New to Sapphic Romance? Start Here.

Recs & Lists

Jun 1

**New to Sapphic Romance? Start Here. 💚**

Okay. OKAY. You want to get into sapphic romance and you came to me about it. Do you understand what you've done. Do you understand that talking about sapphic romance is genuinely my favorite thing in the entire world and you have just handed me the perfect excuse to do it. Pull up a chair. Get comfortable. We're going to be here a while and I could not be happier about it.

Here's what I want to do a little differently with this list. When you go looking for "where do I start with sapphic romance," you basically always get handed the same handful of traditionally published titles. And listen, there is a reason those books get recommended. They're wonderful! But there is a whole entire UNIVERSE of indie and self-published sapphic romance out there that doesn't always make it onto the thousand nearly-identical lists floating around BookTok and bookstagram. And those books? They changed my life. Repeatedly. With great enthusiasm.

So that's what this is. Ten beautifully written, heart-soaring, brain-chemistry-altering indie books, all by self-published authors, that I think make the most superb introduction to this genre I love so deeply. We'll get into more specific tropes and weird little niche corners as we go on this journey together (and oh, babe, we are absolutely going on a journey), but for now I just want to put some stories in your hands that you maybe haven't seen yet.

Deep breath. Here we go.

Falls From Grace by Ruby Landers

Okay I need you to sit down for this one. This is the first in a series and it changed my entire world — like genuinely rearranged something in me. The LONGING, babes. THE LONGING. I cannot adequately convey to you the longing. And on top of the yearning of it all, I was so blown away by the way Ruby writes boundaries — there's this real care and intentionality to how her characters move through the world and treat each other, and it just does something to me. Honest truth and I will say it forever: if Ruby writes it, I read it. Immediately. No questions. Sight unseen.

Tropes: slow burn, exquisite aching longing, series starter

Like First Love, Again by J.J. Arias

Everything JJ writes is flawless and I want that on a banner somewhere. I could have picked literally any single book in her catalog for this list and it would belong here. What she does so impossibly well is complexity, flawed, beautiful, real women who are growing and healing both themselves AND each other at the same time, and somehow she makes it look effortless. This one is "when the one who got away comes back," and it absolutely delivers on every bit of that ache and history and second-chance tension. I love everything she writes and I am so excited for you to find that out for yourself.

Tropes: second chance, the one who got away, beautiful messy character growth & healing

Those Who Wait by Haley Cass

Yes, this one is on everybody's list. Yes, it absolutely should be. This book changed my world and Haley Cass simply does not miss, like it's almost mindboggling how consistently she does not miss. It lands on every single sapphic starter list for a reason, and I am not about to be the brave contrarian who breaks that streak, because the streak is CORRECT. If you read just one book off this entire list, this is the softest, surest place to fall. You're in such good hands.

Tropes: slow burn, friends to lovers, contemporary perfection

Bloom Town: Genesis by Ally North

I championed this book like it was my entire personality for a solid stretch of time — and I will not apologize, because the moment I read it, it became a part of me and never left. This one altered my brain chemistry. Fully. Permanently. It's an epic, sweeping journey and I HIGHLY recommend experiencing it on audiobook if you can, because it just hits different in your ears. I cannot stop recommending it. I will not stop recommending it. You will pry this rec out of my cold hands. Just go in and let it carry you away — that's all you have to do.

Tropes: epic sweeping journey, lush immersive world, series starter

Chef's Kiss by Stephanie Shea

I adored this book so much. It's part of a series and it just reached directly into my chest and tugged on my heart in ways I genuinely cannot put into words (and you know that's saying something, because words are sort of my whole thing). Set in San Francisco with all the simmering tension and warmth you want from a kitchen romance. It's cozy, it's swoony, it's so easy to sink right into the literary equivalent of your favorite comfort meal. Just lovely from start to finish.

Tropes: workplace romance, culinary setting, heart-tugging series

Risking Immortality by Alyson Root

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Balancing Act by Cass Morgan

This book is an emotionally intelligent, genuinely gorgeous illustration of what lesbian relationships can look like on the page, and I mean that with my whole chest. Cass is a newer author and you can feel her carving out her own path in this genre — taking everything you think you know about romance and going deeper with it. This isn't surface-level. This one has real emotional intelligence humming underneath every page, and if that's the kind of love story that wrecks you (it's the kind that wrecks me), start right here. What a place to begin.

Tropes: opposites attract, deeply emotional character work, Soulmate series book 1

The View from the Top by Rachel Lacey

Summer Breakdown by J.S. Jasper

Full and complete disclosure: I bought this one entirely for the cover. LOOK at it. And then I stayed — happily, completely — for the story. I fell so hard for Frankie and Jasmine and their whole dynamic and I am genuinely so glad I picked it up on a total whim, because sometimes the gorgeous cover is just the doorway into an even better book waiting on the other side. This is one of those times. Let yourself be shallow about a cover every now and then; occasionally it leads you somewhere wonderful.

Tropes: sports romance, irresistible couple dynamic, Training Seasons series

The Love Lie by Monica McCallan

I read this one this year and just absolutely loved it. The ex's-SISTER of it all?? Listen, it scratched an itch I didn't even fully know I had. That specific brand of forbidden, complicated, oh-no-not-her tension hit the exact spot, and Monica delivers it so satisfyingly. If you like your romance with a little bit of "we really, REALLY should not be doing this" simmering underneath and who among us does not, this is going to do it for you.

Tropes: ex's sister, forbidden-ish, deliciously tense contemporary

And THAT is your starter pack, babe.

If you read even one of these and it cracks your heart wide open the way every single one of them did mine, please, I am begging you, come tell me about it. There is genuinely nothing I love more than watching someone fall into this genre for the very first time. It's a specific kind of magic, that first one that really gets you, and you've got so much glorious reading stretched out ahead of you. I'm a little jealous, honestly. Get to experience all of this fresh.

And one real thing before you go: every single one of these authors is an indie creator who poured their entire heart into these stories. So if you love what you read — leave a review, tell a friend, request it at your library, shout about it from the rooftops. That's how this whole beautiful community keeps growing and keeps these incredible authors writing. It matters more than you know.

Welcome to sapphic romance, babe. Now go fall in love with a book. We're so glad you're here. 📚

- Tacie 💚

Tacie Cherry

New to Sapphic Romance? Start Here.