This week’s Sapphic Reading Challenge category features books in which the main characters take a trip together. They don’t necessarily have to take a car; any vehicle, including a plane, a boat, or a horse-drawn wagon, will do as long as they travel from one place to another and it’s more than just their daily commute.
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 featuring a road trip
I put together a list of 15 sapphic books featuring a road trip. I hope you find at least one you’ll enjoy.
The Thousand Mile Love Story by Natalie Vivien
Would you take a thousand-mile road trip with your best friends…and the ex-girlfriend who broke your heart?
Meet Andee Shaw. A decade ago, her heart was broken by a devastatingly beautiful woman–the woman she thought she’d spend the rest of her life with. Now, ten years later, two of her oldest friends, Elizabeth and Heather, are getting married in Vermont. And they have a request: They want the old gang to take that infamous road trip they always talked about in college but never set into motion.
The brides’ not-so-secret goal: to enable Andee and her ex, Robin Barnes, to finally patch things up.
So, four college friends hop in a green convertible and begin a thousand-mile road trip that Andee isn’t quite sure she’ll survive. They visit the strangest places and encounter some wild adventures, and throughout it all, Andee struggles to come to terms with her conflicting feelings for Robin.
Because, despite her misgivings, Andee is falling in love with Robin all over again.
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Cat’s Meow by Cara Malone
Entering her second year of vet tech school, Ling is caught between her best friend and her long-time crush.
Ling wants nothing more than to tell Dakota how she feels, but she can’t risk upsetting the delicate balance of their friendship – until she discovers her best friend, Amber, is the third point in their love triangle.
When Ling and Dakota take a road trip to catch Dakota’s runaway cat back home, Amber invites herself along for the ride and from car snacks to road music, it’s clear the battle for Dakota’s heart is on.
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Points of Departure by Emily O’Beirne
Kit and Liza have been looking forward to this trip forever.
Five girls, five tickets overseas. It’s exactly what they all need after the final slog of high school. But when Kit is suddenly forced to drop out, Liza’s left with three girls she barely knows.
There’s Mai, committed only to partying. There’s Tam, who already has her doubts about leaving her sick father behind. And there’s Olivia, so miserable about screwing up exams she’s not even sure she wants to get out of bed, let alone on a plane.
All Liza wants from this trip is to discover a new version of herself. She just hadn’t planned on doing it without Kit by her side.
And they’re all learning that travel isn’t just about the places you go, but about who you’re with at the time.
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Hairpin Curves by Elia Winters
Megan Harris had hopes of seeing the world, but at twenty-five she’s never even left Florida. Now a wedding invitation lures her to Quebec…in February. When her ex-friend Scarlett offers to be her plus-one (yeah, that’s a whole story) and suggests they turn the journey into an epic road trip, Megan reluctantly agrees to the biggest adventure of her life.
A week together in a car is a surefire way to kill a crush, and Scarlett Andrews has had a big one on Megan for years. The important thing is fixing their friendship.
As the miles roll away, what starts as harmless road-trip games and rest-stop dares escalates into something like intimacy. And when a surprise snowstorm forces Megan and Scarlett to hunker down without the open road as distraction, they’ve got a bigger challenge than making it to the church on time: facing the true nature of their feelings for each other.
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Chasing Sunset by Missouri Vaun
Taylor Finn aspires to be a stunt driver, but driving a limo is what pays the bills. When she finds herself chauffeuring a drunk guy harassing his date, she leaves him stranded and is sure she’s going to get fired. Maybe it’s finally time to pursue her dream.
Iris Fleming’s flight to Atlanta was a scene from a disaster movie, the scariest landing ever. She’d desperately wanted a part on a new sci-fi series, until the director made a pass at her. Now Iris doesn’t want the role and has no intention of getting back on a plane.
Making their escape from Atlanta, Iris and Finn end up at Hideaway Haven, in neighboring cabins. Iris isn’t sure what’s scarier, sexy Taylor Finn or woodland nighttime noises. But maybe they can help each other out. There are schools for stunt drivers in LA, and Iris needs a ride. Wrong turns and roadside hijinks ensue as Iris and Finn set off on a road trip, chasing the sunset and falling for each other along the way.
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The Trip by Robin Alexander
Who wants to take a road trip with two old, bickering women and a complete stranger? Not Jill Savoy. She finds herself behind the wheel of her father’s sacred Winnebago anyway, responsible for her grandmother and adopted aunt, both of whom are mischievous teenagers in old bodies, and then there’s Shay.
The last thing on Shay Macaluso’s mind was a vacation. Fresh out of a relationship, she was looking forward to beginning her new life, but her aunt Chloe took the proverbial monkey wrench to her plans. Duped into taking the trip, Shay feels like her new life is on hold, but as the adventure unfolds she realizes that she’s on the highway to something extraordinary.
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The Road Ahead by Amanda Radley
Rebecca is stuck in Portugal. All planes to England are grounded and it’s only two days until Christmas.
Desperate to get home but without money to hire a car; she’s stuck. She sees an opportunity when she meets a snobby businesswoman with a broken leg, a platinum credit card, and a desire to get home. A tentative agreement is struck in order to reach their destination before the festive deadline. Will they make it, or will they kill each other along the way?
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The Time Before Now by Missouri Vaun
More than fifty years have passed since “peak oil” has left the Earth without access to modern technology while great Cloud Cities for the rich float above the oceans.
