Queer Books Roundup for your Pride Reading
Sorry, probably should have written this closer to the beginning of the month, Happy Pride!
This is a compilation of books I’ve read recently. There's a separate section for books that came out this year, because I know they may be harder to get ahold of from the library. There's also a section for books that I'm looking forward to.
I will note, that while I tried to prioritize writers I knew were queer, not everyone on this list openly identifies as queer, or has very little information about them. This could be a problem with, say, mlm romance novels, but you need to keep in mind that unless you are Nicholas Sparks, who doesn’t count himself as publishing romance anyway, it seems books that are under a feminine-sounding name sell better.
Also, on that note, some of these writers are writing outside their experiences (or at least seemingly are), with a feminine name writing mlm, but I am not trying to police identities, so keep that in mind while you look at the list. If it’s a problem for you, you may want to find a stricter list. Worrying about fetishization is a valid concern, and while I don’t think any of these came off as fetish-y, your mileage may vary!
With that out of the way, let's go:
Queer Fiction (Released Previous Years):
Pet – Akwaeke Emezi Review here
The Charm Offensive – Alison Cochrun (An MLM RomCom about a reality show)
Iron Widow – Xiran Jay Zhao (a Polyam series Review Here )
Darius the Great is Not Okay / Darius the Great Deserves Better – Adib Khorram (Not explicitly queer in the first book, but clearly in the subtext, and outright text in the second book)
Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating – Adiba Jaigirdar (Adorable YA with sapphic fake-dating)
Unmasked by the Marquess – Cat Sebastian (This is a Genderqueer Regency Romance, yes this is how I got into Regency Romances)
The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics – Olivia Waite (A wlw regency series!)
Queer Fiction (Released This Year):
I kissed Shara Wheeler – Casey McQuiston (First McQuiston for the YA crowd. I really liked their previous works, but I think this one is my favorite)
The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School – Sonora Reyes – Review Here
Flip the Script – Lyla Lee (Bisexual Fake Dating but not in the way you expect)
Kiss and Tell – Adib Khorram (This is not A fluffy book. It is a very thoughtful book about privilege)
Melt With You – Jennifer Dugan (WLW road trip in a food truck)
Queer Comics (No separation)
Cosmoknights – Hannah Templer A Webcomic you can read here
My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness – Nagata Kabi (A nonfiction Manga Series; 5 books out, each book is basically standalone)
Across a Field of Starlight – Blue Delliquanti I also recommend their finished Comic: O, Human Star )
Boys Run the Riot – Keito Gaku (trans boy narrative, it's a 4 volume manga series, I've only read the first two volumes)
Pixels of You – Yuko Ota, Anath Hirsh (Human and AI queer relationship)
Queer Books I am Excited About or Have not Finished:
Bitter – Akwaeke Emezi ( I loved Pet, and Want to see this prequel)
This Wicked Fate – Kalynn Bayron (Sequel to This Poison Heart which ended on a cliffhanger)
Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster – Andrea Mosqueda (I've read nothing by this author but I really like the sound of the premise)
A Lady for a Duke – Alexis Hall (trans regency romance. I’ve started it and I’m not super far in yet)
And that's all! I hope for twice as many queer books to write about next time. Please let me know if you have recommendations.
Feel free to at me on the Fediverse, please provide context though.