So, here are 10 WLW novels that present queer love in its multitudes!

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

If you’ve been on sapphic BookTok at all, you’d be familiar with this first recommendation ($15). Picture it as a sapphic twist on John Green’s Paper Towns, complete with a captivating rivals-to-lovers dynamic. Chloe and Shara, the protagonists, share a certain unhinged, obsessive, and wonderfully flawed quality that I adore in characters. While I typically favor McQuiston’s adult fiction work, this young adult coming-of-age novel effortlessly hits all the marks for an engaging read.

Old Enough by Haley Jakobson

Jakobson encapsulates what it’s like to be a bisexual woman in her 20s to a tee. It follows Sav who’s finally out as bisexual as she tries to make her first queer friend group in university. As she goes through the motions of university, Sav goes through a personality crisis. She tries the find peace in the disconnect she has with her high school self and who she is now. I identified with so many aspects of this book, mostly through its depictions of “forever friendships” and how we often outgrow them. I do want to preface that this book ($19) does deal with some sensitive topics. Other than that, if you love the found family trope, literary fiction, and a new character to fixate over, this one’s for you!

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner

Meryl Wilsner is probably my favorite sapphic writer and including just one book ($11) from her felt like choosing a favorite child. I’m recommending Something to Talk About over Mistakes Were Made simply because it’s a less jarring book. While Mistakes Were Made had spice by the second chapter, Something to Talk About plays more like a slow burn. Like… the slowest of burns you could have in a 336-page romance. It’s a fake dating romance between the Hollywood powerhouse Jo and her assistant Emma. An out-of-context photo taken during a red carpet event becomes a detriment to Jo’s new movie and thus births some of the most excruciating mental angst. I highly recommend it as well as Wilsner’s other works.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

As an immigrant, I have developed such a deep connection with this novel ($8). It is a historical fiction set during the Red Scare in the United States. It follows seventeen-year-old Lily Hu, a Chinese American, as she navigates through discovering her queer identity in the cultural context of 1950s San Fransico. Lily eventually develops a relationship with another girl named Kath. Lo’s depiction of such a soft and tender love juxtaposed with their rough reality is a masterclass in writing. Nothing expresses the fear of coming out to an Asian parent than the line “her mother’s face swam into focus, her brown eyes full of the sharp worry of love, and Lily thought, You will never look at me like this again.” If that doesn’t convince you to read this book, I don’t know what will.

She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen

If it isn’t obvious yet, I am a little biased toward an enemies-to-lovers and fake dating trope, especially in a high school setting. This book ($12) follows Scottie, an introverted basketball player, and Irene, a mean cheerleader. As you would expect from any young adult fiction novel, there is all the cheese and angst you could ask for. Both Scottie and Irene feel like fully fleshed-out characters, which I believe YA novels often fall short of. If you’re someone who wants to turn her brain off to consume romances, then this will be a breeze to get through.

Dykette by Jenny Fran Davis

Dykette ($19) is filled to the brim with insanity and absurdity. If you can get past the opening, then I promise you that you’ll be rewarded with a ludicrous rollercoaster ride. The story follows a rich lesbian couple who invited two other queer couples to a cottage in upstate New York. This dynamic is the basis for the messiest and wildest story you could imagine. If you love unlikable narrators, don’t worry because this one’s got the worst one you could find. The more I talk about it, the more it feels like a disservice as its essence cannot be encapsulated in a couple of sentences. So, go ahead and get a copy!

Breaking Character by Lee Winter

Lee Winter has been carrying the lesbian romance genre on her back for years. This book ($18) felt like a soap opera in book form. This would make sense as the whole premise is about two actresses in a medical soap. From the misunderstood ice queen Elizabeth Thornton to your favorite girl next door Summer Hayes, it has everything you want out of a gripping romance. Winter completely scoffs at the miscommunication trope by actually writing both Summer and Elizabeth as adults who can communicate. Even without the help of the miscommunication trope, Winter is able to develop a wonderful slow-burn romance between the two actresses. I highly recommend Breaking Character and any of Winter’s books for more sapphic romances with ice queen characters.

Wild Things by Laura Kay

Wild Things ($13) is a warmhearted queer rom-com that satisfies all of your cottage core needs. It follows two best friends, El and Ray, with two of their closest friends who plan to move out of the city and into a ramshackle house on the edge of an English country village. As they’re preparing their house for a grand housewarming party, El is forced to confront her feelings for Ray. This is an incredibly low-stakes and lighthearted romance that you would often find in the YA section of the bookstore. Fortunately, it is an adult fiction novel! So, if you’re urging to read a fluff-filled wholesome romance that’s aimed at adults, this would be your pick!

Those Who Wait by Haley Cass

Those Who Wait ($18) is for those who were introduced to queer literature through fan fiction. This book is uncharacteristically long and Haley Cass does something with each page you turn. And no, this isn’t a fantasy novel with world-building. It’s just your run-of-the-mill general fiction romance but it just blows everything else out of the water. Cass utilizes all 600 pages to flesh out the protagonists Sutton Spencer and Charlotte Thompson and their relationship. It’s your typical slow-burn friends with benefits but the way Cass attacks these tropes unconventionally is masterful. Sapphic writers seem to have the tendency to subvert the miscommunication trope and refuse to use it as a crutch in their romances. Although daunting because of its length, it has the perfect amount of everything: spice, lovable characters, and a great supporting cast.

Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson

I know I said I wanted to talk about more contemporary sapphic books but frankly, I will do everything in my power to recommend Winterson’s prose. Although not explicitly queer, Winterson writes this book ($17) without gendered language. It plays with the reader’s assumption of gender, presenting it as subjective. This has led the lesbian community to adopt the book as our own and for good reason. It is peak lesbian literary fiction and never have I been so touched by the depiction of sapphic love through the English language. The narrator goes on full tangents about Louise, a married woman, and their full devotion to her. The protagonist is flawed, selfish, and selfless. It’s a devastating novel but the prose, God… the prose, is just so good. It’s biting, sexual, and tearjerking, but every bit of this book is worth consumption.

If you’ve been in a reading slump and have been itching for something new to read, I hope this list provides you with enough choices that’ll satisfy your need for queer love in literature. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find your new book obsessions here!