On the ground below, Vivian Yates leaves Oklahoma on an epic 700-mile journey east to her ancestral home. Early on, she encounters Elizabeth, who preys on Vivian’s inexperience and naivety, luring her into a brief affair that ends in disaster. Betrayed and withdrawn, Vivian sets out again on her eastward trek. Along the way, she meets the beautiful, lighthearted Ida. Together they face obstacles both natural and manmade. Ida brings Vivian, wounded in both body and spirit, back to life. Destiny has thrown them into each other’s arms where they find not only love, but hope, trust, and forever.
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Vagabond Heart by Ann Roberts
Contractor Quinn O’Sullivan has traveling in her blood. Her aunt is a famous travel writer while Quinn herself moves from one apartment complex to the next as her team remodels them.
When dear Aunt Maura kicks the bucket on her beloved Route 66, she leaves a dying request for Quinn—to take her on one last adventure.
Suda Singh is the total opposite of risk-taker Quinn. As an emergency room doctor, Suda is calm, methodical, and intuitive. But most of all, Suda is safe.
When the two women are thrown together by Quinn’s latest injury, Suda offers to accompany Quinn on the adventure of a lifetime.
Can Quinn and Suda find love, three cats, and the mysterious woman named Rain, all on America’s fabled highway—Route 66?
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Burden of Happiness by Luci Dreamer
Sarah Leeds is haunted by horrible events in her past that have left her frozen in time when it comes to connecting with other people. She would rather go through life with minimal interaction than learn to open up and trust others; keeping her emotional scars front of mind so she won’t get hurt. When a visit back to her hometown doesn’t bring the answers or closure she’s yearned for, she wonders if she’ll ever be made whole again.
While in town Sarah meets Kate, a professor at the local community college. The instant connection she feels with Kate confuses and scares her, but it also gives her a glimpse of a life she wished she could have. Will Sarah finally find it within herself to conquer her fears and pursue the life she’s always wanted but thought she could never have?
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The Road to Kalazad by K L Mitchell
Revka and her centaur girlfriend Iyarra are wandering adventurers almost as good at getting out of trouble as they are at getting into it. But when a mysterious duke shanghais them and forces them to go galloping cross-kingdom to steal an ancient artifact, can they deliver the goods before time – and their luck – runs out?
Join the two adventurers as they go from one misadventure to another, encountering dragons, gangsters, highly suspect wizards, and a nonstop parade of monsters and miscreants in a fantasy kingdom that’s unlike any you’ve ever seen.
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Holiday Detour by Jane Kolven
Dana Gottfried is a stressed-out Jewish lesbian who’s just quit her job and wants to get home to see her grandmother. When her car breaks down in Indiana on Christmas Eve, Dana is stranded—until she’s rescued by Charlie, a pig farmer who doesn’t identify as male or female. Although they come from different worlds, Dana is intrigued by Charlie’s sense of humor and kindness. Despite her better judgment, Dana says yes when Charlie offers a ride.
But the journey home is paved with detours. From car accidents to scheming ex-girlfriends to a snowy and deserted Chicago Loop, everything that could go wrong on their road trip does, but it leads Dana on a path of self-discovery that just might end in love.
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Dashing All the Way by S.R. Silcox
For a woman as stubborn and proud as Mackenzie Hooper, the only thing standing in her way of a merry Christmas is, unfortunately, herself. Even if she did want to spend the rest of her life with girlfriend Callie, Mac is finding it hard to bring her true feelings across to those she loves–as familial relationships on both sides begin to complicate the situation.
And when good intentions become muddled and misunderstood, Mac finds herself suddenly alone and scrambling for answers.
What starts out as a desperate road trip across the country to win back her beloved soon turns into a cathartic and enlightening journey within.
What stands between Mac and Callie’s future is more than just the distance that divides them. And if Mac hopes to make it home for Christmas, she’ll need to cast doubt to the wind and make excellent time.
Amidst such darkness, does Mac have the strength to step into the light and give this season a new reason for celebration?
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The One to Hold Your Hand by Erica Lee
Reese James’ life was never easy. Trying to stay upbeat and positive while her twin sister battled cancer took its toll on her. The one thing getting her through was her relationship with her lifelong best friend Bette Mitchell. Unfortunately, constantly blurring the lines between friendship and something more was destined to blow up at some point, and that’s exactly what happened when Reese hit her rock bottom.
After losing her father, Bette Mitchell didn’t know how she would ever feel okay again. The thing she did know was there was one person who understood exactly how it felt to lose someone close to her. The problem was she and Reese had barely spoken after Bette broke her heart three years earlier.
But now Reese is back in town for the funeral and willing to do anything to help Bette smile again. Well, almost anything. She can’t let go of what happened the night everything fell apart between them.
A look back on Reese and Bette’s relationship through the years shows what brought them to the point they are at today. Is their history enough to lead them into a future together or is there too much heartbreak between them to move forward?
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Jackpot by Cade Haddock Strong
Ty MacIntyre’s life changes the instant she wins the lottery. People are after her winning ticket and she’s not sure who to trust. She’s been given the gift of wealth. Will she use it to get her life back on track or will that prove easier said than done?
Karla Rehn is forced to walk away from her dream of being on the US Ski Team. She’s angry at the world—especially herself. A trail of reckless behavior threatens to derail her plans to earn a college degree and become a nurse.
Ty is drawn to Karla the moment the two women meet. Can they guide each other through the obstacles that life has thrown their way?
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Leave a comment
Leave a comment and let us know which book you’ll be reading for the “road trip” category!
Another great list! Thanks for the ideas.
Haven’t filled this category in yet, but I have read 2 of these. Really loved Vagabond Heart and want to reread it – definite road trip vibes found here. Also enjoyed The Road Ahead.
The Thousand Mile Love Story