Jae

Sapphic Slow-burn romances

queer romance

sapphic books unusual job

Sapphic book featuring a character with an unusual job (Sapphic Book Bingo #18)

This week’s category of the Sapphic Book Bingo features sapphic books with main characters who have unusual jobs. You could approach this category in two ways: Either pick a main character with a job that is unusual (or unusual for a woman) in “real life” or choose a main character with a job that you rarely see in sapphic fiction. Some jobs are rare in real life but common in sapphic fiction and the other way around, e.g., cashiers are common in real life but rare in sapphic fiction; famous actresses or pop stars are rare in real life but …

Read more

sapphic books over 400 pages

Sapphic books with over 400 pages (Book Unicorn #7)

For this week’s Sapphic Book Bingo square, read a sapphic book with more than 400 pages. There aren’t that many sapphic books that are 400+ pages long, which is why this is a Book Unicorn category. 

If you know the word count, which is more accurate than page numbers, pick a book with more than 130,000 words. If you choose an audiobook, pick one that is at least 13 hours long.

sapphic book character over 50

Sapphic book with a main character over 50 (Book Unicorn #6)

For this week’s Book Unicorn post of the Sapphic Book Bingo, read a sapphic book in which at least one of the main characters is over 50. 

In WLW and lesbian fiction, especially in romance, most of the protagonists seem to be in their 20s and 30s. Lately, I’ve seen more books with characters in their forties, but characters who are in their fifties and beyond are still rather rare.

So for this week’s category, I’d like you to read a book with a main characters in their 50s or older. It could be an age gap romance, in which the other main character is considerably younger, or all of the protagonists could be over 50. I’ll leave that choice up to you, as long as at least one of the main characters is 50 or older.

sapphic books safer sex

Sapphic books that includes safer sex (Book Unicorn #5)

For this week’s Book Unicorn post of the Sapphic Book Bingo, read a sapphic book in which the characters practice safer sex. Maybe there’s a scene in the book in which they talk about safer sex, or we find out they’ve gotten tested for STIs (sexually transmitted infections) before sleeping together, or we see them use dental dams or condom-covered sex toys, etc. 

As I mentioned in a blog post that I wrote for the Ylva Publishing blog a few years ago, sapphic romances and erotica rarely depict safer sex practices. The characters never seem to worry about contracting sexually transmitted infections, even if they have only just met and don’t know each other’s sexual history. 

I get that it can interrupt the buildup and flow of a steamy scene, but as an author, I try to find a way to incorporate it, especially if I’m writing a story in which one of the characters had a lot of one-night stands in the past. 

sapphic fake relationship romance novels

Sapphic fake relationship romance novels (Sapphic Book Bingo #8)

This week’s Sapphic Book Bingo post features sapphic fake relationship romance novels—books in which the two main characters pretend to be in a relationship with each other.

The “fake relationship” trope is very popular with romance readers, so you will find 10 additional book recommendations in the “favorite trope” post of the Sapphic Book Bingo.

I think what readers love about “fake girlfriend” or “fake fiancée” stories is that the plot throws together two characters who are often total strangers and who might not even like each other. Under normal circumstances, they would never consider dating each other, but now they are forced to spend time together and pretend to be a couple. As you can imagine, they get into some hilarious situations, and after a while, they discover that their feelings are no longer fake…

sapphic books established couple

Sapphic books featuring an established couple (Sapphic Book Bingo #7)

This week’s Sapphic Book Bingo post features sapphic books with an established couple, meaning the main character needs to already be in an established romantic relationship at the beginning of the book. 

There aren’t that many “established couple” books within the romance genre because, by definition, the plot of a romance novel revolves around two (or more) characters falling in love. The central question is whether they’ll end up with getting their happily ever after. But while the “happily ever after” is the end of a romance novel, it’s not the end of the couple’s story. Sometimes, readers would love to see how the couple handles problems life throws at them or whether they start a family. 

So for this category, read a book in which the characters are already together at the start of the book. The book can be part of a series, with the characters getting together in an earlier book, or it could be a novel that isn’t a romance at all.