Tessa Yang’s debut novel The Jellyfish Problem officially released June 2nd, and the problem is that you haven’t read it yet. The novel follows Dr. Jo Ness–marine biologist, jellyfish enthusiast. After her best friend dies in an accident Jo herself feels responsible for, she drifts through life, unmoored and utterly alone. When her sort-of ex calls afterRead More
Sapphics and the Sea
As a lesbian who has always been fascinated by the deep sea (so much so, I have a Goodreads shelf titled ‘weird ocean stuff’), it is particularly pleasing to me to see so many releases merging the two. I recently read and reviewed The Jellyfish Problem by Tessa Yang for the Lesbrary, and it gotRead More
A Steamy Sapphic Vampire/Selkie Romantasy: Blood on the Tide by Katee Robert Review
Last year, I read the first book in this series, Hunt On Dark Waters. It’s a romantasy with a bisexual witch main character named Evelyn and a telekinetic guy love interest (Bowen). While the writing felt a bit clunky to me, I still had a fun time reading it, and I was especially intrigued byRead More
Monsters Above and Below the Waves: They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran Review
After a banger debut with She is a Haunting, I was eager to get my hands on Trang Tranh Tran’s sophomore novel They Bloom at Night. Tran delivers another gripping story, with atmospheric tension intertwined with the struggle to fit in to your own body and community. This book dragged me in as relentless the tides, and thenRead More
Love in the Times of Seaside Horror: Providence Girls by Morgan Dante Review
In the past couple of years, I have discovered some real gems of independent and self-published sapphic literature. Last May, I read Morgan Dante’s stunning Providence Girls, which won Best Historical Fiction at the 2023 Indie Ink awards. The author pitches it as “a seaside sapphic cosmic horror romance” in the vein of The Handmaiden and The Shape ofRead More
A Haunting Gothic About Family in (Climate) Crisis: Private Rites by Julia Armfield Review
As an avid reader of all of Julia Armfield’s fiction, I was eager to pick up her newest novel. From the author of Our Wives Under the Sea (2022), Private Rites (Fourth Estate, 2024) promised to be poignant, haunting, and literary. Set in a future world where environmental disaster has flooded much of the world with ceaseless rains, threeRead More
A Sapphic Nova Scotia Gothic: A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! I couldn’t tell you why, but I am obsessed with sapphic selkie stories. There are very few of them out there, but I leap on the chance to read any that I stumble upon. Don’t get me wrong: I like sapphic mermaids, too, butRead More
Love at First Selkie: The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! On a recent trip to Portland, my partner and I picked up The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag (she/her) from Powell’s City of Books. This gorgeous graphic novel follows Morgan Kwon, a 15-year-old young woman living with her mom and younger brother on WilneffRead More
A Meditation On Grief Through a Speculative Lens: Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link I’ve seen this book mainly categorised as horror but after reading it, it feels more like a speculative fiction with elements of horror and sci-fi in it. This book transcends genres: that’s the mark of a phenomenal read! I went into this story expecting an action-packed, horror-strewn plotline and found something muchRead More
Young Adult Breakthroughs in the Florida Bayou: The Immeasurable Depth of You by Maria Ingrande Mora
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link Thank you to Peachtree/Peachtree Teen and Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. (Published March 7, 2023) I adored this YA coming of age gem! The book follows Brynn, a young bisexual teen struggling with severe anxiety, as she’s forced to spend her summer away from her home inRead More