10 Lesbian Fiction Novels That Lesbians Actually Love
A diverse list of recommendations from a queer women’s book club.
It’s tough to know which lesbian novels are good lesbian novels. It doesn’t help that most lists of lesfic recommendations recycle the same handful of titles. It’s easy to be stuck in a rut and unsure what to read next after skimming a list that recommends The Price of Salt, Fingersmith, and Rubyfruit Jungle for the hundredth time.
Luckily, I’ve done that work for you. My queer women’s book club has diligently read one book a month for four years. We cobbled together our reading list from Goodreads recommendations, personal favorites and library lucky finds. Some books were good, some were okay, and some really sucked. And after reading 48 novels, we found only 10 that captivated us.
Here are the 10 lesbian fiction novels you absolutely can’t miss:
Cantoras: A Novel by Carolina de Robertis
This is easily one of the most wonderful books I’ve ever read. Set in Uruguay in the 1970s, this novel follows 5 friends through 35 years of love, loss and political upheaval.
I’m a sucker for a family of choice, and that is central to this book’s plot. As political tensions rise in Uruguay, so do restrictive policies and violence. Craving a space where they can be themselves, a group of friends buys a small beach cottage far enough away from the city that they can live freely for a few short days at a time. With poetic language, strong character development, and close attention to historical details, De Robertis makes us fall in love with five very different women. You’ll finish the book a little sadder, a little wiser, and with a strong desire to create an oasis for you and your friends.
I didn’t know much about Uruguay’s history when I began Cantoras. I thought De Robertis did a fantastic job providing enough context for readers outside of Uruguay so we could understand what was happening. She also develops all five of the main cast, a difficult feat in an ensemble story like this. This book switches points-of-view throughout the story so the reader can spend time in each character’s head and get to know them a bit better.
Fun fact: The title, Cantoras, means women who sing and is old-fashioned Uruguayan slang for lesbian.
Marriage of a Thousand Lies by SJ Sindu
This book has some of my favorite things: a second chance with your first love, a fake marriage and a dramatic wedding. SJ Sindu puts a fresh twist on these elements to create an emotional look at the sacrifices we need to make to be happy.
Marriage of a Thousand Lies follows Lucky. Lucky is gay, and so is her husband. They have a solid arrangement. Lucky can date women, go out to bars and retain her independence without drawing the suspicions of her conservative, Sri Lankan mother. Lucky is good friends with her platonic husband and has carved out successful career as a digital artist. Aside from being a little lonely, Lucky’s life is pretty good.
On a visit home, she runs into Nisha, her childhood best friend and first love. Nisha is engaged to a man, but sparks still fly between the old lovers. As Lucky and Nisha rekindle their romance, tensions rise between Lucky and her family. Will it finally work out for Lucky and Nisha? Or will Lucky remain stuck in her mediocre life?
This is the kind of book that sticks with you after reading. Lucky’s struggle with her parents, even as an adult, is something I think a lot of us can relate to. Plus, SJ Sindu is a master of pacing. Each scene pulls you further into the conflict without wasting a word. I’d recommend this book to anyone who wants a realistic portrayal of a second-chance romance with a side of family drama.
Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey
I never thought a novel that combines a superhero story with the werewolf myth would be one of my favorite books, but here we are. Santa Olivia will surprise you. Describing it feels a bit like a Stefon sketch from SNL. This book has everything; orphans, border towns, boxing, fugitives, genetic engineering by the US government, wolf-men, lesbians…
Loup Garron is a strange girl in a small military controlled border town between Texas and Mexico. Her mother was a local, but her father was a fugitive wolf-man running from government scientists. Named for her wolf-like qualities, Loup shares the same super-strength, incredible speed and a lack of fear that made her father special.
Orphaned at a young age, Loup is raised in the parish orphanage. She and the other children rebel against the constraints of military control by causing havoc in the name of the town’s patron saint, Santa Olivia. Loup, of course, is the ring leader of the group of kid-vigilantes.
