sapphic_library's Reviews (279)

But How Are You, Really

Ella Dawson

4.0

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

BUT HOW ARE YOU, REALLY is a poignant, funny and emotional novel about charlotte thorne, a burnt out bisexual millennial going back to her alma mater for her 5-year college reunion. going back is the last thing she wants to do, but when her boss is invited to do the commencement speech, she has no choice but to return and confront some past ghosts. i wasn't sure what to expect when i started reading this book, but i quickly found myself immersed in the narrative, eagerly following along as charlotte reunited with her college friends and ex-situationship (who she still has incredible chemistry with). as a millennial who's struggled with impostor syndrome and comparing myself to my peers, i found charlotte to be so relatable and her struggles with her dead-end career and her fear of the future felt so palpable and real to me. i would absolutely recommend this book to anyone, but especially those who've struggled with finding their place post-graduation. thanks to netgalley and dutton for the advanced copy. BUT HOW ARE YOU, REALLY comes out june 4th.

Pardon My Frenchie

Farrah Rochon

4.5

emotional funny lighthearted medium-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

PARDON MY FRENCHIE is an absolutely adorable novel about ashanti, the owner of a doggy daycare, who finds herself in the spotlight when her frenchie, duchess, goes viral due to her friendship with her poodle bestie. ashanti finds herself needing to work with the infuriatingly attractive thad, puddin's grumpy new caretaker. their chemistry is as palpable as their disdain for each other, but with their dogs as up and coming social media stars, they have no choice but to spend time together. i had the best time reading about ashanti, thad and their adorable pups and i couldn't recommend this book enough.

read if you like:
- grumpy/sunshine
- lots of adorable puppies
- rivals to lovers
- forced proximity

thanks to netgalley and forever for the advanced copy! PARDON MY FRENCHIE comes out june 4th.

Match Me If You Can

Swati Hegde

4.5

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

MATCH ME IF YOU CAN is a modern emma retelling set in mumbai about jia deshpande, who spends her days writing cliché articles about love for a magazine but dreams of starting her own millennial matchmaking business. when her boss gives her the opportunity to prove her matchmaking skills, jia is excited to fix her new coworker up with someone to prove that she knows about love. like any emma retelling, there's lots of shenanigans, miscommunication, and of course, some friends to lovers goodness with her lifelong best friend, jaiman patil. jia can be a little clueless (pun intended) when it comes to her own love life, but she can't ignore her feelings for jaiman forever.

read if you like:
- jane austen retellings
- childhood friends to lovers
- desi heroines
- closed door romance

thanks to netgalley and dell romance for the advanced copy! MATCH ME IF YOU CAN comes out june 4th.

Gay the Pray Away

Natalie Naudus

5.0

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

GAY THE PRAY AWAY is the book i didn't know i needed when i was a religious, closeted teenager struggling with her sexuality. the book tells the story of valerie, a teenager in a religious cult, who starts to question her sexuality and her upbringing when she smuggles a queer book out of the library, and even more so when she meets riley, a cool and confident girl who she's undeniably attracted to. as they begin a secret relationship, valerie struggles to navigate her newfound identity with her strict religious upbringing. this isn't exactly a lighthearted book and it talks about a lot of heavy and difficult issues, but it's still a wonderful read and i would especially recommend it to anyone who's queer and was raised religious. thanks to the author for the advanced copy! GAY THE PRAY AWAY comes out june 4th.

Content Warnings

We Could Be Heroes

Philip Ellis

5.0

emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

WE COULD BE HEROES is an actor romance about patrick, the dreamy a-list actor starring in a superhero movie franchise, and will, a bookseller and part-time drag queen. after a chance encounter, they can't stay away from each other and quickly fall into a relationship—unfortunately, one that comes with an NDA attached. patrick finds himself embedded in the queer community thanks to will and his friends, and starts to realize how much he's missing by hiding who he really is. this is probably one of my favorite reads this year and i can't recommend it enough!

read if you like:
- superhero movies
- steve and bucky 🤭
- found family
- drag queens

thanks to netgalley and putnam for the advanced copy. WE COULD BE HEROES comes out june 4th.

