Welcome to the first Book Unicorn post of the Sapphic Book Bingo!
What is the Book Unicorn?
A quick reminder: The Book Unicorn bingo card is an additional bingo card that you can tackle in addition to the regular bingo card or by itself. The goal is to read one book for each of the 12 squares of the Book Unicorn card. Each square represents a harder-to-find theme.
I’ll post book suggestions for one Book Unicorn category each month.
Download your Book Unicorn bingo card
If you haven’t done so already, download your Book Unicorn bingo card here. The PDF is clickable, so you can fill in the titles of the books you read on your computer, or you can print it out and fill it in by hand.
Make the Sapphic Book Bingo more interesting!
If you’d like to get more book suggestions, talk about the books you are reading, and chat with other readers participating in the Sapphic Book Bingo, join either my Facebook group for readers or the Goodreads group for the Sapphic Book Bingo.
The first Book Unicorn category: Second generation LGBTQIA
For the first Book Unicorn category, I’d like you to read a book with two generations of LGBT+ characters. For example, the protagonist could be a women-loving woman who has a gay father, a bisexual mother, a lesbian aunt, or a trans child.
15 books with two generations of LGBT+ characters
Here are my 15 book recommendations for the “second generation LGBTQIA” category:
Hidden Truths by Jae
“Luke” Hamilton has been living as a husband and father for the past seventeen years. No one but her wife, Nora, knows she is not the man she appears to be. They have raised their daughters to become honest and hard-working young women, but even with their loving foundation, Amy and Nattie are hiding their own secrets.
Just as Luke sets out on a dangerous trip to Fort Boise, a newcomer arrives on the ranch—Rika Aaldenberg, who traveled to Oregon as a mail-order bride, hiding that she’s not the woman in the letters. When hidden truths are revealed, will their lives and their family fall apart or will love keep them together?
Available at:
Safe Harbor by Radclyffe
A mysterious newcomer, a reclusive doctor, and a troubled gay teenager learn about love, friendship, and trust during one tumultuous summer in Provincetown. Reese Conlon, LtCol USMCR, is the new sheriff who has heads turning amidst speculation as to who will be the first woman to capture her attentions. Doctor Victoria King has been betrayed by love once and refuses to risk heartbreak again. Brianna Parker, the teenaged daughter of Reese’s chief, fears her father’s wrath when he learns that she loves another girl. As these three women struggle to live and love in freedom, they risk their hearts and souls to give one another a Safe Harbor.
Available at:
On the Square by Brenda Murphy
Dropped from her television show after a very public split with her cheating ex, celebrity chef Mai Li wants nothing more than to reopen her parents’ shuttered restaurant and make a fresh start in her former hometown. So what if twenty years of neglect has left the building in need of a major renovation?
Seduced by Mai’s charm and determination, hard-edged contractor Dale Miller agrees to take on her renovation project.
After a spring storm causes significant damage to the building and renovation costs exceed Mai’s budget, Dale offers her a deal, but is it a price Mai is willing to pay?
Available at:
Confidence (Demands #3) by Emily Alter
For a relationship to work, it is not just love which is demanded. Confidence is, too.
Alexis is starting her first job. As someone who’s always been shielded, and unlucky with partners that considered her too subdued, or even boring (that last comment, especially, would always sting the most), she doesn’t really know what to expect when she first meets a captivating, and seemingly self-assured waitress.
Sierra is a struggling artist who comes from a problematic household. With her father in prison, she is soon forced to gain independence. Working at a bakery with two owners who treat her like they would their own daughter, she can start to regain her sense of security. It’s hard, though, when miscommunication and doubt get in the way.
Available at:
Blitzen’s Second Chance by Delilah Night
Happiness could be nice…unless a naughty villain gets his wish.
Percy (Zen):
I’m supposed to take time off after Christmas to restore my magic. But I’m not moving from my computer until I find the madman who hacked my pride and joy: the Naughty-or-Nice database. A villain who’s still on the loose.
