Year of Queer Lit

Week One of Sapphic September is officially in the books, and we somehow managed to cover murder, romance, body horror, forbidden magic, military yearning, queer history, and witches in seven days.

Which feels correct.

If you are new here, Sapphic September is our annual tradition of highlighting one sapphic book every day throughout the month. Some are romances. Some are horror. Some are fantasy, historical fiction, mysteries, classics, or books that simply stuck with us long after the last page.

Here is what we read for September 1 through 7.

Day 1: Under the Saltwater Moon by Christa Hickcox

We kicked off the month with a sapphic mystery full of atmosphere, secrets, danger, and amateur-sleuth energy.

This one gave us a moody Pacific Northwest setting, a murder investigation, and the constant question of who exactly can be trusted. It was the perfect way to start the month with something suspenseful and just a little eerie.

Day 2: For the Record by Jen-Lea Mercy

Day Two brought us firmly into romance territory with butch/femme dynamics, an age gap, and plenty of tension.

Sometimes a book does not need twelve tropes and a complicated pitch. Sometimes “butch/femme age-gap romance” is enough to make you immediately reach for the TBR.

Day 3: Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder

And then we got weird.

Very weird.

Sister, Maiden, Monster is body horror, apocalyptic terror, transformation, and feminist rage all tangled together into something grotesque and unforgettable.

This is absolutely not a cozy spooky-season read. It is unsettling, visceral, and the kind of book that leaves you staring at the wall for a minute after certain chapters.

Day 4: Born of Flame and Fury by Hannah Danielle

After the horror, we headed straight into fantasy.

Born of Flame and Fury brought forbidden magic, rebellion, dangerous power, and sapphic yearning into the mix.

This is the pick for readers who want magical stakes, complicated women, and feelings that are spectacularly inconvenient in the middle of everything else going wrong.

Day 5: Ask, Tell by E.J. Noyes

Day Five shifted into a much quieter kind of tension.

Set during the era of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Ask, Tell is a military romance shaped by secrecy, duty, professional boundaries, and yearning.

So much yearning.

It is one of those stories where everything that cannot safely be said becomes just as important as what actually is.

Day 6: Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

For Day Six, we moved into historical YA with Last Night at the Telegraph Club.

Set in 1950s San Francisco, this is a tender coming-of-age story about identity, first love, family expectations, and finding queer community in a world where being seen could carry very real consequences.

It is thoughtful, emotional, and beautifully grounded in queer history.

Day 7: Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper

And we finished Week One with witches.

Because of course we did.

Payback’s a Witch gave us magic, found family, romance, autumn energy, and exactly the kind of witchy atmosphere that starts calling to me the second September arrives.

It was a very fun way to close out a week that had gotten progressively darker, stranger, and more emotional.

One Week Down, Three More to Go

One of my favorite things about Sapphic September is that “sapphic books” is not a genre.

There is no single type of sapphic story.

This week alone took us from mystery to romance to apocalyptic horror to fantasy to historical fiction and back again, and we are barely getting started.

Week Two is already bringing sentient plants, haunted ranches, cozy science fiction, gothic fantasy, cannibalism, romance, and more.

So, you know.

A perfectly normal reading month.

What was your favorite Week One pick, and which one just got added to your TBR?