Five Books With… Sapphic Representation

Hello hello and welcome or welcome back to my little bookish corner of the internet. Today it’s time for another installment in my Five Books With series, and this time I’ve gone for Five Books With… Sapphic Representation.

There’s something to be said about reading books where you see yourself represented, and although some of these are fantasy novels, there’s still a comfort in knowing there’s a way you can relate through love. After all, through love, all is possible.

When it comes to sapphic representation, books are becoming more inclusive, and as someone who falls into the sapphic bracket myself, I’m hoping to read more books that fall into the catogery during 2022. There’s obviously far more than five books out there, but the five I’ve chosen have all left a special mark on my heart, and if you haven’t read them yet, I hope you’ll go on to enjoy them.

Malice
In this first part of a duology by the same name, Malice is a Sleeping Beauty retelling with magic, betrayal, and love all threading through it. Beautifully written and completely engaging, there’s nowhere to run from this story, and no motivation to do so. Misrule, the second part, is due out in May of this year, and I’m both excited and terrified to see where it goes. I’ve got a horrible feeling my heart is going to be broken again…. and I need it to happen.

The Girls Are Never Gone
A ghost story this time! I read this chilling mystery back in the summer, and not only is it a brilliant story, it has excellent representation, both of sapphic women, and of how life with an Insulin pump works. Although I have a different endocrine condition, I found this book so refreshing and relatable, and could see myself in the pages in a way I very rarely do. I also loved how it just had women loving women as a simple fact of existence.

Not My Problem
YA contemporary novel Not My Problem was a book that had me giggling as I read it. When you start problem solving – by pushing your enemy down the stairs…. – things tend to get out of hand pretty quickly, and Aideen learns this the hard way. Soon the problems she needs to solve are building up, but there’s nothing she can do about the real problems in her own life. Fun and funny, bolshy and brave, there’s something for everyone here.

Dangerous Remedy
The first in a series set during the French Revolution, there’s more than just a little fantastical twist to be found in these pages. All the magic we encounter has its roots in science, and the more we discover about the characters, the closer to them we become. What feels like a side story quickly becomes a major part of the plot, and in book two, Monstrous Design, things only escalate further.

Cinderella Is Dead
To finish off my list, I just have to mention this absolutely stunning book that I read back in 2020. The second book by author Kalynn Bayron, This Poison Heart, also has sapphic representation, and both books focus on stories, legends and myths, retelling them and focusing on representing women who love women, and Black women too. They’re also bloody good books, and I absolutely cannot wait for This Wicked Fate in June.

Thanks for stopping by for this post focused on women and love and brilliant books. I’m looking forward ti writing plenty more posts for this series over the next twelve months, but be sure to search Five Books With in the search bar to see some previous posts.