This week’s Sapphic Reading Challenge features sapphic books with an adventure in nature.
The book’s plot revolves around an outdoor adventure, e.g., hiking, kayaking, rafting, sailing, rock climbing, snow-shoeing, etc., or just trying to survive in nature.
It could be a planned trip the characters are taking together for fun, or it could be a fight for survival in the wilderness.
Read up on the rules of the Sapphic Reading Challenge
If you are only discovering the Sapphic Reading Challenge now, the good news is you can still join! It’s a year-long challenge, so it runs until December 31, 2021. Read up on the rules of the Sapphic Reading Challenge and download your PDF so you can keep track of the books you read this year.
15 sapphic books with an adventure in nature
I put together a list of 15 sapphic books that have the characters go on some kind of adventure in nature. I hope you find at least one you’ll enjoy.
Backwards to Oregon by Jae
“Luke” Hamilton has always been sure that she’d never marry. She accepted that she would spend her life alone when she chose to live her life disguised as a man.
After working in a brothel for three years, Nora Macauley has lost all illusions about love. She no longer hopes for a man who will sweep her off her feet and take her away to begin a new, respectable life.
But now they find themselves married and on the way to Oregon in a covered wagon, with two thousand miles ahead of them.
Available at:
Whitewater Rendezvous by Kim Baldwin
Danger, destiny, and romance on the river. A wilderness kayak adventure brings together two very different women—Chaz Herrick, a laid-back outdoorswoman, and Megan Maxwell, a workaholic news executive.
As they battle the challenges of nature for survival, they discover that true love may be nothing at all like they imagined.
Available at:
The Stars at Night by Gerri Hill
Self-described city girl Lexie Walton is a million miles from nowhere and completely out of her element.
Park ranger Kyler Clemons had loved the vibe and the beach of Mustang Island. Getting caught with her boss’s wife, however, got her transferred to the wild and remote Davis Mountains State Park—literally in the middle of nowhere. Now after four years, she’s forgotten about the beach and has embraced the mountain life, feeling like a local. She hangs out at the Cottonwood Creek Bar and Grill. She watches football with Mark Walton. She’s taken up birdwatching and stargazing as hobbies. She is perfectly content. No stress. No drama. And no desire to date.
Then Lexie Walton waltzes into her life.
After losing her cushy job in Austin―and unable to find another one―Lexie accepts her parents’ offer to join them and her brother in running a rustic lodge and restaurant in the remote Davis Mountains of West Texas. Hesitant to commit to such a drastic move, she agrees to a trial run―two months. Two months would get her through Christmas and the New Year. Her friends thought she was foolish to make such a move. There was no nightlife, no parties, no spin class, and no green smoothies. And no chance of dating. That was a plus, however. After her breakup with Crazy Cathy, she wanted no part of the dating game. This remote area would do nicely.
But then she meets this cute, tree-hugging park ranger who turns her world completely upside down.
Available at:
Flight to the Horizon by Julie Tizard
Airline captain Kerri Sullivan has a perfect life. Only one thing is missing—a woman to share it with. She’s had plenty of women on the road to success, but she’s never met “the one.” Flight attendant Janine Case is beautiful beyond measure, but comes across as aloof and untouchable. When Kerri and Janine are crewmembers on a flight to Hawaii, an unexpected kiss leads to smoldering attraction.
After Kerri is forced to make an emergency water landing mid-flight and the two women survive a harrowing rescue mission, all Kerri wants to do is follow her heart into Janine’s arms. But Jeanine is hiding a dark secret from her past, one that makes falling in love impossible. She’s on the run from her abusive ex-husband, and she’ll stop at nothing to protect her daughter, even if the cost is her own happiness.
Available at:
Cowgirl 101 by Laina Villeneuve
What Jo Harding loves most about the summer is being able to retreat from annoying humans. Though her friends say she’d be happier with someone sleeping by her side, she insists that all she needs to be happy are her mules, her dog, and a trail into the backcountry. She has absolutely no time to teach the incompetent, if attractive, newcomer.
Daisy Lucero is an eager student from the start. Hired for work in the café, her real dream is to explore the High Sierra wilderness on horseback. While she would love to earn the respect of the handsome woman who inspired her adventure, she may have to settle for pestering her with songs and questions.
