#sapphic summer recs

[joseopher]

hello! i stumbled upon your aftg sapphic summer post on my for you page and though i’d offer some aftg sapphic fic recs:

counting my blessings by quensty (https://archiveofourown.org/works/25203838) - renison in a wild west au

a hundred jewels on throats by poltergeists (https://archiveofourown.org/works/16443548) - renison as gods in a greek mythology au

sore-ring to cope by flybbfly (https://archiveofourown.org/works/8878429) - renison post-canon get back together at nicky and erik’s wedding

count me down, the future’s here by stranglerfig (https://archiveofourown.org/works/24351673) - an amazing transfem!allison character study with bonus renison

vengeance and death by cthulu_sun (https://archiveofourown.org/works/17104415) - hauntingly beautiful renison fic with renee as a guardian angel of vengeance/death and allison as sunshine

The Gracekeepers by wishbonetea (https://archiveofourown.org/works/26237314/chapters/63860944) - to my knowledge this is the longest renison-centric fic in the fandom and it’s a fantastic original post-apocalyptic universe

night and day by reneewvlkers (https://archiveofourown.org/works/11463897) - fic written pre-tsc where laila/alvarez are enemies to lovers

Don't Speak Against the Sun by zeffyamethyst (https://archiveofourown.org/works/898820) - this was the 1st ever aftg fic posted on ao3 and these oc’s were the inspiration for Laila and Cat

and if you’re cool with genderbends, I got a few recs for sapphic!andreil fics:

force of nature/flat affect by badacts (https://archiveofourown.org/works/14274867/chapters/32925354) - brief retelling of the series in an au where the twinyards and neil are cisswapped

who's that clawing your heart out? by lolainslackss (https://archiveofourown.org/works/15064868) - au centering around fem!andrew struggle with lesbian nails™️

in this world alone by mostly_maudlin (https://archiveofourown.org/works/44431072) - introspective college au

i hope you enjoy these! happy reading <3

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUCH A GIANT LIST🙏 Will be reading tonight and commenting as much as I can! :D

Thanks again for the recs!! <3 <3 <3

What is sapphic summer?

[justsomesapphicbimbo]

Considering the state of the world, if for whatever insane reason you need another push to ball your eyes out, I highly highly HIGHLY recommend this film.

Shit killed me 😊

This is real. THIS IS WHERE ITS AT.

This is MY 500 days of summer.

Your welcome :)

[TW: lesbians being lesbians (and no I'm not only talking about the part where they like kissing girls, I wish that's all we were 🙏)]

[platonicmoonwater00]

ok i just watched two movies on stan. the first one was close(2023), which i was not expecting to have such a tragic ending. i was bawling.

the second one was my first summer(2020) absolutely beautiful, i loved it. australian, queer and sapphic isnt a combination i see a lot in media and im all three so yay. also quick question, when do you guys think it was set?

edit: the reason im asking is cos the cop said shed be like an adult when she was 17. i saw his license plate and it was a victorian license plate so i was like oh maybe its different there but i looked it up and youve definitely gotta be 18. so i think its set in the past and maybe the law's changed since. it felt pretty modern but also even grace didnt have a phone and she talked about reading the newspaper which people dont usually do anymore.

ALSO do you guys have any suggestions for sapphic tv shows(that wont make me bawl my eyes out) cos all the ones ive found either have a sapphic side character and the main characters are all straight or the main characters are sapphic but theyre like 40. nothing wrong with that i just prefer like teen and coming of age shows ig. PLS HELP

[smallcandlejar]

about this blog

hello!

this blog is dedicated to my summer reading of queer literature.

some notes:

i am on a quest to read as many wlw books as i can these holidays and wanted a place to review these books (purely my own opinion)

i am maybe a bit of a hopeless romantic... i'll do what i can to move out of this genre but no promises

my pronouns are she/her

yes, i would love your recommendations :)

yes, please talk to me about them!

and finally, yes, i do have christmas in the summer, no its not that weird because i've never had a winter one! (to me christmas will always smell of sunscreen)

books i've read so far:

the falling in love montage

cleat cute

imogen, obviously

she drives me crazy

she gets the girl

[write-nor-wrong]

Whats everyones summer fic?

