This week’s category of the Sapphic Book Bingo features sapphic books set Down Under.
This square of the bingo card takes of south of the equator and includes all sapphic books that take place in Australia, New Zealand, or one of the Pacific Islands.
For example, it could be a book set in the Australian outback, on a remote sheep station, the mountains of New Zealand, the queer nightlife of Sydney, or a quiet village on a Pacific Island.
15 sapphic books set Down Under
Below, you’ll find 15 sapphic books set in Australia or New Zealand.
Sometimes We Fly by Cheyenne Blue
At forty-six, Maren McEvoy is Australia’s most popular newsreader, but for how much longer? And now her ex-husband has moved in with his boyfriend, and her sixteen-year-old daughter has been caught carjacking. Something has to change.
Laid-back Jacinta Fowler is furious. Her new neighbour’s daughter with her nightly prowling and disdain for the law, is a serious threat to Jac’s motorcycle tour business. It’d be so easy to stay mad except that the girl’s mother, Maren, is all kinds of gorgeous. And intriguing. And incredibly famous.
But there’s no way Jac should get involved with a closeted celebrity. That way leads to danger… Right?
Available at:
Amazon
The Temp by Donna Jay
Driven and efficient businesswoman Vivienne Alexander reluctantly finds herself at a speed-dating night after her friend buys her a ticket. It’ll probably be a waste of time anyway, she tells herself. She doesn’t need a relationship to make her whole.
So, when an alluring stranger with bright smiles and a riot of auburn hair predicts Vivienne will be in her bed by the end of the night, she’s not sure which is more surprising: the sheer cockiness or the thrill that shoots through her.
Free-spirited temp Carla Cooke loves living life to the fullest but has decided it’s time to put down some roots. She’s pumped to start her new job working for a finance company until she discovers who she’ll be working for. Who knew the icy woman she’d teased at speed dating would be her temporary boss?
Now sparks and daggers are both flying. How can this possibly end well?
Available at:
Amazon
Audible
A Curious Woman: Murder Under the Gum Trees by Jess Lea
Bess Campbell has escaped to the windswept Australian coastal town of Port Bannir, determined to begin her life again. She is loving her fresh start, thanks to her fun job running a hip gallery, her territorial chickens, and a lot of self-help books to find her new, better self. Port Bannir local Margaret Gale runs an austere maritime museum, and rules her staff with an iron fist. She has no time for that crazy modern gallery or upbeat, earnest Bess sweeping around town on her hipster bicycle. After a heated dispute over an antique collectible dildo, there’s little hope Margaret and Bess will ever see eye to eye. But when Port Bannir is rocked by a senseless murder, both women find themselves implicated. Can they work together to expose the truth––or will the truth prove far too dangerous?
Available at:
Ylva Publishing
Amazon
Audible
Love Is…? by KJ Wrights
Tessa Connor loves everything about love, even though she’s not sure what love actually is. When she’s let go by the family of the children she’s chaperoned for years, and her girlfriend of eighteen months dumps her, Tessa’s tenuous definition of love takes a hit.
Then a phone call changes everything. Would Tessa like to work for an international celebrity in Melbourne? The only answer is “Yes, of course.”
Jayde Ferguson is not a fan of love. According to Jayde, the definition of love is heartbreak. She’d rather have a string of one-night stands and concentrate on her job as a journalist writing articles for local Melbourne papers.
When Jayde is given the opportunity to profile an international celebrity for Culture magazine, she is thrilled. Then appalled. An in-depth interview about the meaning of love? How does someone write about a topic that is impossible to define?
After a mixup at the celebrity’s front gate, Tessa and Jayde discover that they will be spending months working in the same household. So, what happens when two people, who don’t have a clue about love, accidentally discover its true meaning?
One chaperone, one journalist, one precocious teenager, one wedding, one celebrity profile, and maybe all the answers to…Love Is…?
Available at:
Amazon
Vengeance Planning for Amateurs by Lee Winter
Muffin maker Olivia Roberts has had it with her awful exes taking advantage of her good nature. The theft of her nana’s beloved stuffed penguin is the absolute last straw.
