#nonbinary romance novels

[tjalexandernyc]

All these books feature trans and nonbinary main characters. All these books got jokes. All these books have painfully earnest queer love stories that end happily 🌈😘

Some quick rundowns!

Chef's Kiss (2022) is the story of grumpy pastry chef Simone and her new sunshiney coworker Ray working at a gourmet magazine that's trying to pivot to video. They end up being forced to collaborate on a series while Ray comes out as nonbinary at at work. It's a slow burn with lots of hurt/comfort and craft beer. I have been told reading this has made people very hungry.

Chef's Choice (2023) is a sequel to Chef's Kiss but can stand alone. Luna, Simone's roommate, loses her job and is approached the same day by a French guy named JP who needs to hire a fake girlfriend. For inheritance reasons, they have to learn to cook a specific menu of haute cuisine to appease his culinary empire family. There is only one bed and lots of cheese plates. I THINK this is also the first (only?) T4T romance published by a big 5 house. (If anyone knows of any others, please tell me!)

Second Chances in New Port Stephen (2023) is about Eli, a trans man who returns to his hometown in South Florida for Christmas after many years away and the first time post-transition. He reconnects with his first boyfriend and childhood best friend, Nick, who is now a divorced single dad. This is a dual POV second chance romance about memory and trauma but I promise it's funny. It's also a tribute to elder millennials turning 40 and probably my most personal book so far. I have been informed that Nick's father, Mr. Wu, is the only perfect man and I tend to agree.

Triple Sec (2024) is about Mel, a bartender at a swanky NYC cocktail bar, who has an instant connection with a beautiful patron, but is crushed to find out Bebe is married. Luckily, polyamory exists and Bebe and Kade, her genderqueer wife, have an open marriage. Told in three parts, the story covers the budding romance between Mel and Bebe, the unexpected attraction between Mel and Kade, and finally all three of them getting together, with Mel's citywide cocktail competition happening in the background. It's fluffy, steamy, and has a fun little tie-in for fans of the Chef's books. This might also be the first poly romance published by a big 5? Contemporary, at least.

If you want to support my queer, trans books, please pick up a copy at your local indie bookstore or online, or get one from your library, or tell a friend you think might dig them. I want to keep writing books for queer and trans people for a very long time, and the only way I can do that is with your help!

[rexanesolo]

Adventures in Clairune is out!

If you want to:

Bully a dragon lord

Flirt with an elf

Trust an assassin

And most importantly romance them!! With perks such as:

he/she/they option for players

6 endings (good and bad for each love interest)

A 1 hour playtime (roughly)

Pretty art style & good music

FREEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!

So go play my first vn! (I was inspired by the arcana and y'all might like this too :3)

[animentality]

I'm curious.

doing an experiment.

[maybemockingbird]

Hey everyone! We're heading into the Trans Rights Readathon season so I wanted to pop in and let you all know I have several options, including FOUR web novels (three of which are on Tapas, but all of them are on my Patreon with even more chapters available than what's out for the public). All of my web novels include not only trans and non-binary but almost entirely queer casts (many of whom also have disabilities, lots of cool rep!)

I also have the R-PNZL: A Futuristic Fairytale trilogy available in digital format for an instant and quick read AND a brand new digital only eco body-horror novelette featuring an athlete and a transmasc non-binary doctor struggling with weird botanical mutations! I'd love to be a part of your Trans Rights Readathon readings, all of my links and stories can be found on my website - disturbancesbyalycia.weebly.com and my Patreon - Alycia Davidson Author

[skyekilaen]

Fellow queer bibliophiles of Tumblr, I'm back with another roundup of new and recent queer romance books that are self-published, small press, and all over the rainbow with rep.

This month we've got all kinds of new books and characters:

- sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal, dystopian

- shifters, mages, elves, orcs, vampires, and necromancers who knit

- historicals

- contemporaries with celebrity, artist, and vintner MCs

- positive sex worker rep!

- ace, nonbinary, and trans MCs

- Black sapphic MCs

AND MORE.

Could I even fit all the covers in one graphic? No, no I could not.

Come on over and check out the list!

[jetwhenitsmidnight]

The Palace of Eros by Caro De Robertis

Release date: 15 August 2024

Genre: adult romance fantasy retelling

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

Young, headstrong Psyche has captured the eyes of every suitor in town and far beyond with her tempestuous beauty, which has made her irresistible as a woman yet undesirable as a wife. Secretly, she longs for a life away from the expectations and demands of men. When her father realizes that the future of his family and town will be forever cursed unless he appeases an enraged Aphrodite, he follows the orders of the Oracle, tying Psyche to a rock to be ravaged by a monstrous husband. And yet a monster never arrives.