In the vast classroom of the California wilderness, each woman finds herself tested. Tests of perseverance for Daisy as she learns to ride, and tests of patience as Jo considers whether life is about more than riding alone.
It doesn’t take either of them long, however, to realize that neither one of them needs a lesson in chemistry.
Available at:
In the Company of Crocodiles by Maggie Brown
Two strong-willed women are fighting for survival in a primitive wilderness of venomous snakes, stinging insects, and crocodile-infested swamps. Too bad those are the least of their worries.
After being severely wounded in a covert operation, ex-Australian Secret Service officer Vivian Andrews has built a quiet life for herself in a small fishing village in Northern Queensland. Or so she believes, until she discovers a rotting corpse in the mangroves. An angry crocodile drags the body away, but not before Vivian snags the man’s money belt which contains nearly $75,000—and a phone number that Vivian knows all too well.
At the police station to report her discovery, Vivian finds two government agents who are looking for her. A young man has gone missing and they need an experienced guide to help them negotiate the terrain to find him. Vivian knows they aren’t telling her the whole story but is attracted to the idea of returning to action—and to behavioral scientist Claire Walker.
When Claire’s partner is injured, tough, resilient Vivian and smart, intuitive Claire must use every skill they possess to complete their mission despite nearly impenetrable walls of vegetation, trails that lead to deadly traps, the damp simmering heat—and another kind of heat neither of them wishes to acknowledge. Could the woman sleeping next to you be a master thief…or worse?
Available at:
All at Sea by Cheyenne Blue
Stevie Sterling is having a day from hell. Snubbed—yet again—by her unsupportive parents, she runs out on their posh party and takes refuge on a deserted yacht. Waking the next day with the world’s worst hangover, Stevie finds herself far from shore.
As if being trapped on the yacht in only her party dress isn’t bad enough, Stevie’s frantic that she’ll miss the first day of her new job as a nurse. She has so much to prove in her career—to herself and her parents.
The yacht’s cute but unimpressed captain, Kaz Malone—an eco-warrior who hits the seas with Sinbad the cat—is on a mission: There’s a nuclear-waste-dumping tanker to harass.
Kaz is as single-minded as she is stubborn and she’s not about to turn around for some stowaway with a new job. Hell, no. Saving the planet comes first.
But perhaps there’s more than one way to a destination?
Available at:
Turn Again To Life by A. Zukowski
I stared at the photographs, mesmerised by the mystery of the two women. Their bodies and skin have been frozen in time, turned porcelain white and uncovered on the north face of Mont Blanc. They were once lost to the eternal silence of the snowy peaks, waiting to tell their stories.
Who were these two unknown mountaineers to each other, and why were they summiting unaided, alone at the pinnacle of wilderness? My search unfolds as a love affair in early twentieth-century England comes to life.
Available at:
Desolation Point by Cari Hunter
“He’s going to find me,” Sarah whispered. “He’s going to find me before you do.”
One wrong step in Los Angeles leaves Alex Pascal scarred and traumatized, unable to continue the career she loves.
In England, a drunk driver shatters Sarah Kent’s family.
For Sarah, leaving England to explore the North Cascades is an opportunity to regain her health and her confidence, while Alex has already abandoned LA to make the mountains her home. Drawn to the beauty and history of Desolation Peak, Sarah is hiking alone when a storm leaves her stranded. Determined to track her down, Alex heads into the wilderness, never anticipating the terrible danger she will face. Because Sarah is already running for her life, fleeing from a ruthless criminal with a mission to complete and nothing left to lose. With everything stacked against them, neither woman expects to survive, let alone fall in love. All they have to do now is find a way out.
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Rock and a Hard Place by Andrea Bramhall
Expert mountain climber Jayden Harris has the world at feet until an avalanche at Everest base camp sweeps it all out from under her. She wants nothing more to do with the mountains, and turns her back on it all.
Rhian Phillips is a successful London marketing executive who has the chance of a lifetime fall in her lap. She’s sent to produce a reality TV series on competitive climbers, while showcasing the stunning beauty of a Patagonian glacier and the Cerro Fitz Roy range.
An accident brings Jayden and Rhian together, and outside pressures keep them at each other’s sides. When you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place eventually something has to give. The one thing they never counted on was them both wanting to stay together.