She puts up an ad at her local crime bookstore for a henchperson to help her enact a little mild revenge. To her astonishment, Margaret Blackwood, the mysterious, icy, and annoyingly opinionated bookstore owner, applies.
For two clever, capable women, they turn out to be woeful at vengeance. But much to their dismay, they discover they’re pretty good at falling in love!
Available at:
Ylva Publishing
Amazon
Apple Books
Audible
My Road Found You by Lyn Denison
She desperately needed to escape, and it was all going to plan until that fiery accident. Waking in hospital to the sound of a soothing voice gave her a glimpse of a future she’d craved, but could she wish her past away by pretending to have no memories of it?
Lou Baxter liked her straightforward life. Her divorce had been amicable, she loved her job, her daughters, and even her wonderful, irritating mother. Then an injured young woman with beautiful dark eyes called her her guardian angel, and her life became so much more complicated.
Available at:
Amazon
The Void by Neen Cohen
Kiera never fit in. Not on her aunt’s farm, not at her boring job, not with her ex-girlfriends. But she hasn’t given up hope of finding that elusive place to belong.
A freak storm leaves her stranded, alone in the office.
When something flashes past the upstairs window, the sarcastic voice in her head, Jiminy, insists it’s a figment of her imagination. But Kiera knows she didn’t imagine the flying pirate ship.
Or the dragon.
If she jumps on board—into a hidden world above the clouds—there’ll be no coming back. Is she ready for the quest of a lifetime, and the dark secrets beginning to unfurl?
Available at:
Amazon
A Will To Love by Reese Quinn
Jessica has just landed her dream job, studying the ocean in Australia. However, settling into her new life proves to be harder than she thought. Everything is vastly different from her life back home. As someone who likes to plan ahead, it’s not the best start.
Although, one day, Jessica runs into someone who will change her life forever…
Willow has lived her entire life in Australia. With an uneasy upbringing and bad experiences with love, she has her walls up.
She runs away from any opportunity to express her feelings, so opening up to Jessica would be far from easy. After a rocky start, the pair begin to spend time together and a romance starts to bloom. But with constant reminders of the past, will Willow let her walls down and move on?
Will the past cast a shadow over their future? Or will they finally embrace their feelings?
Available at:
Amazon
Apple Books
Audible
Best Friends’ Promise by Issy Waldrom & Mackenzie Sutton
Best Friends are forever, are they not? Time spent together, bonds formed, promises made. No matter how fantastical they might seem, how far-fetched. But friendships can change as time takes its toll, and people change.
Miyako might be a bit lost in life. She’s come out as trans, is studying in the hopes of doing something with her life, and perhaps wishing that things could be different. But Luna is still her best friend, and when she gets invited to go to a concert with her, to see Luna’s favourite band and crush, what she doesn’t expect is the offer to be turned into a vampire alongside Luna, because she wants her there with her. Of course, there is no way that she was ever going to refuse.
Decisions, made on impulse or not, have their consequences. Especially when it means that she’s thrown herself into a hidden aspect of society. Sure, she might have the body she’d only been able to dream about, but now she’s involved with a wider group of people, has to prove herself to her family, and there is darkness at the edges. And why does she have to have feelings for that one hot vampire who was an absolute bitch to her. Even if she is exactly her type, and perhaps there might be more to it all.
Available at:
Amazon
All the Little Moments by G Benson
A successful anaesthetist, Anna is focused on herself, her career, and her girlfriend. Everything changes abruptly when her brother’s and sister-in-law’s deaths devastate her and her family. Left responsible for her young niece and nephew, Anna finds herself dumped and alone in Melbourne, a city she doesn’t even like. She tries to navigate the shock of looking after two children battling with their grief while managing her own.
Filled with self-doubt, Anna feels as if she’s making a mess of the entire thing, especially when she collides with a long-legged stranger. Anna barely has time to brush her teeth in the morning, let alone to date a woman—least of all one who has no idea about the two kids under her care.
Just when Anna finally starts to feel as if she’s getting some control of the situation, the biggest fight begins and Anna really has to step up once and for all.
