#ya lgbt books

[heavenlysprings]

nobody asked for this, but i wanted to share it regardless! here are the 22 books i read in 2022, it was a tough year but a good book was always there to pick me right up! so, here we go!

started of the year strong with some sapphic readings

and around this time the heartstopper tv show was coming out, so everyone could feel the hype !!!

i tried following the osemanverse but i was having a hard time focusing, so a good rwrb re-read helped clear my head. also read boyfriend material, surprisingly funny! i was really excited for the sequel

i'm not a big fan of reading in spanish, but una perfecta confusión (originally on wattpad, of all places) was actually pretty decent and cute, at times i cringed but the overall message and community built by the author are so wholesome<3

as you can see, i discovered tj klune's magnificent storytelling... and following a five-star reading with a disappointing sequel left me pretty bummed... leading to a reader's block

but then BANG, i picked up i wish you all the best, a book i DNFed back when it just came out (hah). i gave it another go and immediately fell in love with it. and the rwrb collector's edition came out and OBVIOUSLY i just HAD TO REREAD IT. i finished off the year with homefield advantage, i was loving the first half but then the second half.. one of the mc frustrated me SO. MUCH. she was a walking red flag and i just wanted to bridecarry jack (the other mc) out of the book and into a better story...

but it was a good reading year after all! AND NOW... 🥁🥁🥁

my beloved top 3!!!!! god, these books are so fucking good and i can't put into words how much i love them. special mention to under the whispering door, which made me BAWL MY EYES OUT

if you reached the end of this long post, thanks for reading and i wish you all the best (hah) in 2023!

[selkies-world]

Stars: Defied

By Rónán-Lukas Trodden

A racing star. An infamous socialite. And a decade-long family feud.

Romain Martineau is heir to his father's world-renowned companies, but is better known for showing up at house-parties.

Giulio Cavanni is a rising star in the racing world, and is heir to his father's luxury car emporium.

The two family-owned companies have been at the heart of multiple public feuds over the last decade.

But when Romain and Giulio run into each other at a party, secrets are shared, promises are made and new opportunities are discovered. With sparks flying and inheritances on the line, can the two heirs save each other from themselves, or are they destined to crash?

A gay love story, by a gay / bisexual & transgender author.

Buy my Make it Gayer than Shakespeare Ever Could Have Dreamt It book by clicking the rainbow link above, or by clicking right........ here.

----------------

I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID THIS

[abigail-abridged-summaries]

Ben stands, glancing down at my drink. "Grabbing a refill. Want me to top you off?"

My head snaps up.

"Your drink." His whole face lights up red. "I was—"

"That sounds great!" I throw back the rest of my drink with one frantic gulp, before shoving the glass into his hand.

[opal-stars]

sprolden my beloveds on my SCREEN?!?! 😩🥹🤲🏻

instagram • @ opal.stars

@aliceoseman @spacezeros @chronicintrovert

[makingqueerhistory]

Have you got any recommendations for books for young people (14+) around queer history & particular trans history? If possible in the UK? I've been a volunteer with a queer youth group for a while and I'm about to start as a youth worker, we keep a library for young people to borrow from so I'm always looking for new stuff. Thanks! 🥰🌈

Yes absolutely, here are some favourites!

Desert Queen

Dark and Deepest Red

A Quick & Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities

Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality

Beyond the Gender Binary

(Affiliate links above)

[arielthedaydreamer]

I will forever be bothered by how boys in fantasy shows lack whimsy.

The teen girls are riding unicorns, talking to fairies and being happy, while the teen boys are like "eew, fairies. Magic. Ew. I wanna go home and play videogames" I literally wanna punch them.

I want whimsical boys plz. Hell, I want whimsical men. Fully grown adult men, their eyes sparkling with childlike wonder as they cast spells and pet unicorns and protect magical plants.

Jupiter North. I want more Jupiter North please. Read Nevermoor, yall

[jjjackalope]

"INKED" by J.J. Jackalope out now!!

Have you guys considered what the world might've be like if sometime a century ago, people started being born with ink embedded into their skin, and powers at their fingertips? No? Well you should start, because I have the new-age queer book for you.

Think X-Men meets coming-of-age meets a bit of Percy Jackson action.

My goal is to give a sense of belong to anyone whose eyes grace my work. I know how important rep is to every minority and I want to do everything I can to give that representation.

Check out my website to learn more and buy!