Whether its a fic youre reading or a fic youve been writing!

Also nonfic still counts i wanna hear about them all!

That goes for fanfic as well!

Im writing a sapphic fantasy about a fallen angel betrayed and murdered by the one she loved.

[punki-miltonia]

Ten Word Book Reviews: Some Girls Do

Morgan has no awareness; Ruby has depth. Coming out’s complicated.

[fahye]

book recs: june 2024

it's been a weird few months of swinging wildly between mood reading of new things and needing to reread old favourites. all of these were new-to-me, and * means I read an ARC so they're not out yet BUT keep your eyes peeled/preorder if you like the sound of them.

SOMEONE YOU CAN BUILD A NEST IN by john wiswell - sapphic monster romance but make it asexual rep (woo!) between a protagonist who is usually a ball of shapeshifting goo, and a woman whose awful family is trying to hunt down the shapeshifting monster. it's both delightfully gruesome and a sweet, angry story about two hurt people finding and saving one another. this book deserves to become tumblr-famous.

LORD OF SCOUNDRELS by loretta chase - an absolute platinum-level classic in regency romance history, and for good reason. jessica trent: best heroine to ever appear on the page. wild hijinks, superb feelings, jessica can we please be best friends so you can teach me all about your antiques dealership.

THE SAINT OF BRIGHT DOORS by vajra chandrasekera - everyone describes this as 'impossible to describe' and they're right. truly original urban-ish fantasy about the oppression of underclasses, magic, identity, the inconvenience of being prophesied to kill your father, and a support group for failed messiahs. it's splendid and will stretch your mind like a muscle.

ALL THE SINNERS BLEED - by s.a. cosby - a contemporary crime thriller about a black sheriff in the american south trying to catch a serial killer in the face of systemic racism and obstruction. dark themes, wonderfully written, extremely gripping: I read it in a day.

THE UNDERHISTORY by kaaron warren - an elderly woman running tours of her infamously 'haunted' family home is confronted with a group of dangerous escaped killers looking for somewhere to hide. half slowburn crime horror and half a fantastic, meandering exploration of one person's history. you all know I love a vaguely fucked-up house, and this one comes with an older protagonist hiding secrets of her own.

THE DEATH OF VIVEK OJI by akwaeke emezi - there's a new emezi book coming out soon so I finally let myself read this one! a brief, bittersweet slap of a novel about gender and sexuality and family and longing, told in emezi's uniquely electrifying prose style. I wish I could write like this.

THE FRIEND ZONE EXPERIMENT* by zen cho - zen's first contemporary romance! inspired by kdrama tropes! a hardworking singaporean entrepreneur heroine in london! I enjoyed the romance itself but even more I enjoyed watching renee fight to prove herself in the face of various terrible men.

THE FORMIDABLE MISS CASSIDY* by meihan boey - if susan sto helit is your favourite discworld character, you will love the hell out of this. no-nonsense magical governess deals with folklore monsters and social drama in 19th century singapore. lively and heaps of fun. I wish it was an episodic buffy-esque tv show.

THE PAIRING* by casey mcquiston - two exes accidentally reunite on a food & wine tour of europe for the sluttiest and most self-indulgent bisexual summer ever. food porn, drinks porn, european scenery porn, feelings porn, porn-porn: this is a book that is 95% Various Vibes and Porn and if that sounds like your kind of thing, you'll love it. warning: will make you very hungry.

[out-of-the-forest-i-come]

Queer romance recs for the summer

Summer is here and I know many like to read more lighthearted books during that time, so here are some queer romances I've really enjoyed and that I think are perfect for the summer.

Anything by F.T. Lukens. Most specifically, those I've read are So This Is Ever After, In Deeper Waters, and Otherworldly. If you're looking for cute queer romantasy novels to read this summer, look no further. F.T. Lukens' books are fun and lighthearted even when they deal with heavier topics, and they contain mlm, mlnb, and nb rep.