Rudolph puts her hoof down and orders me to take a vacation. Relax? Not a chance. Then I meet a lovely human woman at Boston Comic-Con whose voice wraps around me like warm honey. The Con Gods must be playing a joke on me, though. Scarlett hates Christmas.
Scarlett:
Ah, Comic-Con. Nerdy girls to lust after as far as the eye can see. I never expected to meet a woman like Zen, who fits me like my perfectly designed cosplay…except she still believes in Santa. Crazy, right?
It’s hard to get serious when I’m still stitching together my too-many-times broken heart. But if I walk away from her, I have a feeling I’ll lose the kind of creature you meet only once in a lifetime…
Available at:
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.
Available at:
Investigating Helen by Benna Bos
Dr. Helen Nims is hauled into the police station when her new girlfriend is found murdered. Terrified and confused, she finds comfort from a stranger. But when that stranger turns out to be a crime reporter, Helen has to decide if she can be trusted or if confiding in the stunning podcaster will pull Helen deeper into suspicion.
Agnes Coates loves reporting on true crime. But it hits a little close to home when her first crush from high school is found dead in a bathtub. A gorgeous surgeon is tangled up in the police dragnet as they search for the killer, and Agnes must navigate her own feelings as she digs into the mystery and seeks out the truth.
With so much to lose, Agnes and Helen will walk the line between kisses and crime.
Available at:
Her Wolf in the Wild by Rien Gray
Christiana Arjean needs to get out. She tried to fix her relationship, but making a break for it is her only shot. She almost doesn’t make it, until a butch biker with a shock of white hair tosses Christiana on the back of her bike. Micah is as mysterious as she is attractive, and Christiana wants to know what’s under that tough exterior.
Micah Nubilo knows a little bit about keeping secrets. Rescuing Christiana is a bad idea, and letting her hang around is even worse. But there’s something calling to Micah: an impossible bond no werewolf should ever feel for a human, even one as beautiful as Christiana.
Their growing intimacy is threatened when they realize their pasts are connected in ways they never could have imagined. Christiana and Micah must fight against threats both outside the pack and inside themselves for a chance at putting it all behind them and finding a way forward—together.
Available at:
Highland Whirl by Anna Larner
When city girl about town Roxanne Barns reluctantly accepts a holiday invite to her best friend Eve’s birthday party in the Scottish Highlands, the last thing she expects is to fall for the very person she’s been dreading seeing again—the feisty Highlander, Alice Campbell.
The moment Alice learns that Roxanne is visiting her home hamlet of Newland, she couldn’t be more suspicious or defensive. A warm welcome is certainly not the plan, let alone falling in love.
Despite Eve’s warnings that Roxanne is not relationship material, Alice can’t ignore her growing attraction. She absolutely trusts Eve’s judgment, but taking her advice just might break Alice’s heart.
Highland Whirl reunites readers with the characters and landscape of Highland Fling in an emotionally enthralling story of trust, friendship, family, and love.
Available at:
Humbug by Amanda Radley
Ellie Pearce adores Christmas so much she celebrates all year round, earning herself the nickname Christmas Girl. If only she liked her job as much as eggnog lattes and mistletoe. Stuck as a marketing analyst for London-based recruitment company Caldwell & Atkinson, Ellie is desperate for a career change but afraid to take a chance.
CEO Rosalind Caldwell needs a new personal assistant after the last one quit, putting the extremely important corporate Christmas party in jeopardy. Christmas Girl is just the holiday miracle Rosalind needs, and Ellie is quickly promoted to the top floor of the Canary Wharf skyscraper.
Ellie isn’t a PA, has never planned a party in her life, and is terrified of heights. If things weren’t bad enough, she then goes and develops a ridiculous crush on her totally intimidating new boss. With the festive season fast approaching, what could possibly go wrong?
Available at:
An Alaskan Wedding by Nance Sparks
Andrea Daniels’s life is over-flowingly full. She puts every ounce of energy she has into being a mom to her two daughters and her work as a registered nurse. When her best friend, Sara, asks her to be her maid of honor at her wedding in Fairbanks, Alaska, Andrea accepts. A week off from work and an adults-only trip filled with relaxation and scenic tours sounds amazing.
