September is Sapphic September, which is a celebration of all things sapphic! Here at Read Indie Fantasy.com, we of course love to celebrate indie and self-published SFF authors, so what better way than to highlight sapphic books featuring sapphic and lesbian characters?
If you’re looking for indie sapphic and lesbian book recommendations, then we’ve got fifteen for you across the fantasy, sci-fi, and horror spectrum, because we couldn’t just stop at ten. Looking for even MORE? Then check out our LGBTQIA+ Book Collection where you can find a wide range of books and even suggest your own.
But for now, check out these wonderful books:
A Ballad for Slayers & Monsters by Rita A. Rubin
Kas of Veldenier is a Slayer, a travelling monster hunter for hire.
Claudia of Trulio is half-human, half-vampyric. Half monster.
They should be nothing more than enemies. But when the long-lost remnant of the dragon Ombral turns up, and with it the possibility of unleashing the dragons to wreak havoc on Vil Tresar as they did long ago, Kas and Claudia’s paths converge. Through a shared desire to keep the dragons from returning, they embark on a quest to see the remnant destroyed. Along the way, they will encounter fearsome monsters as well as a burgeoning desire for each other. Can a monster and a monster slayer truly find love together?
Pursuing them from the shadows is Serisa, a vampyric who wishes to see the world burn. And she will need the remnant to make that wish a reality…
A Designer Magick by Fox N. Locke
An Art Deco fantasy where fashion is the highest form of power and mages rule the roost.
Vlyn Adare is an illegal magick user hiding in plain sight, a seamstress going nowhere fast.
When she’s not dreaming of being Vlyn’s beau, socialite Shirley Hollister fantasises about being a fashion designer but is stuck in a rut as a receptionist.
To escape his fundamentalist family, Ellory Miller begrudgingly becomes a mage, even if he only wants to make magickal couture.
Rejected by both the mages and gender critical witches, Niven is forced to become a freelancer, hunting rogue magickal users to avoid arrest themself.
Lien Bassett, a trans journalist living stealth, has been trying for decades in vain to hold the mage Tower to account.
All five are brought together after Ellory blows the whistle on the Head Mage’s criminal activity. Hidden prisons, protests, dramatic magick battles, and plenty of fabulous fashion await them.
Unashamedly queer – and built around a slow burn F/F romance – A Designer Magick investigates mental health, gender, and freedom of speech in an evocative 1920s style setting.
Grey Angel by Dani Finn
The sky is your home now. You are earthbound no longer.
Monsters roam the Queendom, appearing in packs out of nowhere to slaughter human and beast alike.
Ynis leads a group of Haemene, knights of the Queen, who strive to keep the people safe. She and a quiet soldier named Guin trek deep into the hills, stalked by the very creatures they’re hunting.
Guin’s devotion to Ynis is equaled only by their love of the Angel they’ve prayed to all their life. Ynis is not a believer, but Guin’s visions grow ever more vivid.
The Grey Angel beckons. Guin dare not ignore Her call.
Their bloody quest binds them to each other as they journey ever up the mountain, ever closer to a dream made flesh.
Myth meets reality as three become one under the moonlight on Wicked Peak.
Grey Angel is a lesbian fantasy romance with trans leads featuring action, adventure, and gender-affirming monster smut.
Grey Angel is intended for adult readers. It contains violent action and explicit, consensual sex between humans and (redacted).
Insiders by Shannon Knight
In a universe of long-haul truckers, parasite-bearing megalomaniacs, asteroid rustlers, and homicidal peace keepers, some people just want to stay alive.
Deep within Kerberos Station, pipe crawler Sachi Inside is dying of the planet-killing Hibravian virus. In a state of delirium, the agoraphobic girl agrees that in exchange for life, she will not only leave her pipes, but even the station. A parasitic plant wraps around her, guides her to an exiting ship, and adheres to the hull.
