F/F Romance Recs

🏳️‍🌈 A&B by J.C. Lillis

This is technically the sequel to another YA m/m novel (and you should definitely read that one too!) but it features different MCs and the characters from the first novel are also pretty important but the central plot and relationship is about two girls who are rivals at a musical competition. One thing I loved about it other than the relationship is the discussion about artistic creativity and how the two girls approach the artistic process differently. It’s also about letting go of your idols when you realize they’re not as perfect as you thought they were. Basically, I loved everything about this book, and J.C. Lillis is an incredible writer whose writing is so clever and funny you can’t not love it.

Rep: bi MC; lesbian LI

🌈 Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

I loved the bisexual rep and the f/f relationship in it. There is one scene that didn’t sit well with me and with others, and I acknowledge that without automatically “cancelling” the book, which is something a lot of people have done when they’re not even part of the rep portrayed here. This is not the place for a discussion about all this but basically this is one of the reasons I still haven’t reviewed this book, so all I’m saying is that I loved it but be aware of the fact that Leah at some point does try to police her love interest’s sexuality and this is not called out in the book.

Rep: fat bi MC; sapphic (still figuring out a label) LI

🏳️‍🌈 Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

This was really fun! I don’t remember the details but I know that I loved the issues it brought up and I think the con setting was so fun to read about.

Rep: Chinese-Australian bi MC, fat&autistic MC (not the queer one but the other POV character), sapphic (bi?) LI

🌈 The Melody of You and Me by M. Hollis

I love this author and this book made for a delightful and steamy contemporary read while also touching on important issues that new adults face (like the pressure to have your life completely figured out before you’re thirty).

Rep: pan MC; Filipino lesbian LI

🏳️‍🌈 The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed

This is probably one of the absolute best contemporary YA novels I’ve read. It focuses mostly on three girls but it’s so much more universal than that, and one of the three MCs is queer and she Gets The Girl in the course of the novel.

Rep: Latina sapphic MC; queer LI

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SFF:

🌈 The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie

Pirate girlfriends fighting sea monsters, forbidden love and power dynamics. Do you honestly need me to say more?

Rep: Chinese, sapphic MC; sapphic LI

🏳️‍🌈 Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

I have to say the f/f relationship didn’t start as something I loved, but I grew to like it in the end. I also found the world very interesting and the fact that some of the themes in this book aren’t usually present in YA novels, as they’re really kind of dark. So definitely make sure to check the TWs before you read it because this story doesn’t pull any punches.

Rep: bi MC; sapphic LI

🌈 The Queen of Ieflaria by Effe Calvin

The relationship was really cute and my favorite part of the book, plus there’s a lot of fun mythological creatures and a kitten.

Rep: pan-coded MC/LI

🏳️‍🌈 Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff

This is the sequel to Nevernight and while Nevernight only hinted at Mia’s bisexuality, it is fully explored here. I will go as far as saying this was one of the best portrayals of bisexuality I’ve read so far in a fantasy novel. And the relationship itself is something I think about every day once a day at the very least. Plus, the whole book is a total mind-fuck until the very end.

Rep: bi MC; bi (?) LI

🌈 Moon-Bright Tides by RoAnna Sylver

This short story is about a mermaid and a witch falling in love and it features amazing worldbuilding. It’s really sweet and hopeful and the romance is very cute.

Rep: sapphic MC and LI

🏳️‍🌈 Come to the Rocks by Christin Haws

This is yet another mermaid/human romance that I enjoyed very much, but it also deals with heavy themes: the MC is being stalked by her ex boyfriend and there’s a constant feel of danger that makes it impossible to classify this as a fluffy romance, even though the romance itself is really cute. So, if you’re in the mood to read a short f/f thriller with a happy ending, this is for you.

Rep: fat, bi MC; sapphic LI

🌈 Perfetto (Trilogia di Lilac #1) by Alessia Esse

This is only in Italian so sorry if you can’t read in this language, but I’m pretty sure this was the first f/f story I’ve ever read and I couldn’t not include it. I also didn’t know going into it that it was going to be f/f and that’s because nobody ever talks about it (pretends to be shocked). Anyway, this trilogy is set in a dystopian world where only women survived a disease that wiped out all men. The disease was so devastating that talking about that time, talking about men and any piece of art where men are portrayed, is forbidden. Like with any good dystopian, what the protagonist believed to be the truth is slowly deconstructed throughout the trilogy. I’ve read this ages ago when I wasn’t as much of a critical reviewer as I am now, but I remember not being able to take my eyes off the page until I finished all three books (plus the novellas), and I even gave them to my best friend as a present and he loved them too.

Rep: sapphic MC and LI

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Historical/Retelling:

🏳️‍🌈 The Unbinding of Mary Reade by Miriam McNamara

This is weird because the book follows two romances, one taking place in the past and one in the present, and I weirdly enjoyed the past one (m/f) more because I thought it had more chemistry (until a certain point at least). I also didn’t love some of the tropes used when it comes to the relationships, and you can read more in my actual review, but the f/f romance is nevertheless probably worth checking out if the premise of the book intrigued you and if you can deal with the massive trigger warnings (that my friend Acqua helpfully listed in her review)

Rep: bi MC and LI

🌈 All Out by Various

You all probably already know about this anthology, it’s not only f/f but eight out of seventeen stories feature an f/f romance!

Rep: ace girls, bi girls, lesbian girls, it’s kinda hard to tell sometimes because these labels weren’t used in historical contexts

🏳️‍🌈 Ripped Pages by M. Hollis

This Rapunzel retelling made me cry a lot in a cathartic way and I think everyone should read it.

Rep: lesbian MC, pan or bi LI, side mlm characters

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Comics:

🌈 Princess Princess Ever After by Katie O’Neill

This was SO cute and it’s a middle grade queer fairy tale (which honestly should be enough for you to start reading it right now, especially since it’s free). Trigger warnings for abusive sister and fat-shaming.

Rep: fat lesbian (?) MC, pan (?) LI

🏳️‍🌈 Always Human by Ari Walkingnorth

Listen, this is my favorite graphic novel ever and I love it so freaking much and also my biggest accomplishment in my >20 years on this planet has been making all the gay side of goodreads and twitter read it and fall in love with it. Just read it!!!

Rep: sapphic MC; disabled, Chilean-Australian LI

🌈 Rock and Riot by Chelsey Furedi

This is queer and diverse Grease and it has A LOT of different reps: aro, ace, aro-ace, pan, bi, lesbian, gay, trans, genderqueer, etc etc. I was a fool for not writing down all the specific rep for all the specific characters, but it features two f/f romances and it’s literally the greatest thing on the internet.

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Poetry:

🏳️‍🌈 Heaven or This by Topaz Winters

This is a sapphic poetry collection and I had to include it in this post. It’s really best if you read it for yourself because I don’t know how to do poetry justice, but believe me that you need to read it.