Wedding photographer Riley Canon can pick and choose her clients, so when she’s asked to shoot a wedding in a remote lodge in Alaska, she jumps at the opportunity for a trip of a lifetime. It’s been on her bucket list for years.
The last thing either Andrea or Riley expects is to bump into the one who broke her heart fifteen years ago, but when they meet at the welcome party, their feelings come rushing back. Trusting each other again might be impossible, but if they can overcome the hurt from the past, they just might get a second chance at love.
Available at:
Shadows of Steel by Suzie Clarke
All Rachel and Claire want is a peaceful life together, but danger strikes, threatening to shatter their hopes and dreams, putting their hearts, and their lives in jeopardy. Eshee Yumiko, head of SeaBridge, seeks revenge for the damage Rachel’s computer program trigger has caused, vowing to get even, no matter what it takes. Derrick refuses to accept Claire’s relationship with Rachel and her continued rejection of his advances. His escalating fixation on her slowly turns into a deadly obsession no one sees coming.
Available at:
Guardian by Jen Lawrence
Every Guardian was born a warrior with powerful magic and a soulmate to complete her. All except for Luna, it seemed, who despite having mastered her craft, continued her fight in solitude. She was an enigma in their society—alone for far longer than any Guardian before her. Still, Luna remained hopeful that one day her soulmate would find her, and all the tender yearning would have been worth it.
Then Gia stumbles into her life. Gia—who lives a Human life, in Human glamour, with a Human fiancé.
Now Luna finds herself questioning everything that she—and the Guardians—have believed in for millennia.
“Love isn’t always enough.” Luna had always understood the words, but she had never actually believed them.
Available at:
The Touch of a Woman by KG MacGregor
A workplace rampage leaves Ellis Rowanbury grieving her husband of twenty-six years and feeling more adrift than she ever thought possible. Her finances in shambles, she gratefully accepts a junior-level job at a magazine in Sacramento and wills herself to move on.
Summer Winslow has pieces of her own to pick up, pieces that were scattered when her partner began drinking again. Fighting pressure from all directions to patch things up, she finds a welcome break from the drama in Ellis, her mysterious new neighbor. Happy to have a friend on her side, Summer is caught off-guard when her feelings for Ellis take a romantic turn.
With the tragedy fading behind her, Ellis too entertains the possibility of romance. A handsome coworker is eager to fill the void in her heart, and it’s clear he can give her a life much like the one she lost. Only now she’s paralyzed by a stunning discovery—she’s fallen for a woman.
Available at:
Country Living by Jen Silver
When Peri Sanderson achieves her dream of moving from London to a cottage in the English countryside, she expects her domestic bliss will be complete when her wife, Karla, leaves her London job to join her. Peri sees their future together as growing vegetables, tending some chickens, and chatting with the locals by a roaring log fire in a quaint village pub.
Sexy urbanite, Karla, has other ideas and they don’t include a move to the countryside.
Secrets are everywhere. Peri quickly senses something not quite right among her rural neighbours, and Karla is not quite the worldly wise woman-about-town that she thinks she is.
Temptation, betrayal and intrigue combine to change the lives of both women beyond anything they could have imagined.
Available at:
Leave a comment
Leave a comment and let us know whether you are tackling the Book Unicorn card or not. If you are, which book will you be reading for the “second generation LGBTQIA” category?
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Happy reading!
Jae
Hidden Truths, by Jae, is the book that I have read, but I will be reading more
Thanks for reading Hidden Truths! I hope you enjoyed it!
Another title that qualifies is White Horse Point by Andrews and Austin
Jean Andrews
Pretty sure it’s a Bold Strokes book.
It’s a thriller and romance combined.
I did not even read a single page of this book. But from the titles and their description looks it’s worth reading it. The fiction genre is one of my favorite.
Jae – I recently finished Dare to Love by A.L. Brooks. In this story, the lesbian MC is aunt to a teenage niece who is also coming out. This qualifies as well, yes? Thanks in advance!
Yes, that definitely counts!