thelesbianlibrary's Reviews (357)

Henrietta “Henri” Adams is no stranger to sapphism, having spent the last few years in Paris salons amongst the likes of Gertrude Stein and Natalie Barney. However, ever since arriving in New York, she has realized that being queer in America is a far cry from what she expected. Tasked with juggling her career as a “straight” art journalist with her true identity, Henri sets out to make a name for herself amongst prohibition-era gays. 

However, what she finds is unlike anything she had expected before. And once her best friend/mentor Crystal introduces her to the ways of New York lesbians Henri knows that she can never go back to the life she once led. Despite her family’s insistence that she move back to Utah and marry a respectable man, Henri is determined to succeed. However, she soon finds everything she thinks about her gender, sexuality, and self may not be as black and white as she has presumed. All the gay panic, sapphic yearning, and more in, Craze.  

I was blown away by how much I enjoyed this book! I had no idea what to expect going into it and what a treat it was. Although it is mainly a character-driven story the setting truly stood out. It may have been influenced by the fact I read this book while on a trip to New York but I could truly feel the glitz and glamour of the city. It was as though the author had managed to capture the once-in-a-lifetime world of the queer underground in the roaring 20s. Not to mention being told in second-person POV, which is challenging to do well. If you like intersectional history and flowery prose, you are in the right place! 

Henri’s experiences and loves while living in New York were a treat to read and resonate with me even today. She often discusses how she never truly felt at home with her family and has used the distance between them to cope with their disapproval of her. She also frequently feels that she does not know her true self, and questions the strict social guidelines in place. Her initial attraction to only femme lesbians or “violets”, is an experience I think a lot of lesbians can relate to. However, once she began to venture outside her “type” the confusion and dissatisfaction blossomed into experiencing her true self and desires. And by the end of the book Henri Adams was not the same naive sapphist that stepped off that boat in the best of ways. 

The setting of this story though truly sets this book apart. As she is an art writer it was thrilling to hear of Van Gogh and Georgia O’Keefe as if they were alive. This timeframe is also unique because of the prohibition, so people who otherwise would be strict law-abiding citizens were forced to “slum” with those who were already operating on the outskirts of society. The queer underground sparkled and came alive off the page as Henri experienced it. And the story takes place over many years, which allows the reader to grow alongside her. Although it was heartbreaking to watch Henri be fully integrated into the queer New York scene just for everything to fall apart as the Great Depression set in. I can admit that a few tears welled up in my eyes as I read the last few pages. 

The writing style was phenomenal and made this book stand out. I am not normally one for long chapters but the way each one felt like their own story and brought me through a different aspect of Henri’s life was refreshing. The use of second-person POV worked so well with Henri’s storytelling. It almost felt like the reader was interviewing Henri about her life in New York, which gave such a personal touch. I also really enjoyed how each chapter came to a close, with Henri again acknowledging the reader as one would at the end of a long story. She somehow managed to summarize what had happened and give context to why it was happening without taking the reader out of the book. Although it did take me two chapters to realize it, once I found the groove it was impossible not to appreciate this stylistically. 

All in all this dazzling account of 1920s queer life is an absolute must-read. From the queer found-family to grand questions regarding the rules of society you will be left in deep thought and appreciation. Not to mention wishing you could invent a time machine to watch a drag show at Frankie’s. If you like stunning personal prose and character studies you are in the right place. Happy reading! 

TW: Anxiety, homophobia, lesbiphobia, misogyny, misgendering, racism, police brutality, transphobia.

Thanks so much to Margaret Vandenburg for sending me this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

For more sapphic reviews follow @the.lebian.library on Instagram, StoryGraph, Goodreads, and Tiktok

Darcy LaCroix has always dreamed of becoming a hockey commentator and after winning three Olympic medals decides to retire from playing and finally give it a shot. She’s excited despite growing up in her dad’s shadow and is hopeful people finally will take her seriously. However, for the three years since she’s done little more than fetch coffee and fix typos. So when Darcy’s boss Raquel offers her an on screen segment at the Winter Olympics, she can’t believe her hard work is finally paying off…until Raquel mentions the catch. The network won’t green light the segment unless she co-hosts with her former teammate turned longtime rival Natalie Carpenter. Can Darcy set aside their past and work with Natalie towards their future? Or will the competition get the best of her?

Natalie Carpenter was robbed of her chance to lead her team to their second Olympic gold medal when she was cut from the roster during the final pick. Now 35 and jobless for the first time she is faced with reality, either figure something out fast or move back in with her parents. So when her agent calls with an offer to be on Wake Up USA at the Olympics she wearily agrees. However she nearly backs out once realizing the job also means spending all her time with the woman who broke her heart in college and beat her for gold twice. But Natalie needs this job and so she agrees despite the network tasking them to play up their flirty banter. Can Natalie keep her feelings for Darcy under control and make it through the month without losing it? Or will the sting of rejection and pain of old betrayals prove too much for her to handle? All the sports drama and more in Wake Up Nat & Darcy.

