Home › Lesbian Books › Sci-Fi › Dystopian
Regimes to fight and worlds after the end, with romance focus and series length marked.
8 books · 7 with full LRR reviews · 3 YA · 5 adult · 3 standalones
The best sapphic dystopian books are Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta for YA rebellion against a regime of giant mechs, The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson for adult multiverse sci-fi about inequality, and Crier’s War by Nina Varela for enemies to lovers under a fantasy regime. For lesbian post-apocalyptic books, Compass Rose sails a drowned Earth.
Dystopian and post-apocalyptic are not the same thing. A dystopia has a government that works too well. A post-apocalyptic story starts after everything has fallen. Each card says which one you are getting, who it is written for and how much space the romance gets.
Seven of the eight have full LRR reviews.
Sapphic Dystopian Books at a Glance
Dystopia is a powerful system crushing people. Post-apocalyptic fiction is life after the system has already fallen. Some books do both.
| Book | Type | Audience | Romance | Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gearbreakers | Dystopian rebellion, mechs | YA | Central | Duology |
| The Space Between Worlds | Multiverse inequality | Adult | Real, secondary | Standalone |
| Compass Rose | Post-apocalyptic, drowned Earth | Adult | Central, less page time | Continues in Sea Wolf |
| Crier’s War | Fantasy with dystopian rule | YA | Central | Duology, cliffhanger |
| The Finest Line | Near-future dystopia | Adult | Central | Trilogy |
The Best Sapphic Dystopian Books
Five books that show the difference between fighting a regime and surviving after the end.
Gearbreakers
Zoe Hana Mikuta · YA · Gearbreakers #1
Eris fights the giant machines a brutal regime uses to keep control. Sona was trained to pilot one. They start on opposite sides, and their real goals pull them together.
Action-heavy and angry, with the relationship built inside the resistance. Plan to read book two, because book one does not close every thread.
Find it on AmazonListen on Libro.fmListen with AudibleBuy at Bookshop.org
The store links on this page are affiliate links: we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
The Space Between Worlds
Micaiah Johnson · Del Rey · 2020
Cara can only travel to parallel worlds where her other self is already dead. Poor Black women are dead in most of them, which makes her very useful to a powerful company.
The premise is a class argument, and a sharp one. There is a real sapphic romance, but it shares the page with the thriller plot.
Find it on AmazonListen on Libro.fmListen with AudibleBuy at Bookshop.org
Compass Rose
Anna Burke · Compass Rose #1
Rising seas have drowned the world. Rose has an unusual gift for navigation, which makes her valuable to the ship crews fighting over what is left.
An award-winning world and a crew readers fall for. The romance gets a little less page time than the ship, so pick it for adventure first.
Find it on AmazonListen on Libro.fmListen with AudibleBuy at Bookshop.org
Crier’s War
Nina Varela · YA · Crier’s War #1
Ayla is human and plotting revenge. Crier is an Automae noblewoman made by the ruling class. Ayla is sent to serve her, with murder in mind.
The definitive sapphic “I am supposed to kill you” romance, with real political weight. It is fantasy rather than science fiction, and you will want both books.
Find it on AmazonListen on Libro.fmListen with AudibleBuy at Bookshop.org
The Finest Line
Tegan Kane · Warehouse District #1
In a frightening near-future society, a woman raised in a strict religious world falls for someone she was taught to fear.
Readers find the queer awakening moving. A vocal minority finds the dialogue cheesy. Plan for a trilogy.
Find it on AmazonListen on Libro.fmListen with AudibleBuy at Bookshop.org
More Sapphic Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic Books
Cinderella Is Dead
Kalynn Bayron
Two hundred years after Cinderella, girls must attend a ball to be chosen. A Black lesbian heroine wants the whole story torn down.
Ending: Complete story, hopeful ending.
Find it on AmazonListen on Libro.fmListen with AudibleBuy at Bookshop.org
The Felicity Complex
August Clarke
Lab-grown women in a luxury doomsday bunker. Gleefully gross Cold War satire.
Ending: Standalone.
Find it on AmazonListen on Libro.fmListen with AudibleBuy at Bookshop.org
The Divine Gardener’s Handbook
Eli Snow
A wildly original plant-punk dystopia with a funny rivalry and a god who is just some guy.
Ending: The couple ends together.
Find it on AmazonListen on Libro.fmListen with AudibleBuy at Bookshop.org
Dystopia, Post-Apocalypse and Fantasy
Gearbreakers and The Space Between Worlds are about systems that work exactly as designed, for the wrong people. Compass Rose is about survival after environmental collapse. Crier’s War and Cinderella Is Dead put dystopian rule inside fantasy worlds. All of them put sapphic lives under pressure, but they are not the same kind of book.
Which one puts the romance first?
For a love story at the center of a rebellion, start with Crier’s War or Gearbreakers. For adult adventure, Compass Rose. For ideas first, The Space Between Worlds. Expect violence, oppression and loss in all of them, and check series length before you commit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best sapphic dystopian books?
Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta for YA rebellion, The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson for adult multiverse sci-fi, and Crier’s War by Nina Varela for enemies to lovers.
What are good lesbian post-apocalyptic books?
Compass Rose by Anna Burke, set on a drowned Earth. The Felicity Complex is a satirical take set in a doomsday bunker.
What is the difference between dystopian and post-apocalyptic books?
Dystopia centers an oppressive society. Post-apocalyptic fiction centers life after a catastrophe. A book can be both.
Are there dystopian lesbian romance books for adults?
Yes. The Finest Line by Tegan Kane and Compass Rose are adult, and The Space Between Worlds is adult sci-fi with a sapphic romance.
Are these standalones?
Only The Space Between Worlds, Cinderella Is Dead and The Felicity Complex. The others are series, and the cards say which.
Related Genres and Guides
For stories among the stars, see sapphic space opera books. For more fear, lesbian horror books. Fairy-tale dystopias also appear in sapphic retellings. The parent guide is lesbian sci-fi books.
How We Chose These Books
This selection uses our own full reviews wherever LRR has reviewed a book, plus author and publisher descriptions where a specific trope needs direct support. Every card says why the book fits this exact trope. Cards marked “LRR full review” link to a review where we went through Goodreads, StoryGraph, trade reviews and reader discussion before scoring it. Cards marked “Publisher description” or “Author description” are researched picks that we have not reviewed yet, and we say so rather than pretend otherwise. Ending notes come from our review or from an explicit promise in the book’s own description. Theme notes are not complete content warnings.
Know a book that belongs here, or spotted a wrong label? Tell us in the comments.