Recs if you like The Night of Baba Yaga...

every struggled to find actual lesbian/sapphic books when at the library or bookstore? so did I!

bc of said struggle, I started to curate a personal list of books that either has lesbian MCs and/or featured a primary sapphic romance.

i haven't read all of these, but I do try my diligence in confirming that they meet the above perimeters, since many books claim to be sapphic when they're not. this is an ever updating list, only fiction for now!

my favourite genre, these books are so much fun and more and more are being added all the time If anyone has any questions about any book I will try to help. I have read most of them and have reference books on the history of Japanese crime fiction.

Novellas that are a decent bite of literature and a full meal despite being compact. Like a burrito on a commute to work. AKA my full novella master list

Sapphic stories that have an unsettling, sinister, and generally off-putting vibe about them.

Another collection of sapphic books that are tagged as horror, thriller, or mystery on Goodreads that I hope to one day read a few of.

Books where Sapphics kick ass

These Diverse Baseline Challenge was created by @bookish.millennial & @themargherita.s (on instagram). In 2025, the goal is to read 1 book by a racialized author each month. This challenge is meant to encourage readers to try genres they historically don’t reach for, find new-to-them racialized authors, and to encourage reflection on our reading habits.

This is a mix of recommendations by the challenge organizers and myself.

Mix of genres by queer authors from nations in Asia set in the nation. Not every nation is represented yet—I'm still researching them! Keeping it at maximum 3 books per nation, but please leave recommendations if you have them!

China: In the Face of Death We Are Equal; Beijing Comrades India: How to Date a Fanatic Indonesia: Not a Virgin Iran: Medusa of the Roses; Disoriental Japan: The Night of Baba Yaga Lebanon: The True True Story of Raja the Gullible Malaysia: Black Water Sister Pakistan: Other Names for Love South Korea: Violets; Love in the Big City Sri Lanka: Swimming in the Monsoon Sea; The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida Syria: The Foghorn Echoes; The Last Syrian Taiwan: Notes of a Crocodile

Fiction books set in Japan

Open to recs!

Monthly Books