It’s time for another Hidden Gem category! For this week’s square of the Sapphic Book Bingo, read a sapphic book with a morally ambiguous main character—a character who isn’t purely good or entirely evil, but whose actions, motivations, or values straddle the line between good and bad, right and wrong.
15 recommended sapphic books with a morally ambiguous main character
Below, you’ll find a list of 15 sapphic books with a morally ambiguous main character:
Second Nature by Jae
For solitary novelist Jorie Price, true love seems as fictional as the shape-shifting creatures she writes about in her paranormal romances.
Griffin Westmore doesn’t believe in love either, but she’s one of those not-so-fictional shape-shifters who secretly live among humans.
When Jorie’s writing gets uncomfortably close to the truth, Griffin is sent to investigate and, if necessary, kill the author to protect the secrets of her kind.
But when Griffin unexpectedly finds herself drawn to Jorie, her world is turned upside-down. Hell, she’s supposed to kill the human, not fall in love with her! How can she complete her mission now?
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Her Mafia Bride by Persephone Black
Juno Bianchi: Ruthless. Deadly. Glacial.
And oh, she makes me burn.
When my Mob Boss father forces me into an arranged marriage with the billionaire heiress to the Bianchi Family, everything changes.
At first I resent being treated like a bargaining chip, but Juno captivates me in ways I’ve never known. Her Ice Queen facade hides a simmering volcano just waiting to be unleashed, and her commanding touch sets my body on fire.
But loving Juno could destroy me…
There are people out there who are just as dangerous as she is, and they won’t hesitate to use me to get to her.
With enemies closing in around us, can I trust my Mafia bride to keep me safe?
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Chaos Agent by Lee Winter
CEO Michelle Hastings has foolishly promoted a kind, clueless activist to her full-time staff. Now, on top of fighting her inconvenient feelings, Michelle must hide the evil they do.
Eden Lawless relishes her new job, the hot boss who gives her butterflies, and her eccentric workmates who tell weird jokes about their day. Blackmail? Hacking? Doxing? Hilarious! But what if it’s not a joke? Would that mean Eden has to fight the boss she’s falling for?
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Three’s a Crowd by Kate Gavin
Zoe Tyler’s life is just…okay. She’s got her first real job, a pile of student loan debt, and a boyfriend named Jake who used to be home a whole lot more than he has been lately.
When Paige Newbanks shows up unannounced at her half-brother’s apartment, she’s not only desperate for a place to stay, but desperate to get to know the brother she hasn’t seen since she was five years old.
With Jake so busy at work these days, Zoe and Paige end up spending more time with each other than they do with Jake. Soon the pair are drawn together in a way that surprises them both.
But as much as Zoe and Paige want to be together, the last thing they want to do is hurt the man who brought them together. Do they dare jeopardize their relationships with Jake in order to make themselves happy?
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Lady Hawthorne, the San Francisco Mystery Series, Book 7 by Alexi Venice
Fallout from Dr. Jen Dawson’s sexcapade with Victoria Marshall results in a bloody gash to Tommy Vietti’s head. Dr. Jen and Amanda Hawthorne take Tommy to the hospital where his wound is repaired with staples, but their relationship remains frayed. While there, the three bruised friends are recruited to pick up the pieces from a bioterrorist attack. Dr. Jen volunteers to treat patients in the Emergency Room while Tommy and Amanda join forces with Agent Roxy MacNeil to investigate.
On their dangerous international mission, Amanda summons her inner strength to avoid falling into old habits as she learns earth-shattering revelations about her Scottish ancestry. Titillated by Amanda’s discovery, Roxy pulls Tommy and Amanda deeper into the tangled web of her manipulative, duplicitous world.
Dr. Jen works day and night treating victims of the mass attack, including someone once very special to her. She desperately misses her daughter, Kristin, but makes a new friend in Nurse Denni Russo.
Tommy feels like he’s walking on shifting sands as he transitions from a city detective to an international agent, relying on his gut instincts, drinking abilities, and shooting skills. Roxy, Tommy, and Amanda might be outgunned and outnumbered on foreign soil, but they’ll never be outsmarted as they attempt to save humanity.
Will Jen and Amanda’s promise to let bygones be bygones withstand distance, temptations, and life-threatening circumstances?
