The best books for women who love women and romance novels

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a full-time writer, part-time editor, and avid reader of romances between queer women. I’ve just published my twenty-third novel, and I’m still amazed and humbled at getting to live my dream: writing sapphic romances for a living. Discovering sapphic books was a life-saver for me since I grew up in a tiny little village, with no openly LGBT+ people around, and I love knowing that my books are now doing the same for my readers. 


I wrote...

Book cover of Just a Touch Away

What is my book about?

Hannah, a professional cuddler, inherits half of a building, but there’s a catch: To inherit, she’ll have to share an apartment with prickly workaholic Winter for 92 days.

Winter is determined to dislike her rival, but soon finds Hannah isn’t what she expected at all. Thanks to a hilarious doormat war, a cuddle dare, and a kiss in the most unusual of places, the frosty fortress around her heart begins to melt. Will she be able to accept that love might be just a touch away?

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The books I picked & why

Book cover of Breaking Character

Jae Why did I love this book?

Breaking Character is a lesbian celebrity romance, but it’s also so much more than that. The main character, icy British actress Elizabeth, is in the closet for fear of risking her career. When she meets her younger colleague Summer, she starts letting someone close for the first time—and the result is a romance that is sizzling and sweet at the same time. 

If you like age-gap romances with a fake relationship and well-written characters, this is a great introduction to Lee Winter’s books.

By Lee Winter,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Breaking Character as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Life has become a farcical mess for icy British A-lister Elizabeth Thornton. America’s most-hated villain stars in a top-rated TV medical drama that she hates. Now, she’s been romantically linked to her perky, new co-star, Summer, due to the young woman’s clumsiness. As a closeted actress, that’s the last thing Elizabeth needs. If she could just get her dream movie role, life would be so much better. The only problem is that the eccentric French film-maker offering it insists on meeting her “girlfriend”, Summer, first.Summer Hayes is devastated when her co-star shuns her for accidentally sparking rumors they’re lovers. Now…


Book cover of Ask, Tell

Jae Why did I love this book?

Ask, Tell is the story of Captain Sabine Fleischer, a surgeon in the US Army during the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era. The book is told entirely from Sabine’s point of view, so as a reader, I could really feel her pining for her superior officer, stunning and competent Colonel Rebecca Keane. It’s a story that will make you laugh and cry and understand much better what LGBT+ people serving in the military went through during that time. 

By E.J. Noyes,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ask, Tell as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Where can you turn when you’re caught in a crossfire of war and passion?

Captain Sabine Fleischer is a skilled and dedicated U.S. Army surgeon deployed to a combat hospital in Afghanistan. She is also one of the thousands of troops who are forced to serve in silence because of the military’s anti-gay policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT).”

Usually driven and focused, Sabine finds that battles raging both inside and outside the perimeter walls are making it more and more difficult for her to deal with her emotions. Dealing with loss and mortality, lack of privacy, sleep deprivation,…


Book cover of Jericho

Jae Why did I love this book?

This book is the epitome of a slow-burn romance, so as a reader, you get to know both main characters—small-town doctor Maddie and new-in-town librarian Syd—really well and fall in love with them as you watch them slowly fall in love with each other. The author has a unique sense of humor, and the witty banter between Maddie and Syd made me laugh out loud several times. 

By Ann McMan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Jericho as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Librarian Syd Murphy flees the carnage of a failed marriage by accepting an eighteen-month position in Jericho, a small town in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. Her plans to hide out and heal her wounds fall by the wayside as she gets drawn into the daily lives of the quirky locals. When Syd gets a flat tire and is rescued by the town physician, Maddie Stevenson, the two women form a fast friendship—but almost immediately begin struggling with a mutual attraction. And, if that’s not enough, Syd is straight and going through a divorce—and Maddie somehow forgets to mention her…


Book cover of Without a Front

Jae Why did I love this book?

