For this week’s Sapphic Book Bingo category, read a sapphic book with a meet-cute. A “meet-cute” is a first meeting between the two main characters that is cute, hilarious, or unusual in some way. Often, it’s a misunderstanding or an awkward situation, e.g., one character spills coffee on the other.
An entire anthology full of “meet-cutes”
Before you scroll down to check out my book recommendations, how about reading an entire anthology full of meet-cute scenes?
45 of the most popular authors of sapphic fiction have each picked a favorite meet-cute scene from one of their books for you, and I have put together an anthology that you can download for free. It’s a great way to find a new favorite book or author.
Download the free Meet-Cute anthology here
15 recommended sapphic books with a meet-cute
Here are my book recommendations for sapphic books with a “meet-cute”:
Wrong Number, Right Woman by Jae
A single text message can change everything!
Flirting has never been Denny’s strong suit, but so what if she’s too shy to ask women out? She’s content with her simple life, working as a cashier and helping her sister raise her niece.
But then she gets a wrong-number text message from a stranger named Eliza, asking her of all people for dating advice!
Eliza is Denny’s total opposite: witty, outgoing—and straight. Despite their differences, the accidental text sparks an unlikely friendship. Soon, Eliza—self-proclaimed queen of disastrous first dates—would rather banter back and forth with Denny than to keep trying her luck at online dating.
When they meet in person, there’s an instant connection. But what Eliza is feeling can’t be attraction, right? It doesn’t mean a thing that she’s starting to wish the guys she dates would be more like Denny. Or does it?
Can the wrong number lead to the right woman after all?
Available at:
London Holiday by Miranda MacLeod
When a struggling journalist meets a runaway princess, will it be the story of the century or the love of a lifetime?
Jordan is an American journalist living in London, but when her newspaper is sold to an infamous tabloid king, she has one week to produce a tell-all story of the century or she’s out of a job, and out of the country. Then a runaway princess nearly falls into her lap. It seems like the answer to her prayers, but how can she write an exposé on a woman she’s falling in love with?
Abby was a typical California girl, until a twist of fate turned her into Princess Abigail, the heir to the throne of her father’s kingdom. When presented with an opportunity to escape her royal duties for a night out on the town while on an official state visit to London, she seizes the chance. But when she’s rescued by the woman of her dreams, she begins to doubt that she can ever return to royal life again.
As they have a madcap adventure exploring London together, both Jordan and Abby suspect they may have found their perfect match, but if the secrets they are hiding are exposed, will their relationship survive?
London Holiday is a modern-day fairytale inspired by the classic film Roman Holiday, with a lesbian twist. It is the fifth book in the Americans Abroad series of standalone romantic comedies.
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Plain English by Rachel Spangler
When Claire Bailey left London to open her own art gallery in the tiny village of Amberwick, she’d hoped the slower pace and lower cost of living might allow her to focus on her own painting, away from all the drama and distractions that had plagued her in the city. She’d fully intended to make an honest go at simple living right up until the moment a shockingly attractive aristocrat rocketed off the road and knocked her world off its axis.
Pip has learned to play the part of a ne’er-do-well upper elite: charismatic, enigmatic, and a little bit erratic. Luckily, women tend to like those characteristics. After leading such a charmed existence, where even motorcycles wrecks come with the added bonus of meeting beautiful women, Pip finds Claire’s complete lack of interest in money or status sparks both attraction and curiosity.
Surrendering to both boredom and sheer chemistry, the two agree to an unconventional, no-strings, romantic adventure designed to provide them both a bit of freedom and entertainment. However, once released from the pressure to project perfect images of themselves, the walls they depended on for protection threaten to crumble. Worlds blend and identities blur as their whirlwind romance quickly becomes more than they bargained for. Will their almost elemental attraction be enough to overcome the complexities rushing in from all sides? Or will the pressure they’ve both sought to escape force them to forge a new path neither of them had dared to dream of?
Available at:
Timing Is Everything by Alison R. Solomon
A hit-and-run.
A terrified suspect.
A woman caught between her friend and her lover
Wynn Larimer (who readers met in Along Came the Rain) is putting out the trash late one night when a car smashes into her, injuring her so badly that her entire livelihood is put in jeopardy. The accused perpetrator is Gabriella Luna. The timing couldn’t be worse—Gabriella is about to become a permanent resident but is now terrified of being deported. Caught in the middle of it all is Kat Ayalon, who is Wynn’s best friend but in love with Gordy. How can Kat support both women, if helping one means selling out the other?
