Lgbtq Books - Blog Posts

Underrated LGBTQ+ Books That I Highly Recommend

I’ve researched queer books many times, and most of the time, I see the same selection. While I understand why these same books come up (because they are really good books), I would like to take the time to recommend some less popular LGBTQ+ books.

Anger Is A Gift, by Mark Oshiro

Where do I begin with this book? Everything about it is fantastic: the writing, the characters, the story, and the way it all comes together into one big novel sandwich! I had an amazing time reading this book, and there were a few times where I was nearly pushed to tears. This book doesn’t just deal with queer identities. It also covers racism, police brutality, and much more. If you like books that feel very real, then this is definitely a good one to look up.

Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry

This book is just....amazing. I wholeheartedly believe that this book has no flaws. Once again, everything about this novel just comes together so well, and it all combines into this beautifully written creation. This book also deals with some very heavy topics, such as conversion therapy, and I recommend reading the synopsis thoroughly before reading it. However, if you are able to, I highly suggest reading this novel!

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

This book took everything that I love about scary stories and made it gay, and I love it. The way that the story flows in this particular novel is just fantastic, and when I first read it, I breezed through it in about a day. From what I can remember, I do believe that there are some triggering topics in this book, so do read the synopsis and any triggers listed. If you do get the chance to read this amazing book, I guarantee that you will love it!

Pretty much any Alice Oseman book

I wholeheartedly love all of the books that I have read by Alice Oseman, and while I haven’t read all of them, I have read a few. The two that I decided to mention on this list are Radio Silence and I Was Born For This, since I don’t see them actually being recommended anywhere. Honestly, though, any book by Alice Oseman is worth reading, as her writing is amazing. I have also read Heartstopper, and I am planning to read both Solitaire and Loveless. If you have never heard of Alice Oseman, I highly recommend checking out any of her books!

Darius The Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

This series has brought me to the brink of tears too many times. The first time I read this book, I was not expecting this many feels, but I am not complaining. Honestly, everything about this duology is just so comforting, in a weird way. The way it’s written, paired with the relatable protagonist and a gripping story was just so great, and I would sell my soul to read this book for the first time again. I can distinctly remember the feelings I felt during specific moments of this novel, and it reminds me how much I loved it. If you’ve never read the Darius The Great duology, I highly recommend doing so!

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Ah yes, I’m ending it off on the beloved Mo Dao Zu Shi. To be honest, I have only just read the first volume of this novel, since the other two volumes have not been released in English where I live. However, I do plan to purchase the other two volumes when I get the chance, because this novel was just so good! The characters, the beautiful artwork, and especially the gorgeous writing, all of it was amazing. This book is absolutely worth reading at least the first volume of, since that’s all I have to speak on at the moment. 

Thanks so much for reading! I hope this list was helpful to anyone who wanted some new LGBTQ+ book recs!

THEY PUT MXMTOON AND CAVETOWN IN HEARTSTOPPER IM LOSING IT 🗣️😭🫶💕💕

Fantasy LGBTQ books besides six of crows (these descriptions are bare minimal, go check out the actual summaries)

The Smoke Thieves

Demons exist and are killed for their highly-prized smoke. Political turmoil with plots for thrones and for war, all with demon smoke somewhere woven in.

Wicked as you Wish

An alternate reality where magic is an important part of life, with the tales of King Arthur at the center.

Timekeeper

When time is dependent on clock towers, it is up to mechanics to keep them up and running.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street

Set in the 19th century, this story is about a supposedly ordinary man and a clairvoyant.

May you burn with the monster that plagues your soul; may you lay in the ashes of your very sins and damnation. May the devil do with you as he sees fit and throw you deep into the pits of the eternal hellfire, and may you reap what you have sown.

Cole, Tacita Corvus (my book)

Book’s on my tbr

*more will be added when I get more/books will get removed when I read them and make a post about them*

Coven by Jennifer Dugan (currently reading) 

A Danger to Herself and Others by Alyssa Sheinmel 

Frightmares by Eva V. Gibson 

Three Truths and A Lie by Brent Hartinger

This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp 

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio 

Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan 

Mooncakes by Xu Walker Gil 

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust 

Clown in A Cornfield by Adam Cesare

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

I match my book :)

SACRIFICIO by ERNESTO MESTRE-REED (AFTERTHOUGTS)

quickly: a young afro-cuban discovers an underground revolution while investigating the last days of his dead boyfriend ('la revolucion!' won’t die / tourists who won’t leave / sex on the beach / bonfire orgies / little explosions everywhere / the ghost of che guevara / fidel castro as the voice of god / the body is the battleground / the oppressed becoming the oppressor / little brothers following big brothers / individuals finding community / families split by politics / quarantined confinement / dark liquor / kitchens turned into restaurants / HIV as radicalism / radicalism as an artform / queer people in love / men who are afraid to die / cities in the sky).

This is not a review, but I wish it was. Just thoughts as I recollect on the books I've read this year.

This is a book that transformed my views on sex, partnership, and revolution. I read this book in March of 2023 and it is now December. This story (along with THE BOOKS OF JACOB and BELOVED and PIRANESI) has sat with me all year, challenging me to think about who I am in relation to my community, my government, and my body. It has made me think more about what I require (or desire) in a partner, and what I want for the people around me. While reading THE BOOKS OF JACOB, watching LOVE HAS WON: THE CULT OF MOTHER GOD, and simply watching the news, I kept asking myself the same question the book provokes… when do movements become cults? is the oppressed always doomed to become the oppressor? how do you disrupt a negative feedback loop? is it possible to start over and build something totally new?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

a sweet sunset andreil moment is good for the soul 🧡😌 soft andreil can be something so personal

you can find this (and more) here on my E*tsy!

please DONT repost my art, but DO follow me on instagram! 🧡

oop kinda forgot about tumblr for a second there.

