For this week’s Sapphic Book Bingo category, read a sapphic book in which both main character have brown eyes.
In real life, brown is the most common eye color. 70-80% of the world’s population have brown eyes. It’s not rare to find characters with brown eyes, but usually, only one of the main characters has brown eyes, while authors will often give the other protagonist a different eye color to set the two characters apart and not make them look too similar. That’s why a sapphic book with two main characters who have brown eyes is pretty rare—at least if both main characters are white.
In books in which both main characters are people of color, this isn’t a Unicorn category at all. But then again, women of color are still very underrepresented in sapphic fiction.
15 sapphic books in which both main characters have brown eyes
Below, you’ll find 15 recommended books in which both main characters have brown eyes.
Not the Marrying Kind by Jae
Small-town florist Ashley Gaines loves her little flower shop and putting together the perfect bouquets for weddings and other happy occasions. Her own love life, however, is far from blossoming. Ash has decided that staying in the closet is safer than risking her heart again.
Local bakery owner Sasha Peterson hasn’t had much luck mixing it up with romance either. Besides, she’s too busy whipping up delicious treats to have time for a relationship.
But when their town’s first lesbian wedding forces them to work together, Ashley and Sasha discover they have more in common than they imagined.
During food fights, cake tastings, and slow waltzes, they begin to see each other in a new light. Soon Ashley has to admit to herself that Sasha is tempting more than just her sweet tooth.
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Consecrated Ground by Virginia Black
Like her father before her, Joan Matthews is a witch. For generations, their family of binder witches has protected Calvert, Oregon from vampires by strengthening the land with spellcraft. Pushing back against tradition, Joan defied her father and left town to become a war witch, one who fights the monsters hand-to-hand. But when her father dies, Joan returns to find her hometown assailed by a vampire lord’s endless attacks—and the answers lie with the one woman who chose a rival over Joan.
Leigh Phan once believed her heart was safe and her future was set. When Joan left town, Leigh’s choices led to ruin and unintended consequences. Now Leigh harbors a dark secret forcing her to live a moment-to-moment existence. Her only hope of survival lies in trusting the war witch who left her behind.
Now it’s up to Joan to fight for a town she left behind, while Leigh faces a destiny she never imagined was possible. With Calvert on the brink of total destruction, Joan and Leigh join forces and face inconvenient truths in order to save their town—and each other.
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Just Like Her by Fiona Zedde
Delphine’s life is made up of secrets. About her job, her sexual identity, and even her past.
She coasts along on a tide of half-truths until a familiar “straight” woman splashes deeper into her world, threatening her tenuous peace of mind.
This woman wants to be everything Delphine has never had before – a confidant, a seductress, a trusted lover. By giving in to this siren, is Delphine setting herself up for heartbreak?
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As You Look by Veronica Gutierrez
Former LAPD cop-turned private investigator Yolanda Ávila blames herself for her mother’s death. If she’d only followed her cop instincts instead of the juju—her random prophetic dreams—the perpetrator would have been off the streets and her mother would still be alive. The only salve against her guilt is Yolanda’s vow to reject that juju crap, and to solve cases using only good solid detective work.
But when her godson is kidnapped and his parents are suspected of murder, Yolanda finds herself caught between what she feels and what she knows. And with the escalation of the case comes the escalation of her dreams. Until she can no longer ignore their importance.
If she wants to overcome the guilt and deal with her pent-up grief, Yolanda must confront the juju and learn to trust its place in her life. If she doesn’t, she risks losing yet another loved one. And she can’t possibly let that happen.
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In the Way of All Flesh by Caitlin Alise Donovan
Gloomy teenager Manee Srikwan wears long sleeves and keeps her hands to herself for a good reason–whenever she touches a person for the first time, she sees a vision of how they will die. Manee’s weird powers cause those around her nothing but misery and she’s long resigned herself to a life of loneliness. But her vivacious classmate, Stephanie Pierce, changes all that. She smashes through every wall Manee puts up and overturns every expectation. Much to Manee’s shock, Stephanie believes her about her powers. What’s more, she insists they can stop the deaths Manee sees from happening. When the two of them are together, it feels like they can do anything.
As the girls grow closer, Manee’s feelings for Stephanie blossom into love. She yearns to be more intimate but is anxious about breaking her all-important “hands-off ” rule. When she finally gives in to temptation, she sees a terrifying future where Stephanie is murdered — and Manee is her killer! Now Manee has a choice to make— will she fight this fate or let it rule her?
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Not for a Moment by Cheyenne Blue
Andi Barrons has no time for kids or the chaos they bring—certainly not when she runs a high-end decorating business. Mischief and little fingers around expensive materials? No thanks!
But then her gorgeous friend, Sarah Santoro, winds up in a custody battle with Sarah’s former in-laws and now… Well, somehow Andi’s agreed to pretend she’s Sarah’s live-in partner.
