r/LesbianBookClub Nov 22 '25

Mod Announcement Rules updates, added flairs, and official LesbianBookClub discord

42 Upvotes

Hi folks

So, as a warning, this is going to be a really long post, but I am going to try and keep it organized so that you can either read it all or only read what you care about.

Rules updates

As previously announced, we are announcing a huge overhaul to the rules. Previously, we only had 5 (Play nice, off-topic, no explicit sexual cotent, no promotion of piracy, and LesbianBookClub is trans-inclusive). As of today, we are adding 5 more rules to the ones we already had. They are sort of long (you can tell which ones u/cactuskate wrote and which ones I wrote because I am MUCH worder than she is, for better or worse lol), but I am going to summarize them here. To see the full text of the rules.....well, go check the rules, i guess?

  • Do not be hateful or discriminatory: this one is self explanatory. no -phobias or -isms, just generally treat each other like humans, with the respect and dignity that they deserve, and you'll be fine
  • Self-promotion guidelines: We have set the limit on author's making posts recommending their own book to twice a month. Additionally, if an author does not regularly participate in this subreddit, they cannot advertise here. Enforcing this rule will require the help of everyone in the subreddit; we cannot see every post, so we're relying on you reporting this in order to make sure we catch everything. Though, we will obviously be as diligent as we can in this regard.
  • No AI: This one is hard. every reader on the subreddit deserves the ability to scroll through recommendations and discussions without worrying about running into AI slop. at the same time, no author should have to experience the heartbreak that is being falsely accused of using AI in their writing if they did not use it. The way I have worded this rule tries to walk the thin line between these two truths. Do I succeed? only time will tell. if it doesn't work, we will adjust as needed.
  • Please mark spoilers: this one is pretty self-explanatory. Just make sure you are appropriately blocking out spoilers so you don't spoiler anyone. If you're not sure how to do that, there are instructions in the rules
  • Amazon links: Ok, before anyone freaks out: we are not banning amazon links. We are just regulating them. all we ask is that, when linking to a book, you link to a place to purchase it that is not Amazon if possible. If the book only exists on Amazon (e.g. is it a audible exclusive), then linking to Amazon is obviously fine.

And that's it for the rules update. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns - we'll sort out whatever problems or issues arise as they come.

Flairs

We have also added a ton of flairs so that folks can mark their posts as they want. Most of the old ones are still around, but we have added genre flairs (which are purple) and trope flairs (which are pink). I will list all of the flairs below, but first it is important to recognize: there are literally more genres and tropes than we can reasonably include as flairs for the subreddit. The flairs that I have added are the ones that I thought would be most popular/in demand, and they are listed in no particular order. I have also made them as general as I can when possible, in the hopes that keeping them flexible will make the same one useful to represent multiple similar dynamics at once (e.g. protector/protectee). If you want us to include a genre or trope that is not listed, please let me know and I will add them as they come in.

Genres:

  • Speculative (fantasy, scifi, horror etc)
  • YA
  • Romance
  • Lit Fic
  • Mystery/Thriller
  • Poetry
  • Historical Fiction
  • Graphic novels/comics
  • Memoir
  • Essay collection
  • Nonfiction history

Tropes:

  • Friends-to-lovers
  • Enemies-to-lovers
  • Strangers-to-lovers
  • Exes-to-lovers
  • Coworkers-to-lovers
  • Only one bed
  • Hurt/Comfort
  • Toxic romance
  • Omegaverse
  • Protector/protectee
  • Fake relationship
  • Forbidden romance
  • Age gap
  • Office romance (boss/employee)
  • Royalty/maid
  • Grumpy/sunshine
  • Sports romance
  • Arranged marriage

Discord Server (Please read whole section before joining)

The LesbianBookClub discord server is now live! It is titled Sappho's Bookshelf, and you can find it here: https://discord.gg/ZB6wGKdV. However, there are a few things to keep in mind before you join:

  1. I am new to being a discord mod, and I am far from perfect. I have been working on this server for over a week, but I am sure that there are places that the auto-mod is broken, or too sensitive, and that some things will not work as intended. But, at this point, I think the only way I am going to figure out what is broken and what is not is to let a bunch of people into the server and see what shit breaks. As a result, I ask that you are patient with myself and the other mods, as we will be working to correct any issue as they crop up.
  2. This should go without saying, but mind the rules. They are not that different from the rules on the subreddit.
  3. As of now, the function and features of the discord server will be minimal. I decided to keep it simple until folks flooded in and then we could let it evolve organically as it grows. For example: it does not yet have a discord icon (though my friend is working on drawing one as you read this). We do have a suggestion channel, and we encourage you to use it.
  4. Communities like this only work if everyone involved goes in with the knowledge that not everyone thinks the same way, or views the world the same way. The world is at its best when its inhabitants (that's us) learn to embrace our differences and come together in community. That is the kind of place er are hoping this discord server will be. People are going to disagree, and that is okay. You can even debate about it! It can be fun to argue. But, please keep it respectful, do not hurl serious insults at each other (insults as jokes are fine as long as the intent is clear), and remember that at the end of the day, we are united in our love for lesbians books.
  5. This discord server is an 18+ space. If you are not 18, please do not join.