Available at:
Ylva Publishing
Amazon
Apple Books
Audible
Southern Lights by Liz Arncliffe
Closed-off teacher Sloane Sullivan sees only shades of gray since she lost her wife. Desperate for escape and healing, she travels from the US to Australia to find color. Instead, she finds an unexpected home with a reclusive, prickly actress and her cheeky daughter.
Actress Ava James chooses her flings the way she chooses her roles: safe, fleeting, and short-lived. Better not to try than to risk humiliating failure—again. Her ordered life is upended when an American she had one sexy morning with only days earlier turns out to be staying in her mother’s guest house—for a whole year!
After an awkward beginning, a tentative friendship forms promising the start of something much deeper…if only they can let go of their ghosts.
Available at:
Ylva Publishing
Amazon
Apple Books
Audible
Perks of Office by Liz Rain
After high-powered politician Bridget O’Keefe sweeps into the uninspiring life of Australian electorate officer Emma Ives, nothing is the same again.
Hapless, hopeless Emma is smacked with an instant crush on the polished woman who’s her new boss…her hot, untouchable, straight boss. Yes, she knows she’s an idiot because unrequited lust at work is a terrible idea. Even so, she can dream.
One long night changes everything. A political scandal leads to a fall from grace and Emma suddenly finds herself the one Bridget turns to for comfort. There’s a lot for Emma to wrap her mind around, even as her body loves wrapping itself around Bridget’s curves.
Is it just a meaningless night of passion, nothing more? Because there’s absolutely no way ambitious, beautiful Bridget wants anything more from Emma. Is there?
Available at:
Ylva Publishing
Amazon
Apple Books
Audible
Gold by EJ Noyes
When you spend your life at the top, there’s only one direction you can go.
Pro alpine skier Aspen Archer’s downfall happened in the worst possible way—a career-ending crash on a gold medal run at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Aspen packed up her broken life, picked up her broken body and now hides in comfortable obscurity at ski resorts around the world, coaching tourists and ignoring her problems.
Cate Tierney knows who Aspen Archer is, but the last place she expected to meet the former Olympian was during a ski trip to Australia. Hurt by a past relationship, and with a teenage daughter to protect, Cate’s initial reluctance is quickly overcome by her intense attraction. But with Cate’s vacation ending in a few short weeks and Aspen’s aversion to staying in one place, can their encounter be anything more than a fling?
When Cate discovers Aspen’s secrets, Aspen is forced to face everything she’d been trying to forget. And everything she’d forgotten she wanted. Aspen already knows the route from start to finish doesn’t always go as planned. Now she needs to figure out how to get herself back on course for good.
Available at:
Bella Books
Amazon
Apple Books
Audible
Under the Southern Cross by Claire McNab
The vast, forbidding Australian Outback… the grandeur of Ayers Rock… legendary Alice Springs… the Great Barrier Reef… the primal beauty of Cape Tribulation…
Two women, from different continents, with different values, collide with spectacular results… UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS.
American Lee Paynter has built her Small travel agency into an international tour company. Brash, confident, openly lesbian, her great love is her business. Women? They’re to enjoy and let go.
Alexandra Findlay is pursuing a career in Australian tourism with quiet focus and determination, convinced that her career is
the best she can hope for in her arid, closeted emotional existence.
Now Alex has been assigned to accompany Lee on the American woman’s visit Down Under, to win Lee’s company over to Australian tourism. Suddenly Alex’s quiet life explodes… And Lee is challenged by a woman unlike any she has ever known.
Available at:
Bella Books
Amazon
Apple Books
Food for Love by C. Fonseca
When Jessica Harris flies home to Australia to sort out her late brother’s estate, the last thing she wants to face is his altruistic investment—an eatery on the rural Bellarine Peninsula.
The injured British/Indian elite cyclist just wants to settle up, move on, get rehab, and certainly not have to deal with the restaurant’s beautiful owner and artisan foodie, Lillian McAllister, or her sweet, four-year-old daughter.
In order to win, Jessica’s disciplined life is dedicated to controlling her emotions, and she isn’t sure she’d survive letting her walls down now.
Available at:
Ylva Publishing
Amazon
Apple Books
Audible
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What book will you be reading for the “sapphic books set Down Under” category? Let us know in the comments!