Available at:
Watching Cars Go By by Elke Lakey & D.J. Fronimos
Silke, an easy-going German who prefers dodging problems to facing them, follows her job to the US when her bossy, longtime partner Alex refuses to start a family. Once in Texas, the cute blonde, who fixes medical analyzers for a living, is hit on by coworker Ana, a voluptuous and sexy Latina, who falls head over heels for her.
Ana, formerly content with casual hook-ups, recognizes a good thing when she sees it and will do whatever it takes to win Silke. Still in love with Alex despite her shortcomings, Silke strings Ana along while at the same time getting increasingly chummy with her landlady, Lauren. The frumpy nurse is middle-aged and motherly, and best of all hetero, which makes her safe for Silke to hang out with. Or so she thinks.
A kiss initiated by Lauren changes everything and they eventually become lovers. But Lauren has always struggled with putting herself first, and when her husband and daughter return home for the holidays, she resumes her wife-and-mother persona. Ana, on the other hand, is not only free, she is ready to start a family now and doggedly continues to pursue Silke. Of course there’s also still Alex, sophisticated as ever and used to getting what she wants, which is to keep Silke.
Deceiving everybody and most of all herself, Silke procrastinates until being playful doesn’t cut it any longer. Can she take a stand and save the relationship with the one person who truly matters?
Available at:
Changing the Script by Lee Winter
LA-based English indie filmmaker Alex Levitin reluctantly takes a job in New Zealand to save the “worst movie ever”, Shezan: Mistress of the Forest. Things might go easier for her if she didn’t almost run over the standoffish, beautiful local cop on her first day in town. And it’d really help if her film set wasn’t being mysteriously sabotaged.
When Ika Whenu’s Senior Constable Sam Keegan isn’t trying to stamp out a motorcycle gang drug problem afflicting her town, she’s publicly slamming everything about the exploitative film, Shezan, and the Hollywood blow-ins making it. That includes its nerdy, cute director, Alex, who has woeful driving skills to go with her smart mouth.
Against the stunning scenery and chaotic film-set backdrop, attraction flares between the two warring women as they’re forced to work together to find the set saboteur.
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A Fae Tale by Genevieve McCluer
When Dovana was a child in Lithuania, Roze saved her life. Roze is a Laume, a type of Lithuanian fae. The two became fast friends, staying in touch by leaving a letter and a present for the other every year.
Now, Dovana is in college in Toronto, and while those letters still mean the world to her, she wants to see Roze again. She investigates everything she can think of to learn more about the fae and stumbles upon a hidden society of fiends.
Meanwhile, Roze has been focusing on her duties of saving children in danger, while trying to prevent the fate that she knows Dovana is destined for, but nothing she does seems to change it. When she has to come to Toronto to save Dovana from her own investigation, she finds that she can’t avoid destiny…or love any longer.
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Matzo Match by Roz Alexander
Samantha is still healing from heartbreak, but her best friend has decided she’s taken long enough. With Passover just around the corner, will a surprise blind date, three celebrations in eight days, and approximately 100 glasses of wine be enough to finally move on? After one taste of the hard-bodied, immaculately dressed Jordan, it just might be time. Too bad Jordan has her own baggage to work through. Matzo Match is a fast-paced, steamy lesbian love story.
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So Well As You by Lynn Galli
Running a horse ranch is all Nora Cleary needs to be happy. She’s spent her life working on her family’s ranch and competing to showcase their training program. When the opportunity to start a new ranching operation abroad comes up, she jumps at the offer. Scotland will be her chance at happiness after suffering some disappointments at home.
Once, Damisi Dalziel reached for happiness only to have it slip away. Today, she’s content with her work as a professor and her wonderful circle of friends. Everything is just right in her life, until a certain American cowgirl saunters through the door of her home with an outrageous declaration.
Will their forced cohabitation lead to a constant battle of wills, or will it prove that differences can sometimes lead to fiery connections?
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From Fan to Forever by Tiana Warner
An age-gap lesbian celebrity romance about how much you’d risk to have your dream.
Talented A-lister Cate Whitney is the gorgeous middle-aged movie star almost every lesbian has a crush on.
