Three years ago I published a post about some of my favorite LGBTQ+ books at the time. (You can read that here if you’re interested.) And I figured since it’s been a while, I’ll take a look at some more books that I’ve enjoyed reading*.
*this list is in no particular order
GIRL, SERPENT, THORN by Melissa Bashardoust
This is the most recent book that I read which I found by specifically looking for sapphic fantasy novels. I’m going to be honest and say that I was a bit disappointed by the first half of the book, but mainly because I went into it expecting a prominent WLW romance. But by the end, I was glad that the romance wasn’t focused on too much. And that no one even makes a big fuss about the princess falling for another woman. These are the kind of books we need more of.
HEARTSTOPPER by Alice Oseman
When Netflix recommended HEARTSTOPPER, I thought I had already heard about it somewhere. Turns out it’s based on a comic previously posted to Tapas! I binged the first season and proceeded to buy Book 1. I’m usually not a huge fan of comics and graphic novel, but Oseman’s drawings are just adorable. I can’t really compare her style to anyone since I’m really no expert here. All I know is that I’m experiencing a bit of post-FOMO (is that a word?) and I wish I had been there when HEARTSTOPPER started out on Tapas.
SIX OF CROWS duology by Leigh Bardugo
My thoughts on this series are best explained by one word: Wesper. The pairing of Jesper and Wylan might not be the center of the story, but the few scenes that the two do share together are fantastic. I CANNOT wait to see them together in Season 2 of Shadow & Bone on Netflix. Just look at these two!
HERE’S TO US by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
It’s been so long since my last post about LGBTQ+ books that one of the picks on my original list got a sequel! HERE’S TO US continues the story of Ben and Arthur, but sadly this one falls a bit flat compared to the first one. It’s a bit of a long-winded will-they-won’t-they and a lot of the “conflict” could have been easily resolved. At the end of the day, this felt more like a cheesy YA romance novel that reminded me how awkward first love can be.
WAYWARD SON & ANYWAY THE WIND BLOWS by Rainbow Rowell
CARRY ON was another book on my previous list and this one got even 2 (!) sequels in the meantime. I liked WAYWARD SON for the most part, except that the ending lacked a proper resolution. Throughout the entire book, Simon and Baz are just incapable of talking about their feelings, and I thought they’d surely work it out by the end, but they didn’t. I guess Rowell needed something to lead into ANYWAY THE WIND BLOWS which, to be honest, read like a not-so-great fanfiction. I do appreciate the inclusion of gay sex in YA novels as I think that’s something that needs to be explored as well, but at times it felt like that was all the book is about.
Sarah Tanzmann 
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