Every four years, the Winter Olympics rolls around and, like clockwork, I become temporarily obsessed with figure skating. This time, however, I’ve found my obsession sticking around a little longer, so I decided to reread Tillie Walden’s graphic novel Spinning, a memoir that explores the author’s years as a competitive figure skater and her decisionRead More
A Mystery with a Tragic Sapphic Subplot: The Lemon Twist by Élan Les Vies Review
Élan Les Vies’ The Lemon Twist comes out May 26, 2026. After her father’s descent into his gambling addiction, her mother’s untimely death-by-lighting strike, and her sister’s disappearance, 19-year-old Iris Sailor lives and breathes figure skating. That is, until her drug use is discovered and her dreams of going to the Olympics are snatched away. Hopelessly alone,Read More
A Lackluster “Yuri” on Ice: Just Between Us by Adeline Kon
This one’s on me. I should have known from the author’s “lesbian Heated Rivalry” comp-pitch viral tweet that something wicked this way comes. I understand marketing is a necessary evil—especially for emerging artists—but surely, there are some decent sapphic romance titles that would have made for a more fitting comparison. Anyway, we digress. I have alwaysRead More
YA Sapphics on Ice: Just Between Us by Adeline Kon
Shortly after this year’s Winter Olympics, Adeline Kon’s Just Between Us was released and gave all of us sports sapphics a romance set in the high stakes world of figure skating. This young adult graphic novel delivers a medal-worthy ice queen, enemies-to-lovers sports romance filled with solid writing, compelling characters, and gorgeous art. Lydia “Ice Queen” ChenRead More
Calling All Basketball Gays: A Sharp Endless Need by Marisa Crane + Other Sporty Sapphic Books
Happy March Madness season! It’s just a few weeks until the NCAA tournament begins, so in the spirit of basketball, I decided to review a book about it. A Sharp Endless Need (out May 13th) by Marisa Crane is a love letter to basketball and everything that comes along with it—including falling for a teammate. IRead More
Susan reviews Spinning by Tillie Walden
Spinning is a graphic memoir by Tillie Walden about the ten years she spent as a competitive figure skater. It’s beautiful and compelling, but in some ways it’s a hard read. Everything I know about skating I picked up from Yuri!!! On Ice fandom, so I couldn’t speak to how accurate it is, but herRead More