Get ready to add books to your TBR pile!
When the end of the year drew near, we had one question we wanted to ask book lovers the world over. What were your top 5 sapphic reads of 2023?
Luckily our readers like to share!
Here are Laura’s top sapphic reads of 2023:
1. Hobbs series by Elena Graf
I LOVE this series because it features highly interesting, multi-faceted lesbian characters who work in various fields (medical, police, education, music, and clergy, to name a few) and create a strong community of lesbians. New characters are added with each book, but the original characters still remain very much a part of each story, which makes everything more interesting as relationships develop and change over time. By the 2nd book, I was hooked and kept wanting to know more. I can’t say I liked one book more than the others; all 10 are good and are part of the wonderful story of lesbian community–something I value above all else.
2. The Wellington series by Edale Lane
A lovely mystery series set in Victorian England, featuring a lesbian who disguises herself as a man in order to solve crimes as a private detective, rather like Sherlock Holmes. One book features her and her lover travelling to the western US. The main character is very intelligent and the stories are fascinating.
3. Chiara Corelli series by Catherine Maiorisi
These are what I think is termed “police procedurals” featuring a complex main character who had served in the military, returned to her job as a police detective with PTSD and became ostracized by her colleagues after helping to uncover a ring of dirty cops. The cases she works on deal with important social issues, and the other principal characters in the books are also strong, multi-faceted and interesting. I was riveted, eager to see how things worked out with respect to the stories as well as the characters and their various relationships.
4. Hat Trick by Ali Spooner and K.L. Gallagher
I LOVE women’s sports, so thet fact that this book features hockey was a plus for me right from the start. The book features a lesbian hockey coach, forced to retire from playing due to injury, who is hired to coach a men’s professional (NHL) team, becoming the first woman coach in the league. Lots of hockey featured, and the back story of each main character is fascinating. I loved the interaction between her and the 2nd main character, with a complicated past, who eventually becomes her lover. Lesbian love and sports: what could be better?
5. Hotshot by Clare Lydon
Clare Lydon never disappoints. As a lover of women’s sports, and in the wake of the recent Women’s World Cup, I felt uplifted reading women’s soccer story! The back stories of the characters and their interactions against a professional soccer motif keep you interested constantly, and makes this novel a real pleasure to read, especially if you love women’s sports.
