Get ready to add books to your TBR pile!
As the end of the year draws near, we have one question we want to ask book lovers the world over. What were your top 5 sapphic reads of 2023?
Luckily our readers like to share! We look forward to passing along these recommendations to you daily into the new year.
It’s not too late to submit your own top reads and get in on the fun. Click here for the form. Our only rules are that authors may not submit their own books and your list needs to be new-to-you books that were read (not necessarily published) in 2023.
Here are Jamie’s top sapphic reads of 2023:
1. Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne
Cozy fantasy romance. How was this not a genre before like, last year? The way the MC’s relationship grows is beautiful and surrounded by the kind of fantastical things that I grew up with: dragons and magic.
2. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
I’m not into horror, at all. But this… this is a category all unto its own. Part mystery, part sci-fi, part fantasy, with hints of romance sprinkled throughout and such incredible humor balance the creepy, mortifying, and gruesome perfectly.
3. The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older
And now there’s cozy sci-fi too? The speculative concepts were really interesting and original (at least to me), the mystery itself had very cool motivations and the MC’s go through their second chance trope with such respect.
4. A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon
Another incredible effort following the Priory. Somehow even more queer. Watching Shannon interlace these disparate stories and far-flung characters into a single thread is just spectacular.
5. Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner
Of all of the traditional romances that I read this year, this one stuck with me the most. The author handles the younger/older theme with such care and consideration and turmoil and compassion. Big heart.