Captain Karasi Kwei is not pleased to discover a stowaway, but the crew thinks there’s money to be made on the plant, and the fact that both the Eastern Star Corporation and the Elysium Empire are tracking it confirms its value. However, none of that matters when the entire crew falls sick with the incurable Hibravian.
But Sachi’s plant contains the solution to the reversal of the closing universe. All they have to do is fight the mercenaries, survive the virus, evade the Elysium Empire, and navigate a fluctuating microwave wall in order to save the universe.
Kill Me Quick by Josie Jaffrey
The pirates of Charleston’s Golden Age aren’t as dead as you might think.
In her centuries-long life, Kulika Yadav has chalked up more than her fair share of regrets. Deserting the crew of former pirate king Bartholomew Roberts is not one of them. She vowed she would never return to his Charleston mansion, knowing that doing so would mean captivity or death. Now, two hundred years after she left, she has no other her new master is dying, and the person who holds the key to his cure has disappeared on Bartholomew’s turf.
But Kulika isn’t the only woman on a mission in South Carolina. Patience Quick has been searching for her best friend for six months now, along with enough other missing people to fill a whole deck of cards. She’s willing to do just about anything to find her friend, even if it means following a midnight lead to a colonial-era mansion, where a never-ending pool party is about to turn sinister.
While Kulika knowingly confronts the man who gave her immortality, Quick is left scrambling to understand the nature of the creatures whose nest she has unwittingly disturbed. When the two women’s paths cross, blood will fly.
Kill Me Quick is the first book in Josie Jaffrey’s QuickSilver series, a sapphic dark fantasy series set in Charleston, South Carolina.
Name Her Holy by Aubrey Ennis
Where the weave between worlds thins, a long buried shadow rises from its grave among the stars and seeks vengeance on the Vale.
A Herald has been named to mark its ascension— a woman resurrected by The Seeker’s hand and placed in the pious care of the Vigil Order. A once disgraced daughter of her noble house, Kye Liatris is crowned a living saint, one tasked with stopping the coming cataclysm. Kye has lived on borrowed time since, aiding the Vigil while quietly enduring worsening ailments.
When a strange blight brings death to the valley of Jude Arendell’s home village, she finds herself swept up in the Vigil’s fight. But in taking up her mother’s sword, Jude learns that her family legacy was not as it seemed.
As stars extinguish and the threads that bind the Vale swiftly unravel, so do the long trusted stories of history past. Now Kye and Jude must decide whether to follow their divine callings or scorn the gods and place their trust in each other.
Of Socialites and Prizefights by Arden Powell
She needs a woman’s kiss to break her curse.
When Deepa Patel rejects the wrong man, he curses her: every night, she will transform into a wild animal until her curse is broken by true love’s kiss. The problem is twofold. One: Deepa needs her nights to seduce shallow men into spending money on her—money she desperately needs to buy herself and her mother a better life. Two: she doesn’t believe in love. She’s never met a man she wanted to keep longer than a week, never mind forever.
She never considered her true love might be a woman.
Roz is unlike any of Deepa’s past suitors. She’s working class, with a nose that’s been broken at least once, courtesy of an underground boxing club. And she makes Deepa feel lighter and softer than she ever thought possible. But Roz can’t afford to give Deepa the life of luxury she craves.
Meanwhile, Deepa is posing as a wealthy nobleman’s fiancée. There’s no love between them, but his lifestyle is everything she’s ever wanted. Caught between a real relationship and a loveless fake one, Deepa has to choose: give up on her dreams for a chance at true love, or make her dreams come true but stay cursed forever.
Of Socialites and Prizefights is a butch/femme sapphic novel in the Flos Magicae series, a collection of queer romances set in an alternate 1920s world with magic. All the stories are standalones and can be read in any order.
Stars and Soil by Dax Murray
Caitlin had her whole life planned out until a grusome murder sets her on a collision course with fate and magic.
She would live in the bustling port city of Whick with the reformed pirate she fell in love with and, one day, inherit her fathers’ growing trading business.