Running Close to the Wind by Alex Rowland. I've talked about this book before and I'll probably talk about it many more times because I adored it. It's hilarious and refreshing even though it handles some heavy topics, so if you like pirates, accidental treason, and dirty jokes, this book is perfect for you. In terms of representation, it has polyamory rep, various sexualities, and intersex (if I remember correctly) and non-binary rep.

Gwen and Art Are Not In Love by Lex Croucher. This book is an adorable, fun romance set in a historical setting inspired by Arthurian times. It's perfect if you're looking for not one but two forbidden romances, banter and adventure, humour, and wlw and mlm rep.

Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake. I remember I absolutely loved this book when I read it during the summer a couple of years ago, and my feelings after two years are still the same. This book is an adult romance novel (with one or two sex scenes) with vivid and complex characters, amazing sapphic rep, and a fantastic romance. Even better, it's a completed trilogy, and though I've yet to read the two other books, I'm sure they're great too.

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. You've probably already heard of this one, and it is a book I've really enjoyed. Carry On is fun and captivating, and reads easily.

She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick. A cute love story inspired directly from the real-life romance between the authors (who are married, if I'm not mistaken), and a great way to cheer yourself up.

Café con Lychee by Emery Lee. I read this book a couple years ago already, but it was super cute and it read so easily that I finished it in a day. If you're looking for a light-heared, coming-of-age mlm romance, then this is the book for you.

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall. Last but not least, one of my favourite books from last year. Boyfriend Material is a hilarious mlm romance that somehow manages to be a light read even though it deals with some dark topics. The characters are amazing, their relationship and how it develops even more so, and this book was an immediate favourite for me. Some people have disliked the sequel, Husband Material, but I loved it just as much, and the third and final book is due to come out some time next year.

[lemonlyman-dotcom]

Hello!! Thank you for the tags @thisbuildinghasfeelings @eclectic-sassycoweyes @carlos-in-glasses @heartstringsduet @nisbanisba @whatsintheboxmh @lightningboltreader @alrightbuckaroo 💕 From the upcoming next fic in the Kali Series: Tu Corazón Es Mío ❤️‍🔥

Carlos looks back at the road and shakes his head in amusement. TK’s been going through a reggaeton phase lately. His cousin Anita’s influence. They’ve been hanging out a lot since the wedding. She’s always loved TK, took an immediate liking to him from the first day they met. Over the summer she took him to a few dance classes — mostly afrobeats but he knows they went to at least one bachata class because he’d very bravely not laughed at TK when he tried practicing his new moves on him in the living room later that night — and she subs in as TK’s date to concerts sometimes when Carlos has a shift or is otherwise occupied. They swap music recommendations all the time, share a joint playlist on Apple Music, go to exhibits at the Mexic-Arte Museum downtown where Anita volunteers, and she even joined TK’s rec softball team last spring.

All of the Reyes primos accepted TK into the fold pretty much as soon as Carlos started bringing him around, to lunches at Tía Lucy’s and birthdays and the annual Fourth of July party at Tío Anthony’s lake house. Anita talked to him about the concerts he’d gone to since moving to Austin, Chuey wanted to know about all the secret spots to get good food in Manhattan, “not that touristy shit,” he’d said with a wave of a hand, “tell me where to get the real food.” Diego asked for TK’s number and immediately began abusing it to ask for medical advice any time he so much as stubbed a toe.

And TK had happily rolled with all of it, had fit in so well with his family that Carlos felt a faint twinge of regret for waiting so long to bring a boyfriend around. It passed quickly, though, as he watched TK exuberantly laughing along with Tía Lucy and his mom in the kitchen of his childhood home. There’s no one else he would have wanted to share this part of his life with. TK, with his sweetness and his openness and his kindness, who makes Carlos feel whole and unbroken and proud, has helped him feel more at home in his body and in his life and with his family than he ever had before, just by being there by his side.