She’s still not quite sure how she got stuck playing a role she’s so utterly clueless about and that’s everything she doesn’t want in life. But as long as Sarah and Noa, the world’s cutest seven-year-old, don’t get a hold of her heart, she’ll be fine.
Easy, right?
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Inked with a Kiss by Jennie Davids
Sometimes everything you shouldn’t want is exactly what you need.
Tattoo artist Jamie Winston is used to caring for others. Between her assistant manager position at a tattoo parlor, single-parenting her twelve-year-old daughter, and supporting her alcoholic parents, Jamie rarely prioritizes her own needs—unless Sierra Clark is in her chair. The bubbly, younger woman somehow manages to make Jamie feel like the carefree teenager she never got to be, making anything seem possible.
For Sierra, time with Jamie is a much-needed escape. She takes her work as a social worker seriously, but with budget cuts threatening her job, there’s a lot riding on the fundraiser she’s planning with Jamie. The fact that it means working closely with the sexy, older tattooist is a bonus—a deliciously tempting bonus. Sierra isn’t one for relationships, but she’s never felt such a strong desire to mix business with pleasure.
Sizzling chemistry quickly erodes Jamie’s fears of being too old for Sierra, but navigating a romance with someone who’s at such a different stage in life is no easy task. They’ve each come to rely on themselves more than anyone else, but having a future together will mean letting their guards down, and accepting each other as a safe place to fall.
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Simply the Best by Karin Kallmaker
Simply the Worst…Alice Cabot’s only great love is science, but a lapse in judgment has exiled the New York journalist to the glitzy Gallerias and vapid bubble-babble of Beverly Hills. The assignment to do a flattering feature series on Simply the Best and the superficial nonsense it sells threatens to crush what little is left of her spirit.
Simply the Best…Pepper Addington can’t believe she’s moved up from grunt intern to personal assistant for Helene Jolie, the celebrity socialite founder of SimplytheBest.com. Succeeding at the job she worked so hard to get is her only priority. Keep a cynical know-it-all reporter in check? She promises Helene that she can.
Simply Irresistible…Expecting nothing but games from the beach-blond surfer girl that Helene Jolie has assigned to keep an eye on her, Alice is fully prepared to resist any and all of California’s charms. Or so she thinks.
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The Forever and The Now by KJ
Bron McIntyre, forty-two, has it all together. Terrific job. Loving family. No desperate need for a girlfriend but would be interested if one came along. Bron McIntyre is Teflon.
Kate Agostino, forty-eight, is not Teflon. Yes, she has a terrific job. But a loving family? Not really. And her personal life is rapidly disintegrating and turning into dust.
When her orange smoothie explodes all over her business suit while she’s on her afternoon walk, Kate simply shakes her head in resignation.
Bron, having witnessed the smoothie eruption, races to help, and suddenly her life takes an unexpected turn.
Falling in love is like watching the grandest sunset on the calmest ocean where the tiniest ripples wear silver sparkles as their hats. Kate and Bron find that sunset on that ocean with those ripples of love, but what happens when you take that love for granted? What happens when your person disappears? The answers are hard to hear and Bron chooses not to listen.
After a relationship break, a family intervention, and conversations that rip apart seams, Bron and Kate eventually find themselves, each other, and their now. And what they discover is that love is the large and the deliberate, and the simple and the small.
So when tragedy strikes, they call on its strength because, when you think about it, love can live on in the forever, particularly if it lives courageously in the now.
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Match Play: A WLW Sports Romance by Lainee Ash
Wren is a hustler, a shadow quietly picking the pockets of the unsuspecting. Her golf skills are the best-kept secret in this city, one that earns her boss a lot of money from illegal gambling. Billionaire Mio Fukuda is the greatest female golfer in the world. She never expects her most thrilling challenge to come from a woman who doesn’t even own her own clubs. When Wren and Mio crash into each other’s lives, it sparks an instant attraction. But escaping their circumstances won’t be so easy.
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Amazon (Kindle Vella)
Worthy of Love by Quinn Ivins
Nadine Bayani was at the top of her game. The brilliant, ruthless lawyer was in line to be White House chief of staff—until she confessed to campaign finance crimes that cost her party the election.
Now Nadine’s out of prison, broke, hated by millions, and stuck doing a menial retail job in rural Virginia where she barely earns enough to survive.
Bella Clarke has worked at Overstock Oasis since she flunked college. She wants to go back to school, but secretly doubts she’s smart enough. At least she’s not as clueless as her boss, who just accidentally hired the woman responsible for a national scandal.
However, Nadine seems to be nothing like the crook portrayed in the media, and Bella is drawn to her troubled, standoffish co-worker. As they grow closer, Nadine introduces Bella to the delights of Filipino food and opens Bella’s eyes to her own possibilities.
