A Sapph-Lit Original

“A sweet and spicy story about found family, taking chances on love, and getting through your Saturn return.”—Elissa Sussman, bestselling author of Funny You Should Ask. A newly single queer woman moves to New Orleans and sets off on a mission to find her most compatible match by going on a date with someone of each astrological sign in this rom-com from the Lambda Literary Award–nominated author of Queerly Beloved.. Reeling from a breakup with her long-term partner, Gray—an optimistic lesbian Aries—relocates to New Orleans for a new job. Gray wants to meet someone, settle down, and build the loving, accepting family she’s always wanted, but having been out of the dating scene for a decade, she has no idea where to start. After visiting an iconic astrologer, Gray and her best friend, Cherry, draw up a dramatic scheme: Gray will go on a date with someone of each zodiac sign to test their compatibility and get a jump start on creating the queer family of her dreams—all before her twenty-ninth birthday, when Saturn will usher in a major turning point in her life.. Gray’s got her hands full getting to know her new city, proving herself at her new job, wooing twelve new paramours—cue bathroom hookups, ghosts, getting ghosted, incredible macchiatos, and celesbians—and making some surprising discoveries about her needs and desires. Even when the dating challenge throws a few curveballs that make Gray question what she believes that she’s destined for, she’s determined to finish what she’s started while the planets are still on her side.

Looking for a Sign: A Novel

Equal parts witty and steamy, this debut rom-com brings a healthy dose of queerness and a whole lot of spirit to a Pride and Prejudice-inspired enemies-to-lovers romance.“Brims with heart, spice, and humor.”—Ashley Herring Blake, author of Delilah Green Doesn’t Care“The L Word, but better.”—TJ Alexander, author of Chef’s Kiss“A juicy sapphic romp; sweet, sexy, and tender in all the right ways.”—Gabrielle Korn, author of Everybody (Else) Is Perfect. One of Library Journal’s Best Romance Books of the Year (So Far). The only thing worse than hating your boss? Being attracted to her.. Liz Baker and her three roommates work at the Nether Fields, a queer magazine in New York that’s on the verge of shutting down—until it’s bought at the last minute by two wealthy lesbians. Liz knows she’s lucky to still have a paycheck but it’s hard to feel grateful with minority investor Daria Fitzgerald slashing budgets, cancelling bagel Fridays, and password protecting the color printer to prevent “frivolous use.” When Liz overhears Daria scoffing at her listicles, she knows that it’s only a matter of time before her impulsive mouth gets herself fired.. But as Liz and Daria wind up having to spend more and more time together, Liz starts to see a softer side to Daria—she’s funny, thoughtful, and likes the way Liz’s gender presentation varies between butch and femme. Despite the evidence that Liz can’t trust her, it’s hard to keep hating Daria—and even harder to resist the chemistry between them.. This page-turning, sexy, and delightfully funny rom-com celebrates queer culture, chosen family, and falling in love against your better judgment.

Just as You Are: A Novel

The pressure cooker of minor league baseball leads to major chemistry in this exhilarating, sexy, and triumphant rivals to lovers debut romance.. “Tenacious, sexy, effervescent, doggedly hopeful, and endlessly charming, with characters to root hard for and an irresistible voice—I completely adored it.” —Casey McQuiston, author of Red, White & Royal Blue. Hope is familiar territory for Gene Ionescu. He has always loved baseball, a sport made for underdogs and optimists like him. He also loves his team, the minor league Beaverton Beavers, and, for the most part, he loves the career he’s built. As the first openly trans player in professional baseball, Gene has nearly everything he’s ever let himself dream of—that is, until Luis Estrada, Gene’s former teammate and current rival, gets traded to the Beavers, destroying the careful equilibrium of Gene’s life.. Gene and Luis can’t manage a civil conversation off the field or a competent play on it, but in the close confines of dugout benches and roadie buses, they begrudgingly rediscover a comfortable rhythm. As the two grow closer, the tension between them turns electric, and their chemistry spills past the confines of the stadium. For every tight double play they execute, there’s also a glance at summer-tan shoulders or a secret shared, each one a breathless moment of possibility that ignites in Gene the visceral, terrifying kind of desire he’s never allowed himself. Soon, Gene has to reconcile the quiet, minor-league-sized life he used to find fulfilling with the major-league dreams Luis inspires.. This triumphant debut romance reveals what’s possible when we allow ourselves to want something enough to swing for the fences.

