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Airs Above the Ground: A Lesbian/Transgender Sports Romance
Two passionate women, one magnificent horse, and a world determined to tear them apart -- unless love can bring them home.
Babs Westbrooke spent years running from the life that once defined her—trading her family’s legendary ranch for boardrooms, fundraisers, and the pressure of being one of the nation’s most influential trans leaders. Now, with hard‑won victories slipping away, she returns home in quiet defeat.
Lee Ortega, a rising dressage rider, is hired to train Rayo, the Westbrooke’s fiery Andalusian–Mustang stallion. She doesn’t know she was brought on without Babs’ approval—and by the time she learns the truth, she’s already bonded with the horse who feels like her destiny. She never expected to fall for Babs too.
For Babs, Lee rekindles a spark she thought she’d lost — a reminder of everything she once loved and is terrified to want again.
As Lee fights for her place in a sport ruled by wealth and pedigree, Babs is torn between the woman who makes her feel alive and the community she refuses to abandon. With competition rising and political pressure mounting, desire becomes a high‑stakes gamble neither can afford to lose.
Babs Westbrooke spent years running from the life that once defined her—trading her family’s legendary ranch for boardrooms, fundraisers, and the pressure of being one of the nation’s most influential trans leaders. Now, with hard‑won victories slipping away, she returns home in quiet defeat.
Lee Ortega, a rising dressage rider, is hired to train Rayo, the Westbrooke’s fiery Andalusian–Mustang stallion. She doesn’t know she was brought on without Babs’ approval—and by the time she learns the truth, she’s already bonded with the horse who feels like her destiny. She never expected to fall for Babs too.
For Babs, Lee rekindles a spark she thought she’d lost — a reminder of everything she once loved and is terrified to want again.
As Lee fights for her place in a sport ruled by wealth and pedigree, Babs is torn between the woman who makes her feel alive and the community she refuses to abandon. With competition rising and political pressure mounting, desire becomes a high‑stakes gamble neither can afford to lose.
273 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 19, 2026
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About the author
Alex Washoe
18 books42 followersAlex Washoe (they/them) is a nonbinary writer, game designer, and full-time pet parent living in Seattle, WA. In previous incarnations, they have been a bookseller, a wildlife rehab care assistant, a dog walker at a companion animal shelter, a public speaker, an amateur stand-up comedian, and many other less interesting things. Alex is prone to sudden, seemingly random enthusiasms — the list currently includes birdwatching, baking, running, hair dye … and of course writing. Writing is always job one.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 21, 2026
From the very first line, Airs Above the Ground does not simply invite you into a story, it pulls you into a world so vividly drawn, so achingly real, that you feel the dust of the ranch, the electric tension of the show ring, and the quiet, trembling hope of two hearts daring to connect. Alex Washoe has not just written a romance; they have crafted a breathtaking ode to resilience, identity, and the transformative power of love in its most defiant forms.
Babs Westbrooke is a character who will stay with me forever. Washoe portrays her with such profound depth and empathy, her weariness, her strength, the weight of her advocacy, and the vulnerable, forgotten dreamer underneath. Her journey home is not a retreat, but a rediscovery, and watching her awaken through Lee’s passion is nothing short of revelatory. Lee Ortega, with her fierce talent and determined heart, is a brilliant counterpart. Their connection isn’t just romantic; it’s a meeting of souls, a recognition of shared battles fought on different fronts. The chemistry between them crackles not only with desire but with a deep, resonant understanding.
And then there is Rayo. The magnificent stallion is far more than a plot device; he is the beating heart of the narrative, a symbol of untamed spirit and grace under pressure. The scenes of dressage, the pursuit of the “airs above the ground,” are written with a poet’s grace and an insider’s knowledge, translating the language of movement into pure emotion.
What sets this novel apart is how seamlessly Washoe braids the personal with the political, the intimate with the universal. The stakes are both intensely private (a legacy, a career, a fragile new love) and powerfully public (community, representation, and justice). The tension never feels manufactured; it feels earned, important, and deeply moving.
Alex, if you ever read this: thank you. Thank you for writing a trans romance that is about so much more than being trans. It’s about coming home, to a place, to a passion, to a person, and to the truest version of oneself. Your prose is luminous, your insight is piercing, and your compassion radiates from every page. You have given us a gift with Babs and Lee’s story, a story of courage that soars, love that grounds, and a hope that leaps, magnificently, into the air.
To any reader searching for a romance that will consume you, challenge you, and ultimately lift your spirit: this is your next read. Airs Above the Ground is a triumphant, beautiful, and necessary addition to the canon of LGBTQ+ literature. It is, quite simply, unforgettable.
Babs Westbrooke is a character who will stay with me forever. Washoe portrays her with such profound depth and empathy, her weariness, her strength, the weight of her advocacy, and the vulnerable, forgotten dreamer underneath. Her journey home is not a retreat, but a rediscovery, and watching her awaken through Lee’s passion is nothing short of revelatory. Lee Ortega, with her fierce talent and determined heart, is a brilliant counterpart. Their connection isn’t just romantic; it’s a meeting of souls, a recognition of shared battles fought on different fronts. The chemistry between them crackles not only with desire but with a deep, resonant understanding.
And then there is Rayo. The magnificent stallion is far more than a plot device; he is the beating heart of the narrative, a symbol of untamed spirit and grace under pressure. The scenes of dressage, the pursuit of the “airs above the ground,” are written with a poet’s grace and an insider’s knowledge, translating the language of movement into pure emotion.
What sets this novel apart is how seamlessly Washoe braids the personal with the political, the intimate with the universal. The stakes are both intensely private (a legacy, a career, a fragile new love) and powerfully public (community, representation, and justice). The tension never feels manufactured; it feels earned, important, and deeply moving.
Alex, if you ever read this: thank you. Thank you for writing a trans romance that is about so much more than being trans. It’s about coming home, to a place, to a passion, to a person, and to the truest version of oneself. Your prose is luminous, your insight is piercing, and your compassion radiates from every page. You have given us a gift with Babs and Lee’s story, a story of courage that soars, love that grounds, and a hope that leaps, magnificently, into the air.
To any reader searching for a romance that will consume you, challenge you, and ultimately lift your spirit: this is your next read. Airs Above the Ground is a triumphant, beautiful, and necessary addition to the canon of LGBTQ+ literature. It is, quite simply, unforgettable.
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