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Empires, pirates and sentient ships, with how much romance each one has.
8 books · 6 with full LRR reviews · 2 Hugo winners · 3 romance-first
The best sapphic space opera books are A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine for imperial politics, Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh for a soldier unlearning everything, and The Red Scholar’s Wake by Aliette de Bodard for a romance with a sentient ship. For a cozy lesbian space opera, Moss’d in Space is pure found family.
Not every space opera is a space romance. Each card tells you whether the relationship is the main event or one thread in a bigger story, and whether you are committing to a series.
Six of the eight have full LRR reviews.
Sapphic Space Opera at a Glance
Space opera means big: empires, fleets, ships and politics across the stars. Here is how much of each book is romance.
| Book | The story | Romance focus | Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Red Scholar’s Wake | Space pirates and a grieving sentient ship | Central | Standalone in a shared universe |
| A Memory Called Empire | An ambassador inside a devouring empire | A thread | Book 1 of 2 |
| Some Desperate Glory | A soldier unlearning a death cult | Part of the arc | Standalone |
| A Fire Born of Exile | Revenge in a wealthy space station world | Central | Standalone in a shared universe |
| Moss’d in Space | Found family on a cozy ship | Slow burn | Trilogy, cliffhanger |
The Best Sapphic Space Opera Books
Five picks, from romance-first Xuya novels to two Hugo winners.
The Red Scholar’s Wake
Aliette de Bodard · Xuya Universe
Xích Si, a scavenger captured by pirates, gets a marriage proposal from Rice Fish, a mindship who is grieving her wife.
A sapphic romance where one partner is a sentient ship, and the world makes that make sense. Piracy, captivity and a power gap are part of the premise.
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A Memory Called Empire
Arkady Martine · Tor · 2019
Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives at the heart of the Teixcalaanli Empire after her predecessor’s suspicious death and finds a culture she loves and fears.
A Hugo-winning political thriller with a charged sapphic thread. The romance is not the engine, so choose it for the intrigue.
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Some Desperate Glory
Emily Tesh · Tordotcom · 2023
Kyr was raised in a militarized remnant of humanity and taught that everything outside is the enemy. Then she starts to find out what she was not told.
One of the best character arcs in modern science fiction. War and reproductive control are central themes, so this is not a love story in space.
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A Fire Born of Exile
Aliette de Bodard · Xuya Universe
A powerful newcomer with a hidden past enters a world of wealth and danger in the Scattered Pearls Belt, looking for revenge.
Another romance-first Xuya book. The author describes these as standalones, so you can start here or with The Red Scholar’s Wake.
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Moss’d in Space
Rebecca Thorne · Bramble · trilogy
A warm, funny found-family space adventure with one of the most lovable non-human characters in recent sapphic SFF.
Low stakes and cozy. The romance is a slow burn, and you will want the sequel.
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More Sapphic Science Fiction in Space
Gideon the Ninth
Tamsyn Muir
Lesbian necromancers in space solving a gothic murder mystery. The best narrative voice in modern SFF.
Ending: Tragic, with a cliffhanger. Book 1 of 4.
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The Lily and the Crown
Roslyn Sinclair
A sheltered botanist and an enigmatic captive on an imperial space station. By the author of The X Ingredient.
Ending: A satisfying resolution.
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Nobody’s Baby
Olivia Waite
A detective solves a locked-ship puzzle. Start with Murder by Memory.
Ending: Self-contained case.
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What Makes a Book Space Opera?
Space opera needs scale: interstellar travel, empires, fleets or politics across worlds. A multiverse story mostly set on Earth is science fiction but not space opera, so The Space Between Worlds lives on our sapphic dystopian books page.
Romance or politics?
For romance first, read the two Aliette de Bodard Xuya books. For intrigue, A Memory Called Empire. For a worldview dismantled, Some Desperate Glory. For cozy, Moss’d in Space.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best sapphic space opera books?
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh and The Red Scholar’s Wake by Aliette de Bodard.
What are good sapphic sci fi romance books in space?
The Red Scholar’s Wake and A Fire Born of Exile, both romance-first Xuya books, and The Lily and the Crown by Roslyn Sinclair.
Is Gideon the Ninth space opera?
It is gothic science fantasy set across planets, with necromancers and a locked-room mystery. It sits close enough to include, with a warning about the ending.
Do I need to read the Xuya books in order?
No. The author describes the Xuya romances as standalones.
Are these lesbian space opera books spicy?
Mostly not. Heat is low on all the reviewed picks.
Related Genres and Guides
Stay on Earth with sapphic dystopian books, or see the full lesbian sci-fi books guide. For mysteries on ships, see lesbian cozy mysteries.
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.
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