When Loup grows up, her superhuman abilities are hard to ignore. And so is her attraction to one of her childhood friends. As animosity between Loup and the soldiers grows, it becomes clear that the only way for Loup to avoid harm is to get out of town. And the only way to get out of town is to win a boxing match between the soldiers. This seemingly impossible feat becomes Loup’s sole focus, she has to get her and her love to safety.
This book captivated me. Despite all the supernatural elements, Loup’s life felt real. I grew attached to the town while feeling as trapped there as Loup and her friends. And though the love story is a key part of the plot, it certainly isn’t the only thing going on in Jacqueline Carey’s novel. Plus, if you like it, there’s a sequel to enjoy.
Little Fish by Casey Plett
A family mystery meets a quarter-life crisis in Casey Plett’s novel. Little Fish follows Wendy, a 30-year-old trans woman. With dating drama, roommate drama, a dead-end job and an alcohol problem that’s becoming impossible to ignore, struggling is a bit of an understatement. Plett creates an interesting slice-of-life that let’s us we watch Wendy navigate through Canadian life as a poor, queer, trans woman.
Plett’s writing is compelling enough to have kept me reading about Wendy’s day-to-day. But another layer is added to Wendy’s life when she finds clues that her grandfather may have been a closeted trans woman.
I can’t talk too much about the plot of this book without giving away the little surprises that make life interesting. Though, I will warn you that this book covers a lot of sensitive topics like sex work, suicide, alcoholism and sexual assault.
Somehow both hopeful and heartbreaking, this story let me step into a life that’s very different than my own. I got annoyed with Wendy, cried with Wendy and rooted for Wendy, sometimes all on the same page. If you’re in the mood for a Canadian winter and family secrets, pick up this book.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
If you’re a lover of Asian literature like I am, this is a must read! Set in a fantasy world that’s heavily influenced by imperial China, this story follows two characters of different social statuses: a princess and a handmaiden. The princess is a stranger in this land, sent from the north to enter a political marriage. And the handmaiden, Rabbit, was sold into slavery by her parents. Both lonely newcomers to the harsh reality of the palace, they form an unlikely friendship. Will their bond stay strong through assassinations, political intrigue and a coup? Or will their new lives crumble as quickly as they began?
The Empress of Salt and Fortune is pure storytelling. The language is rich and dramatic. The world Nghi Vo made is painted with a fine brush — colorful, inviting and bright. It welcomes you in and makes you want to stay.
The queerness is more subtle in this book. I’ll admit that I read one of the main pairings in the book as platonic, though much of my book club disagreed with me. However, the relationship is still powerful and there are other queer characters and relationships sprinkled throughout.
Definitely worth the read, especially for those who love fantasy, asian literature or both.
Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn
I’ve never been to Jamaica, but after reading this novel I’m uncomfortably aware of how tourism has changed the island. Here Comes the Sun follows Margot, a woman who is one of the lucky ones. She works at one of the local resorts, which enables her to help her mom pay the bills and help her teenage sister get a good education. Of course, she’s also sleeping with resort guests for some extra money, dealing with family tensions and hiding her relationship with a woman in town.
Her lover, Verdene, is a known lesbian in town. She spends almost all her time in her house, hidden safely behind the curtains, for fear of the same people who often vandalize her home.
Margot lives in a constant state of limbo. When she’s with Verdene, she’s stuck in a world that only exists on the inside. When she’s working, she’s stuck in a dead-end job, having climbed as high as she can. And when she’s at home, the same family dynamics that shaped her childhood keep her trapped.
This is a book about the sacrifices needed to get unstuck. Dennis-Benn’s writing is immaculate. She transports you to Jamaica, both the opulent resorts and the dying town that surrounds them. Her characters are living, breathing people that frustrate you as often as you root for them. She writes with a compassionate but realistic hand. Pick up this book if you want more than a tourist’s view of Jaimaca.
