Take a photo of a barcode or cover
sapphic_library's Reviews (279)
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
GIRLMODE is a YA graphic novel about phoebe, a trans kid trying to figure out who she is while adjusting to life in a new state and a new school. she's quickly adopted by mackenzie ishikawa, a popular girl who decides to take her under her wing and teach her all about girlhood. phoebe isn't sure if mackenzie's lessons will help or hinder her journey, especially when mackenzie's advice includes which boys not to date or which hobbies not to to pursue. this was such a heartfelt and touching story of self-discovery and girlhood and i absolutely loved how complex, flawed and realistic the characters were, especially considering they're teenagers!! i love that ultimately, phoebe and mackenzie's friendship was more important than any of the boys, and their reunion and reconciliation felt very well done to me.
read if you like:
- graphic novels
- clueless, but tai is trans
- female friendships
thanks to netgalley and harperalley for the advanced copy! GIRLMODE is out october 15.
read if you like:
- graphic novels
- clueless, but tai is trans
- female friendships
thanks to netgalley and harperalley for the advanced copy! GIRLMODE is out october 15.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I SHALL NEVER FALL IN LOVE is a queer YA graphic novel, set in the regency era and inspired by jane austen novels, about two childhood friends who fall for each other while discovering who they are and where they fit in the world. george has little interest in feminine pursuits—they'd much rather take care of their family's estate, wear men's clothing, and spend time with their best friend, eleanor. meanwhile, eleanor has always longed to fall in love, but she's never met a boy she was interested. i love graphic novels, i love historical romances, and i love both of these things even more when they're queer, so i absolutely loved I SHALL NEVER FALL IN LOVE. i really appreciated seeing george and ellie's individual journeys play out and i loved seeing them end up happy! i also really loved charlotte and sophie's stories, especially the emphasis on their races and how it affected their place in society. and i really enjoyed the historical context and research the conner included at the end.
read if you like:
- queer historical romances
- best friends to lovers
- jane austen's books
thanks to netgalley and harperalley for the advanced copy! I SHALL NEVER FALL IN LOVE comes out october 8th.
read if you like:
- queer historical romances
- best friends to lovers
- jane austen's books
thanks to netgalley and harperalley for the advanced copy! I SHALL NEVER FALL IN LOVE comes out october 8th.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
MISMATCHED is a queer YA graphic novel adaptation of emma, where evan, a social media influencer and high school junior, learns that he can't control everything and everyone around him. while i love emma retellings, i think it's so easy for them to go wrong because there are so many factors at stake, but this wasn't the case for MISMATCHED. this was super fun, really cute, and an easy read, and i felt like evan learned his lesson about meddling and still got his happily ever after.
read if you like:
- emma retellings
- graphic novels
- friends to lovers
thanks to netgalley and little, brown ink for the advanced copy! MISMATCHED comes out september 3rd!
read if you like:
- emma retellings
- graphic novels
- friends to lovers
thanks to netgalley and little, brown ink for the advanced copy! MISMATCHED comes out september 3rd!
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
HOT SUMMER is a sizzling reality show romance set on a love island-esque show about cas, an event planner whose job places her on the show as a new partnership between her company and the production team. cas only goes on the show to further her career, strategically planning how she's going to act while on camera, but her plans quickly go awry when she meets ada, a fellow contestant who she shares an undeniable connection with. as cas's feelings for ada grow, and as she forms friendships with the other contestants, cas isn't sure whether she should follow her heart or stick with her strategy.
i've said this before and i'll say it again: i'm not someone who watches reality shows, but i will always eat up a reality show romance and this was no exception. especially when queer love story taking place on a show that's predominantly straight. i loved cas and ada's relationship, how it slowly grew over time until it was obvious to everyone but them that they were so in love. i also really loved the other contestants (for the most part) and the friendships that cas formed with them.
read if you like:
- love island
- reality romances
- open door spice
thanks to netgalley and putnam for the advanced copy! HOT SUMMER comes out june 25th.
i've said this before and i'll say it again: i'm not someone who watches reality shows, but i will always eat up a reality show romance and this was no exception. especially when queer love story taking place on a show that's predominantly straight. i loved cas and ada's relationship, how it slowly grew over time until it was obvious to everyone but them that they were so in love. i also really loved the other contestants (for the most part) and the friendships that cas formed with them.
read if you like:
- love island
- reality romances
- open door spice
thanks to netgalley and putnam for the advanced copy! HOT SUMMER comes out june 25th.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
DIRECTOR'S CUT is a sapphic romance about valeria sullivan, an oscar-winning actress who finds herself wanting to take a step back from her acting career and a guest professorship at USC provides her with the perfect chance to do so. the only problem is that her co-professor, the brilliant and attractive maeve arko, wants nothing to do with her or their partnership. but as val proves to maeve how much she cares about their class, maeve starts to soften and neither one of them can ignore the sparks between them. i hadn't read anything by greenwald before but i was so excited to get my hands on DIRECTOR'S CUT and it did not disappoint me in the slightest, i absolutely loved val and maeve's dynamic and their banter and bickering as it led way to flirting and fondness. the third act conflict did feel a bit blown out of proportion at first, but as we got more of an insight into val's mental health issues, i found myself understanding her position better and relating to how she handled things. overall, one of my fave sapphic romances this year!!
read if you like:
- hollywood romances
- queer found family
- sexy professors
thanks to netgalley and vintage for the advanced copy! DIRECTOR'S CUT came out june 11th.
read if you like:
- hollywood romances
- queer found family
- sexy professors
thanks to netgalley and vintage for the advanced copy! DIRECTOR'S CUT came out june 11th.
