Book Recs

Meeting Millie

Clare Ashton writes like a dream, and in Meeting Millie, she's never been more seamless. The story ebbs and flows with real flair, with the eponymous Millie and trusty Charlotte getting on with life while trying to ignore the fact they've fallen for each other. For me, the side characters were a particular highlight, with Olivia and the city of Oxford the standouts. The pool scene is also worth the cover price alone. It's perhaps a little too slow burn if I have a complaint. However, it's also a second-chance romance you can't fail to fall in love with.

The Fiancee Farce

A punchy rom-com that struts its stuff from page one, this romance is guaranteed to leave you satisfied. Why? Because it mixes classic tropes in a delicious way, puts snark to the top of the class, and is fresh and crisp enough to make it stand out from the pack. It claims to be steamy, but I wouldn't say that's its key accolade. Rather, the top takeaway is you can try to run from these endearing characters, but they'll reel you in. You want all the feels? This one has the lot, with a cherry on top.

Love & Other Disasters

I watch cookery reality shows by the dozen, so this made me sit up. Make it queer, and have two characters falling in love on-screen and off? I'm in. Anita Kelly shows a skilled pair of hands in mixing this story: a pinch of rich/poor trope, a teaspoon of family strife, a sprinkle of non-binary, and a splash of coming out. Yes, there's a solid story with competition, lust, and drama. But what stopped me in my tracks was the feels. All of them. When Dahlia and London come together, I was giddy with excitement. It starts slow, but stick around. This one is so worth it.

Destination You

Spoiler alert: you will fall in love with this story, because JJ Arias has a way with words that makes it impossible not to. An age-gap romance between Taylor Lopez and her former history teacher Raquel Alonso, the story builds, wraps itself around you, crushes you with love and leaves you breathless. Will they end up together? I was totally invested and wanted it for this fictional couple more than I have for a very long time. A steamy, dreamy romance, it's funny, sexy, and kinda perfect.

And Playing The Role Of Herself

And Playing The Role Of Herself can be summed up in four words: terrible cover, brilliant book. My all-time favourite lesfic novel, it’s romantic, sexy and chock-full of Hollywood dazzle. Plus, the audiobook adds a whole new level of emotion.

Perks Of Office

Perks Of Office is a bonkers-good debut by Liz Rain, shot through with Aussie wit, two brilliant leads, and side characters you'll want to be mates with. The writing is smooth, the sex scenes are hot, and you feel every beat as Emma & Bridget navigate and then blow up their relationship. It'll make you laugh, break your heart, and then put you back together again. Can't wait for book two.

Delilah Green Doesn't Care

Delilah Green Doesn't Care is a great title. That it's backed up by an ace cover and an even better story makes this a stellar book to kick off your 2023. A romance about second chances, along with the pleasure and pain of going home, this is a deep, funny, heart-warming tale that runs the gamut of emotions. Your heart will break for Delilah, your face will hurt from the snarky, smart dialogue, and you'll be rooting for the titular heroine and Claire from the start. It's a book that will stay with you long after you close the last page.

The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo

This book is quite simply one of the best I've ever read. Heart-breaking and sensual, it depicts a Hollywood machine that will eat you up and spit you out, not leaving any space for who you truly are. In Evelyn Hugo's case, she was a woman in love with another woman, but she covered it up with a string of marriages to men. This book sees her bearing all as she approaches death, finally wanting to tell the truth. The story is richly told, the characters jump off the page, and the forbidden love will scorch your soul. I've still got a book hangover.

Tell Me Everything

This is the second book I've read from Laura Kay, and you know what I love about her writing? The simplicity. The detail. The warmth. This one presses all of those buttons and then some, with an endearingly flawed lead in Natasha, who's surrounded by a cast of hilarious, gorgeous friends & family you'll want to adopt as your own. Funny & life-affirming, it's a very British rom-com bursting with queer characters. I turned the final page with a huge smile on my face. I think you will, too.