Rachel Janssen, an introverted medical physics student, is no exception. So when her celebrity crush starts filming near her Vancouver apartment, she can’t believe her luck.
A chance encounter with Cate leads to a little swooning, small-talk, and a shock offer to help the star as a science consultant on her Marie Curie film. And, wait, could Cate actually be flirting with Rachel?
However, as the chemistry sizzles between them, Rachel struggles with the harsh reality of being linked to a famous actress. Paparazzi keep dragging her into the spotlight when all she wants is to be taken seriously in her medical career.
Is falling for a superstar too much to handle? Even if sexy Cate Whitney is the one everyone wants? Even if she’s everything Rachel needs?
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Sweet Sweet Revenge by Lyn Denison
Clancy Deveril never allowed her life to get messy. She simply moved on. It was what she did and it always worked. So why wasn’t she doing that now? Perhaps because this time it wasn’t just about her. It involved her much younger sister, and Clancy knew where to lay the blame. The entitled Hunter family. Specifically Abigail Hunter.
So with revenge in mind, Clancy drew closer to Abigail Hunter’s flame, but too late she realised she could get badly burned.
Abby Hunter had her life in order. She had a high-profile job, and she was happily single. Quite frankly, romance was not on her agenda. So how could a chance meeting jolt her well-balanced life off its comfortable centre?
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The Mountain Whispers by Ali Spooner
Arriving home and discovering the betrayal by her best friend and lover, Eli Fortner leaves to run off her anger and hurt. A chance stop at a convenience store and the purchase of lottery tickets sends Eli’s life into a whirlwind of change.
Able to now pursue her dreams, Eli heads off to see what else fate has in store for her.
Whit Brewer, Eli’s neighbor, is everything Eli never knew she needed and wanted. But can she let go of the betrayal long enough to let Whit in?
Thirteen black cats, a baby goat, and Cruz, her furry best friend, join Eli on her adventure, new life, and the possibility of real love.
Available at:
Skin Cognito by MB Austin
Dating when you can’t tell a soul that you’re a covert operator for the US Army? Not the first challenge Maji Rios expected upon being accepted as one of Delta’s first women. A weekend in Durham, a hundred miles from Fort Bragg, should have been an easy way to try out her new full-time persona of Sergeant Ariela Rios, Ri for short.
Bonus: a hookup with tattoo artist and gamer geek Jonni. Too bad she’s the Colonel’s estranged daughter, no fan of Delta or its secrets. Maji can only play Ri with her for so long before one of them gets hurt. And a tense Thanksgiving with the family on base puts everyone’s secrets on the table.
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Chef’s Kiss by Stephanie Shea
Valentina Rosas has always known what she wants. Mostly. Sort of. At least, she does now. And what she wants is the coveted staging role at Gia, San Francisco. With four years at the top of her class in culinary school and enough tenacity to fuel the entire Mission, no one doubts she is about to land the job of her dreams—including the three-person cheer squad made up of her best friend and adorably overbearing parents.
Renowned chef Jenn Coleman is not a people person. Her rise to the top of the culinary industry stems from a cultivated blend of top-tier schooling—from her nonna—and bouts of carefully managed misanthropy. Owning and operating two Michelin starred restaurants doesn’t leave time for much else anyway. Just ask her ex.
When the new stage at her restaurant trips into her with all the grace of a baby giraffe, it’s a sure recipe for disaster. But for all of Jenn’s reserve, Valentina has twice the allure, and the chemistry between them is just… chef’s kiss.
If only Jenn wasn’t Valentina’s boss with nearly ten years between them.
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Just My Type by Lucy Bexley and Bryce Oakley
Since dying over 2,000 years ago, killing people is the closest Ero comes to feeling alive. She’s been lying low since arriving in Sorrow, Massachusetts. Until she breaks into a hematology lab at the local university one night after her fresh dinner is interrupted.
Dr. Annie Golden has been hitting dead end after dead end in her research on a rare blood disease. Everything changes when she accidentally attacks a stunning woman she finds lurking near her blood samples.
Annie can’t put her finger on what’s so enrapturing about this beautiful, dark-haired woman. And Ero can’t figure out why Annie is appealing to more than just her appetite.
When Ero’s true self is revealed, will Annie’s fear win out over her attraction?
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