Without a Front combines two of the genres I enjoy most: a heart-warming romance with three-dimensional characters and a well-written sci-fi novel with amazing world-building. The culture and history of Alsea, a planet of empaths, is portrayed in fascinating detail, but it never distracts from the love story. I fell in love not only with the world but also its characters, most of all Salomen, a stubborn farm owner who is a worthy opponent and eventual love interest for Tal, the ruler of Alsea. 

By Fletcher DeLancey,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Without a Front as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Alsea is fractured in the aftermath of war. So is its leader. Though devastated by a personal loss, Lancer Andira Tal must somehow stitch her world together and move it forward when all the rules have changed. Every decision is fraught with risk, and her enemies wait for her to stumble.

During a global debate over alien technology, Tal stuns the world when she accepts a challenge from her most vocal critic in the producer caste. By trading the staff of office for the tools of a field worker, she hopes to swing the producers to her side.

In the…


Book cover of Coming Home

Jae Why did I love this book?

Just from the book’s back cover description, I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did because any kind of cheating and love triangles are not my cup of tea in a romance novel. If you are the same, give this book a chance anyway. Jan—who cared for her husband for years—and the much-younger writer Terry never planned to fall in love, but when they do, the author handles it with complexity and integrity. It’s a book that will make you feel all the emotions the characters are going through. 

By Lois Cloarec Hart,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Coming Home as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A triangle with a twist, Coming Home is the story of three good people caught up in an impossible situation.

Rob, a charismatic ex-fighter pilot severely disabled with MS, has been steadfastly cared for by his wife, Jan, for many years. Quite by accident one day, Terry, a young writer/postal carrier, enters their lives and turns it upside down.

Injecting joy and turbulence into their quiet existence, Terry draws Rob and Jan into her lively circle of family and friends until the growing attachment between the two women begins to strain the bonds of love and loyalty, to Rob and…


You might also like...

Love, Sex, and Other Calamities: 15 Stories and a Poem by Ralph Hickok

By Ralph Hickok,

Book cover of Love, Sex, and Other Calamities: 15 Stories and a Poem by Ralph Hickok

Ralph Hickok Author Of Vagabond Halfback: The Saga of Johnny Blood McNally

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in Green Bay and my dad was the official scorer for the Packers, so I was immersed in pro football history even as a child. During my careers as a newspaper feature writer and editor and as an advertising copywriter, I also became a sports historian. My magnum opus was “The Encyclopedia of North American Sports History,” 650,000 words. But my favorite by far is my biography of Johnny Blood. I was 12 or 13 when I decided I wanted to write it, 33 when I began working on it, 38 when I finished it, and 78 when it was finally published.

Ralph's book list on the history of pro football

What is my book about?

From Kirkus Reviews: "This debut short-story collection paints the wistful life of a newspaper journalist as seen through his sexual and romantic encounters...

Throughout, Hickok writes in an assured style, pulling readers along. The narrow sexual focus results in a distorted picture, yet other aspects of Art's life emerge at the edges—his intelligence, his career as a journalist, and even the sincerity with which he gives in to his male urges and construes sex as love... 

Subdued yet alluring; a pensive reflection on the male psyche."

Love, Sex, and Other Calamities: 15 Stories and a Poem by Ralph Hickok

By Ralph Hickok,

What is this book about?

A man arrives in a new city, hoping to start a new life, but he’s still haunted by memories of past loves…
A 12-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl have a brief romantic encounter when their families are vacationing in neighboring lakeside cottages…
Two teenagers enjoy sexual experimentation when she babysits for her little brother while her parents are out drinking…
A high school boy has a crush on an older woman who identifies with Molly Bloom…
A college freshman falls in love with a high school freshman and is amazed at the depths of her passion…
A guy wins…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in love triangle, lesbian topics and characters, and the Appalachian Mountains?

11,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about love triangle, lesbian topics and characters, and the Appalachian Mountains.

Love Triangle Explore 74 books about love triangle
Lesbian Topics And Characters Explore 127 books about lesbian topics and characters
The Appalachian Mountains Explore 18 books about the Appalachian Mountains