My Favorite Queer Book Recommendations

I love reading! Or I used to when I was younger, and I’ve been teaching myself to love reading again by diving into a category of books I haven’t explored before: Romance. And it’s been so much fun! It’s like reading a hallmark movie and it’s so so cozy! Plus queer literature—whether it’s novels, short stories, poetry or plays—is one way that I can explore the life experiences of LGBTQIA+ characters in a way that feels both authentic and personal. I’m understanding myself better through reading queer stories. Here are my favorite queer book recommendations (in no particular order) that feature queer characters! If you click through you can read my full reviews of the books as I write them!!

 

Written in The Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

Alexandria Bellefleur is a new-to-me author and I absolutely loved her writing in this book. It’s got all of the best elements: romance, adventure, humor, drama and so many queer characters! She also wrote the next book on this list! This is a very hallmark esque book – fake relationship where they develop real feelings! One of my favorite tropes.

 

Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

Alexandria Bellefleur also wrote this book, which I loved! It is different than most books I’ve read because you learn about 6 different character at the same time. Which works well because she wrote three books, each book following one set of couples! I laughed out loud when I read this book. There were frustrating moments where the lack of conversation could derail the relationship, but it was very tongue in cheek where they were aware of it.

 

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

You’ve probably heard of this author from “Red, White, and Royal Blue” which to be honest I haven’t read. But One Last Stop was such a good book. My favorite part of this book was the ending so spoiler alert. So often with books they have a happy ending and then the book is over. With this book the happy ending continued on for multiple chapters and I adored that.

 

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake

I love this book so so much! Weddings and family drama and photography it was all amazing. 12/10 would recommend this book.

 

Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O’Neal

Part romance, part adventure, part mystery this book is emotional, made me laugh out loud, and was a testament to friendship. It talks about mental illness and chronic illness and what it means to be “normal.”

 

The One True Me and You

The One True Me and You is a book about a young boy who is struggling with his identity. The author, Robert Sternberg, was inspired to write this novel by his own experiences as a gay man. He tells the story of how he came out and how it made him feel in high school.

The book has received many positive reviews on Amazon and Goodreads for its message of acceptance. It’s also been used in many classrooms across the country to help teach children about different sexualities through stories they can relate to.

 

D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins

This book is a combination of the best dating shows like love is blind and reading. Can the couple convince their families they’re in love and will they get married in just 6 weeks? 1 supportive family and 1 family you have to come out to. And what do you do if your family has always known you’re queer and just didn’t talk about it letting you worry? I would absolutely recommend this book to everyone, I laughed and cried.

 

The Lucky List by Rachael Lippincott 

I thought this book was everything it should be. Emily is feeling a lot of things. She’s trying to connect with her mom who passed from cancer. She’s trying to accept her sexuality. She’s trying to circumnavigate friendships and relationship. It’s a lot to feel, but I felt all the things right along with her.

The book promised to have some awkwardness because it’s YA set in high school. And it did, but in an adorable way. Plus the awkward is necessary when you’re finding yourself.  Even when it is hard or it feels like that’s not what you should be doing. Whether you’re a teenager yourself or you’re an adult reparenting I would highly recommend this book.

 

There are a lot of amazing books out there!

There are a lot of amazing books out there, and every book is different. Some queer books take place in the past, some in the future, some in spaceships—and so on!

You can learn about new experiences through reading queer literature. If you want to understand gender identity better or have more empathy for people with mental illnesses, these books will help get you there. If you’d like to read an entertaining story while learning something new about history or science fiction or romance…well, again: there’s a queer book for that!

You’ll learn about new experiences through reading queer literature

Queer literature is a great way to learn about new experiences, and it can be especially helpful if you’re interested in learning more about the queer experience whether as an ally or as a member of the community. One reason why this was so important for me was because reading queer novels helped lead me down paths toward self-acceptance and understanding.

I hope this of queer book recommendations has introduced you to some new stories and characters that resonate with you. As we remember the past years, it’s important to not only recall how far we have come but also acknowledge how much further we still have to go—and how important it is that queer people tell their stories and share them with others. There are so many good books out there, so many beautiful stories waiting for us all!