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Our Best of 2026 List is coming!
Published 2 months ago • 7 min read
Download the images in this email to ensure the best reading experience. Make sure to whitelist our email address so we don't end up in your spam folder.
Hello Reader,
I have been a busy human as I put together our brand new Best Books of 2026 list. It’s live for TLR champions and everyone else gets it next week. Our Champs support us and keep the lights on so they get perks like early access.
For those of you with the burning question of how can we make a list already? Let me tell you how excited I am that we could! This has been a really great year for books and that means we have enough books we love to put out the first part of our Best of the year list.
Of course, don’t fret if you are publishing a book later, we are going to be adding to the list at the end of the year to complete it.
So, for now, enjoy our very cool first half of the list.
The TLR team have been working their cute butts off and the reviews are flowing. So much so that we have another 5 this week!
In the community section I have some info about a sale that Effie Calvin is having so make sure you download the entire email.
Have a beautiful Sunday and tell someone you love them,
Sheena P.S. This space exists because of your support. If you’d like to help us grow then Patreon’s the best way.
These are the latest reviews from TheLesbianReview.com - click on the cover or title of the book to read the full review. The great thing about reviews is that we read books and share ones we like, upping the chances of you finding only the best books out there.
Mr. Moore: A Regency-Era Romance by Giny Morales is a beautiful historical romance where reputation is everything and secrets are traded as carefully as coins.
From our review: “Regency-era London comes alive in this story, capturing the elegance of high society along with its strict expectations, constant gossip, detailed fashion, and the reality of women being viewed as less than men.”
Above Rubies by Fyn Alexander is a compelling historical sapphic romance that follows two very different women finding love and strength on the Dakota frontier.
From our review: “The Dakota Territory feels real and vivid, with its endless skies, harsh sun, rugged landscape, wildlife, and hardworking farming community.”
The Siren’s Kiss by Leslie Vedder is a YA/new adult adventure romance with some grief, curses, mermaids, pirates, tension…among other truly glorious things.
From our review: “The tale is intriguing, two women searching for a foreboding sea witch and an angry ghost pirate to retrieve a lost soul, yet are enemies from the word go.”
The Call Room by Jaqueline Rose is a slow burn medical romance about first love and finding your feet when everything you've planned for and worked toward suddenly feels uncertain.
From our review: “I cannot believe this is a debut novel. It is incredible and worthy of the praise it will surely garner.”
In case you missed last week's reviews, here they are again.
Exposed Hearts by Ruby Scott is a slow-burn romance set against the rugged Colorado mountains with high heat, emotional depth, and a connection that refuses to play safe.
From our review: ” Another standout element of this story is how naturally Bridge and Frankie fit together. There’s an effortless quality to their connection that makes their relationship feel authentic from the start.”
Riverbend by Karis Walsh is a gentle and heartwarming, character-driven romance about finding your inner strength to reclaim your life after a serious illness, while doing so in the natural beauty of Oregon.
From our review: “I genuinely liked the idea of calmer adventures for those who either don't want the adrenaline rush of high-octane activities or can't participate in them.”
Under Construction by Aurora Rey is a reunion of high school rivals who insist they weren’t enemies, leading to a sweet and lusty romance.
From our review: “Neither woman does a lot of hand wringing about trying to deny feelings, and I appreciate that very much. The lack of drama leads to a fun romance that features a lot of flirty and humorous back and forth.”
Running on Empty by Leigh Hays is a steamy romance, where an adrenaline surge of NASCAR racing meets the heart-pounding thrill of falling in love.
From our review: “The NASCAR side of things is really well done, with lots of detail about racing teams, engineering, data, sponsors, and how important teamwork is to making everything work.”
Chameleon by Pip Landers-Letts is a romance. But it’s a romance fraught with deep trauma, trauma that needs to be reconciled when you meet a potential partner or want to just move on with your life.
From our review: “This book doesn’t seem to follow the standard formula and I really liked that about it. The book took me to places I didn’t expect and highlighted a very important but damaging relationship for the main character.”
This book is one of my absolute favourites. I highly recommend it if you don't have it yet
BIG SALE
The Queen of Ieflaria (Tales of Inthya Book 1) is on sale. Don't miss it
Princess Esofi of Rhodia and Crown Prince Albion of Ieflaria have been betrothed since they were children, though the great distance between their kingdoms mean the two have never met. Upon coming of age, Esofi makes the long journey to Ieflaria for her wedding, only to learn Albion was recently killed in a tragic accident.
With dragons threatening to overrun the kingdom, Ieflaria is desperate for an alliance with Rhodia. As a result, Esofi is offered a new betrothal to Albion's younger sister, the new Crown Princess Adale. But Adale is irresponsible and wild and has no plans of taking the throne, leaving Esofi with more to battle than fire-breathing beasts. get it here
How to Find Your Next Read
Looking for your next sapphic read? We’ve got plenty of ways to help you find the perfect book!
Book Finder Advanced Search – Search using multiple criteria at once to narrow down exactly what you're looking for. Listings are excluded from these results. Tropes & Genres – Browse books by your favourite themes and categories. Clicking on the links in this list includes listings in the results.Top Ranked Books – Check out our highly recommended books. These are books with favourite badges.
Listings - Book listings that were previously new releases.
Remember, each page on the website displays a certain number of results and with thousands of reviews to see there is a high likelihood that there are multiple pages of results.
No matter how you like to search, we make it easy to discover your next great read!
In case you missed it, these interviews are available for free on our Patreon Page.
Download the images in this email to ensure the best reading experience. Make sure to whitelist our email address so we don't end up in your spam folder. Hello Reader, This week we have a new Must Watch List - this time focused on Apple TV. I scrummaged around on there, watched a bunch of things and came out with a list of shows that I think are pretty cool, and all of them are sapphic. We also have some cool new book reviews, one is a weird and madcap journey while the other is a sweet cozy...
Download the images in this email to ensure the best reading experience. Make sure to whitelist our email address so we don't end up in your spam folder. Hello Reader, It's the spooky season! I love a good horror light, or dark. I adore cozy witchy things and wish I was cool enough to be a kitchen witch. So expect some cozy book love coming your way this month from TLR. COZY READ OF THE WEEK: A Wish Upon A Star by Jeannie Levig If you love a story that warms your heart, is about family, pets,...
Download the images in this email to ensure the best reading experience. Make sure to whitelist our email address so we don't end up in your spam folder. Hello Reader, When I was younger and first discovering the beautiful world of sapphic fiction there were maybe four to six sapphic fiction titles being published every month. Most of them were contemporary romance and about half of them were good reads. (I spent a lot of money importing books to South Africa back then). So it was really easy...