Available at:
Some Kind of River by Andi Marquette
River rafting guide and kayaking nut Dez Parker figures her best friend Mel Hammond just isn’t into her romantically, which bums Dez out because they’ll be spending the summer guiding together and Mel seems like the right kind of woman for her. Then again, Dez doesn’t want to ruin a friendship by admitting her feelings to Mel.
That changes when she finds out that Mel might be interested in someone, and Dez is torn between wanting to take a chance and respecting Mel’s choice. Is it really too late for Dez? Or is there something she doesn’t know? Whichever it is, a summer on the river isn’t always a smooth ride.
Available at:
Broken Trails by D. Jordan Redhawk
Scotch Fuller has already run the Iditarod three times and is preparing for a fourth attempt. Her single-minded focus on the rigors of training allows her to forget the shocking loss of her lover in a tragedy for which she blames herself.
The only race Lainey Hughes runs is away from her past and into the bottom of a bottle. After a devastating injury in a war zone, she’s continued her photojournalist career in the natural beauty and warmth of Uganda. A trip to Alaska to cover dog sledding is not what she wants, but the lure of a paying gig proves too tempting.
Lainey trusts her camera and Scotch trusts her dogs—and neither cares much what the other thinks…not at first.
Available at:
Murphy’s Law by Yolanda Wallace
Mountain climbing guide Samantha “Sam” Murphy likes to tout her safety record. In the ten years she has led climbers on excursions up the world’s most treacherous peaks, she has never lost a client. But that doesn’t mean she hasn’t lost someone even more important.
Surgeon and philanthropist Olivia Bradshaw hires Sam’s company to lead her handpicked team on a fundraising climb of Annapurna, the world’s most dangerous mountain. For Olivia, for the donors who have pledged money to her charitable foundation, and for the underprivileged masses she is seeking to help, failure is not an option.
Secrets abound and danger lurks at every elevation. Will Olivia’s attraction to taciturn Sam get in the way of the expedition’s success or will Mother Nature have the final say?
Available at:
Right Out of Nowhere by Laurie Salzler
Roni Oatman belongs to a crew that conducts Search and Rescue Operations for the Forestry Service deep in the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho. They save lost people, but Roni is a bit lost herself. She’s a loner who loves a woman she can’t have.
When the SAR crew is short a member, Selena Ayala is assigned to fill the empty spot. Still on the rebound from a sudden breakup with her girlfriend, Selena has issues of her own. But she has to find a way to gain the crew’s trust, and gain it quickly.
Often the missions in this rugged and unyielding wilderness are matters of life and death, and the SAR members have to be able to depend on each other. Just when Roni and Selena are forming a tentative friendship, Selena’s ex shows up, leaving both Selena and Roni with uneasy questions. Can the two women search deep within to rescue themselves and to find love right out of nowhere?
Available at:
Capsized by Julie Cannon
In the middle of a three-week fishing trip, commercial fisherman Roberta (Bert) Coughlin rescues Alissa Cooper from her burning yacht and has no choice but to take the pampered rich girl along.
Alissa and Bert are from very different worlds. Bert struggles to succeed with the whims of Mother Nature. Alissa owns a successful advertising agency and is the epitome of high class and high fashion. When Alissa volunteers to help on the boat, Bert is more than a little surprised at how well she does.
The attraction between them grows, and one stormy night their pent-up desires crash together like the waves against the ship. When the ship returns to port, both women realize their lives are too different for anything other than their brief affair. They are simply too different. Their families are too different. Their lives too different. Then why do they keep coming back to each other?
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Leave a comment
Leave a comment and let us know which book you’ll be reading for the “adventure in nature” category!
GOLD by E.J. Notes is a great fit for this challenge!
You are right! “Gold” fits this category too.
GOLD by EJ Noyes is a great fit for this week!
I believe the Easy Nevada books would fit in this category as well. Action-adventure set in various places around the world. Often in the Sahara Desert area. What do you think, Jae?
Absolutely! That sounds like a good fit.
I think “BLUE” by Lise Gold is a perfect example, as I grew up with the North Sea and experiences of an ocean.
I will read “steiler Aufstieg ins Glück” by Andrea Bramhall again. I think it’s perfect for this category.😊
Absolutely! Perfect fit!