18 New Sapphic Books You Need to Read from June 2025
The monthly post where I collect the most exciting sapphic releases from the last few weeks.
Every Pride Month, traditional publishers and indie authors pull out all the stops to give us some of the biggest LGBTQ+ releases of the year. 2025 is no different, with multiple major releases and literary darlings lining the shelves. This month, we begin with a bestselling memoir, then move on to June’s Good Morning America pick, sapphic vampires, and more.
So Gay for You: Friendship, Found Family, and the Show That Started It All by Leisha Hailey and Kate Moennig
The first of June’s bestselling sapphic books, So Gay For You is an intimate, hilarious memoir of art, friendship, and queerness by two stars of the long-running Showtime series about the lives and loves of a group of lesbians and bisexuals in Los Angeles.
Full of never-before-shared glimpses into the making of The L Word, Kate and Leisha's real-life loves and losses, and their status as queer icons, So Gay for You is, at its heart, a book about a deep meaningful connection with your ride or die and the gift of finding your chosen family.
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
If you haven’t heard of Atmosphere, I need you to listen carefully—go read this book, now. Hands down, Atmosphere is Book of the Year material. I already wrote a review about it. And from appearing on Good Morning America to USA Today, it’s clear that Atmosphere has propelled itself into the mainstream in a way that few sapphic or queer books ever have.
Astrophysics professor Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center. In NASA, Joan finds a purpose, unlikely friends, and a love she never imagined. Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
In the last decade, V.E. Schwab has proven herself to be a versatile and prolific writer of fantasy and science fiction. With a more literary bent and a focus on women’s struggles, sapphic vampire novel Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil appears to be a spiritual successor to her 2020 breakout success, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil tells the story of three women in three separate timelines. María from Santo Domingo de la Calzada in 1532. Charlotte from London in 1827, and Alice from Boston in 2019. This is a story about vampires. It is also a story about love, rage, and life—how it ends, and how it starts.
A Treachery of Swans by A.B. Poranek
With a cover illustrated by Aubrey Benjaminsen and a premise that I could die for, A Treachery of Swans is one of my most anticipated books of 2025—and now it’s finally out. A sapphic retelling of Swan Lake, A.B. Poranek’s newest novel promises to twist the relationship between Odile and Marie in a way that we’ve never seen before.
Raised by a sorcerer, Odile has spent years preparing for the heist of a lifetime. It’s perfectly simple. Impersonate a princess, infiltrate the palace, steal the king's enchanted crown and restore magic to the kingdom. But when the King is unexpectedly murdered, she’s forced to recruit the help of Marie d'Odette, the real princess, and the two begin to unravel a web of lies. Soon Odile must decide—her mission or the girl she’s falling for?
Lady’s Knight by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
You might recognize Amie Kaufman’s name from a place you didn’t expect—she’s one of the authors of The Illuminae Files, the experimental epistolary novel that made waves in the YA scene in the mid-2010s. Now she’s back with a new co-author and a fiercely funny medieval sapphic romp.
Gwen is sick of hiding—hiding her yearning for glory as a knight. When Lady Isobelle of Avington discovers Gwen’s knightly ambitions, they hatch a scheme together—Gwen will joust in the tournament of Dragonslayers disguised as Sir Gawain. Winning means freedom for Isobelle, and glory for Gwen. Losing means… well, let’s not go there.
Nobody in Particular by Sophie Gonzales
Princess Rosemary of Henland can’t afford distractions. She’s working tirelessly to repair her image following a scandal that lost the trust of both her country and her best friend. Unfortunately, when a beautiful and funny new student joins her boarding school, Rose finds herself quite distracted indeed.
When somebody sees something they shouldn’t and rumors circulate throughout Henland, Rose and Danni must either find a way to deflect the ever-increasing eyes on their relationship, or end it altogether. Because one thing is clear: if Rose’s fragile reputation takes any more hits, the palace will do whatever they must to separate Rose and Danni. Forever.
Ordinary Love by Marie Rutkoski
If you’re a reader of literary fiction, you’re going to want to pay attention to the next three novels. The first of these, Ordinary Love, is a page-turning, irresistible novel of class, ambition, and bisexuality—the breathtaking story of a woman risking everything for a second chance at her first love.
Emily has, by all appearances, a beautiful townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, two healthy children, and a husband who showers her with attention. But when Emily runs into her high school best friend, Gen, at a cocktail party, her old heartbreak comes roaring back.
Girls Girls Girls by Shoshana von Blanckensee
An achingly tender and resonant story of survival, first love, and growing up queer in the ’90s, Girls Girls Girls is a piercing exploration of the choices we make in the thrilling and often confounding search for ourselves and home.
Best friends (and secret girlfriends) Hannah and Sam are driving across the country to the fabled queer paradise of San Francisco, where they will finally be together as a real couple. But when financial strains push them to start stripping at The Chez Paree, their relationship takes a turn.
Palm Meridian by Grace Flahive
Spanning the course of a single day and seventy-odd years, and bursting with irresistible hope, humor, and wisdom, Palm Meridian celebrates the unexpected moments that make us feel the most alive inside a utopian home for queer women who want to revel in their twilight years.
As Hannah anxiously awaits the love of her life after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis, her mind casts back over the highs and lows of her kaleidoscopic life. But when a shocking secret from the past is revealed, Hannah must reconsider if she can say goodbye after all.