When Eros, nonbinary deity of desire, sees Psyche, she cannot fulfill her promise to her mother Aphrodite to destroy the mortal young woman. Instead, Eros devises a plan to sweep Psyche away to an idyllic palace, hidden from the prying eyes of Aphrodite, Zeus, and the outside world. There, against the dire dictates of Olympus, Eros and Psyche fall in love. Each night, Eros visits Psyche under the cover of impenetrable darkness, where they both experience untold passion and love. But each morning, Eros flies away before light comes to break the spell of the palace that keeps them safe.

Before long, Psyche’s nights spent in pleasure turn to days filled with doubts, as she grapples with the cost of secrecy and the complexities of freedom and desire. Restless and spurred by her sisters to reveal Eros’s true nature, she breaks her trust and forces a reckoning that tests them both—and transforms the very heavens.

Content warnings

Sexual content

Misogyny, sexual harassment

Mentioned sexual assault

Mentioned domestic abuse

Familial abuse/toxic family dynamics

Confinement

Pregnancy

Review

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

From the start, this book does not flinch away from depicting the brutal misogyny of the time period. Psyche's throngs of suitors are cast into a new light, as this book shows the horrors of being desired by men, as well as the way marriage was viewed during this time.

Plot-wise this book follows pretty closely with the plot of the original myth, although a lot more time is spent exploring Psych's stay in the titular Palace of Eros. This was definitely the right choice to make as it gives the romance time to blossom, as well as allows time to develop Psyche's character. Psyche comes into her own during this time, as Psyche and Eros explore the meaning of womanhood and queerness (among other things😏).

I think the author does a good job of exploring the power imbalance between Psyche and Eros, although it's hard to not be aware that whatever agency Psyche has is only because a goddess allows her that. While their relationship isn't perfect, they do work on it and (mostly) resolve all of their problems by the end of the book.

Eros doesn't get as much character development as Psyche. This is fine, because I think this is much more Psyche's story than Eros'. But there are still certain elements I wish had been explored, mainly Eros' use of her powers. Throughout this book, Eros is kind of flippant about the way to uses her arrows to make people fall in love. Although she expresses regret about how she inadvertently ruined Daphne's life, she doesn't show much remorse or contemplation about any other people's lives she affected. The web of power is something Eros contemplates quite a lot, but she seems to cast herself in the role of being powerless to the whims of Zeus, while failing to recognise or address her own power.

I know I said earlier that the story focusing on Psyche living in the palace was a good choice, but it also results in less time spent on depicting Psyche's trials. I stand by this opinion, but this sort of results in the trials being kind of... boring. The original myth focuses much more on the events of the trials as Psyche proving her love for Eros, but in this book Psyche chooses to undergo the trials as a way to forge peace with Aphrodite. This was an interesting choice to make narratively, but ultimately lowers the stakes, especially since Aphrodite isn't even actively bothered with Psyche anymore.

Speaking of Aphrodite, I feel like her depiction was kind of shallow. She's not portrayed as a very complex character, aside from being a jealous goddess. I appreciate that the author shows how much she loves and cares for Eros, but I feel like she could have been explored a lot more.

I have always appreciated how special the myth of Psyche and Eros is, in the way that Psyche is one of few female Greek heroes, and also one of few Greek heroes who gets a happy ending. I think this novel captures the essence of the original myth, as well as expands on it in new and interesting ways.

Ultimately, while there are certain aspects of this book that I wish there could have been more of, the themes that the author chooses to explore, they do an excellent job of.

[bloomdigital]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bo (@bofable)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bo (@bofable)

Part 2/2 of bofable's adorable fan comic "Elaborate Flirting", BECAUSE IT STILL GETS ME.

On top of their art just being RIDICULOUSLY good, bofable now works as a game concept artist. So chase your obsessions, kids! Practice, practice, practice! Make gorgeous art of your original characters! Share your fanart! You'll probably make someone's day!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bo (@bofable)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bo (@bofable)

-MJ

BECOME A BACKER BY PREORDERING LONGSTORY 2 NOW AND RECEIVE A FREE COPY OF LONGSTORY 1! FIVE DAYS TO GO!

[rockthistowninsideout]

Masterpost of my YA / New Adult novels

Disclaimer: They're all in German, so as a German please check them out if that's your jam and as a non-German why not forward it to any German-speaking friends you have ;)

You like...

Queer love stories? Young women fighting for their happiness? Realistic family dynamics? Happy ends? And a good bit of wanderlust?

Then these are for you!

Wordwell-Rose-Trilogy

Summer in England. Four sisters. Sibling shenanigans and adventures! Featuring trans, asexual, bisexual and nonbinary characters.

Abenteuer Australien

An 18-year-old travels to Australia to visit her dad's family and discovers not only a family secret but also the truth about her aromanticism.

Honourable mention:

Das Weihnachtsrätsel

Cosy gay romance set around christmas.