She did not intend to stumble into an anti-monarchy riot and become involved with the revolutionaries determined to overthrow the nobility and create a world without hunger, poverty and homelessness. A world with justice for all, and not just those with means.
She did not want to catch the eye of a spoiled prince. She did not want him to pursue and court her, plunging her into a world of bickering dukes, suspicious foreign ambassadors, and scheming politicians.
She did not seek out the attentions of ancient and secret religious orders, intent on controlling the machinations of a kingdom from the shadows.
But she did.
Caught in a web of deception and conspiracies, she must now she must fight for her own life in the coming political chaos.
The Damsel by Emma Jun
In the Synthetic Universe, there’s a world where everyone has superpowers. Everyone, that is, except for one girl. She is THE DAMSEL. Having been isolated from society and her duties as an idol of peace, Sara is shocked to learn her parents have enrolled her in public school. She’s willing to bet this nightmare of social anxiety and sexual harassment has something to do with the TV studio and its lead executive, Gupta, who only wants her to scream and look pretty in their new reality TV show.
In a bid to escape the cameras, Sara stumbles upon a reclusive hero who hides a bitter secret. With his help, she might be able to fulfil her childhood dream of becoming normal like everyone else-becoming a superhero. Yet, if the studio executives discover the secret identity of the new vigilante around town, Sara will be locked away in shame and her family destitute.
If the public discover she’s shirked her sacred duties, there will be riots-and when 8 billion people have the power to punch holes in mountains, you won’t like them when they’re angry.
Just what is a poor helpless damsel to do to achieve her dreams? It’s time to kick butt and not worry about taking names.
THE DAMSEL is a witty and fiercely imaginative take on both the superhero genre and the fairy tale princess archetype that weaves an endearing, action packed tale of an unexpected loner who just wants to be seen for who she is..
Some traditions are meant to be broken
The Forest at the Heart of Her Mage by Hiyodori
After years of city life, Tiller is finally ready to revisit the magical forest where she grew up. But the forest has turned deadly, and Tiller has no magic of her own. To survive, she’ll need a bodyguard.
Tiller finds only one mage willing to escort her. A woman named Carnelian: a soldier with a pretty face and a dodgy reputation. Carnelian loves parties, drinking, flirting, big spending, and taking risks that others would find downright unthinkable. She’ll happily lead Tiller to the heart of the Devouring Forest.
But she won’t do it for free.
The two of them live in a country where magic-users like Carnelian labor under lifelong legal restrictions. The fastest ticket to greater liberty: getting married. Which is why Carnelian—known far and wide as the mage who no one would wed—demands Tiller’s hand in marriage as her payment.
Cautious, reserved Tiller never lets strangers invade her personal space. She’s horrified by the prospect of marrying a mischievous gambler. But she still needs Carnelian’s magic to overcome the wild monsters blocking the path back to her childhood home.
And the deeper they go in the forest, the greater the danger. Tiller will have to learn very quickly how to deal with the darker side of her would-be wife.
The Forest at the Heart of Her Mage is a slow-burn f/f romance with two polar-opposite heroines—both hiding enormous secrets—reluctantly engaged to be married for the sake of convenience. This novel takes place in the same contemporary fantasy world as The First and Last Demon and the Clem & Wist series, but can be read and enjoyed as a standalone story.
The Phoenix and the Sword by J.C. Snow
Aili Fallon is desperate.
Determined to escape her past, she refuses to let anything impede her training as a combat nurse – until the woman she’s falling in love with disappears in a fiery tempest, leaving Aili burdened with terrible immortality and destroying flame.
Gambling with her own existence, Aili crosses into a spiritual realm in search of her lost love — the only person that can give her answers. But beneath the life she has known is a life shaped by secrets, and a love that was doomed a thousand years before.
And unless Aili discovers the truth, the powers she now bears will destroy her.
The Phoenix and the Sword is the first book in the Crane Moon Cycle duology, a queer epic fantasy set in a world of spiritual powers, past lives, and beings of myth and legend. Perfect for those looking for a story of love, loss, and redemption that crosses centuries and worlds.
