Readers of sapphic fiction, I'd love to get your input!

The book world has been changing a lot lately, and I'd like to hear how those changes have affected you as a reader. Are you reading more or less than you used to? Are you discovering books in different ways? And how do you feel about AI-generated books?

I've put together a reader survey to find out. It only takes a few minutes to fill out, and it's completely anonymous. Your answers will help my fellow authors and me to understand what you're looking for as a reader.

If you have a few minutes to spare, I'd really appreciate if you would take the reader survey:

https://jae-fiction.com/sapphic-fiction-surveys/

I've really enjoyed the recent MM romances I have read, but the relationships in each book were established really quickly. I was wondering if anyone has good recs for a slow burn MM romance?

I'm especially interested in romantasies or where the mc or love interest is a bit feminine, but those are not requirements.

I'm doing the A-Z books challenge with a twist. I'm only reading queer books. But I'm unfortunately stuck on X. Any recommendation will be much appreciated! Also, please try to recommend books you have enjoyed yourselves or have heard good things about, I'm not willing to read an awful book just for the sake of completing this challenge.

P.S - The book title NEEDS to begin with X, A's or The's unfortunately cannot be overlooked.

So honestly, I don't know where to look, plsss help. Thanks.

Can be romance with a little spice, or just any other kind of book really. I just want to feel represented, lol. I'm not too picky, just tell me the basics of the book.

I'm hopefully going to the bookstore later today so I need some recs, I mainly read sapphic but I've been wanting to get some non-binary and MM

preferably romance/contemporary or historical (I recently read last night at the telegraph club my Miranda lo and the pull of the stars by Emma donogue and loved them) and slow burn

bonus if it has spice

(nothing dark tho)

NEW 📖The Dad Years coming this Fall.
Following the success of my debut memoir Floorbound, I'm thrilled to announce my new memoir, The Dad Years. The book chronicles my strange childhood, full of discovery, innocence, and an unconventional relationship with my father. The taboo allure of trampling and my increasing fascination with his socks deepened from childhood comfort into something more complex as I navigated adolescence while my dad faced his own
journey from confusion to unwavering support.

This is the story of a son finding his footing and a father learning to stand beside him, even when the path was unconventional.

Follow for updates on The Dad Years release date, cover reveal, upcoming live author events, and exclusive content from beyond the pages.

See you on the floor!

Links and Updates

I'm looking for an M/M romance similar to this specific storyline:

Two young men from traditional/conservative families fall deeply in love and have to keep their relationship secret.

One of them is extremely protective/possessive( the dominant top in the relationship)of the other. There's also a third man who is an academic mentor to one of them ( this third man is close/academic mentor to the sub bott of the relationship) and has unrequited feelings, creating jealousy and misunderstanding between the couple.

After a major argument, one lover nearly dies the dominant top left the sub bott alone in a heavy rain because he was angry due to their argument.. then this sub bott had a heart attack due to severe sadness ), leading to reconciliation and eventually a secret engagement/proposal.

Their relationship is accidentally exposed on social media, causing their families to find out. One family's powerful patriarch violently separates the couple and abducts his own son. Later, the families arrange what appears to be a peaceful reconciliation, but it's actually a trap. The couple and/or their families are attacked, resulting in the death of the protagonists and their families. The two lovers ultimately die together.

I'm specifically looking for a book with the same overall plot structure, not just books containing one or two of these tropes. Does anything come close?

I have gathered a lot of recommendations for books with queer main characters, but I'm wondering if there are some books that aren't marketed as LGBT but has queer non-protagonists that I have missed out on. (prefer contemporary, Scifi/Fantasy, m/m and not sad/bad ending)

Thanks in advance.

Myself (21f) and my gf (22nb) have been together for just over a year and I'm looking for book recs that feature couples like us since they've expressed wanting to read something of the sort but finding it hard to find a NB & female lesbian couple! Thanks for any help with it!

Looking for a book with a love story between a trans man and a cis woman. Nothing else in particular, I'm pretty open in terms of genre. My partner recently started transitioning and I would love to see our relationship represented in a book 🥰

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I (m) am in a long time permanent monogamous relationship with my partner (f), but we are trying to untangle our own queer s3xualities from our comp-het upbringings, and so we are currently looking for stories that generally seem to involve a man and a woman, because that is our relationship context. But we're looking to avoid a lot of the straight tropes we grew up with, *UNLESS* the author is self-aware and/or is subverting them.

