6 Lesbian Novels That Bring the Romance, and Sex

Lesbian romance novels are essential, radical, and also just a fun break from the heaviness that so often coexists alongside our queerness. While some lesbian romance novels respect and recognize that heaviness in their plots, other lesbian romance novels choose to sidestep homophobia and sexism entirely, preferring to offer up a utopia in which their readers can luxuriate, if only briefly. Below, you’ll find a mixture of books that do both—and that give us thoughtful, queer pleasure—freed of the male gaze and written with queer readers in mind.