Queer Recs for Pride Month and Beyond
(Please read title in Buzz Lightyear voice ty)
Well friends, Pride Month has come to an end, but we believe in reading queer books all year long! So to wrap up the month, here are a few of our contemporary and other queer recs!
And don’t forget to check out our episodes on An Island Princess Starts a Scandal, The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen, and our queer historical romance recs!
Hannah’s Recs:
Role Playing, Cathy Yardley: Basically, two middle-aged gamers meet online and have a bit of mistaken age-dentity—she thinks he’s a college bro; he thinks she’s an octogenarian. This was truly a main couple against the world romance, as the town they’re in SUCKS. I’m Lilo, the town is Myrtle, and I wanna POUND IT. Watching Aiden discover his sexuality (bi & demi) was so lovely, but the queerphobia from others, including his family, was so angering. On that note, apparently I have a *thing* for dramatic wedding scenes, because I went absolutely feral at one point…and so did Maggie 😏
Fake Dates and Mooncakes, Sher Lee: Okay, the blurb for this one promises a LOT—an m/m romance à la Heartstopper meets Crazy Rich Asians—but I really think it hit the mark!! The entire book was adorable and extremely cinematic. There was a fake dating bit at a wedding that was soooooo perfectly Crazy Rich Asians coded. Who knew I’d have an emotional attachment to cufflinks?? SWOON. Warning: do not read on an empty stomach. I was SUFFERING.
More Me with You, Alex Bertie: This one’s for all our audiobook lovers out there, as it’s an Audible exclusive novella. It’s short, sweet, and incredibly fresh…like a little movie that you immediately want to rewatch because nothing else is quite like it. Will was incredibly relatable as he was discovering the epic highs and lows of online dating as a trans man (and having IRL crushes on cute coworkers). There’s a little Halloween, a LOT of tacos, and so much awkward charm.
A Lot Like Adiós, Alexis Daria: CAUTION: HOT! In all honesty, I don’t remember much about this book besides the steam and the definite presence of grey sweatpants. Were the sweatpants relevant to the plot? No, but they were relevant to ME. However, I also know that both MCs are bi, it’s second chance childhood almost sweethearts, and that the hero owns a gym...so maybe the grey sweatpants were relevant all along 🫶
Kiss Her Once for Me, Alison Cochrun: Is it currently 80 degrees in Minnesota and 100 degrees in Texas? Yes. Am I currently recommending a Christmas book? Yes. I just think this one gets delegated to the holiday pile, but it’s also my favorite sapphic romance to date! I’m an absolute slut for two things between December 1st to December 26th: Last Christmas by Wham! and While You Where Sleeping. This book is both. That is all. (*whispers* ₘₑᵣᵣᵧ Cₕᵣᵢₛₜₘₐₛ)
Night of the Living Queers: 13 Tales of Terror Delight, Anthology (out 8/29): While there is romance in some of the short stories, this is DEFINITELY a horror anthology. But even then, there’s something for everyone, as they all vary in horror/romance/comedy/emotions levels. I have several favorites, but my top two stories are The Three Phases of Ghost-Hunting and Hey There, Demons. While reading around Halloween isn’t necessary, I highly recommend it! You’ll get spooky scary skeletoned 13 times over and while doing it, you’ll be supporting queer authors of color!
Caroline’s Recs:
The Fiancée Farce, Alexandria Bellefleur: An f/f fake dating Cinderella story featuring a nerdy romance reader and bookstore manager and a fabulous heiress who moonlights as a romance cover model. A friend told me I remind her of the former heroine and I was thrilled, mainly bc I would love a hot publishing heir/romance cover model to fall for me and buy me a bookstore.
All the Right Notes, Dominic Lim: Be still my musical theatre kid HEART. An m/m celebrity romance but make it a choir kid’s wet dream full of showtunes and Filipino food and incredible supporting characters. As a choir and theatre kid I was screaming crying throwing up (also literally crying myself sick at one point).
Love & Other Disasters, Anita Kelly: Speaking of of crying—this book made me FEEL THINGS. ALL THE THINGS. Anita Kelly’s books are often described as a warm hug and this is absolutely an example of that. I don’t even like reality competition show settings, but this is so perfect I ate it up (no pun intended, but the food content is also top tier).
How to Get a Girlfriend When You’re a Terrifying Monster, Marie Cardno: This is one of the weirdest and also most tooth-achingly sweet monster novellas I’ve ever read. It’s not explicit at all, so don’t expect your standard “monster fucker” monster romance. Instead it’s a sapphic romance between a witch who’s studying inter-universe travel and a fragment of a sentient void that breaks off and mimics the cute human girl who keeps popping in. Brb writing an essay on the use of defamiliarization…
Pet, Akwaeke Emezi: Not a romance, but one of the best books I’ve read this year, written by a Black nonbinary author who’s just brilliant and focusing on a trans main character. It’s artful in its simplicity as a mirror for our own world and the dangers of choosing to believe everything is better instead of remembering to seek out the monsters among us. Also a GREAT audiobook.
Stars in Your Eyes, Kacen Callendar (out 10/10): This is Kacen Callendar’s adult debut, out from Forever this October, and I’m sooooo excited for everyone to read it!! It’s an m/m celebrity romance between costars acting in a romcom, one of whom is Hollywood’s rising golden boy and the other of whom is a the scandalous bad boy. This is really intense, emotional, and a serious exploration of trauma and the exploitation of young people in Hollywood, so be prepared for an intense read.
Hopefully these (and all our other recs) have thoroughly built up your TBR, and you remember to read queer romance all year long!
Blasting off,
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