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I really wanted to enjoy this book, but right off the bat, seeing the MC say she identifies as a lesbian but will date "any gender" except cis men turned me off from enjoying it. Lesbians do date nonbinary people, but they don't date men, regardless of whether they're trans or not, Othering trans men like this felt extremely transphobic. I would've loved the book if Gray had just been bisexual instead of a lesbian.
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
LONDON ON MY MIND is a sapphic YA novel about dayana, a brazilian teen who moves to london to live with her estranged father and his new family after her mom passes away. i enjoyed it for the most part and would definitely recommend to fans of sapphic YA, but i found dayana's character to be a bit one-dimensional, and her love interest diana (yes, really) wasn't very fleshed out, much like their relationship. however, i did really enjoy the reimagining of a royal family that's more accepting and open-minded, and i loved dayana's relationship with her stepmother and stepsister. this was one of the first contemporary translated novels i've read and i have to say the translator did a fantastic job!!
read if you like:
- royal romances
- one direction
- brazilian food
thanks to netgalley and PUSH for the advanced copy. LONDON ON MY MIND comes out june 4th!
read if you like:
- royal romances
- one direction
- brazilian food
thanks to netgalley and PUSH for the advanced copy. LONDON ON MY MIND comes out june 4th!
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
WISH YOU WEREN'T HERE is an absolutely delightful sapphic YA romance set at a summer camp and the perfect summer read!! when her quasi-nemesis, priya pendley, shows up at the summer camp juliette has been attending for years, juliette feels like the world is conspiring against her. as if it weren't enough that her friends like priya, she's also assigned to juliette's cabin, so juliette can't escape her. but as the days pass by and juliette spends more time with priya, she can't seem to stop thinking about her...
read if you like:
- summer camp vibes
- rivals(ish) to lovers
- and they were roommates
- oh my god they were roommates
thanks to netgalley and penguin teen for the advanced copy. WISH YOU WEREN'T HERE comes out june 4th!
read if you like:
- summer camp vibes
- rivals(ish) to lovers
- and they were roommates
- oh my god they were roommates
thanks to netgalley and penguin teen for the advanced copy. WISH YOU WEREN'T HERE comes out june 4th!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
TAKE ALL OF US is an "unbury your gays" horror novel about ian, a teenager living in a small west virginia town infected by a parasite that turns the affected into shells of their former selves, dead but not "all the way" dead yet. ian resolves to tell his best friend, eric, about his feelings for him, but he dies before he gets a chance to, leaving him in a race against time and his decaying body to find eric, tell him how he feels, and ask him why he left him behind. i love horror novels but i particularly love queer horror novels and this one certainly did not disappoint. i wasn't sure what to expect when i started reading it, but i absolutely loved it and read it in one sitting. i loved ian and eric, but i loved that the story placed as much importance on ian's relationship with monica and angel as well. if you like intriguing and speculative horror novels, this one is for you!!
read if you like:
- queer horror
- found family
- angst with a happy ending
thanks to netgalley and holiday house for the advanced copy. TAKE ALL OF US comes out june 4th!
read if you like:
- queer horror
- found family
- angst with a happy ending
thanks to netgalley and holiday house for the advanced copy. TAKE ALL OF US comes out june 4th!
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
NOT HERE TO MAKE FRIENDS is a reality tv romance about murray and lily, two best friends and co-producers of a bachelor-type franchise called "marry me, juliet" and "wherefore art thou, romeo." after working together for years, lily disappears from murray's life—only to come back as the villain in the latest season of "marry me, juliet." murray didn't want to have a villain in the first place, much less his estranged best friend and longtime co-producer. what was a fully planned-out season, down to the smallest detail, is now a fight for control between murray and lily.
i've never been much of a reality tv watcher, but i absolutely eat up reality tv romances and this one did not disappoint. everything about it was absolutely delicious and i read the whole thing in less than a day because i was so desperate to know what happened!! i don't want to give too much away because the twists and turns were one of the things i enjoyed the most, but it's safe to say this was one of my favorite reads.
read if you like:
- reality tv romances
- friends to lovers
- mastermind gets masterminded
- so much pining!!
thanks to netgalley and atria for the advanced copy. NOT HERE TO MAKE FRIENDS comes out june 4th!
i've never been much of a reality tv watcher, but i absolutely eat up reality tv romances and this one did not disappoint. everything about it was absolutely delicious and i read the whole thing in less than a day because i was so desperate to know what happened!! i don't want to give too much away because the twists and turns were one of the things i enjoyed the most, but it's safe to say this was one of my favorite reads.
read if you like:
- reality tv romances
- friends to lovers
- mastermind gets masterminded
- so much pining!!
thanks to netgalley and atria for the advanced copy. NOT HERE TO MAKE FRIENDS comes out june 4th!