Before long, about the only thing harder to make sense of than Nadine’s past is their powerful chemistry together. Is Bella really falling for a woman who caused so much harm? And even if she is, how can two such different people ever be a match?
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She’ll Steal Your Heart by Rachel Lacey
Last year, Lauren Booker fled New York with a warrant out for her arrest. Now she’s back and ready to make amends for her crime. She wants to rebuild her life, and Brooklyn is home. There’s not much waiting for her here now, though, nothing except an online friend who’s brought her so much joy during one of the hardest years of her life. When they finally meet in person, Lauren’s unprepared for her attraction to Mia, but she’s even less prepared to discover that Mia has an unexpected connection to her crime, putting Lauren’s plans in jeopardy.
Mia Solano has also had a difficult year. Recently divorced, she walked away from her legal career after a health scare caused her to reexamine her priorities. Now Mia owns a cat café, and she’s struggling to adjust to a slower pace of life. She finds an unlikely friend in Lauren, but Lauren’s legal troubles force Mia to revisit a part of her life she’s trying to leave behind. She can’t explain why she’s so drawn to Lauren. They shouldn’t have much in common, and yet, they just seem to click.
As the connection between them strengthens, Lauren and Mia wrestle with growing feelings, but neither wants to risk their friendship by crossing that line. With Lauren’s court date looming ever closer, they might lose everything, including each other.
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The Price on Her Head by Suzanne Clay
Consummate hunter Myrine’s one focus in life is keeping her son Zale safe. Sometimes the danger is the wild animals that prowl outside the city of Kepithos. Sometimes the threat is the memory of a lethal plague that once decimated the townsfolk. But in the forefront of her mind is always the sacrifice of ten children every five years to the vicious minotaur that lives beneath the king’s castle—a ritualistic practice to keep the plague at bay.
So when it’s discovered that the minotaur has escaped its labyrinth, an enormous bounty to hunt it down is on the line. It’s not just to keep the forests safe. It’s to assure that the deities will not punish them for letting their weapon run loose.
When Zale comes down with an illness that mimics early symptoms of the previous plague, Myrine’s one hope for his healing is to take down this creature, receive the bounty, and pay the doctor’s high fee for both medicine and silence. The last thing she needs is a city full of panicked citizens considering his sickness an omen.
But a chance encounter in the forest shows her that everything she was taught was a lie. This minotaur is no mindless monster. Her name is Eleonora, and they have far more in common than they could ever imagine.
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The Planck Paradox by Taryn J Dallas
Cole Maclean is a philosophy teacher who also fosters service dogs through puppyhood. While she trains cute little Paradox to help a paraplegic friend, she can’t help but notice the pretty new professor with whom she finds herself sharing a supply closet.
Kenzie Philips teaches physics and likes her world to be grounded in the hard sciences. She also fears dogs, so she has no reason to be thinking about the sexy-as-hell teacher who asks head-scratching questions and takes a dog everywhere she goes.
But a shared interest in She-Ra, and a Deaf student needing help with his education, practically guarantee that they can’t ignore the magnetic attraction between them.
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Under the Sitka Sky by Violet Morley
Cam Porter is a charter pilot living a quiet life in the small island town of Sitka, Alaska. She’s spent most of her adult life avoiding any kind of affection and has put off romantic relationships. Her small but mighty family circle includes her exuberant dog Goose who gets her through the days between doing what she loves most, flying.
Skyler Callaghan had to leave Sitka while she was still attending high school. Despite the time and distance, a childhood crush on her best friend’s older sister never went away—a little fact she almost forgot about until an unplanned trip back home reminds her.
When the two women find themselves stranded in the Alaskan wilderness, it isn’t exactly the setting Skyler always dreamt of when she pictured nights with Cam. She tries to put her feelings aside for the sake of her sanity and survival but she feels herself being drawn even closer to Cam. As things start to shift between them, Cam has to decide if she can learn to trust and let go.
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Leave a comment
Leave a comment and let us know what book you’ll be reading for the “both main characters have brown eyes” category!
Also Stolen Ambition by Robyn Nyx
I just happen to be reading G Benson’s wonderful book Purposefully Accidental. I am always glad to have a touch of serendipity hanging about!
Here are a couple others.
• Meeting Mrs. Garrett by Raquel de Leon
• Simply the Best by Karin Kallmaker
Oh wow! I already hit this category and forgot about it (Simply the Best Karin Kallmaker)! Whoop :) now to add the other 14 books to my tbr pile lol.
As with Pat above, serendipitously, I’m just reading Under the Sitka Sky. Loving it. Such brave, competent women.
The Planck Paradox by Taryn J Dallas
My Lady Lipstick by Karin Kallmaker