The Number 94 Project

This book is that rare gem in the sapphic cannon: a feel-good, low-angst, gorgeously satisfying romance, with swoony leads and a stellar secondary cast that will have you howling for more. Yes, we feel all the delicious desire between Jorgie & Marta, but just as important are the found family who live right beside them. This is a book about love, friendship and community, and by the end, you'll want to live in a house renovated by Jorgie and Leo on Gaylord Street, too. And that giddily romantic final scene? *Chef's kiss!*

Those Who Wait

I resisted reading this for ages because of its length, clocking in at 180k words. If you're doing the same, get over it. This is the stand-up-and-applaud story of Sutton and Charlotte, both immersed in the political world, both resisting their feelings to the end. It's got drama, feels, romance & raunch. It will pull you in and leave you breathless. It reminded me of And Playing The Role of Herself. There is no greater compliment.

Cow Girl

Mainstream publishers are finally realising that lesbian fiction has an audience, and this book is a brilliant example of a classic rom-com with a lesbian lead. Think Sophie Kinsella, but with added rainbow sparkles. Bursting with 3D characters, it's both touching & funny, stamped through with British wit and heart. A lesbian fiction novel that will make you fall in love with cows? It's the book you never knew you needed.

One Last Stop

One Last Stop is a fantastic, astonishing, completely bonkers read. It's got magical realism & time travel, but beyond that, it's a warm, funny, crazily touching tale of that time in your twenties when you're finding your place in the world, your chosen family, and your first love. August and Jane are two heroines that will stay with you long after you finish. I didn't want it to end. I want to move to New York and work in a pancake house. McQuiston crushed this, and I fell head over heels.

The Secret Of You And Me

No, you're not seeing things - Mills & Boon have just published their first ever lesbian romance. So what's it like? Pretty darn good. The Secret Of You And Me kept me gripped from first page to last, and I stayed up so late reading it, I was useless the next day. A second-chance romance, it's got heart, soul, and everything in between. Read it!

Back In Your Arms

Back In Your Arms is a delicious second-chance romance that ticks every box of my favourite genre. Realistic, flawed characters? Tick. Set in a Stars Hollow-esque small town? Tick. Family drama with cute kids? Tick. A romance that ebbs, flows, and eventually soars? Tick, tickety tick! You feel every step of Quinn and Sawyer's second shot at love, and I finished the book with a satisfied sigh. More please!

Night Tide

Anna Burke is an author who gets plenty of plaudits, but she's always written in genres that haven't floated my boat. However, in the past year, she's released her first two romances, and now I'm totally on-board! The writing in this small-town romance is exquisite, and the depth of emotion pulses from the pages. It features a group of friends you want to be part of, plus lashings of craft beer and coffee. This is enemies to lovers on steroids, with cracking bantz all the way through.

In At The Deep End

It's not often a novel makes me stay up all night and wish it would never end. This book did just that. In At The Deep End is an updated Bridget Jones with a lesbian lead, a tale of real-life queer London. It'll make you laugh, tense up and hide behind your hands. Plus it includes enough fisting to make your eyes water. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Curious Wine

Set in a cabin in the woods, this is the story of two women coming together in a time when being gay really was the love that dare not speak its name. Widely touted as the first true lesbian romance novel, it still stands up nearly 40 years later and has sold 100,000 copies in its lifetime. Erotic, remarkable and beautiful, it's a book that should be read by every queer woman alive. Clear your schedule and enjoy!

Just Juliet

A perfect YA novel that deals with one teenage girl’s coming out. It’s fun, hopeful and will keep you on the edge of your seat hoping for a happy ending. It's also the book I wish I'd read when I was 17.

All the Little Moments

This book will make you cry. There, I said it. It features cute kids, an adorable leading couple and so much emotion packed into its pages it’ll leave you in a heap. Plus, it introduced me to the term “eye-fucking”. Still unsure how I feel.

XX

XX is the story of Jules and Rosie, and their dream to have a baby. When scientists put them on a trial to do so without the aid of a man, a baby that’s a mix of both of them, all hell breaks loose. Compelling, topical and emotional, this is a story that covers so much ground, yet retains its heart & humanity.

Don’t Call Me Hero

If you're after an ice queen-meets-military cocktail, served with extra salt on the rim, this is the perfect book for you. It’s a story that engages, and one that will stay with you long after you close the final page. She's also recently written another must-read - The Woman In 3B.