The Prospects: A Novel

“Scrumptiously entertaining . . . Fans of a certain popular British baking show will be giddy with delight.”—Booklist When two women meet as judge and contestant on the set of a TV baking competition, they must decide what they’re willing to risk for the ultimate prize in this wholesome and delectable debut. LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALIST • A POPSUGAR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR. Food is their love language, but can they follow a recipe for romance?. Tori Moore, high school chemistry teacher, avid home baker, and soon-to-be empty nester, auditions for the American Bake-o-Rama TV competition at the urging of her twin teenagers. The prize money could allow her to finally open her own bakery, but plagued by self-doubt after a messy divorce, it’s not only money standing between Tori and her dreams. Once on set in Sonoma wine country, Tori catches the eye of Kendra Campbell, the notoriously ruthless celebrity chef and Bake-o-Rama judge. This show is Kendra’s ticket to financial security, but she’s been told to soften her approach for viewers seeking feel-good entertainment—quite the task after years of fighting for space in a male-dominated industry. Tori and Kendra find it increasingly hard to keep their distance through six slow-burn weeks of cooking challenges and kitchen disasters. For both, the best prize of all might just be love.

Love at 350°: A Novel

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A cinematic debut set in the American West about a scrappy orphan bent on making her own luck—and finding friendship, romance, and her true calling along the way“Queer, feminist, subversive, and a good old-fashioned freight train of an adventure story.”—Sara Nović, author of True Biz The heart wants what it wants. Saddle up, ride out, and claim it. It’s the spring of 1877 and sixteen-year-old Bridget is already disillusioned when she arrives penniless in Dodge City with only her wits to keep her alive. Thanks to the allure of her bright red hair and country-girl beauty, she’s recruited to work at the Buffalo Queen, the only brothel in town run by women. Bridget takes to brothel life, appreciating the good food, good pay, and good friendships she forms with her fellow “sporting women.” But as winter approaches, Bridget learns just how fleeting stability can be. With the arrival of out-of-towners—some ominous and downright menacing, others more alluring but potentially dangerous in their own ways, including a legendary female gunfighter who steals Bridget’s heart—tensions in Dodge City run high. When the Buffalo Queen’s peace and stability are threatened, Bridget must decide what she owes to the people she loves and what it looks like to claim her own destiny. A thoroughly modern reimagining of the Western genre, Lucky Red is a masterfully crafted, propulsive tale of adventure, loyalty, desire, and love.

Lucky Red: A Novel

“A moving chronicle of trans resilience and joy.”—Vogue“Rocero forged a path for herself where one hadn’t previously existed and in Horse Barbie gives us such a warm and relatable story of strength and spirit.”—Elle, Best Memoirs of 2023 (So Far). As a young femme in 1990s Manila, Geena Rocero heard, “Bakla, bakla!,” a taunt aimed at her feminine sway, whenever she left the tiny universe of her eskinita. Eventually, she found her place in trans pageants, the Philippines’ informal national sport. When her competitors mocked her as a “horse Barbie” due to her statuesque physique, tumbling hair, long neck, and dark skin, she leaned into the epithet. By seventeen, she was the Philippines’ highest-earning trans pageant queen.. A year later, Geena moved to the United States where she could change her name and gender marker on her documents. But legal recognition didn’t mean safety. In order to survive, Geena went stealth and hid her trans identity, gaining one type of freedom at the expense of another. For a while, it worked. She became an in-demand model. But as her star rose, her sense of self eroded. She craved acceptance as her authentic self yet had to remain vigilant in order to protect her dream career. The high-stakes double life finally forced Geena to decide herself if she wanted to reclaim the power of Horse Barbie once and for all: radiant, head held high, and unabashedly herself.. A dazzling testimony from an icon who sits at the center of transgender history and activism, Horse Barbie is a celebratory and universal story of survival, love, and pure joy.