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On My Way There by Jaycie Morrison
Maxine Terrell lurches into adulthood madly in love with a woman and her child. Unfortunately, Daphne Polk is someone else’s wife, and her daughter Lena is someone else’s child. But Daphne’s been there for her ever since Max and her father weathered a terrible tragedy, one that’s still whispered about in their small Texas town. After years of hope and heartbreak, and too many lies to count, Max seems poised to settle for the various “friends with benefits” she encounters.
Unexpectedly wealthy after her father’s death and emotionally adrift with no idea what she really wants from life, Max decides to take to the road and signs up to become a truck driver. During her training in Lubbock, she meets Trillian—“Thrill”—and manages to screw things up from the start. After another chance encounter and a sweet kiss she can’t forget, Max begins to rethink not only what, but who she really wants.
As Max traverses the open road, her journey of impossible love, loss, and courage mirrors her voyage of self-discovery. But before she can look to the future, she must come to terms with the history she’d rather forget.
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A Tiger in Suburbia by Anna Woiwood
Drawn to the promise of upward mobility, Vera’s husband moves the family to the suburbs. To a sprawling prefab, split-level home outside the noisy, crowded city. A place where the kids can run free through the woods and play safely on the street.
Vera must acclimate to the silent, sleepy town. To the families next door. To the quiet of night. To the old well her children find out in the forest that conjures terrible dreams. Dreams that only seem to amplify her anguish.
Until one Sunday morning, she notices a woman sitting three pews ahead of her in church. She admires her slender neck, the long line of her body, the gentle curve of her lips when she smiles at Vera after the service.
She wants to know this woman.
Could she be the key to rescuing Vera from the monotony of her life?
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Pirates of Aletharia by Britney Jackson
Emilia Drakon was once the youngest and kindest of the dragon sorcerers, but she’s now the last of her kind. Betrayed and angry, she trades her meekness for a sword and embarks on a quest for vengeance that will lead her straight into the arms of the legendary Captain Maria Welles.
Captain of the famed pirate ship, the Wicked Fate, Maria is every bit as treacherous and bloodthirsty as they say. She has her own vendetta and practically jumps at the chance to trick Emilia into joining her crew.
But when their animosity toward each other blossoms into a passionate romance, the two women will have to decide what they want most.
Vengeance?
Or love?
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The Raven and the Banshee by Carolyn Elizabeth
It’s the early 1700’s and sixteen-year-old Julia Farrow, spirited daughter of a shipping company owner, lives and loves on her own terms. With a sharp mind and sharper tongue, she constantly defies family and society expectations with no regard for the consequences.
Branna Kelly, only child of an Irish immigrant sailor, is hopelessly in love with Julia and imagines their life together as captains of their own fate. Left brokenhearted after Julia’s rejection, she embarks on a journey to chart a new shipping route to the Caribbean. Before Julia can explain her decision, Branna’s ship is overrun by merciless pirates. All hands are presumed lost.
Fifteen years later, Julia is running the Farrow Company and sailing with the crew on her newest ship when an encounter with pirates leaves her the lone survivor to be rescued by the infamous Raven, hard-hearted captain of the mercenary ship, Banshee. Julia is shocked to discover her rescuer wears a familiar face.
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Haven’s End: A sapphic pirate adventure and romance by Eden Hopewell
She vowed revenge. Now she must choose between justice and love.
Bound by duty and societal expectations, Margo O’Shea has spent years suppressing her true, wild spirit. But when tragedy strikes, she casts aside the shackles of respectability and embraces her destiny as a pirate, setting sail on a quest for vengeance that will test her courage and her heart.
Elara knows that Margo’s thirst for vengeance could lead them both to ruin. But her loyalty to the woman she loves is unwavering, and she’ll stand by her captain’s side, no matter the cost.
Their voyage takes them to the heart of the Spanish Main, where a chance encounter with a heavily laden galleon offers a chance to seize a king’s ransom in gold. But when their raid turns violent, and Elara is gravely injured, Margo must confront the consequences of her ambition.
Can Margo conquer her enemies and save Elara, or will vengeance cost her everything she holds dear?
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Glass Witchling by Harlowe Frost
In 1983, witches aren’t allowed in college. Casey believes she can hide her heritage and get an education. Though she understands college, does she know how to navigat the rest of the challenges around her?