One Night With The Nanny

K. Sterling

4.5

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

ONE NIGHT WITH THE NANNY is the sixth book in the NANNIES OF NEW YORK series, which is one of my all-time favorite series, and i've been dying to read it!! reid marshall is a man with many, many rules and one of them is that he doesn't do relationships. but when he meets a charming austrian prince, his resolve starts to weaken. their story starts as a one night stand, but reid finds himself having a hard time resisting max's advances. and once he seems how devoted to his daughters max is, it gets even harder for him to resist falling in love. after five books where reid essentially helped his loved ones find love, it was about time he got to experience that for himself and i enjoyed everything about it so so much. thanks to k. sterling for the advanced copy!

Out on a Limb

Hannah Bonam-Young

5.0

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-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

OUT ON A LIMB is a one-night stand/surprise pregnancy romance and as the number #1 pregnancy trope apologist, i devoured this book in one sitting (no joke, it took me less than three hours to read it). win and bo's chemistry was incredible from the get go and seeing them go from lovers to friends/co-parents to falling in love had me swooning!!! i found both of them to be such nuanced characters and it was wonderful to see them rely on each other on their journey to parenthood... all while falling in love, of course. i would read a million more books about them, their girls, and all their friends and family. like, do they end up having that fourth kid? (i hope they do.)

read if you like:
- longtime female friendships
- nerdy but hot men
- secret D&D sessions
- twenty questions to fall in love
- the most golden retriever MMC of all time

thanks to dell romance for the advanced copy! OUT ON A LIMB comes out june 4th!

The Ride of Her Life

Jennifer Dugan

5.0

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

THE RIDE OF HER LIFE is a sapphic enemies-to-lovers, grumpy/sunshine romance that had me kicking my feet and giggling the whole time. molly mcdaniel is a city girl who's struggling to find her footing when she finds out that an estranged aunt has passed away and left her a horse barn that she hasn't been to in over 15 years. there, she encounters shani thomas, the grumpy farrier who hates her for inheriting the barn and wanting to sell it. but as molly learns about horses and running a barn, she starts to see herself fitting in with her aunt's crowd of misfits. i had very high expectations for this book and it did not disappoint in the slightest. i love jennifer dugan's writing but i've only read some of her YA books, so i wasn't sure what to expect, but this book had me swooning.

read if you like:
- wear the hat, ride the cowgirl ;)
- found family
- horse girls
- hallmark movies where a city girl moves to the country and falls for a cowboy (but make it sapphic)

thanks to avon for the advanced copy! THE RIDE OF HER LIFE comes out may 28th!

A Bluestocking's Guide to Decadence

Jess Everlee

4.5

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A BLUESTOCKING'S GUIDE TO DECADENCE is a delightful victorian romance about two women who get off on the wrong foot but can't help their attraction for each other. jess everlee is an author whose books have been on my tbr for ages, so i was really excited to read an advanced copy of this book and let me just say, it did not disappoint!!! jo and emily's chemistry was incredible from the get-go and the build up of their relationship was very well done. i also really loved and appreciated that they were surrounded by fellow queer friends because it's a universal truth that queer people gravitate toward each other, and i loved seeing that represented in a victorian romance.

read if you like:
- lots of bickering and bantering
- victorian sexting and nudes 😏
- historical queer spaces
- found family

thanks to netgalley and harlequin for the advanced copy! A BLUESTOCKING'S GUIDE TO DECADENCE comes out june 4th!

The Bump

Sidney Karger

4.0

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

THE BUMP is a story about two dads-to-be who embark on a cross-country road trip/babymoon but end up unearthing some issues along the way. biz and wyatt are pretty different people, but that hasn't been much of an issue throughout their relationship—until this road trip sheds a light on them. they're committed to being parents and to each other, but their communication leaves a lot to be desired and as their trip stops going as planned, they have no choice but to communicate with each other. if the miscommunication trope isn't your thing, this book might not be for you. i don't have any strong feelings about the trope, but this book really put that to the test. regardless of that, i still really enjoyed it and would recommend it!

read if you like:
- very gay road trips
- opposites attract
- relationship in trouble
- lots of baby talk

thanks to netgalley and harper collins UK for the advanced copy! THE BUMP comes out may 21st in the US and june 6th in the UK.

More...