Find all information here: corneliajost.de

[freshestsquid]

Conventional Passions (2/2)

[tjalexandernyc]

Hello!

I guess I am now on tumblr.

I'm TJ and I am the author of several queer romance novels. Chef's Kiss and its follow-up Chef's Choice are out now. If you've ever wanted to see nonbinary or trans people in a romcom while also dealing with cooking and baking, those books are for you. My third novel, Second Chances in New Port Stephen, is out later this year. It's a second chance holiday elder millennial Floridian romcom about a trans man falling back in love with his high school ex-boyfriend who is now a hot dad. You can get all the info on those at my website.

I'll be honest, I'm back on tumblr for the first time in years because it's become increasingly sucky to be on certain other social media sites as a trans nonbinary person, especially when you're trying to be a professional. Being an author is my job, and talking to readers and booksellers is a big part of that job, and I can't do that while clinging to my last shred of mental health. Not sure if returning to this site is the answer but let's find out!

[thesardonicwriter]

The writing has begun...

Hey hey hey! I'm back posting on tumblr again and for good reason this time!

I've actually started writing the story so far. As of right now, I have six chapters of the rough draft done. It's almost 11k words so far and I'm really proud of the work that I have done. And the reason I want to be posting it here, on tumblr, is because this is probably one of the core reasons that I have pursued any interest in writing.

I want to post early versions of the story in multiple places so I can have multiple people helping me make an inclusive story that uplifts the communities I include, giving them a voice of some kind in the story.

So, TLDR; Thank you, tumblr. Here's chapter 1 in the early stages.

I started writing Gotham fanfiction for tumblr when I was 15/16 on my grandmother's laptop. She never used it and ended up giving it to me anyway. I pretty quickly shifted to The Flash, my love of Tom Cavanaugh giving me a couple of years worth of one shots and short stories in the fandom and man, I used to love that so much. I still do, although reading my writing from back then does make me cringe. It has been a decade at this point.

From there, I moved to AO3 and I've posted there pretty consistently for a decent amount of time. Mostly original characters shipped with my favorite characters from my favorite media. And writing stories there gave me the idea for the story I'm writing now. Thank you, tumblr community, for shaping a young mind and inspiring me to continue a passion for creation.

[pretensesoup]

Queer books, day 31/30

Turns out I like writing about books in this format, but I read a lot more slowly than I write.

I asked on Mastodon for everyone's favorite romance novels with an NB character in them. Partly because I'm in the process of writing my own NB character and I wanted to see how other people had dealt with sex scenes (in the anatomic sense). Partly because I just wanted to see how anyone else conceptualized nonbinaryness*. That request led me to Sword Dance by AJ Demas. It only sort of answers my questions, but that's okay because it's amazing.

In an alternative version of the Mediterranean, Damiskos is an ex-soldier (now disabled) and current quartermaster who has been sent to visit an old friend (Nione) to secure a contract for fish sauce. At her house, he meets: a bunch of tedious philosophers led by Eurydemos (who seems to preach a very anti-alien, anti-LGBTQ agenda, and yet is writing poems for...), Varazda (a sword dancer and eunuch from Zash, another country in which Damiskos was once stationed and for which he harbors a deep affection), Varazda's "owner" Aristokles, and a few others. Quickly, Damiskos surmises that all is not as it seems--first, he foils an attempt on Varazda's life, and it becomes apparent that the relationship between Varazda and Aristokles may be a lie--in fact, they are conspiring to hide something far greater than the fact that Varazda is not actually a slave. Soon, Damiskos is teaming up with Varazda to solve a murder, then to avert a war and recapture Nione's villa from the philosophers. Oh, and falling in love.

Varazda is an interesting character. He (Damiskos's POV is the only one we get, and he uses male pronouns for him, although he says he thinks of himself as both male and female) was made a eunuch after his father lost a military engagement of some kind. He was then enslaved for a while, until he was sent to the Zashian embassy in Boukos, and then he was freed. This is obviously a major source of trauma, and Damiskos is in a unique place to appreciate that because of his time in Zash. As a result, Damiskos is extremely careful in their nascent relationship to let Varazda lead. Their relationship is very sweet in part because of this deference, and they deal with consent very well.

Key quote: (Varazda has been discussing how he doesn't always achieve an erection because of being a eunuch.)

Rather boldly, Damiskos said, "Want to see if we can make it happen again?" Varazda looked up in surprise. "What--right now?" "Yes, of course right now! Immortal gods. We're sitting on your bed, talking about how beautiful you are and whether or not you like sex--it's surprising I even need to say anything." "I am literally a eunuch, First Spear." After that they were both laughing...