Black Salt Queen by Samantha Bansil
Hara Duja Gatdula, queen of the island nation of Maynara, holds the divine power to move the earth. But her strength is failing and the line of succession gives her little comfort. Her heir, Laya, is a danger—a petty and passionate princess who wields the enormous power of the skies with fickle indifference.
Circling the throne is Imeria Kulaw—the matriarch of a traitorous rival family who wields recklessly enhanced powers of her own—with designs to secure a high-ranking position for her son and claim the crown for her family. Each woman has a secret weakness—a lover, a heartbreak, a lie. But each is willing to pay the steepest price to bring down her rivals once and for all.
Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove
Demeter just wants to do her job: shuttling humans between Earth and Alpha Centauri. Unfortunately, her passengers keep dying—and not from equipment failures, as her AI medical system, Steward, would have her believe. These are paranormal murders, and they began when one nasty, ancient vampire decided to board Demeter and kill all her humans.
To keep from getting decommissioned, Demeter must join forces with her own team: A werewolf. An engineer built from the dead. A pharaoh with otherworldly powers. A vampire with a grudge. A fleet of cheerful spider drones. Together, this motley crew will face down the ultimate evil—Dracula.
The Two Lies of Faven Sythe
The Black Celeste is a ghost story. Only famed pirate Bitter Amandine knows better, and she’ll do anything to never go near it again. No matter the cost. When her mentor disappears, Faven Sythe is determined to find the truth. And only Amandine has the answers.
What they will find is a conspiracy bigger than either of them. Their quest for the truth will uncover secrets Amandine has long fought to keep buried – secrets about how she survived her last encounter in the Clutch, and what’s really hidden out there amongst the stars...
The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses by Malka Older
In the third installment of The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti, a former classmate begs Pleiti for help on behalf of her cousin―who’s up for a prestigious academic position at a rival Jovian university but has been accused of plagiarism on the eve of her defense―and Pleiti agrees to travel alongside her and investigate the matter.
Even if she has to do it without Mossa, her partner in more ways than one. Even if she’s still reeling from Mossa’s sudden isolation and bewildering rejection. Yet what appears to be a case of an attempted reputational smearing devolves into something decidedly more dangerous―and possibly deadly.
If We Survive This by Racquel Marie
Flora Braddock Paz is not the girl who survives. A colorful creative who spends as much time fearing death as she does trying to hide that fear from her loved ones, she’s always considered herself weak. But half a year into the global outbreak of a rabies mutation that transforms people into violent, zombielike "rabids," she and her older brother Cain are still alive.
With their mom dead, their dad missing, and their LA suburb left desolate, they form a new plan to venture out to the secluded Northern California cabin they vacationed in growing up―their best chance at a safe haven and maybe even seeing their dad again. Along the way, they encounter familiar faces, new allies, hidden truths, and painful family memories.
I Can Fix Her by Rae Wilde
I Can Fix Her is a fascinating new sapphic horror novel with a surreal twist about an obsessive woman who stumbles upon a second-chance romance with her flighty paramour, but it quickly deteriorates into a dark spiral of destruction.
Johnny spots her ex, Alice, at the local cafe with a vague sense that she’s been there before. Though she’s still angry about their breakup, Johnny can’t resist the draw of a second shot. Over the course of a week, increasingly bizarre changes in the world force Johnny to consider whether the pair can change just as easily, if they can change at all.
Green-Eyed Monster by Rawnie Sabor
Indie romance mega-hit Rawnie Sabor returns with a new paranormal BDSM sapphic enemies-to-lovers romance about a witch and a demon. There’s nothing Vex hates more than witches, and brilliant, gorgeous, untouchable Angela Norwood is the most detestable witch of all.
But others have noticed the clever witch of Chains. Enemies beyond the Court have taken an interest in her secretive work, and suddenly, Vex has a choice to make. Let the threat to the Chains go undisturbed. Or wreak havoc on the people who’d dare threaten the object of her obsession.
By Her Sword: A Sapphic Fantasy Romance Anthology
Brought to you by the same awesome team that debuted last year’s The Pull of the Tide (another sapphic romantasy anthology), By Her Sword features twelve swashbuckling adventures spanning a variety of settings, from the distant magical past to the speculative galactic future.
I don’t often feature anthologies on my monthly round-ups, but with a promising list of writers and over four hundred pages, By Her Sword looks like a great place to discover a hidden gem—whether that be ex-lovers getting a second chance or a confident gladiator melting the frozen heart of an ice princess.
Damsels and Dinosaurs by Wren Jones
I’ll admit it—Damsels and Dinosaurs is mostly on this list because I’ve always had a soft spot for dinosaurs (I wanted to be a paleontologist when I was a kid), and I’ve never seen a sapphic book that featured dinosaurs at the forefront. Until now.
When Poppy arrives at her aunt’s strange island, she finds more questions than answers. The bees defy expectations, the farm is full of ancient creatures, and her aunt’s secrets run deeper than she originally suspected. So it’s just her luck when her grumpy ex-girlfriend Athena arrives too.
Do you already have any of these releases on your TBR? Is there any I’m missing that you really liked or looked forward to? Let me know in the comments below!