Horse Barbie: A Memoir

A memoir of leaving the evangelical church and the search for radical new ways to build community.  Jeanna Kadlec knew what it meant to be faithful--in her marriage to a pastor’s son, in the comfortable life ahead of her, in her God--but there was no denying the truth that lived under that conviction: she was queer and, if she wanted to survive, she would need to leave behind the church and every foundational building block she knew.  Heretic is a memoir of rebirth. Within, Kadlec reckons with religious trauma and Midwestern values, as a means of unveiling how evangelicalism directly impacts every American--religious or not--and has been a major force in driving our democracy towards fascism. From the story of Lilith to celebrity purity rings, Kadlec interrogates how her indoctrination and years of piety intersects with her Midwest working-class upbringing. As she navigated graduate school, a new home on the East Coast, and a new marriage, another insidious truth began to reveal itself --that conservative Christianity has both built and undermined our political power structures, poisoned our pop culture, and infected how we interact with one another in ways that the secular population couldn’t see.   Weaving the personal with powerful critique, Heretic explores how we can radically abandon these painful systems by taking a sledgehammer to the comfortable. Whether searching for community in the face of millennial loneliness or wanting to reclaim a secular form of fellowship in everyday life, Kadlec envisions the brilliant possibilities that come with not only daring to want a different way but actually striking out and claiming it for ourselves.

Heretic: A Memoir

Moving to NYC means a fresh start for Naina, until an unexpected connection has her questioning everything she thought she knew about love, ambition, and her place in the world.. “People who've been ‘that woman crying on the subway just after moving to New York’ will feel so seen. (It's me. I'm people.) Comedic Timing is a raw depiction of romance and friendship, featuring all the complexity of navigating sex and love as a bi woman.” —Kate Goldbeck, author of You, Again Naina Rao is ready for this to be her year: She’s entered her mid-twenties, landed a steady job, broken up with her intensely passionate older girlfriend Sofia, and committed to hustling her way into a creative career. But the city doesn’t exactly embrace her with open arms – at least not until she meets David, an aspiring filmmaker and collaborator who makes New York start to feel like home. But is this a professional connection or a romantic one? And does opening herself up to a relationship with David mean compromising her sexual identity and her aspirations? The third book from 831 Stories, a modern romantic fiction company that prioritizes pleasure reading and the genre’s enthusiastic fans. For more pleasure reading, follow @831storieshq.

Comedic Timing

“Abby Jimenez has proven time and time again to be one of our must-read writers.”―Cosmopolitan   There might be no such a thing as a perfect guy, but Xavier Rush comes disastrously close. A gorgeous veterinarian giving Greek god vibes—all while cuddling a tiny kitten? Immediately yes. That is until Xavier opens his mouth and proves that even sculpted gods can say the absolute wrong thing. Like, really wrong. Of course, there’s nothing Samantha loves more than proving an asshole wrong…. . . . unless, of course, he can admit he made a mistake. But after one incredible and seemingly endless date—possibly the best in living history—Samantha is forced to admit the truth, that her family is in crisis and any kind of relationship would be impossible. Samantha begs Xavier to forget her. To remember their night together as a perfect moment, as crushing as that may be.. Only no amount of distance or time is nearly enough to forget that something between them. And the only thing better than one single perfect memory is to make a life—and even a love—worth remembering.