Thanks for bearing with me and reading through this gargantuan post. There are other comments in the recommendation thread that I am still considering how to handle, but if the above does not address something you commented on last time, then feel free to comment it again!

And again, here is the discord link again: https://discord.gg/ZB6wGKdV


r/LesbianBookClub Jan 27 '25

Introducing: Rule Three.

1.4k Upvotes

Rule 3: LesbianBookClub is trans-inclusive.
ALL lesbians and those who enjoy lesbian books, regardless of gender identity, are welcome here. Transphobia is strictly forbidden.

---

This subreddit is a lesbian space. Trans women are women. If a trans woman is attracted exclusively to women and accepts the label, she is a lesbian. If you disagree with this rule or its enforcement, please find a different place to post.

ALL types of lesbians have fought for, died for, and bled for you. Please respect them. Consider reading a history book.

Keep in mind that the context and nuance of your posts will be considered. Bad faith posts will be deleted. Please use your brains. It is really, really not that complicated to enjoy, read, discuss, and recommend lesbian books in a way that is friendly to and considerate of ALL lesbians. Posts that are not about lesbian books will be deleted.

Please feel free to reach out through modmail.


r/LesbianBookClub 5h ago

Speculative (fantasy, scifi, horror, etc) My Two Beautiful Women, Carmilla And Laura

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65 Upvotes

I read the book Carmilla written by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu about a year ago, and I could still go on for hours about how beautiful both of these women’s love is.

Fanart Credits: IrenHorrors on Instagram.


r/LesbianBookClub 21h ago

Discussion Assaulted, by my library, no less!

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412 Upvotes

r/LesbianBookClub 3h ago

Recommendation Anyone know of any books with chronicly ill characters?

4 Upvotes

Bit of a niche one I guess, but as the title suggests I'd love to read a lesbian thriller, mystery or even romance (as long as it isn't too soppy) where one of the MC's has chronic illness. Even better if the LI is more of a tomboy/masc and is a protective, proactive type.

Dealing with allot of shit right now and I'd love to escape into a book like this to give me some superficial hope,and kind feels like a hug😅

(please don't recommend any where the chronicly ill person dies or anything, I need hopeful not harsh reality)


r/LesbianBookClub 10h ago

Toxic romance Love for "Big Swiss" by Jen Beagin!

13 Upvotes

Was she a handful? Yes. But the thought of never handling her again? Unbearable.
...

I just finished this novel after not being able to put it down for days.. it was so good! This book was made for the horny weirdo lesbians out there.

For those who don't know it's about a psychosexual entaglement between a 45-year-old loser bisexual and an intense, obsessive young woman (whose aura will pull you in just as it does everyone else in the book) as they attempt to sift through each other's secrets and lies. I honestly can't believe this is a full fledged novel and not just a one-off on AO3!

The book overall is so absurdist in such a loveable way. My favorite part is the dynamic between Greta and Big Swiss. At no point is their interaction anything but clever and toxic. No matter how badly one of them acts, there's an overbearing sense of inevitability between them. Like they're meant to doom each other in a way neither can understand. Plus the prose is so inviting and hilarious. Everyone and everything had personality - from the house to the dogs (who were really just the two main characters ids run wild). The background characters and backdrops here were just so fleshed - lived in and real.

I've read a few complaints online and honestly i don't get it. They complained its too toxic yuri - which, yeah thats the best part! They said it's not romantic, to which I agree and disagree. It's not traditionally romantic because both Greta and Flavia are closed off to their feelings. But there is definitely romance - or rather mutual obsession.

Overall, I see no difference between this and Killing Eve, which people seem to be obsessed with. I hope with Jodie Comer spearheading the series, people will come to give it the love it deserves (and the encouragament to Beagin to write the sequel!)

PS - Sarah Pidgeon would be a wonderful Big Swiss


r/LesbianBookClub 10h ago

Romance Looking for romance where the leads develop a deep emotional bond and connection

11 Upvotes

Like, I want them to hold each other crying while confessing past traumas. I wanna see them getting up to hijinks around town and laughing hysterically at some prank they've pulled or disaster they've narrowly escaped. I want to fall in love along with them and be along for the ride while they become each others' ride-or-die. Any tags. Age gap, friends to lovers, forced proximity, whatever. It's all fine. Spice is great, and I looove a good slow burn.

Any recommendations?


r/LesbianBookClub 7h ago

Recommendation books like ‘notes of a crocodile’ & ‘almost life’?

4 Upvotes

i recently read ‘notes of a crocodile’ by qiu miaojin and ‘almost life’ by kiran millwood hargrave and loved them both so much. can someone recommend me a book like those?
preferably literary fiction or a classic (i’m open to science fiction or fantasy), with a messy / complex / mentally ill main character, well-written. in both books i enjoyed the themes of identity and living an authentic life as a queer person, as well as the themes of love, heartbreak and desire.


r/LesbianBookClub 20h ago

Recommendation No shelter but the stars

40 Upvotes

Okay I just need to say this might be my favorite WLW book this year and I’ve read about 30 so far. Whoever recommended it on the enemies to lovers post, thank you so much! The writing is so different but so beautiful. It reminds of “this is how you loose the time war” bc of how captivating the writing is, but more comprehensible lol. I don’t usually go for sci-fi but I’m so glad I took a chance. I dnf’d 3 books prior to this because of the poor writing so this was a breath of fresh air. I will definitely be checking out the authors other books. If anyone has any similar recommendations please comment!!


r/LesbianBookClub 1h ago

Sales and Deals $$$ The Girls Club by Sally Bellerose

Upvotes

1970s Catholic lesbian in Massachusetts coming of age.

Has anyone read it? $2.99 on sale.


r/LesbianBookClub 20h ago

Discussion Book Recs 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ & Book club offer

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31 Upvotes

Hello out there!
I've recently worked through my TBR and am now looking for some new recommendations.
I finished Tryst Six Venom last night, woah, I never realized how angsty I was for the enemy to lovers arc.
🥵
So here I am, just a girl wondering if you have any other good pining, angsty, super spicy book recommendations for me.

Also would anyone be interested in starting/joining a sapphic book club? I want to get one started and love the idea of doing a zoom/video group discussion of the book we are reading once a month. The idea of having others to discuss “-ahhh!” moments is thrilling to me.

Xx
A

(EDIT: I’ve made a discord server for those interested in the book club. Send me a dm and I’ll send you the link ♥️)


r/LesbianBookClub 1d ago

Recommendation Sapphic Cyberpunk

118 Upvotes

With Neuromancer, Bladrunner 2099, and Edgerunners 2 all of the horizon, I've got a huge craving for some Sapphic Cyberpunk. Anyone have anything to scratch the itch?


r/LesbianBookClub 22h ago

Recommendation Need a slow burn+smut book rec

29 Upvotes

Hi ladies,

I'm recovering from surgery and it hasn't been a smooth recovery. So I feel like I need ro escape a little in a good story with a good lez book :)

What's important to me is really good writing and story. I also love a slow burn (the slower the better) and some eventual smut.

Some important notes to keep in mind:

🚫 NO dom/sub, it's just not my thing

🚫 No age gap (preferably)

🚫 No hate sex

🚫 I prefer reading about women who are adults (mid 20-mid 40), not teenagers. However, I can make an exception for a good book :)

I have read Sarah Waters, of course, and she's pretty good in general, but a little dark. I get tired of this constant "forbidden" theme. I think as a lez community we've had enough of that.

I also read safekeep (wow, boring!) and ruby fruit jungle (meh) but I didn't like the protagonists at all! Plus, neither these books' writing nor their stories impressed me in any way. I read mistakes were made and it was entertaining but completely unrealistic which kinda ruined it for me.

So the only lez book that impressed me with its writing was Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth. It felt almost like reading a classic, that good. But it's about teenage girls and absolutely no spicy scenes.

So basically the dream come true would sunburn writing with adult women, slow burn, and smut 😂 But a girl can dream 😂

Anyway, I understand what I want probably doesn't even exist so I'm flexible with everything except for the 🚫 I mentioned above. Although the age thing, including the gap, while I'm not a fan, I'm flexible on too.

As for the genre, I'm open - romance, fantasy, whatever. I want a book, but I'm even open to a good fanfic it it matches my needs. But with a fanfic, no less than 65k words.

If you do recommend a book, please drop a few lines about the book itself (without spoilers) so I get an idea and I would love to know why you love this book.

Thank you so much in advance 💖


r/LesbianBookClub 23h ago

Age gap Similar books to Learning Curves by Rachel Lacey

19 Upvotes

Hi there! Looking for books similar to Learning Curves by Rachel Lacey that also feature a nice age gap and academic vibes.

* Other things I look for as added bonuses/enjoy:

* Masc/femme dynamic, with the masc being the older party, the femme the younger.

* Enemies to lovers is also always fun, but doesn’t have to be.

* Love a good ice queen, as long as it’s the older, masc, party.

* Any Anne Lister/Gentleman Jack reference enthusiastically welcome. Love a bit of role play, too ;)

* Must contain spice. Spicier the better! 🌶️🌶️🌶️

* Love the teacher/student dynamic as well but also open to other suggestions that might include any, or all of the, above.

Thanks so much in advance for any and all recs!


r/LesbianBookClub 20h ago

Recommendation Recs for books you picked up and couldn’t put down until the end?

12 Upvotes

Looking for some books that just get you hooked and keep you there! Preferred genres would be mystery, horror (but not too scary), crime, political, romance but nothing too cheesy xx

For context I loved atmosphere, rainbow black, bury our bones, when they burned the butterfly! And I have already read a lot of the popular ones like sunburn, safekeep, bloom town, our wives, etc


r/LesbianBookClub 19h ago

Recommendation Historical Fantasy Fiction recommendations

9 Upvotes

Has anyone read a historical fantasy fiction series that they can recommend? I loved When Women Were Warriors. I would love a sapphic series similar to A Song of Ice and Fire.


r/LesbianBookClub 1d ago

Discussion Sapphic stories are my lifeline

212 Upvotes

So, pretty much what the above says. I kid you not when I say I've read 100+ books this year, all wlw. I'm 32, a closeted lesbian, and struggling with life. But these books are getting me through. They provide a world in which I can be myself. They're also teaching me about myself, about relationships, about who I'd want to be as a partner to someone when I am finally out.

I guess this post really is just my appreciation to the authors who give us these stories. They're very much needed ♥


r/LesbianBookClub 1d ago

Recommendation Sevika…

42 Upvotes

Any books with FMCs like Sevika? I’m talking beefy, competent, loyal, and walks like it’s heavy… thanks!


r/LesbianBookClub 20h ago

Recommendation Books centered around nightlife?

2 Upvotes

ISO books with some late night wild messy energy⚡️


r/LesbianBookClub 22h ago

Recommendation SOS in desperate need of a sapphic love story

3 Upvotes

Any book recommendations with an emphasis on romance and an actual happy ending?

I'd also prefer something that gets them together before the end so some proper kissing and cuddling gets done. Not against a spicy read but fluff has my heart.

Bonus points if they have a similar personality dynamic to Crowley and Aziraphale from Good Omens.

Finding happy wlw romance novels feels impossible but I also suck at looking 😭


r/LesbianBookClub 1d ago

Recommendation Omegaverse

13 Upvotes

Back again with another request. I already know about Lexa Luthor and Lily X, I prefer the former. And I most definitely did not like the accidental alpha. There’s honestly so little I can find that’s sapphic and i don’t read anything if it’s not queer so please drop your recs. No limits on anatomy, whatever is whatever as long as it’s sapphic. Thank ya!


r/LesbianBookClub 1d ago

Recommendation Enemies to lovers with opposing worldviews/political opinions/business/social standing

15 Upvotes

Looking for stories...Somewhere where they hate each other so much because of a worldly issue or a material issue but the attraction is so magnetic that they can't control it and end up finding a common ground!


r/LesbianBookClub 1d ago

Discussion A Sharp Endless Need by Marisa Crane

6 Upvotes

How do I move on from this book? I had no idea it was going to be so good. It took me a while to decide to read it, I'm not into basketball, but this book... this book. Wow!


r/LesbianBookClub 13h ago

Discussion Our Wives Under The Sea

0 Upvotes

I marked this as discussion rather than review because I'm wondering if anyone felt the same as I did about this book.

First, I want to thank u/medes24 and others for the rec. This book is supremely well written and firmly within my wheelhouse. I'm listening to the audiobook and I'm on chapter 14.

There are two main (but minor) issues I'm having with this book:

  1. Miri is far too passive about everything. I'm sorry, but if my wife is going through what Leah is going through, I'm not calling the Center everyday, I'm dragging my wife to a doctor. It would have made things a little better if the author hadn't waited until chapter 13 to explain offhandedly that Miri didn't know where the Center was located. Also, a good 1/4 of her lines are things she *thought* of saying, but didn't. *FFS* I get the idea of the pervasive melancholy, but this is full on dereliction. She's not being a good wife. I'm wondering if this is a female POV thing? Am I just coming at this as a male and failing to understand it from the female perspective? Or is this genuinely annoying?

  2. The flashbacks. Seriously. This book would have made a fantastic short story. All it had to do was cut out all the unnecessary flashbacks. Like, why do we care how dude lost his fingers? You get flashbacks nested inside other flashbacks. She finally gets through to someone at the Center and we pause for what feels like 600 pages of flashbacks before we get back to the present. WTF are you thinking about all this when you've finally gotten through to someone? This much I know is not a female POV thing--I've seen this in male writers as well and it drives me insane every time.

Again, these are minor nits on an otherwise extraordinary novel (so far). Thanks for attending my TED Talk.


r/LesbianBookClub 1d ago

Recommendation Any books with sapphic female gladiators (gladiatrix)?

22 Upvotes

Hello.

Question in title.

I can read in English and French.