A prosecutor and a public defender clash over an arson murder in a courtroom drawn by a former defense lawyer, let down by a rushed romance. Our evidence review of Carsen Taite’s Trial by Fire.
A courtroom-accurate debut with a hot opening and a murder case readers love, held back by a romance the trial keeps interrupting. Our evidence review of Carsen Taite’s It Should Be a Crime.
Molly J. Bragg’s Scatter strands a deputy U.S. Marshal thirty years in the past with the superhero she has loved since childhood. A big-hearted sapphic time travel romance with lumpy pacing.
Rachael Lippincott’s sapphic YA time travel rom-com sends a stuck Pittsburgh teen to 1812. It’s sweet, funny and kind, but it isn’t really Pride and Prejudice. Here’s what readers say.
Tanya Byrne’s Afterlove is a YA sapphic first-love story that turns into a grim reaper ghost story halfway through. The romance and the grief land; the slow start and thin reaper lore hold it back.
Zen Cho’s Penang ghost story has a lesbian lead, a furious ghost grandmother and a vengeful god. Here’s how the urban fantasy works, and why the romance stays in the background.
Stephanie Ahn’s Deadline puts a disgraced Korean American lesbian witch in Manhattan’s magical underground. Here’s what readers love about Harry’s voice, why her choices divide them, and why there’s no romance yet.
A funny, queer urban fantasy mystery set in supernatural London, with a half-fae detective worth meeting, held back by a slow, info-heavy start and a romance that plays second fiddle to the case.
Lee Winter’s award-winning sapphic superhero novel trades capes and fights for sharp dialogue, social commentary and an ending that splits readers. Here’s what to know before you start.
Fiona Zedde’s Black lesbian superhero novella pairs a shape-shifting vigilante with a murder that hits far too close to home. It’s dark, gritty and absorbing, held back by a short page count that leaves the mystery and the romance underfed.