Damn Straight

I'll let you in on a secret: I don't read many crime-thrillers. However, if they're all like this, I might start reading more. Damn Straight is a novel full of smarts, witty dialogue and plot twists that kept me on the edge of my seat. Add in a golf tournament, lesbian jokes galore, a hapless but well-meaning heroine and some awesome side characters, and you have a hole in one.

Patience & Sarah

This is historical lesfic at its finest. Written in the late 1960s and sold on street corners, Patience & Sarah was a word-of-mouth hit, and keeps hitting all these years later. Listen to the audiobook for added wow. Janis Ian's narration is spellbinding.

Venus Envy

Venus Envy is a step on from the classic Rubyfruit Jungle (also brilliant). This book is the story of a woman who gets a wrong terminal cancer diagnosis, comes out, then learns she's fine and has to deal with the fallout. Hilarious, tender & true, it's Brown all over.

Fireflies

Fireflies is a tale of airplanes and recovering alcoholics, set amidst the heat of Dubai. Real, honest and unflinching in its portrayal of the struggle to stay sober, it's refreshingly different and one of my surprise picks of 2018.

Logical Family

A memoir so beautifully written, it feels likes slipping on your very favourite sweatshirt and sitting back with a glass of red. Armistead Maupin knows how to spin a story and once you're in, you never want to leave.

The Breakup Monologues

In her latest book, Rosie shuffles heartache, humour and science in her quest to understand and lay bare the psychology of breakups. Part-memoir, part-Ted talk, it's a funny and honest delve into the human psyche and asks what we can learn about ourselves through endings, and what it takes to stay in a relationship for all the *right* reasons. The accidental relationship guru pulls no punches, and this is a gutsy, hilarious, corker of a book.

A Life In Stitches

A masterful account of her life as seen through the knits she was creating at the time. Stories that weave seamlessly in and out of her life, it's a gorgeous example of how rich non-fiction storytelling can be.

Undivided

Undivided is a gripping and unflinching memoir. It details the hurt and horror extreme religion can inflict, while also offering hope for those who turn it around.

One Summer Sunrise

This book follows four characters from sunset to sunrise, and how their lives change over the course of one important day. Shari Low is my new fav rom-com author: her dialogue is spot-on, and the situations she puts her characters in are realistic and hysterical. I don't know how I survived without Shari in my life.

It's Not Me, It's You

I'm making it a rule that I read one mainstream book followed by one lesfic book throughout 2021. Don't blame me if my next few mainstream choices are by this author. This is an all-out British rom-com brimming with lovable characters, sharp plot and zingy dialogue. It also has situations so cringe-worthy, you'll be reading through your fingers. Read it & try not to fall in love.

The Midnight Library

I wasn't sure what to expect from this new-to-me author, but honestly, this book blew me away. Original storyline, beautiful writing, and the lead character (a woman, hurrah!) goes on the ultimate, epic journey, ending with the one thing everyone wants: hope. It'll give you hope, too. It'll also teach you to be kind.

Rachel's Holiday

I'm kinda at a loss for words to say about Rachel's Holiday. Just take my advice: it'll change your life. Keyes is a word wrangler, and this story cuts to the core. A must-read.

The Girl You Left Behind

This is one of those novels that stays with you long after you put it down. Set between modern-day and WWI, it tells the story of a painting's journey back to its owner, and is heartfelt and simply stunning.

My Not So Perfect Life

My Not So Perfect Life demonstrates perfectly why Sophie is as successful as she is. This book is the rom-com I'd love to write, but with lesbian leads, natch. Pacy, real, British & hilarious, it's unputdownable.

The Cows

I spent my birthday reading this in the sunshine, and it's refreshingly different. The tale of three women, it follows Tara who's propelled to sudden, unwanted fame; Cam, an online feminist blogger; and Stella, who's quietly but devastatingly falling apart. Clever, modern and feisty, it focuses on female sisterhood and always steps over the line. Read it.

Half A World Away

I remember reading Mike Gayle when I was in my twenties. That he's been putting out books since then shows his staying power, and the quality hasn't dipped. Half A World Away, about two siblings separated in early life, covers family, class and love, and is an emotional landslide of a novel that will stay with you for days after.

On Writing

On Writing is the best in the business, just like its author. Part-memoir, part writing manual, it's entertaining, witty and informative. The very best kind of writing, then.