Tagging @emsprovisions @fifthrideroftheapocalypse @bonheur-cafe @orchidscript @captain-gillian @tellmegoodbye @honeybee-taskforce @chicgeekgirl89 @literateowl @ladytessa74 @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @welcometololaland @basilsunrise @liminalmemories21 @freneticfloetry @sapphic--kiwi @herefortarlos @firstprince-history-huh @fitzherbertssmolder @filet-o-feelings @fallout-mars @kiwichaeng @tinyluminaryzombie @corsage @paperstorm @guardian-angle22 @rmd-writes @iboatedhere @reyesstrand @never-blooms @decafdino @certifiedflower @irispurpurea @ironheartwriter and OPEN TAG 🏷️

[hedghost]

it’s the return of…

Pick a WOSO Player, Get a Sapphic Book Rec!

Part 4: YA (Mostly) Contempory Romance Edition

Links: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 5

Note: I haven’t read any of these yet so please remember to do your own research and check content warnings before reading!

Aggie Beever-Jones: Hotshot by Clare Lydon

Kathrine Kuhl: Forget Me Not by Alyson Derrick

Salma Paralleulo: You Don’t Have A Shot by Racquel Marie

Grace Clinton: Gwen and Art are Not In Love by Lex Croucher

Jess Carter: Love at First Set by Jennifer Dugan

Esme Morgan: The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar

Zecira Musovic: Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date by Ashley Herring Blake

Katrina Gorry: That Summer Feeling by Bridget Morrissey

Kyra Cooney-Cross: It’s Not Like It’s a Secret by Misa Sugiara

Charli Grant: Never Mine by Bryce Oakley

Khiara Keating: Six Times We Almost Kissed by Tess Sharpe

Hannah Hampton: Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth

Esmee Brugts: Sorry Bro by Taleen Voskuni

Jule Brand: Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko

Daan van de Donk: Margo Zimmerman Gets The Girl by Brianna R. Shrum and Sara Waxelbaum

gonna do another one of these with some different/more adult genres so feel free to send in any players i haven’t done yet!

Hope you liked it! Check out the previous posts and follow for more :)

Hedge xx

[person4924]

hi !! i’m sam !! and uhhh that’s all u need to know but there’s more under the cut !!

(also im trying to make this aesthetic and cute but idrk how so if u have any tips pls pls pls !!)

yes i’m sad (secretly a dinosaur)

basic info

i’m sapphic of some sort and ace!!

i go pretty much by any pronouns atp but she and they are usually the best!! proud genderfuck ✊

i’m a minor. so please don’t be fucking weird.

i’m american (even worse, the midwest 😨) unfortunately but literally as soon as i fucking can im booting it and moving to norway

i’m neurodivergent of some some sort

i play soccer (defense usually but i like offense more) and lacrosse (i just started so idek) currently but i also usually play volleyball but i missed the season sooo

im a huge psych and cinema and music and literature nerd so !! basically im gonna be broke by 30

i have a sideblog that is currently a confessions blog but it might change cus no one actually does it!! but if u would like to do a (general) confession then it is @just-a-little-lad4924

i have another sideblog that is for analysis’ !! i mostly do characters and songs but i’ll do pretty much anything (send me a request please please please please please) it’s @person-speaks

just general facts about me !

my personality type is INFP-T

i have 3 cats!! one at my dads, her name is graci (after gracie abrams ofc) and she’s about a year and a half, and 2 at my moms: regulus (guess who named him!! 😱) and libby and their siblings and are currently abt 3 months !! i could yap abt them forever i love them sm

my favorite color is dark green, fav season is fall, fav holiday is christmas or halloween, fav animal is cats or sharks or moths or jellyfish

i appreciate tone tags and try to use them as much as possible

im always bored so asks and everything are super duper cool !

i love love love making ananlysis' of basically anythng sooo if theres like a song or ship or something i could totallly write an essay abt it or smth !

uhhh idrk what else !!

fandoms AKA past hyperfixations that i’m still attached to but im not necessarily still in the fandom: harry potter (fuck jkr !!), MCU, KOTLC, marauders, boy meets world, it, osemanverse, paper girls, teen wolf, owl house, shameless, glee, stranger things, andi mack, tlou, riordanverse, brooklyn nine nine, new girl, hamilton, grishaverse, community, dawsons creek, bojack horseman, criminal minds, ted lasso, scooby doo, everything sucks!, the sun bearer trials, atypical, octonauts, dead boy detectives, will and grace, how i met your mother, the maze runner, descendants, arcane, parks and rec

uhhh can u tell i don’t have many friends.