The Crane Moon Cycle is set in a world that includes war and violence, and themes that may be difficult for some readers. Please see the author’s website, jcsnow.com, for list and details.
The Revenge of Captain Vessia by Leslie Allen
Claire Vessia’s been sentenced to death.
The last survivor of a ship of would-be-pirates captured by the navy, she’s been accused of all of their crimes.
She will die for it. Determined to go out with her head held high, her plans for a stoic execution are thrown out the window when a highborn lady offers her a chance to escape the noose… if she pays in vials of her own blood.
But she is betrayed.
Hung from the gallows and buried at sea, she rises amidst the waves as a Vampyri, an undead monster. Without a clue of where, or even what she is, and only a terrible hunger to guide her, it’s only when she consumes a person trying to help her that she begins to understands what’s been done to her.
Swearing revenge against the noble woman that turned her, the nation that accused her, and its people that killed her, Claire makes an oath that she will hunt down anyone under the navy’s flag, and carve a blood-strewn path on her quest for vengeance.
But when the perfect chance to strike takes the form of the child of her maker – Claire must ask herself how far she’s willing to go for justice.
The Songbird’s Refrain by Jillian Maria
When a mysterious show arrives in town, seventeen-year-old Elizabeth Brighton is both intrigued and unsettled. But none of the acts capture her attention quite like the blue-eyed woman. Locked in a birdcage and covered in feathers, the anguish in her voice sounds just a little too real to be an act—because it isn’t. The show’s owner, a sadistic witch known only as the Mistress, is holding her captive.
And she’s chosen Elizabeth as her next victim.
After watching the blue-eyed woman die, Elizabeth is placed under the same curse. She clings to what little hope she can find in the words of a fortune teller and in her own strange dreams. The more she learns, the more she suspects that the Mistress isn’t as invulnerable as she appears. But time is against her, and every feather that sprouts brings her closer to meeting the blue-eyed woman’s fate. Can Elizabeth unlock the secret to flying free, or will the Mistress’s curse kill her and cage its next victim?
This Too Shall Burn by Cat Rector
Arden has lived in the woods near the deeply religious town of Arrothburg all her life, practicing magic and keeping balance with nature. She heals the sick, as her mother did before her. No matter how deeply the people of the village hate witches, they still arrive at Arden’s cabin in the dead of night, looking for help that their pastor, mayor, and doctor would never provide.
Verity is trapped in a life she doesn’t want. Her mother was burned as a witch six years ago, forcing Verity into the role of caretaker for her father and her younger siblings. The Good Book asks her to serve, and so she does. But it also asks her to endure the ungodly, debilitating agony of her monthly bleeding. No medicine, no comfort, no protests. If God is kind, why is she so cursed?
When a chance encounter between them leaves both their skin charred at a single touch, Arden and Verity are left with questions that may get them killed.
Does something wicked live inside Verity?
If Arden is the only true witch for miles, who is burning on the pyres?
Will they be next?
We’re All Monsters Here by Amy Marsden
When Anna is invited to a secluded retreat full of selfish, greedy humans, of course she doesn’t say no. Not only did she manipulate the CEO of the world’s largest oil corporation, Peter Beyer, into organising the four-day getaway in the first place, but no self-respecting vampire would ever turn down such easy prey. Her weekend gets even better when she meets Saira, one of Peter Beyer’s employees, and they begin a whirlwind affair. Blood and beautiful women are Anna’s idea of a great time.
She should have known it was too good to be true.
Hunters are dangerous, deadly, and dedicated to eradicating vampires. When a group of them turn up at the retreat, Anna must use her centuries of experience to escape their ever-closing net. Will she get out unscathed, or will they finally catch up to her? Will she give into her intense and unexpected feelings for Saira, or will she leave her to burn as she destroys all evidence she was ever there?
A fresh twist on urban fantasy, with an added splash of sapphic romance.
Have you read any of these books? Are there any indie sapphic books you recommend? Drop us a comment!