What a page turner! I blazed through this book in a day and given it’s over 300 pages that’s no easy feat. I really enjoyed the themes of forgiveness and autonomy and felt they were very present undertones to Natalie and Darcy’s romance. Natalie was a complex character who showcased how hurt can truly change and affect someone. Darcy was a relatable workaholic who measured everything life by her career. The chemistry between them was intense and jumped off the page with every sarcastic jab they took. The plot was a fun twist on the sports romance sub-genre that has been so popular recently. And the writing style was easy to understand with super short chapters. If you like intense emotions and competition, you are in for a treat!

Natalie was an absolute spitfire and was hilarious to read most of the time. However, using humor to mask her true emotions eventually led to much needed breaks in her armor. I admired how she consistently stood her ground against the T.V. network. She was the perfect grumpy opposite to Darcy’s polite and sweet demeanor. Plus her character arc aligned well with her personality and actions. Darcy is the type of character I relate to the most, the driven workaholic who sacrifices their personal relationships and wellbeing for a leg up in their career. I admired how self-aware Darcy became of this side of herself as she grew and started to take value in her non-work life as well. This is best shown through the way she is with everyone but Natalie, the only person she is truly able to speak her mind around. Eventually this begins to extend beyond Natalie and allows Darcy to start showing the world her true self, as impressive as she is.

The plot itself was interesting and unique. Although the book is a sports romance it focuses on the media aspect of it, rather than the actual playing. I enjoyed this fresh take and think it was a great choice for Darcy and Natalie to showcase their rivalry. As a competitive person myself I could relate to their jumping at every chance to win against eachother. It gave the story motion and set a natural scene for some hilarious scenarios. I think the stakes were high enough to keep it moving while not making it too tense for the romanc genre. It was lighthearted but didn’t skimp on the deeply moving emotional scenes to create a nice balanced read. The writing itself was very dialogue heavy and emphasized action scenes over long thoughts or flashbacks. Which helped with the pacing and resulted in a lot of showing over telling.

Although I did enjoy the book overall I do have a few critiques. I am not fan of miscommunication tropes, as I’ve stated before, and the entire plot of this book was due to a lack of communication. Although this was more believable than others I’ve read, it still left me a little too frustrated in places. I also wish either of the characters had identified as a “lesbian”. I think too many sapphic books feature people who fit the definition of a lesbian in every way but still skirt around the word and it makes me sad. And finally I think the book went a few chapters too long. I was kind of burnt out for the last 3 or 4 chapters and their story would have wrapped up just as nice without them. Obviously I like the ending, I just think a few scenes from the middle could be cut. Again, this is just my opinion and I still very much recommend the book so take my critiques with a grain of salt

. All in all this slow-burn rivals to lovers story has my recommendation stamp of approval. From the witty dialogue to the will they won’t they agony you will not want to put this down. Not to mention wishing you could tune into their show during the actual winter olympics. If you like the soulmates trope and sports antics, you are in the right place. Happy reading!

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Phera Ylir Mdana may have entered the infamous and prestigious Rynish marriage games but her goal is not to win the prince’s heart. Phera is there for her true love Rochelle, whose parents denied her proposal due to politics. Phera is sure if she wins the games, she will prove her worth as their daughter-in-law. Although she somewhat successfully juggles maintaining the audience’s favor while concealing her relationship and winning the increasingly difficult challenges. More than her pride is at stake as she notices something deeper and far more sinister brewing under the crown’s nose. 

Phera befriends Prince Dominic and with the help of Rochelle and Phera’s ally Hespin they begin to uncover the secrets lying in plain sight. But long-standing tensions reach a boiling point as they find themselves in the heart of a rivalry that is determined to end in bloodshed. Can they prevent a war while finding love and maintaining their facade? Or will politics and hatred win out in this magic-filled fantasy competition? Find out in, The Duchess of Kokora. 

I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would. The humor surprised me as Phera was incredibly witty and her comebacks were hilarious. I was also very nervous about a lesbian being written by a man but this was done well. The plot was enticing and flowed with the pacing. There were no obvious plot holes, the dialogue was natural, and the relationships had depth. I didn’t skim or get bored and the magic system was easy to understand. The writing was a little wordy but overall it painted a nice picture of the events and characters.

All in all, this is a solid read. It starts strong and carries the reader through magical duels, adventures, and scheming. From creating icy wonderlands with secret lovers to sprinting through burning buildings the action never stops. If you like sapphic fantasy with political strategy and quick-witted humor, you are in the right place. Happy reading!

TW: Anxiety, attempted murder, blood, bones, death, lesbiphobia, misogyny, poisoning, PTSD, war, and violence. 

Thanks so much to Prbythebook and Nikhil Prabala for sending me this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

For more sapphic reviews follow @the.lebian.library on Instagram, StoryGraph, Goodreads, and Tiktok