fav movies (not counting fandoms): tick tick boom, my girl, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, little rascals, empire records, bottoms, nimona, little women, 500 days of summer, benny & joon, beautiful boy, call me by your name, lady bird, stand by me, RWRB, addams family values, the breakfast club, spiderman ITSV/ATSV, the outsiders, luca, the perks of being a wallflower, dead poets society, big daddy, the edge of seventeen

once again. i have very little friends. and very many issues.

fav music people (not always up to date i like new artists every day): gracie abrams, taylor swift, noah kahan, mitski, boygenuis, julien baker, phoebe bridgers, lucy dacus, hozier, the head and the heart, conan gray, RKS, queen, harry styles, the fray, olivia rodrigo, coldplay, billie eilish, maya hawke, bo burnham, chappell roan, the smiths, the revivalists, addriane lenker, lorde, fiona apple, alex g, ani defranco, radiohead, montell fish, lizzy mcalpine, maggie rogers, girl in red

just general interests: poetry, art, writing, sitcoms, stand up comedy, greek mythology, the sky (like the stars, moon, sun, etc. astronomy metaphors are my everything), moths, jelly fish, ocean animals in general (first special interest 💪💪), pretty much just animals in general, 90's movies, cinematography, annotating, musicals, actors, spider man, psychology, analysis (of anything really)

comedians i like (i currenyly only have 2 but im planning on collecting more so!! also recs please??): bo burnham, hannah gadsby

fav books (also not including fandoms): the perks of being a wallflower, the outsiders, i fell in love with hope, ill give you the sun, and more but i dont remember the names atm !

my fav ships (buckle in! i apologize.): wolfstar, jegulus, jily sometimes, pandalily, dorlene, rosekiller, drarry, jeric (bmw), reddie, charlie/nick, tara/darcy, tao/elle, lister/jimmy, pip/rooney, kajemac, sterek, isaac/stiles, malia/stiles, lumity, gallavich, ronance, solangelo, valdangelo, kinda percico, dianetti, wesper, kanej, trobed, joey/pacey, ralvez, spencer/ethan, kindaaa moreid, painland, newtmas, jaylos, harry/carlos (idk the ship name), robin/barney, caitvi (i like to call them violyn tho !), jayvik

i might have missed a few but these are My Guys. /gn

links!

spotify!! - my character playlists are my pride and joy and reason for living, i could write essays about how each song could specifically fit the character and situation. anyways!!

discord

airbuds - idk if anyone uses this but if u do add me!!

ao3 - i have 1 fic that is my fav thing ever (a camp halfblood group chat) and the other two... are there

pinterest

tiktok - this is my alt that i blocked all my friends on and i have like my fandom shit but i don’t post that much and im barely on tt to begin with but yeah !!

pronouns page

spotify stats - idk if anyone uses this but also yeah !!

i have a super duper cool discord server that u should totally join too… link

i have a tagging system

sam shut the fuck up - og posts

asks!!! - asks

crazy? i was crazy once - big lists and essay things

sam sings :O - lyric/music posts

it’s so hard to be a lizard… - any jokes i make because im literally bo burnham

art i need in my veins - self explanatory mostly for myself but everyone else should also see this

what the fuck did you just say to me - fic quotes or lyrics or something. mostly for myself so i don’t have to keep them in my camera roll

and i think thats it!! if anyone has any ideas of things to add then yeah !! or how to make it look prettier cusss uhhhh yeah.

oh yeah and this is an official @i-luv-multiple-ppl fan account so !!

and creds to @cafekitsune for the dividers!!

[lgbtqreads]

do you have any sapphic ya contemporary romcom book recs? i'm currently on a binge & i've already read i kissed shara wheeler, 6 times we almost kissed, hani & ishu, never ever getting back together & imogen, obviously. would love more books with similar vibes!!