Please have this Vampire Neil and Vampire Hunter Andrew for spooky season to make up for it! 😌💗

Please don’t repost, but do follow me on instagram! I post more frequently there 💓

aftg x princess mononoke 💥

Please don’t repost!

But do follow me on instagram! 💗

Get out of my head neow !!!!!!

Nicholas Galitzine has a sadness in his eyes that you only see in Eastern European gay porn

rwrb kinda spoilers

had me sobbing queer movies always leave me in depression

heartstopper spoilers

-

-

ouch on heartstopper s2e2 where nicks older brother makes fun of him for being bi. that hits way too close to home as someone with 2 older siblings who’s still closeted to my family for that exact reason. i remember reading that part in the comic and having to take a breather

Bisexual books out in May 🩷💜💙

Books listed:

A Swift and Sudden Exit by Nico Vincenty

It Ain't Over Til the Bisexual Speaks by Lois Shearing, Vaneet Mehta, etc

The 7-10 Split by Karmen Lee

The Z Word by Lindsay King-Miller

Bisexuality: The Basics by Lewis Oakley

Til Death Do Us Bard by Rose Black (Hardcover edition)

Road to Ruin (Magebike Courier, #1) by Hana Lee

Blood Remains by Cathy Pegau

The Only Light Left Burning by Erik J. Brown Garner for Gold (Lustrous Divinity, #2) by Catherine Labadie

The Last to Pie (Pies Before Guys Mystery #3) by Misha Popp

The Girl in Question by Tess Sharpe

Smoke and Steel (Scions and Shadows) by Dax Murray

Fake Dating a Witch (Bewitching Billionaires #1) by Brigid Hunt

A Girl Can Dream by Emily Barr

The Ride of Her Life by Jennifer Dugan

A Little Kissing Between Friends by Chencia C. Higgins

Meet Me in Berlin by Samantha L. Valentine

The Sins on Their Bones by Laura R. Samotin

We Were the Universe by Kimberly King Parsons

Evocation by S.T. Gibson

Adrift by Sam Ledel

Don't Be a Drag by Skye Quinlan

This is not an exhaustive list so please do let me know of the books I missed 💖

‘The Monster of Her Age’ by Danielle Binks - coming August 2021

In a neo-Gothic mansion in a city at the end of the world, Ellie finds there's room enough for art, family, forgiveness and love. A coming-of-age story about embracing the things that scare us from the author of ‘The Year the Maps Changed.’

How do you ruin someone's childhood? You let them make-believe that they are a monster. But sooner or later, the mask must come off...

Ellie Marsden was born into the legendary Lovinger acting dynasty. Granddaughter of the infamous Lottie Lovinger, as a child Ellie shared the silver screen with Lottie in her one-and-only role playing the child monster in a cult horror movie. The experience left Ellie deeply traumatised and estranged from people she loved.

Now seventeen, Ellie has returned home to Hobart for the first time in years. Lottie is dying and Ellie wants to make peace with her before it's too late. But forgiveness feels like playing make-believe, and memories are like ghosts.

When a chance encounter with a young film buff leads her to a feminist horror film collective, Ellie meets Riya, a girl who she might be able to show her real self to, and last comes to understand her family's legacy - and her own part in it.

A story of love, loss, family and film - a stirring, insightful novel about letting go of anger and learning to forgive without forgetting. And about embracing the things that scare us, in order to be braver.

"How could I have ever been ashamed of loving Dante Quintana?" From Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe.

And

"Why can’t you see that I wouldn’t be happy anywhere without you?” from Wayward Son.

These lines hit you right in the feels and give kinda same emotion.

Alec. Whenever he was with Magnus, that inner wonder at the enormity of love, how the joy of it was so intense it was nearly tinged with pain.

-The lost book of White (Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu)

I absolutely enjoyed this book. It has a lot of fun and adventurous elements and packed with so much love and twists that keeps you hooked till the end. Cassie and Wesley chu captured the family love really well. Malec were so adorable. Oh yes! You'll meet tmi, tid, tdi characters too!

I rate it 4.8/5

Highly recommended for all Malec and Shadowhunters fans.

I can't believe that RWRB timeline is still going on. July 6th, the day Alex is flying to England to watch Wimbledon championship!

I'm rereading it already!

There was never any more inception than there is now,

Nor any more youth or age than there is now,

And will never be any more perfection than there is now,

Nor any more heaven or hell than there is now.

-We Contain Multitudes (Sarah Henstra)/ Walt Whitman

We Contain Multitudes.

I completed reading this book today and I liked it.

It's a love story between 2 boys who are paired by the English teacher to write letters to each other for a writing class assignment.

The friendship between Adam Karlansky and Jonathan Hopkirk develops little by little into love.

This book is much more than a love story. It also deals with bullying, homophobia, physical abuse and drugs.

I loved the writing and the writer's deep thoughts that has the power to evoke your emotions.

Kurl and Jo's love story was so cute and hot and had ups and downs.

There are some parts that I didn't like. Other than that it's a heartwarming, emotional and lovely book.

I liked so many quotes and the interpretation of Walt Whitman's poems. And I'm happy with the ending.

And Mark kurlansky is my favourite character.

I rate this book 4.8/5

What if it's us.

This book was great and I enjoyed every page of it except the epilogue. Though, it ended smoothly with little sad things. It was realistic.

Some people love this book and some do not..I both love and not happy with the ending.

I rate it 4/5

Have you read this book by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera?