In the comments to the entry about the discrimination of the Romance Writers Ink published writers contest, DreadPirateRachel and Keri asked for a Good Shit vs. Shit to Avoid for f/f romance, or, in other words, lesbian romances.
Keri commented, “It's easy to find m/m, but I'm having a really hard time with f/f, especially fluffier kinds. I love Sarah Waters and Emma Donoghue, who are always suggested, but their writing tends to be more literary and heavy and less “romance novel”, and when I try to find others, I often just come across erotica meant for the male gaze. 🙁
(also a lot of f/f romance that I find are older YA novels that are less about the romance as they are about GLBT Issues, which is frustrating. I've seen plenty of m/m stories that aren't Issue novels and are more in the vein of what I think of as traditional romance, but not f/f. help help help! i love romance novels, but I want some that better reflect my own identity sometimes!)”
DreadPirateRachel added, “Yes, please! I'd love to read some good f/f romances, and I've been searching for some erotica (ANY erotica) that features f/f/m. It seems like all group-sex erotica is m/m/f. Not that there's anything wrong with that (far from it), but I'd like to see some quality examples of women deriving pleasure from each other.”
Two that I can cautiously recommend, one by someone else's reading and one from my own: Ash, by Malinda Lo [ A | BN | K S] and Wildthorn, by Jane Eagland [ A | BN | K S ].
A friend of mine read Ash and really enjoyed it – it's a lesbian retelling of the Cinderella myth, though in the world in which two women fall in love, homosexuality and heterosexuality aren't dividing concepts.
I read Wildthorn awhile ago. It's a Victorian-set YA novel about a girl who is committed to an asylum because she is determined to reject the roles and limitations of women. The title character, Louisa, can be really boneheaded, but her relationship during the course of the story (I don't want to give away too much) is incredibly sweet and a beautiful thing in the middle of a hellish institution.
But both these novels are YA, and don't focus on the romance as the primary plot of the novel.
So, bring it on: which f/f romances have you enjoyed? Were there lesbian heroines or secondary characters in a book you loved recently? We need recommendations of awesome romances featuring women loving other women.
Alyssa Linn Palmer has a new book…Prohibited Passion, which you can find on Amazon, from Bandit Creek Books…it’s not QUITE got an HEA, but it’s a very good story…and I suspect there will be a sequel…there has to be a sequel…
It’s YA, but “A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend” by Emily Horner is terrific. It’s pretty sad at times, mostly because the heroine’s mourning her best friend, not because of her attraction to girls. The romance is very well-done, too.
I only meant to say “pretty” one time. Also, there is a ninja musical.
It’s In Her Kiss by Elizabeth Dean is a fairly (from what I recall—it’s been six or seven years since I read it) light and laughing lesbian romance. It’s kind of “The L Word” lite; there’s drama and scandal, but not enough to tip it over into melodrama.
I too thought Ash was a little sketchy and vague. Malinda Lo’s second YA novel, Huntress, was really good, and the love between the two girls, Taisin and Kaede, felt much more real.
Empress of the World, by Sara Ryan, is a YA novel I remember fondly because it totally captured the feeling of falling in love. That it was a girl falling in love with a girl was almost incidental.
One story I’d recommend that hasn’t been mentioned is “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Crystal Jordan, a f/f/m shapeshifter romance, with a female MC who identifies as bisexual. I also enjoyed de Lully’s “La Bonne” and Kirsten Saell’s “Bound By Steel,” which were already listed.
Ninja musical? Sold!
When it comes to GS, try Black Blade Blues and Honeyed Words, the first two stories in J.A. Pitts’ urban fantasy series that has a hefty dose of romance. (Third book Forged in Fire is due out this spring.) The main character Sarah is a blacksmith who reforges a magic sword and trouble ensues, dragons, duplicitous dwarfs, Valkyries, yes, Valkyries.) The series is more coming of age than romance, but it’s no YA and the romance is a good portion of the book because Sarah is very young emotionally and hasn’t dealt with her personal problems, such as becoming comfortable with her sexuality and issues of anger and shame. So the romance is a huge part of her character journey. Here’s a link to Pitts’ web site: http://www.japitts.net/ It also was short listed for a Spectrum http://www.spectrumawards.org/… – which is a good site for GLBTQ SF/F books.
Definitely anything by Radclyffe – When Dreams Tremble is particularly good. Her Honor series is fantastic as well, though not strictly romance. Also Gerry Hill.
Patience and Sarah by Isabel Miller is also a fave, though I don’t know if it’s still in print.
Wow, where to start in terms of women loving women stories?
Put Away Wet, Of Drag Kings and the Wheel of Fate & The Burning Dream by Susan Smith
Starting From Scratch, Finding Home, Fresh Tracks, by Georgia Beers
Punk Like Me, Punk and Zen, Red Light, American Goth, X, by JD Glass
All That Matters, Arbor Vitae, any and all of the I Found My Heart In San Francisco by SX Meagher
Such A Pretty Face, Remember Tomorrow, The Caretakers Daughter, by Gabrielle Goldsby
The Celaeno Series and the Lyremouth Chronicles by Jane Fletcher
And that’s just a start…
Thanks for the shout out, Cathy! I appreciate being included in the company you’ve listed.
Definitely going to chime in with the recommendation for The Dark Wife; I think it was one of my favorite reads of last year, period. I would also mention that the author writes adult lesbian fiction under a different pen name, Elora Bishop. I’m not entirely sure why, because there is not a significant difference (I would compare her to Mercedes Lackey in regards to tone and heat level) between the two. I mention because her other lesbian stories (at least the ones I’ve read—Cage the Darlings and One Solstice Night) are excellent.