As you might have guessed from the summary above, this is a world in which there is violence, homophobia/transphobia, and slavery, including sexual slavery. Women have some rights to own property, but they aren't voting citizens. The implication, reading between the lines, is that in the world generally, same-sex couples aren't too uncommon, and it's just Eurydemos's students who have a problem with them. (Eurydemos and his students reminded me a bit of Socrates and Plato, but of course Plato doesn't care that much about same-sex relationships, c.f. that one story from Symposium that got turned into a song from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. But I've been privileged to hear some angry Jesse rants about Plato since doing the podcast, and it reminded me of that. Anyway, as Plato says a lot, philosophers with bad opinions were a dime a dozen back in Athens, so.) Also, warning for explicit on-page sex.

*: Is Varazda nonbinary or is he gender fluid? I don't know. At one point, he says, "I never really think of myself as a man, but most of the time I'm quite happy for other people to think of me that way." Elsewhere, he implies that he doesn't want to be neither male or female, so he tries to be both. Maybe genderfluid is a better word for him. Maybe he can't articulate exactly how he feels, because he's not speaking to Damiskos in his first language, or because there isn't a word for how he feels. Either way, I enjoyed the way the character was portrayed.

That's it. Lots of action/plot, a good amount of romance, very engaging, love the setting. 10/10, go read it.

[joshuaalbert]

Los and Wesley break up at the Academy. Ten years later, they meet again.

[chaosisorderao3]

So I'm working on a book! (Three actually but this one is a recently started project). Might make some posts about it every now and then and I'll tag them #quinnstar like this one. It follows Quinn, a Jewish nonbinary ace autistic teenager who's just moved to a new city with their "loving" unsupportive family and craves a place to feel at home at their new (Jewish) school. On their first day, they meet Star, also nonbinary and autistic and ace, and with the ultimate autistic rizz and no hesitation, Star asks Quinn out at lunchtime on day one, and they plan a date for the weekend!

A nice little queer joy YA romance that shows the realities and the hope for these gay as hell teenagers.

[hollowmend]

Forgot to post it here, but I did the sprites for Under the Skies of Icarus, a very cute Amare Festival game!

Check it out if you’re interested in playing an ace nonbinary MC dating an AI housed in a giant mech <3

Link! https://brii-nanas.itch.io/under-the-skies-of-ikarus

[jetwhenitsmidnight]

Saint Death's Daughter by C. S. E. Cooney

Publisher: Solaris

Genre: Fantasy

If you like:

Necromancers who love pink 💕

The Locked Tomb series

Found family

Queernorm world-building

Skeletons and bones

Intricate magic systems

Footnotes!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Synopsis

Lanie Stones, the daughter of the Royal Assassin and Chief Executioner of Liriat, has never led a normal life. Born with a gift for necromancy and a literal allergy to violence, she was raised in isolation in the family’s crumbling mansion by her oldest friend, the ancient revenant Goody Graves.

When her parents are murdered, it falls on Lanie and her cheerfully psychotic sister Nita to settle their extensive debts or lose their ancestral home—and Goody with it. Appeals to Liriat's ruler to protect them fall on indifferent ears… until she, too, is murdered, throwing the nation's future into doubt.

Hunted by Liriat’s enemies, hounded by her family’s creditors and terrorised by the ghost of her great-grandfather, Lanie will need more than luck to get through the next few months—but when the goddess of Death is on your side, anything is possible.

Content warnings

death, murder, violence, torture, kidnapping, slavery

gore, body horror, blood

familial abuse, child abuse, domestic abuse: physical, verbal and emotional

parental death

self-harm for magic purposes

abusive relationship

animal cruelty, animal death

grief, depression

fantasy racism and xenophobia

physical confinement

childhood chronic illness

alcohol

Review

Saint Death's Daughter is the first book of the trilogy, followed by Saint Death's Herald, but it wraps up the main arc well-enough that it can be read as a standalone.

This is a wildly ambitious novel that, according to the acknowledgements, took over ten years to write? and it shows. The amount of world-building that goes into the gods, the magic system, the different countries as well as their respective cultures and forms of governance is simply astounding.

Although the synopsis is an accurate summary of the events of this book, every turn still took me by surprise, and I never knew what to expect.

Our protagonist, Miscellaneous "Lanie" Stones is full of heart and gumption. I loved her love; Lanie loves her friends and her reanimated creations and life and Death so earnestly and sincerely, with her whole heart, in spite of her upbringing. I'm also obsessed with the fact that, even though she is a necromancer, she loves bright colours and dressing in poofy pink dresses.

Not to say that this book is all sunshine and rainbows; Lanie goes through it, and this book turned out to be much darker than I had expected. (Check the content warnings!) But she manages to get through it with her newfound friends and family.

It's also really interesting how Lanie has a literal allergy to violence; violence is basically a given in most fantasy novels, so reading about how Lanie navigates violence in a world full of nothing but was fascinating.

Honestly, I could go on about this book for hours, but I think it's best to go into this knowing less about what happens.