Heh, kiiiinda my expertise, in that I've written three of them - Cool for the Summer, Home Field Advantage, and Going Bicoastal, which I think you'll prob like if you liked those, especially the first one. Also definitely check out Leah Johnson's You Should See Me in a Crown, Jennifer Dugan's Some Girls Do, Kelly Quindlen's She Drives Me Crazy, Rachel Hawkins' Her Royal Highness, Lyla Lee's Flip the Script, Christen Randall's The No Girlfriend Rule, Aminah Mae Safi's Tell Me How You Really Feel, Ciara Smyth's Not My Problem, Jake Maia Arlow's How to Excavate a Heart, and coming in the next few months, Sophie Gonzales's The Perfect Boyfriend Doesn't Exist, Erin Baldwin's Wish You Weren't Here, and Jennifer Dugan's Playing for Keeps.

[qbdatabase]

Hello, I saw that you had awesome recs for bi4bi books! I rarely have found bi4bi books in genres other than contemporary so I was hoping you could help me with that? Could you please recommend bi4bi (sapphic) books in fantasy, horror, mystery and basically any genre other than contemporary

heads up, these lists will include poly pairings with at least two female characters, pansexual / queer / unlabled multi-gender-attracted identities, and F/NB pairings

bi4bi WLW Fantasy

The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson: Cuban-American bisexual female x white bisexual female

Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper: bisexual female x Russian-American bisexual female

The Lost Girls by Sonia Hartl: bisexual female x bisexual female

The Goddess of Nothing At All by Cat Rector: Norse bisexual female x pansexual genderfluid LI

Thornfruit by Felicia Davin: starts with lesbian female x bisexual female, but ends with an FFNB poly triad with a bisexual genderfluid MC

A Lake of Feathers and Moonbeams by Dax Murray: polyamorous bisexual female x queer non-binary MC x Asian bisexual female

Vicious Devotion by Aveda Vice: queer female x queer female x queer male x queer male in a polyamorous quartet

The Sea Witch by Katee Robert: half-Vietnamese polyamorous bisexual sub female x older fat black mga Domme female LI x (sub?) male LI in a polyamorous triad

bi4bi WLW Historical

The Companion by E. E. Ottoman: polyamorous bisexual transgender female x bisexual transgender female x transgender male

Her Countess to Cherish by Jane Walsh: pregnant bisexual female x mga bigender LI

Mademoiselle Revolution by Zoe Sivak: biracial Haitian bisexual female x French bisexual female (possible) LI; French male (possible) LI

Windfall by Shawna Barnett: bisexual female MC x bisexual female MC x asexual male LI x male LI (love square, but the bi!F MCs do also romance each other)

Scandalous Passions by Nicola Davidson: Domme bisexual female x sub questioning bisexual female x sub straight male with a stutter in a polyamorous triad

bi4bi WLW Horror

Wilder Girls by Rory Power: mga female x queer female

A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson: polyamorous bisexual female x bisexual female with mood swings and depression x bisexual male

bi4bi WLW Mystery

Missing, Presumed Dead by Emma Berquist: bisexual female x bisexual female

All the Things We Do in the Dark by Saundra Mitchell: white pansexual female with PTSD x Korean-American queer mga female

The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe: bisexual female x mga female

Bury the Lede by Gaby Dunn: bisexual female x bisexual female, black lesbian female

The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell: mga female x straight male (possible) LI; bisexual female (possible) LI

The Drowning Summer by Christine Lynn Herman: bisexual female x bisexual female

bi4bi WLW Sci-Fi

Curved Horizon by Taylor Brooke: bisexual female x demisexual panromantic female

City of Shattered Light by Claire Winn: chronically ill bisexual female x Japanese/ Portugese bisexual female

Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders: white pansexual female x black Brazilian bisexual trans-nonbinary femme

Honor Among Thieves by Rachel Caine: black bisexual female x Brazilian bisexual female x bisexual male in a polyamorous triad

full notes on representation and publishing info at qbdatabase.com

[ninja-muse]

Last month I clearly posted my wrap-up a day too early because I ended up DNFing a book that same day and therefore starting another. I don't think that'll happen again, but I'm making sure to schedule this for the first just to be sure.