THE pulp classic – Ann Bannon’s “Odd Girl Out”!
Darlene: You’re so right about Well of Loneliness and that tragic ending angle continued to some degree with the paperback sleaze era that followed, post-1950.
To everyone: Wow! What wonderful and plentiful suggestions. While I have a number of the books mentioned, I’m going to have one hellava TBR pile, thanks to this discussion!
May I mention my erotic romance novel, Story of L? As the name implies, it recasts Story of O as a contemporary lesbian leather novel. A love story is central, but a word to the wise: its advanced BDSM practices might squick, ala YMMV. Preview here: http://www.ravenousromance.com…
I read a reprint of a 50’s lesbo pulp novel called “A World of Women” by Carol Caine. Did NOT like it. Maybe I’m too far removed from the time period to connect with the pulp style of writing and references?
Anyone read “The Middle Mist” (later republished as “The Friendly Young Ladies”) by Mary Renault? I loved her historical fiction—especially her trilogy about Alexander the Great (and “The Persian Boy” is one of the greatest romances I’ve ever read, period—it’s the second book in the trilogy and told from the POV of Bagoas, the Persian eunuch who was Alexander’s lover).
I’m truly honored, Rebekah. Thank you.
I just read a review of Getting There by Lyn Denison, a lesbian romance, on a lesbian book blog (The Lesbrary) that might be a really good resource for other lesbian romances, too.
Nicola Griffith’s Aud trilogy (“The Blue Place”, “Stay”, and “Always”) are so utterly phenomenal that I don’t have words to describe them. She’s also written a couple of SF novels (“Ammonite”; “Slow Rive”r).
Kelly Eskridge’s SF novel “Solitaire”.
L-J Baker’s fantasy novels “Adijan and her Genie” and “Promises, Promises”.
Laurie Marks’ Elemental Logic fantasy series (“Fire Logic”, “Water Magic”, “Earth Magic”)
Georgia Beers for romance.
Ooh. I am so excited to answer this question.
Here’s the good shit:
(1) Parties in Congress – Colette Moody. SERIOUSLY IT IS AWESOME. Here is why: it is snarky and hilarious, the characters aren’t Xena / Gabrielle in disguise, there are no uncomfortable sex scenes, and there’s no nonsensical secret pain to deal with. It’s a great book, and I laughed my ass off reading it (and not because it was terri-bad).
(2) Babyji – Abha Dawesar. Not precisely a romance novel, but an interesting lesbian novel nonetheless. Deals with coming-of-age in India in the 1980s. (I read this in college and really liked it).
(3) Backwards to Oregon – Jae. Long-ass historical novel. Its protagonist, Luke, is a woman living as a man, who hopes to make it to Oregon and have a farm and do all sorts of cool shit. Luke meets Norah, a prostitute with a child, and proposes to her in hopes of having her provide a reliable cover for his manhood along the trail. Spoiler alert, they fall in love – but it’s not like they’re instamarried and their relationship takes a lot of work and time and trust. It’s a good one. And there’s a sequel.
(4) Waiting in the Wings – Melissa Brayden. This shit was like crack to me because it is about two women who fall in love while performing in a national tour of a Broadway musical.
(5) And Playing the Role of Herself- K.E. Lane. Same sort of premise as Waiting in the Wings, but they’re in a crime drama together. Good, though the ending is disappointing.
(6) Jericho – Ann McMan. Small-town librarian meets small-town doctor. Mostly a will they / won’t they, and it’s pretty obviously a Xena-uber (but that’s ok – it’s still a good read).
(7) Kim Baldwin and Xenia Alexiou have a series of books – Elite Operatives – which are about spies falling in love. They’re pretty excellent suspense / thrillers, which have a heavy romance element.
(8) If you read mysteries: J. M. Redmann’s Micky Knight series is pretty awesome, ditto Katherine Forrest’s Kate Delafield series. Laurie R. King also has a mystery series with a lesbian cop – they start with “A Grave Talent”.
(9) Also, I kind of have a soft spot for Radclyffe. I like her Honor series (“Above All, Honor”, “Honor Bound,” etc).
I can post more about shit to avoid if you want recs. But, to that end, my girlfriend and I recently started a romance novel review blog, and you can check it out here: lezread.blogspot.com
A historical f/f/m that I know of is Wallflowers Don’t Wilt by Raven McAllan.
Carey seems to be firmly embedded in SFF-land, but it is most definitely an F/F romance and the sequel is more (and less angsty) of the same.
I enjoyed both books. The second one is a little more Pollyanna, but I like a book without too much conflict some of the time. Also, they’re both well-written and the characters are appealing.
Thoroughly seconded. Nicola Griffith rocks.
If you can deal with the BDSM aspect, the Kushiel books by Jacqueline Carey are great. Alternate history, semi-fantasy set in a France/Europe analogue, but great character, good writing and plotting. And the heroine is very even-handed in her amours. 🙂
I’m an author that participated in a special call series from Noble Romance Publishing.
Lesbians vs Zombies-The Musical Revue.
Short stories from different authors writing everything from fun and dark to full on adventurous.
I hope this wasn’t considered rude or bad form to mention the series, if so please delete and accept my apologies. I just saw so many comments that mentioned they had a hard time finding lesbian themed stories.
I can’t speak for all in the series, but for most of us, the stories aren’t about being lesbian whatsoever, but rather our heroines happen to be kick butt heroes!
Anything by Fiona Zedde is good. Her writing is sexy and contemporary. The books are all romance and hot sex with some issues thrown in for plot’s sake.