While it isn’t illegal to be a witch in the 1980s, prejudice still runs strong in the community. Casey just wants to go to college without being kicked out for her ability to cast spells. Hiding her powers is easy, until a job working at a fancy dinner club lands her in a room full of sensual vampires.
Though vampires live under the same laws as the witches, she soon discovers a world of wealth, prestige and power she never fathomed. Undiscovered and needing the money, Casey decides to risk exposure to work for the dangerous vampires. She’s confident no one can tell she’s a witch. But what happens when she starts craving blood?
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Monstrous by Jessica Lewis
Don’t go outside past dark. Come straight home after church. And above all—never, ever, go into Red Wood.
These are the rules Latavia’s aunt gives her when Latavia arrives in Sanctum, Alabama for the summer. Though, weird as they are, living in Sanctum does have its pros. Mainly, the cute girl who works at the local ice cream shop.
But Sanctum is turning out to be as strange as the rules—and the longer Latavia’s in town, the more suspicious she is that the people there are hiding something. And the more clear it is that she’s an outsider. Everyone’s nice enough, but they seem determined to prove everything is normal.
But it’s not. Because there’s something in Red Wood that the towns’ people are hiding. And if Latavia doesn’t follow her aunt’s rules, she might not be able to leave Sanctum. Ever…
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Black Port by Rachel Ford
Valia Iceborn is the daughter of two worlds, and a servant of none: her mother was a Northern outlaw and her father a Southern deserter. She grew up in the wilds of No Man’s Land, but the open sea is her home. She swears no allegiances, lest they be to gold.
Knight Protector Portia Daysen is a loyal of daughter of the empire. She goes where she’s told, and does what she’s told. When the empire sends her to the bustling city of Black Port to ferret out a mysterious secret order threatening stability in the region, she doesn’t think twice.
Plunged into a world of deceit and derring-do, where no one is who they pretend to be, and nothing is at it seems, Daysen’s investigation leads her to Valia’s dock.
And crossing sabers with the most formidable – and charming – foe of her career might be the last mission Knight Protector Portia Daysen ever takes.
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The Fate of Stars by SD Simper
A devout mermaid. A disgraced princess. A feud as ancient as the gods.
Worlds collide when Tallora is kidnapped from her ocean home and forced to be a pet to a tyrannical foreign empire. Her only hope for rescue lies with a sworn enemy—Princess Dauriel, infamous for her stone heart and conflicted past. But when Dauriel’s kingdom comes to the cusp of war, could their uneasy alliance be the key to defeating a common foe? Or will their growing feelings for each other lead them to ruin?
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Magdalene Nox by Milena McKay
Magdalene Nox doesn’t cast wishes upon stars…
She simply makes them happen. But for this particular wish, she had waited for thirty years. Her retribution against those who discarded her three decades ago should be swift and simple.
Except a chance encounter and an unforgettable night turn her entire life upside down. Torn between vengeance and lust, Magdalene is forced to re-evaluate everything.
Can the Home of Dragons and lonely math teacher Sam Threadneedle—who finds herself stranded amidst longing and fury—withstand the storm that is Magdalene Nox, or will any and all be consumed by the flames of revenge?
Not everything is as it seems, and as Magdalene returns to the place that left her wounded and lost all those years ago, she realizes that old oak and stone hide more than secrets and pain. They also hold forgiveness and love.
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We’re All Monsters Here by Amy Marsden
When Anna is invited to a secluded retreat full of selfish, greedy humans, of course she doesn’t say no. Not only did she manipulate the CEO of the world’s largest oil corporation, Peter Beyer, into organising the four-day getaway in the first place, but no self-respecting vampire would ever turn down such easy prey. Her weekend gets even better when she meets Saira, one of Peter Beyer’s employees, and they begin a whirlwind affair. Blood and beautiful women are Anna’s idea of a great time.
She should have known it was too good to be true.
Hunters are dangerous, deadly, and dedicated to eradicating vampires. When a group of them turn up at the retreat, Anna must use her centuries of experience to escape their ever-closing net. Will she get out unscathed, or will they finally catch up to her? Will she give into her intense and unexpected feelings for Saira, or will she leave her to burn as she destroys all evidence she was ever there?
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What book will you be reading for the “morally ambiguous main character” category? Are there other books that are a good fit for this category? Let us know in the comments!
One Response
The entire Cain Casey series by Ali Vali