I’ve been on a real sapphic romance novel binge lately — and there’s no end in sight! I love queers and I love a good trope and I’m captain of Team Love Is Not a Lie here at Autostraddle, so I thought I’d combine my affections and recent obsession and make a little quiz for you.
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Heather Hogan is an Autostraddle senior editor who lives in New York City with her wife, Stacy, and their cackle of rescued pets. She's a member of the Television Critics Association, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, and a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer critic. You can also find her on Twitter and Instagram.
Heather has written 1718 articles for us.
One bed!! A Classic
Enemies to Lovers.
That tracks because those romances are usually slow burns, which I prefer in fiction.
“Your Sapphic Romance Novel Trope Destiny is… Sworn Off Relationships
You’ve got your job, your friends, your job, your hot yoga, your job, your cool apartment. You’re like the beginning of every Hallmark movie. You’re just fine. You tried relationships, it didn’t work, and so you’ve sworn them off to focus on, say, keeping your family’s Christmas tree farm running, or taking care of your favorite aging aunt. But who is this wandering lumberjane looking for work? Who is this art teacher at your aunt’s active retirement community? They’re kind of making you forget all the walls of promises you made to keep yourself safe! They’re kind of making you want to be the opposite of safe.”
8 yrs post long term relationship & 4 yrs post situationship, there could be some truth to this lol
Me too.
I feel so called out by this. I’d spend more time contemplating exactly why, but work, then hot yoga. Not enough time you know. Damn!
The villain question was so hard! ALL OF THE ABOVE 😫
Omg same
Right?! And so was the favorite couple question. ALL OF THEM!
Yes! All of the above!
Sunny v. Grumpy is 100% my relationship:
But dang, are y’all… balancing each other out? Are you giving each other permission to explore other facets of your personalities? Are you empowering each other to be more fully-realized, holistically-motivated human beings? Are your opposites… made for each other?
Fake Dating. Which does explain my love for Hani and Ishu’s Guide and Seven Days at Silverglen.
Also, I actually have sung Defying Gravity at karaoke.
Enemies to lovers! My absolute favorite pairing in fiction (though I can’t imagine it working in my real life because I’m so conflict avoidant! Unless.. that’s how I know she’s the one…)
There’s only one bed! Which I enjoy reading about in my queer romances.
“FORCED PROXIMITY! You’re not as dramatic as “body heat to stay alive” but you’re definitely more intense than “falling for your roommate.” One bed. ONE BED! What are you gonna do, share it? Stay up late spilling your secrets? Take turns look at each other’s lips? Are you going to wake up accidentally cuddled together? Psh. One of you can just sleep on the floor. (But you won’t.)”
Celebrity/Royalty? I really hope not. I don’t want to be famous. It would just get in my way.
“Sitting on the floor of a hot shower, existentially.” 🤣🤣
*oh no*
I felt so seen that “On My Own” was one of the karaoke options, thank you lol
I got ‘Sunny vs Grumpy’ which, given that’s not too far off from my wife and I’s actual dynamic, tracks.
so beautiful.
I sat down to do this and thought ‘watch I get something like enemies to lovers’ (which I do NOT like or seek out)…
of course that was what I got.
Sworn off Relationships. Ok,you got me.
Yep now I wanna read a book about a lesbian CEO of a family-run Christmas farm who takes care of her favorite aging aunt and falls in love with the art teacher and/or the lumberjane looking for work