Anyway, this was an all right month of reading—some greats, some simple okays—and a very good month for not acquiring books. Only one ARC came home with me, I offloaded three, and I'm almost certainly not going to buy any books in the last day of the month, but I still have 12 hours. That might change, in which case this post will also and you'll never know what I originally typed. Yeah, that worked well. Darn used bookstores!

You already know how much I liked The Briar Club. My other top reads were A Desolation Called Peace (anyone surprised?), Wandering Stars (outside my wheelhouse but good), and Nicked, which is also out in the summer and was my solo ARC haul of the month. If anyone thinks "gay medieval heist novel" sounds like a good time, they should pick that up. Also, anyone who likes cats and picture books needs to pick up Floof.

And my lows might as well start with my DNF from last month, I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons. I was really hoping it would pick up and I could push through, but it was just the wrong sort of silly for me. (I ended up going home without a book, then binging Most Ardently over the next couple days after my Libby hold came early.)

I also found The Deerfield Massacre to be odd—less rigorous than I'd have liked, a little wobbly on its thesis, doing a poor job of balancing "this must have sucked for the survivors" with Indigenous perspectives and an awareness that the Europeans were, in fact, colonizers. And A Letter to the Luminous Deep sounded so good, but I found it slow and couldn't quite connect to the characters or world.

I don't know how May is going to go, in terms of reading, so this book might end up being my review of the month, but I'm enjoying it so am going to rec it now: Evelina! Frances Burney was one of Austen's favourite authors and I can absolutely see why, and how she influenced her. If you like Austen's novels, you should 110% pick this up, because it's got romantic troubles, a highly embarrassing family, a number of awkward balls and parties, and all manner of drama. Why hasn't this been adapted? It should have been years ago.

Lastly in bookish and/or life news, my store's latest Indie Bookstore Day party was a rousing success and I don't think my legs have recovered yet from all the walking. My ability to socialize almost certainly hasn't. (It's been three days.) Thank goodness for book lovers and my fellow booksellers. Couldn't have done it without all of them.

Click through to see everything I read this month, in the rough order of how glad I was to have read them.

A Desolation Called Peace - Arkady Martine

The war with the aliens is not going well and Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass are called on to help. Which won’t be easy, but it’s harder because politics.

8.5/10

🏳️‍🌈 main characters (bisexual, sapphic), 🏳️‍🌈 author

library book

Wandering Stars - Tommy Orange

150 years in the life of a Cheyenne family, before and after the events of There, There.

8/10

largely Cheyenne cast, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (multisexual, nonbinary), Cheyenne-Arapaho author

warning: genocide, alcoholism, addiction, drug use, self-harm

library book

The Briar Club - Kate Quinn

A new boarder moves into Briarwood house in Washington, D.C. in 1950, upending the dull day-to-day. Four years later, someone dies. Out in July.

8.5/10

🏳️‍🌈 POV character (bisexual), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary character (sapphic), Black secondary and minor characters

warning: domestic abuse, murder, race riot

reading copy

Nicked - M.T. Anderson Brother Nicephorus accompanies the saint hunter Tyun and his piratical crew on a mission to, erm, liberate the bones of St. Nicholas. Out in July.

8.5/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (Achillean), major 🏳️‍🌈 character (Achillean), major Central Asian character, Muslim secondary characters

reading copy

Nanny Ogg’s Cookbook - Terry Pratchett with Stephen Briggs and Paul Kidby (illustrator)

A collection of Nanny Ogg’s recipes and thoughts.

7.5/10

gifted/off my TBR shelves

Most Ardently - Gabe Cole Novoa

Oliver Bennett yearns to live on his own terms, under his real name, and kiss boys. Unfortunately, the first boy in question, one Fitzwilliam Darcy, might like him as Oliver but hates his “other self”.

6.5/10

🏳️‍🌈 main character (trans man), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (gay, bisexual women), 🏳️‍🌈 author

warning: deadnaming, misgendering

library ebook

Slippery Creatures - KJ Charles

When various threatening men appear in Will Darling’s bookshop seeking information he doesn’t have, Will turns to the first helpful person he meets—an aristocrat named Kim.