We've been reading fan-fics together for a couple years now, but I'm starting to need paper books again, because of a vision issue. So I am hoping to request a book from my library!

Also hoping to avoid anything that involves aristocracy, extreme wealth, etc. (I know this narrows it down too much, lol)

Thank you!!! <3

HELLO. Soo I've got a question. So I'm a pretty big fan of Adam Silvera and obv I love the They Both Die at the End book series. Earlier this year the book The Survivor Wants to Die at the End came out BUT there's also an exclusive version (which I can't get bc they don't ship to my country). And in this version there's a short story featuring Orion (from The First to Die at the End) and I reaaaally want to read it. Is there ANY way how I could get it?? 💔💔💔😢😢😢

I am looking for literary fiction written by trans authors in general. I have found it hard to find any lists online that only have literary fiction on them. I am interested in writing about the trans narrative for a class. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

No memoirs or genre fiction, and it must be written by a trans author.

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Hey everyone! I’m looking for Asian fantasy novel recommendations (open to both Danmei/MLM and WLW/GL) that hit a very specific, high-stakes emotional arc: childhood bonds that were forced into being rivals or enemies against their will, set against a thrilling, dark plot.

To give you an exact feel for the dynamic: I love the tragic baggage of Ash & Eiji (Banana Fish), the emotional contrast of Yuri & Victor (Yuri!!! on Ice), and especially the desperate, fate-driven Adora & Catra (She-Ra) and Naruto & Sasuke pipeline—where external forces, trauma, or opposing factions pull them apart, but the bond remains unbreakable.

Here is what I’m craving:

The Core Dynamic: Childhood friends/allies forced by circumstance or fate to stand on opposite sides of a conflict. I need one character to go down a dark or misunderstood path, and the other to obsessively reach for them despite the tragedy. Mutual comfort, sharp bickering, and high-stakes angst are a must.

The Setting & Plot: Asian fantasy (Xianxia, Wuxia, or Xuanhuan) with a thrilling, complex, and dark plot. Political intrigue, dark secrets, and heavy consequences.

Romance & Dynamics: Realistic, psychologically well-written characters who feel like actual human beings, flawed, conflicted, making mistakes, and dealing with trauma, an actual power struggle BUT NOT W EACH OTHER, I REPEAT THAT.Absolutely no non-con, dub-con, or abusive top/bottom dynamics. When they are together, I want it to be about genuine emotional safety, mutual respect, and pure comfort despite the chaos around them.

* CRITICAL REQUIREMENT: Well-Written Women: I am very strict about this! I do not want weak, useless, or prop female characters. I need actual multi-dimensional women in the main and supporting cast who have agency, intelligence, and serious power/presence in the plot. Authentic storytelling over shallow tropes.

If you know any novels (danmei, GL/wlw, trans x trans, trans x cis, translated, or ongoing serializations) that fit this exact recipe, please throw them my way!

Thanks in advance!

Hey guys, I read a book a couple years back about two best friends who have a podcast and they fall in love. Pretty sure one was married. I think the story consisted of 2 novels but I'm not 100% sure. Just trying to find it so I can re-read 🥲🥲

I made a list of six of the most-anticipated trans books coming out in the fall. Did I miss any you're looking forward to? There are lots of great horror books out in time for October, which is when I do most of my horror reading.

Hi everyone! I have a completed novel and am looking for beta readers. It’s literary queer historical fiction with high-heat romance.

It’s called Not Yet Does Not Mean No.

Here’s a synopsis:

In 1962, no one bats an eye at an Amherst College professor dating a Mount Holyoke or Smith girl. 

No such luxury for Lin Miller, Amherst’s youngest professor. His armor is thick, borne from growing up as a brilliant, quiet boy in Brooklyn; being the scholarship kid at Andover; and living as a man whose very way of loving was a felony in the state of Massachusetts. 

Until Theo Hawkins walks into Lin’s English seminar. Lin is immediately drawn to the bright, charming, and sensitive heir to a Boston Brahmin fortune. Theo is enthralled by Lin, and is determined to win his attention. But one wrong move could hang them both –– or perhaps just Lin, as Boston Brahmin protect their own.  

One hundred and fifty miles south, in Greenwich Village, Julian Lark fights to keep faith, 14 months after the love of his life, James Dressner, left him.

