Hello, bookworms!
Happy first day of March, I hope you had a great reading month in February but that this month is even better for you. I have a lot of plans, but first I need to post a couple of reviews of book I read in the past days. Fingers crossed for me that I manage to do that.
Anyways, today I am here with the second half of the tag created by my friend Juls in February. I know it's not technically the month of love anymore, but I don't care, so Canonical Queer Romance Book Tag — F/F Edition, here we come!
As usual, thank you to Juls for letting me translate this tag and use their banner. Don't forget to tag them if you decide to answer the questions, I know they always read your articles and posts with curiosity and pleasure. And now, let's start!
Aline Penhallow×Helen Blackthorn — the first book in which you first encountered a sapphic couple
Unfortunately, I have literally no idea. I have been racking my brain for the past twenty minutes, and I cannot come up with a single answer, because they probably were secondary. Since I don't think I am ever going to remember, I am going to pick one of the first books with a sapphic main couple and their love story as the main plot I *do* remember reading: Everything Leads to You by Nina Lacour. I definitely need to reread it, but I gave it four stars the first time around and really really enjoyed the plot, so I am going with it.
Nadia Zhabin×Tamar Kir-Bataar — a book in which the sapphic couple is secondary
Oof, I have so many of them. Since it's not one of my book tag answering articles if I don't mention the Riordanverse at least one time, I am going to go with Josephine and Hemithea from The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan, the second book in the Trials of Apollo series. They are an older couple, which makes my sapphic little heart extremely happy: I love seeing elderly queer couples in medias and I think there's a lack of them. If you have any recommendations for book in which the elder couple is the main one, please let me know!
Persephone×Maggie Parkhurst — a book set in a seaside place
I had a moment of pure panic, because I want to only pick sapphic books to answer these questions, and I didn't know if I had any. Unexpectedly, I do! I am going to pick Bad Things Happen Here by Rebecca Barrow, which is set I don't remember where, but I am 100% sure that it is a town close to the see, if not an island. It was an okay thriller, but it wasn't memorable. However, I always like to mention it, because there are very few sapphic mystery and thrillers, even if I do wish it wasn't the case. As usual, any rec is welcome!
Daciana Creswell×Ileana — an historical book featuring a sapphic couple
I wanted to say Proper English, since I just finished and loved it, but Juls stole the answer, so I am going to go with Infamous by Lex Croucher, which I read back in January and really loved. It is basically Bridgerton if Benedict and Eloise were the same person and they were the main character, so you can imagine how much I liked it! I am very happy that it is getting a USA edition, so that more people will pick it up, because it is underrated in my humble opinion. I want to read everything this author has writtend and will write.
Tara×Darcy — a graphic novel featuring a sapphic couple
For this, I am picking Cheer Up: Love and Pom Poms written by Crystal Frasier and illustrated by Val Wise. It is a very cute sports romance, which not only has a sapphic main couple, but it also has a trans girl as a main character. It has extremely pretty colours and a lovely art style, and the plot is also really cute. I think it deserves to be way more hyped than it is, but I consider myself blessed to be one of the people who has read it. If you liked Check, Please or Fence, this is for you, so pick it up and fall in love with it!
Lei×Wren — a book written by an Asian author
I was wondering which one to pick, but in the end I decided to go with Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigidar, because I feel like people tend to forget East Asia is not the only part of Asia, and I want to give a big shout out to all the under represented Asian authors. Hani and Ishu was a super cute and interesting read, and I am very curious to read more by this author, especially her upcoming release, The Dos and Donuts of Love, because it features a reality TV program about baking, and I am so down for it.
Gideon Nav×Harrowhark Nonagesimus — a sci-fi book featuring LGBT+ characters
I had almost forgotten to have read this book, probably because I did not like it, but it came in handy, in the end. I am talking about This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladston. It had a lot of potential and I thought I was going to love it, to be honest, because it features some of my favourite tropes. Unfortunately, it turned out to be more boring than anything else, and, as I told you, I don't ever think about it. Aside from when I am trying to find an answer for one of Juls' questions, apparently.
Mia Corvere×Ashlinn Järnheim — a book with a "bi x bi" couple
Once again, this requires a lot of effort from me, because I usually tend to forget this kind of information. I might be mistaken, but I think the two main characters from Friday I'm In Love by Camryn Garrett are both bi, or maybe one of them is pan. However, I want to say that bi and pan is the "same" for the sake of this question. I am not going to start a debate on labels and historical terminology, because this isn't the time nor the place, but I am still picking this book, and if you want to argue, there's your friend the wall over there.
This is going to be all for today, I will talk to you soon with a new review!
