Jae

Sapphic Slow-burn romances

lesbian books

o-authored sapphic book

Co-authored sapphic book (Sapphic Book Bingo 2023 #5)

This week’s category of the Sapphic Book Bingo features co-authored sapphic books, meaning books that have been written as a collaboration of at least two writers. 

It can’t be an anthology in which each author worked on their story independently or a book that uses two different pen names of the same author on the cover. 

Most of the time, both authors names will be on the cover, but sometimes, the authors also create a pen name that they use for their co-authored books, so you might have to do a bit of research to find out which books have really been created by two (or more) different authors. 

sapphic book with heart in the title

Sapphic book with “heart” in the title (Sapphic Book Bingo 2023 #4)

For this category of the Sapphic Book Bingo, you shouldn’t have any problem finding enough books to choose from. Romance novels are the most popular genre of sapphic fiction, so there are plenty of books with the word “heart” in the title. Of course, you can also read a sapphic book in another genre, as long as the title includes the word “heart.”

The word heart can be part of an open compound, e.g., Heart Trouble, or a closed compound, e.g., heartfelt. It can be single (heart) or plural (hearts). 

imperfect sex in a romance novel

Sapphic books with imperfect sex (Book Unicorn #2)

In most sapphic romance novels (and in romance novels overall), the sex is always perfect. Even the characters’ first time together or one character’s first time with another woman is mind-blowing, which isn’t always realistic.

For this category of the Sapphic Book Bingo, read a sapphic book with a love scene in which the sex isn’t perfect. Something goes wrong—the dog jumps onto the bed, one of them falls asleep in the middle of things, or they fumble around for a bit while they learn what their partner likes.

I know that as readers, we sometimes want escapism and the perfect fantasy, but I think those little awkward moments can make a love scene even sweeter because we see the characters laugh about it together and witness them treat each other with respect and kindness.

Sapphic book bodyguard

Sapphic book with a bodyguard or security guard (Sapphic Book Bingo 2023 #2)

The bodyguard trope has been a staple in romance novels not just since the movie The Bodyguard with Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. It’s a popular trope in sapphic romance too.

For this category of the Sapphic Book Bingo, read a book with a main character who’s either a bodyguard (often protecting the other main character) or works in security, e.g., as a security guard or a doorwoman.

ice queen

Sapphic book with an ice queen who’s younger (Book Unicorn #1)

Welcome to the first Book Unicorn post of the Sapphic Book Bingo! The Book Unicorn categories of the Sapphic Book Bingo represent books with a harder-to-find theme, and the category we’re starting with is a true unicorn: ice queen characters who are younger than their love interest! 

In sapphic romance, you’ll find a lot of books that combine an ice queen character with an age gap romance, but usually, it’s the ice queen who is older. 

Since ice queens are in a position of power and often at the very top of the food chain in their profession, it takes them a while to get there. That means ice queens are often in their late thirties or forties or fifties. Of course, they could still fall in love with a woman who’s older, but most authors seem to prefer pairing their ice queens with younger love interests.