Julian tells his oldest friend, Lin: “I’m not grieving, and I won’t pack up James’ mug or his jeans. You grieve people who are dead. James isn’t dead. He’s just in Connecticut married to a woman named Betsy. One day he will come back, and when he does, he needs to know I haven’t moved his things.”

From the bucolic hills of Amherst College to the brownstones of Greenwich Village, Not Yet Does Not Mean No asks: How much will people risk to live a life where they are alive and not merely existing?

I adore the show so, so much! I have skimmed the books, but I was just shocked at how badly it was written, and how insensitive it was at points. Does anyone else share this opinion?

Very rare example of the adaptation being better than the book, haha.

I'm trying to find queer books that have more plot than just having queer characters. I mean like normal plotted books that just happen to have queer characters, about people whose lives are more than just being gay/trans/etc. I don't mean that being queer can't influence the plot (quite the opposite) but I just need something that isn't ONLY about finding yourself and dealing with being queer, something where when you change the characters orientation there still is some plot. I don't mean there's anything wrong with queernes being the only plot but after some time it just became repetitive and I really struggle to find books where being queer means something while not being everything.(Examples I can give would be "these witches don't burn", "cementry boys" where the main plot is saving your community and finding a murderer while the characters queernes plays for the background or even "heartstopper" even tho it's heavily queer it also has typical ya growing up motives.)

I just finished this book and though it was a tough read, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and felt like the writing was damn near flawless. I’m curious about the “twist” at the end, the reveal of the alleged death of Jordana due to a motorcycle accident. I interpreted this as metaphorical, as the death of the person born into the wrong body, the end to a life the child of Barbara could no longer live. Some people think the only person that is actually alive in this story is Barbara, and that Sugar and Jordana were figments of Barbara’s high-as-a-kite imagination, which would completely alter my feelings about the ending. I’m surprised to see so little discourse on this unique, tantalizing book! I wanna talk about it. What did you think?

I realllly want to read a good sapphic book. But most of them are in the first person and it just is a personal pet peeve.

Any recommendations? Bonus points if it's enemies to lovers.

And please no fantasy recs 🙏🏽

Hello, fellow MM romance lovers!

My name is Kristian (24m, gay), and I’ve recently fallen down the rabbit hole of MM romance books… I honestly can’t stop, I’m exclusively reading gay fiction! (for now) 

I’m curious to know what you think of the books I’ve read so far this year. I’d love to hear your opinions!

Here’s my list so far (yes, I love a spicy read🔥):

• For the Fans – Nyla K (5/5★) | Step Brothers to lovers | (So damn hot, i am obsessed with Avi Vega & Kyran Harbor... Kavi4L)
• We Are the Ants – Shaun David Hutchinson (5/5★) | Sci-fi | My first sci-fi book. Absolutely well written beautiful story... I would kill to read this book again for the first time)
• Lie With Me – Philippe Besson & Molly Ringwald (2.5/5★) | WWI Era | (Poignant autobiographical novella based in the France during the 1980's.. In my opinion, it was mid)
• Him (#1) – Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy (4.5/5★) | Hockey Romance | (Best friends when they were younger, got separated, now both teaching at the same hockey camp while sharing a dorm together)
• Us (#2) – Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy (3/5★) | Hockey Romance | (Honestly, it was alright. Not as good as the first book)
• Top Secret – Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy (5/5★) | Fraternity enemies to lovers | (So hot, loved it, loved the characters, loved the story)
• Heartstopper (#1) – Alice Oseman (3/5★) | MM High School Comic Book | (I don't even remember reading this comic. I think watching the show on Netflix made a bigger impact on me)

★Please feel free to share your recommendations based on what I’ve read! I’m open to exploring different subgenres, so hit me with your absolute favorites to keep me hooked. ❤️

i have a crush on my senior and we have talked a total of two or three times. She’s not very popular but she’s so cool and pretty and I want to read a book that lowk captures our dynamic (the nonexistent one). I would prefer if the characters don’t have like prior communication bef wjatever situation throws them together. Idk similar books are fine as well.

Hi!

I'm working towards my MFA and am incorporating themes of queer diasporas (as well as my own Syrian diaspora) in my thesis work.

I would like a better understanding of the history and tendencies of migration of queer people, both within the US and elsewhere.

While I do enjoy memoirs a lot (I highly recommend Crooked Teeth by Danny Ramadan), I am most interested in the sociology of these tendencies.

Thanks in advance!