Here's the book blurb :)

After being in online school for the last four years, Scottlin Vincino starts his Junior year at a new private boarding school an hour from home. It should have been similar to any other in-person school-- but alas, they had everything Scottlin didn’t. 

A mark. 

He'll have to keep it a secret, but it gets tricky when you have a knack for ending up in the infirmary… Whether it be for the hot boy you just met, or you're swept up in one of the freak accidents at the school that seem to just keep happening. 

Scott will have to juggle his sexuality, his grades, and his new friends all while solving the mystery of what is happening to his new academy.

[facts-i-just-made-up]

So dem books you wrote, any LGBT+ people in em?

Yes, they're published by Harmony Ink Press, an LGBT-focused publisher for the YA market. Please check them out, they have quite an amazing repertoire across the spectrum!

[oleanderblume]

I SPENT A REALLY LONG TIME ON THIS I HOPE YALL LIKE IT

Oh hay also book 3 comes out this November :)

[imafuckinggrimreaper]

-Benjamin Alire Sáenz [Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe]

[qbdatabase]

Click on the pictures to see each graphic better, or click on the link in the grey bar directly below each picture. All of these lists can be found at the Queer Books Database!

[unwarranted-opinions]

Book Recs Based on TV Shows

If you like My Adventures With Superman then you might like reading Dreadnought!

Dreadnought is a superhero duology written by April Daniels with a trans-fem main character.

Danielle has always known that she is a girl, even if her family refused to see her as anything but a stereotypical-masculine-man. But that all changed when Earth's greatest hero Dreadnought falls from the sky and dies in her arms, gifting his powers and mantle onto her. The mantle transforms Danny's body into the feminine body she always wanted.

Now unable to hide her trans identity from her parents and her status as the 4th Dreadnought from the world, Danny's life is thrown into chaos. Her best friend feels entitled to be her boyfriend despite the fact that Danny is a lesbian. And to make it even worse the superhero team of New Port, the ex-Dreadnought's old team, is arguing if she even should be a superhero and if the mantle of Dreadnought should go to a transgender woman.

Despite all this struggle in Danny's life, she is determined to help people as Dreadnought and find the cyborg killer of the old Dreadnought, Utopia. Along the way Danny makes friends that might be able to help her with her life.

A transgender supergirl, a cowgirl batman type, and a world thrown into chaos. In this heartfelt, empowering, and unapologetically trans duology you will join Danny in a world were she feels like she is one of the few heroes trying to actually help people from the dangerous world and tech.

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

Review: Metal From Heaven by August Clarke Rating: 5/5

I received an ARC of this title through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Marney Honeycutt works in the Yann I Chauncey Ichorite Factory but when their sister leads a workers' strike that turns into a massacre, they are suddenly all alone. Touched in the head by the metal they worked from birth, Marney has to get out of the city. They fall in with a gang of thieves who whisk them away to a mansion high in the hills by the sea. But Marney will come back. Because they are going to kill Chauncey and they're going to marry his daughter to do it.

August Clarke has done it again. I was captivated from the very first page by Clarke's signature dizzying, dazzling prose. I was utterly immersed in this rich world that blends fantasy and science fiction absolutely perfectly. I loved the different cultures, I especially loved the way Clarke emulated butch/femme lesbian culture, I loved that trans-ness was just part of the world and Marney never had to fight to be who they were.

The queerness really was my favourite part. It was so nice to finally read a book about a trans stone butch that feels like the trans stone butches I know. Marney felt and talked and behaved like so many of my friends do and that representation is so sorely needed. I have a list of friends a mile long to recommend this book because I know they ache to see themselves and their lives represented in media. I'm very grateful that August Clarke is able to do that with their books.

And the prose! Clarke has such a specific way of writing that just latches into your brain and doesn't let go. It flows so beautifully but has a staccato edge that I can't get enough of. I especially enjoyed how Clarke intermittently used second person to elevate how Marney was telling the story and the reason why they were doing that became so satisfying as the story went on. It was utterly brilliant.

If you are looking for a truly unique speculative fiction story that centres queerness and working class people in a story of revenge, I implore you to pick up Metal From Heaven and allow yourself to be swept away in this enthralling book. It's an absolute masterpiece.

Metal From Heaven releases October 22nd, 2024!

[wiltkingart]

Shining Talon from Master of One by Jaida Jones and Dani Bennett

[lavellan-the-ninth]

"Harrowhark was unsettled now, and she had been at peace, so she was cruel."

[plortasy]

Frances Janiver - Radio Silence