Say You'll Remember Me

Inspired by True Events. Growing up in an exclusive Tennessee neighborhood, Mallory Hunt never fit in. Chubby and brunette in a sea of blond future debutantes, she takes solace in her tight-knit family and best friend Luna. Together, the girls bond over their favorite band, 5Forward, imagining exciting, glamorous futures.. Years later, Mal is suddenly thrust into the world of high fashion modeling. She transforms herself from small town outcast to model, meeting people she's only seen in magazines ...including Oliver Smith, the handsome former member of 5Forward!. From Dubai to Paris, London to Coachella, Mallory finds herself desperately in love with the former boy-bander despite fame, attention, and personal demons that threaten them both. As their fantasy love affair goes from private intimacy to public meltdown, Mallory learns the pain and heartache when your love goes from girlhood fantasy to real life drama.. Texas born and raised, MAYA HENRY has worked as a philanthropist and activist for female empowerment. As a young girl, Maya took solace in journaling and creating stories, sparking a love for writing. Being an author is what inspired her to enroll in a writing program. She is currently studying Creative Writing at New York University.

Looking Forward

After a rough tumble and maybe-serious head injury, a disillusioned trans poet falls for a charming corporate lawyer in a love story that grapples with the explosive ghosts of relationships past, romantic and familial, from the Lambda Award-nominated author of Bellies, Nicola Dinan. “Fell down the stairs and woke up a trad wife.”Max is thirty, a published poet and grossly overpaid legal counsel for a tech company. With a lifetime of dysphoria and fuccbois rattling around in her head, Max is plagued with a deep dissatisfaction during what should be the best years of her life. After taking a spill down the stairs at a New Year’s Eve party, she decides to make some changes. First things first: a stab at good old-fashioned heteronormativity.. Max thinks she’s found the answer in Vincent, a corporate lawyer and hobby baker, whose trad friendship group may as well speak a foreign language, and whose Chinese parents never pictured their son dating a trans woman. This uncharted territory may have rough terrain, but Vincent cares for Max in a way she’d long given up on as a foolish fantasy.. Yet Vincent is carrying his own baggage from his gap year in Thailand a decade prior: an explosive entanglement with a mysterious, gorgeous traveler. Voice-driven, warm, and poignant, Disappoint Me is an exploration of millennial angst, race, trans panic, and the allure of bourgeois domesticity that asks if we are defined by our worst mistakes.

Disappoint Me: A Novel

A compulsive feminist reworking of Carmilla, the queer novella that inspired Dracula. . "A dark, sensuous, gothic story of female appetite, ravenous desire and insatiable rage. A blood-drenched, glittering jewel of a novel that I absolutely devoured.” ―Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne and Atalanta. It’s the height of the industrial revolution and ten years into Lenore’s marriage to steel magnate Henry, their relationship has soured. When Henry’s ambitions take them from London to the remote British moorlands to host a hunting party, a shocking carriage accident brings the mysterious Carmilla into their lives. Carmilla, who is weak and pale during the day but vibrant at night. Carmilla, who stirs up something deep within Lenore. And before long, girls from the local villages fall sick, consumed by a terrible hunger . . . . As the day of the hunt draws closer, Lenore begins to unravel, questioning the role she has been playing all these years. Torn between regaining her husband’s affection and the cravings Carmilla has awakened, soon Lenore will uncover a darkness in her household that will place her at terrible risk.

Hungerstone

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Nina

Hi there! I’m Nina and I’m a freelance marketer, content creator, and writer currently working on her debut novel. I’m also the founder of Sapph-Lit, a sapphic book club & safe space where sapphic women and non-binary folks can read queer books, chat about life, ask for and offer support & celebrate their identities. Founded in May 2021, Sapph-Lit has grown to over 8,000 members from all around the world, and I’m so excited to join Bindery and expand Sapph-Lit into a community forward sapphic romance publishing imprint. Join us to help our mission of prioritizing sapphic representation in literature!