You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat
This book is a study in otherness. The main character is bisexual, Palestinian-American and anorexic. She’s hiding her queerness from her mother while hiding her obsessions with unavailable women from her partners. Despite her constant attempts, she never truly belongs.
Our protagonist grew up constantly compared to her mother. She knows she’ll never be as beautiful, charming and vivacious as her mom though this is expected of her. And this is as big of a disappointment to her as it is to her mom. In her quest to find the love and approval missing in her life, she develops both an eating disorder and a love addiction. While she starts the book in recovery for the eating disorder, the love addiction proves harder to shake.
This book isn’t linear. Instead, it’s a collection of vignettes that flash between childhood visits to Palestine, stints in rehab and eating disorder treatment, life at home with her parents, and her travels. And while I wouldn’t call You Exist Too Much a happy book, it isn’t sad. Instead, it’s a raw and complex story that will leave you thinking about it days after you finish.
Paper is White by Hilary Zaid
This book is set in the not-so-distant-past of the 1990s. About two decades before marriage equality, Ellen and her partner decide they want to get married. In the excitement of their engagement and planning for a commitment ceremony, Ellen realizes she needs to tell her grandmother about her upcoming marriage. But her grandmother is dead.
Ellen works as a historian, recording oral histories from Holocaust survivors. Her fixation on the past and her desire to talk to her late grandmother primes her to develop a friendship that blurs a professional boundary with a survivor named Anya. Intrigued by Anya’s story and the secrets she only hints at, Ellen pursues Anya’s story with a fervor that threatens her personal and professional plans.
Paper is White covers some heavy topics, but it does give Ellen the happy ending that we all deserve. If you’re interested in the secrets we all keep and when is the right time to tell the truth, this is a book you can’t pass up.
Crybaby Butch by Judith Frank
This book is a love letter to the classic Stone Butch Blues. Both a modern interpretation of that beloved classic and an exploration of what it means to be butch, Judith Frank’s first novel is a success.
There are two main characters in Crybaby Butch. One is an adult literacy teacher in her thirties. She’s middle-class and educated, a stark difference from her students. The other is one of her students, an illiterate older woman who has spent her whole life poor. One of the only things they have in common is that they’re both butch lesbians.
They spend much of the book resisting an unlikely but inevitable friendship, and it’s a joy to watch. As a big fan of Stone Butch Blues, I was thrilled to read a work so heavily inspired by it. I won’t give away too much about this book, it’s one that reads better if each twist and turn is slowly revealed. But I will say that it’s hard to believe this book is Judith Frank’s first novel. The language is tight, the characters are relatable, and little moments from this book will stick with you for a long time.
A World Between by Emily Hashimoto
You won’t be surprised to know that another book about second-chance lovers snuck its way onto this list. I told you that I’m a sucker for that trope.
A World Between tells the story of Eleanor and Leena. In 2004, Eleanor Suzuki is a passionate feminist and wannabe queer activist from California in her freshmen year at college on the East Coast. Leena Shah is a studious and serious pre-med student from Boston who is striving to meet her parents’ expectations for her future. When they meet in an elevator, it’s love at first sight for Eleanor and love a few meetings later for Leena. Their young love is a passionate and fraught as anyone can expect from a couple 19-year-olds and it burns out almost as quickly as it started.
Almost ten years later, Leena is engaged to an male Indian software engineer that her parents love. Her own queerness is a a repressed memory. That is, until she runs into Eleanor on the streets of San Francisco. Now drawn back into each other’s orbit, the gravity is too strong for them to ignore. But the course of true love never did run smooth, especially when both women aren’t sure what they have is true love.
What’s your favorite lesbian novel? Have you read any of the books on this list? Let me know in the comments!
Need more recommendations? Read my original five lesbian book recommendations as chosen by my book club.
