If you’ve ever met me, you’ll know that I’m a lesbian book lover with a passion for LGBT literature—but queer books are hard to find, especially books about queer women. That’s why I was so excited to pick up The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie, a book about gay female pirates in a futuristic world. 

Cassandra “Cas” Leung trains Reckoners—a type of genetically engineered beast that has been trained to protect ships from the pirate-infested waters of the Neo-Pacific. On Cas’s first solo mission, she is captured by Captain Santa Elena and her crew of bloodthirsty pirates. To her shock and horror, the pirates are in possession of an unhatched Reckoner pup, and they have an ultimatum: if the pup dies, so will Cas. 

But Cas and the baby Reckoner aren’t the only lives at stake. Cas has been put under the care of Swift, a pirate girl who Cas despises. If Cas dies, Santa Elena will kill Swift, too. But as the stakes rise and Swift and Cas’s relationship grows, protecting Swift becomes more important than anything. 

Despite its short word count, The Abyss Surrounds Us is one of the only sapphic novels I’ve read to feature a believable, slowburn, enemies-to-lovers romance. Romantic tropes that are usually reserved for heterosexual couples—tropes like sharing one bed—are adopted into this queer love story. Not only was the queer representation appreciated, but the central couple is biracial, and the characters represent people of all different ethnicities. 

A complaint I typically have about love stories between queer women is that they’re never allowed to have real grit or conflict. I suspect this ties back to misogyny, but women in literature are so much more often passive and sweet than men in their same situation. It makes sapphic love stories come across as dull and unbelievable. The passion and spark is missing. 

The Abyss Surrounds Us, however, doesn’t fall into this trap. It’s a romance with real grit and substance. Swift and Cas’s relationship has it’s ups and downs, and things don’t always go well for them—and that’s exactly why I love it so much. The author didn’t shy away from giving the women real, tangible flaws that make their interactions spark. It sucked me in from their very first meeting. 

As wonderful and believable as I found the romance to be, the plot was nothing to sneeze at, either. Every page of the book was action-packed, and the world building of Cas’s futuristic universe truly immersed me in her situation. The book details an advanced, if bleak, future that seems so real I almost felt like I was there. If I had one wish, I would’ve liked to see more settings to establish the world even more—but the places Cas visits, like the Flotilla, feel tangible. Moreover, the political situation of Cas’s world is clear and important. 

All in all, The Abyss Surrounds Us is a science fiction novel and queer love story that doesn’t shy away from being gritty and real. In a world where lesbian fiction is hard to find, this page-turner is definitely one to add to your TBR.