These Sapphic Romance Ecohorror Novels Are SO Hot (Literally)

A burgeoning microgenre has emerged in the lesbian lit community that has all the girlies feeling a strange mix of sexual arousal and existential climate dread. It’s called SAPPHIC ROMANCE ECOHORROR, a new romance trend that places steamy lesbian love stories against the backdrop of environmental devastation. If you’re looking to dabble in sapphic romance ecohorror, we’ve got four standout titles for you to check out! Read about them below, and be sure to comment with your favorites!


Love at First Megaflood by E. G. Pennywise

Love At First Megaflood

Justine is a meteorologist begging for the world to listen to her warnings about an incoming megaflood of apocalyptic proportions, but a government-led propaganda campaign has labeled her as a radical lesbian conspiracy theorist. Too busy trying to warn the world of what’s to come, she keeps missing the signals emanating from Dr. Laura Hapley, a marine biologist known for going viral for her whale videos who also is one of the few people who believes Justine about the flood. During late-night chat sessions online, Justine and Hapley become closer and closer. The scientist/content creator rallies her followers to listen to Justine, but will she also listen to her heart? When Justine and Laura’s paths collide, it’s like a superstorm of sapphic ecstasy. But how will their flood of feelings for each other weather the incoming megaflood? From author E.G. Pennywise comes this soaking wet new sapphic romance.

Searching For Her (And For Drinkable Water) by Lisa Laser

Searching for Her (and for drinkable water)

A helpless romantic, Jessica Bradenton knows the woman of her dreams is out there. When she was 16, she went to a bisexual psychic who told her she’d meet her true soulmate during her 38th year. For over a decade, she has been cursed with one dead-end relationship after another, but in the back of her mind she always knew it would never work with these women, who were just placeholders along the way of her true destiny. Now Jess is 38, and every woman she encounters makes her wonder: Is she the one? But meeting women proves hard against the backdrop of widespread drought and toxic water contamination. For the last five years, there have been ongoing water wars over the dwindling drinkable water supply across the country. But when Jess gets involved with an underground group committed to fighting the evil water companies profiting off of the crisis, she meets a slew of women who become new friends. But which one of them could be something more? Read the book that gives a whole new meaning to thirsty.

Hannah and Alex Are Heating Up by Jay Courtney

Hannah and Alex Are Heating Up

Hannah and Alex are workplace rivals at their high-intensity jobs as luxury real estate agents in California, where the wealthy are buying up land and building mansions to weather the upcoming apocalyptic heatwaves. But as the planet warms to unprecedented levels, Hannah and Alex find something heating up between them, sexual tension weaseling its way into their years-long rivalry that goes back to their boarding school days. Soon, they won’t be able to ignore it any longer, even if they are masters of the art of delusion and denial about their evil jobs. Both characters are terrible people, but the novel is going to pretend like they’re not!

Squall Squad by S.S. Swordsmith

Squall Squad

When a series of life-threatening squalls hit their town, a five-person polycule living in a sprawling but run-down farmhouse take it upon themselves to develop an anarchist collective to distribute mutual aid and rebuild a community ravaged by relentless superstorms and ignored by the government. They call themselves the Squall Squad, but can all the relationships and dynamics that make up this crew of misfit queers withstand the pressures of becoming a climate survival operation? And when one of them goes missing during a squall, will the polycule implode on itself? Read the book that features the most intense chore wheel in queer communal living history.

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Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya is the managing editor of Autostraddle and a lesbian writer of essays, fiction, and pop culture criticism living in Orlando. She is the former managing editor of TriQuarterly, and her short stories appear in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Joyland, Catapult, The Offing, The Rumpus, Cake Zine, and more. Some of her pop culture writing can be found at The A.V. Club, Vulture, The Cut, and others. When she is not writing, editing, or reading, she is probably playing tennis. You can follow her on Twitter or Instagram and learn more about her work on her website.

Kayla has written 1000 articles for us.

11 Comments

  1. OK, so I looked at the calendar this morning and was like, nope, not doing April Fool’s Day this year. I already feel like 2025 has been one, long unfunny and poorly planned prank. Not in the mood for anymore pranks, thank you.

    But. This was fun. I even smiled in delight. And I would probably read Squall Squad.

    And “Both characters are terrible people, but the novel is going to pretend like they’re not!” made me genuinely laugh.

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