6.5/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonists (bisexual man, achillean), Black Welsh secondary character

library ebook

A Letter to the Luminous Deep - Sylvie Cathrall

In 1002, E. and Henerey begin a correspondence. In 1003, her sister and his brother begin to piece together what might have happened to them.

6.5/10

POV character with anxiety disorder, 🏳️‍🌈 POV characters (lesbian, bi man), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (sapphic, achillean), brown-skinned secondary character

reading copy

Hansel and Gretel - Neil Gaiman with Lorenzo Mattotti (illustrator)

An illustrated retelling.

7/10

off my TBR shelves

The Deerfield Massacre - James L. Swanson

The story of an infamous raid in 1704 New England, and the way it’s been mythologized since.

5/10

warning: racism, violence, murder, murder of children

library book

Picture Books

The Pie Reports - Hayley Lowe

Noor and Granddad love pie, but there’s an ocean between them, so they meet every week to eat pie on video chat. Then one day, Granddad doesn’t log on—he’s having a blue day.

🇨🇦

Floof - Heidi McKinnon

A day in the life of Floof the cat.

DNF

I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons - Peter S. Beagle

Robert doesn’t want to be the country’s dragon exterminator on the best of days, but then Princess Cerise meets Prince Reginald. Out in May.

Currently reading

Evelina - Frances Burney

Evelina travels to London and learns that the only thing more distressing than suitors is her newly discovered family. Inspired Austen.

off my TBR shelves

The Demon of Unrest - Erik Larson

The story of the six months leading up to the American Civil War.

warning: racism, slavery

reading copy

Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century - Richard Taruskin

A history of early written European music, in its social and political contexts.

The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle

Victorian detective stories

disabled POV character (limb injury), occasional Indian secondary characters

warning: racism, colonialism

Monthly total: 10 + 2 Yearly total: 42 Queer books: 5 Authors of colour: 2 Books by women: 4 Authors outside the binary: 0 Canadian authors: 0 Classics: 0 Off the TBR shelves: 2 Books hauled: 4 ARCs acquired: 1 ARCs unhauled: 4 DNFs: 1

January February March

[joseopher]

What is sapphic summer?

So I noticed that fandom often dismisses sapphic fics, and I want to change that this summer! My goal is to find sapphic fics and give them as much support as I can!

How can I participate?

Send me asks recommending any sapphic aftg fics and in return, I will leave comments and encourage others to do the same

Check out sapphic fics recommended (you can find these in the #sapphic summer recs and #aftg sapphic summer tags, though the latter will have fanart too) and if you like them leave kudos and comment

What can I recommend?

Anything where sapphic relationships and/or sapphic identity is a major part of the fic. This means that your fic doesn't have to be a romance just feature sapphic identity! Gender-bending relationships to be sapphic is also fine. I'm cool with any ships, ratings and situations except for my major trigger: non-con. If you could avoid that it'd be great. If you have any questions just shoot me an ask :D

TLDR

Send sapphic fic rec = it receives love and comments from me

Gender-bent fics are okay

Non-romantic fics are okay

All ships welcome

All ratings welcome (that means smut is okay😉)

Non-con is NOT okay

I do not own the art! It was made by risingroseart

[hpsaffics]

HP Saffics Two-Year Serverversary

Happy Two-Year Serverversary!! 🥳

The HP SAFFICS server is happy to celebrate two years of femslash madness and mayhem. With 437 members, this year we created 1,098+ works and 24+ rec lists! Between our annual summer exchange, microfic challenge, and many more events, our members have been busy spreading the sapphic love.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us along this wild spectacular journey. We can't wait for this next year with even more femslash fun!!

Check out our upcoming event: HP Saffics Femslash February 2024 🌸

Prompts & Info

AO3 Collection

Here is a link to the server. We hope to see you there! https://discord.gg/YMGeYtvMV7

Much love from the @hpsaffics mods,

@lumosatnight @fantasyborn @siriusly-sapphic @nanneramma @leftsidedown @whoreofthecottage

Peep the new logo made by the talented @rhiaflamesong 😍😍