Cedar Reviews Books

Hello! I'm Cedar, and this blog is where I will write reviews for books, graphic novels, movies, and more - all in 5 sentences or less. I'll also reblog book recommendations and other bookish things. My favorites are dystopia and utopia, but I will also read sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and anything LGBTQIA+ or nature-themed.

[noahhawthorneauthor]

In case you haven't heard, July is Disability Pride Month. Here is a collection of queer books with disabled characters and/or authors.

I've been doing this for quite some time, last time I did a post with this focus was Disability December and before that it was Disabled and Kicking Ass. Any recs I should include next time?

[duckprintspress]

Light ‘n Easy Queer Books for the Beach!

In the northern hemisphere, we’re celebrating the first day of summer today; in the southern hemisphere, winter is kicking off. Either way, it’s a great time for some beach reads – whether you’re soaking up the sun close to home or on vacation, settling in for a stay-cation or cozying it up in some warm blankets, these beach reads all fun, low-stakes, easy to put down and pick up, and just generally a good time! And of course, they’re all some flavor of queer. The contributors to the list are: Tris Lawrence, Nina Waters, Mikki Madison, Shea Sullivan, Aubrey Winter, JD Rivers, CarCrash, Shannon, Linnea Peterson, and an anonymous contributor.

Finding Their Roots by Tris Lawrence

The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish by Xue Shan Fei Hu

Add Magic to Taste ed. by Nina Waters

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

A Rival Most Vial by R.K. Ashwick

Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu

I Ship My Rival x Me by PEPA & Qualia

The Last Best Quest Ever by F.T. Lukens

Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide by Mone Sorai

The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James by Ashley Herring Blake

Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by C.B. Lee

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland

The Casefile of Jay Moriarty Series by Kit Walker

The Flesh of the Sea by Lor Gislason & Shelley Lavigne

Daybreak by Moosopp

The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper by A.J. Fitzwater

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston

Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao

Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die by Greer Stothers

No Charm Done by Tori Anne Martin

Hockey Bois by A.L. Heard

The Summer of You by Nagisa Furuya

Like Real People Do by E.L. Massey

Find these and other books on our Goodreads book shelf, this list on Pagebound.co, or buy them through the Duck Prints Press Bookshop.org affiliate page.

Join our Book Lover’s Discord server to chat books, fandom, and more!

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

Books for Pan Visibility Day / Pan Pride Day 💙💛🩷

Good morning, book lovers and bookish bats! As we quickly approach Pride Month, I want to make sure we spotlight a mix of different sexualities to properly represent the entire rainbow. If you're not on Threads, there was a LOT of discourse about bisexual women not belonging in wlw / sapphic spaces (as if the B in "LGBTQIA+" doesn't stand for bisexual). As a bisexual woman in a 12-year sapphic relationship, I refused to be erased. Bierasure / biphobia is a real problem, even WITHIN the queer community. I never want anyone of ANY sexuality to feel that way. As a reminder, this is a safe space, regardless of the label you choose to wear.

To help me spotlight queer books for ALL sexualities year-round, I need your help! Celebrate Pansexual Visibility Day with these amazing reads!

What was the last book you read that featured a pansexual character?

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

Queer Books by Black Authors for Juneteenth & Pride Month

[queerliblib]

Smut with a side of theory…you know, balance. 🫦🧠

Our annual Givebutter Pride Fundraiser is LIVE so it’s time to make good use of the group chat to rope the homies into joining your fundraising team. 💖

Teams that raise $300+ get to pick a book for the QLL shelves.

https://xqa.onlypult.me/j7Qe

Click the 🔗 👆if you think queer theory and smut should kiss xox

[torpublishinggroup]

The Maiden and Her Monster by Maddie Martinez (@maddiesmartinez) When Malka makes a deal to save her mother’s life, she must go into the woods to find the monster that haunts it. But upon meeting the inscrutable, disgraced golem, Malka’s bargains begin to unravel: protecting her people may force Malka to endanger the one person she left home to save. And the golem that she was raised to dread may not be the monster Malka always believed her to be.

What We Are Seeking by Cameron Reed No matter how little he wants to be a doctor on a planet where the local colonists practice the barbaric custom of marriage, Dr. John Maraintha doesn’t have a choice when he is assigned to the desert planet of Scythia. At least Sudharma Jain, the beautiful translation specialist, will be going with him as well… But on a planet where the transformations of the native wildlife baffle human understanding, the most treacherous machinations may still be the unpredictable patterns of human nature.

Fate's Bane by C. L. Clark As a child, Agnir Clan Fein is taken as hostage and ward by another clan and grows up among the enemy. More inconveniently, she starts falling in love with the chieftain's daughter, Hadhnri Clan Aradoc. When their burgeoning love for each other leads them both to an elusive spring deep in the Baneswood, a magic awakens in them that may unite the clans to face an outside threat—or destroy any hope of peace. 

Greta Gets the Girl by Melissa Marr When Kaelee and Greta meet on a dating app, they both think that the connection is casual, no strings attached. That is, until Kaelee walks into a meeting about her debut sapphic romance novel, and discovers that her new editor is none other than Greta herself. Between Kaelee’s secretive past and Greta’s future career, can they overcome the obstacles in their path, and write their happily ever after—together?

Make Me Better by Sarah Gailey (@gaileyfrey)

Welcome to Kindred Cove: a beautiful, remote island famous for its miraculous ecology. Here, you can find healing and transformation; here, there is no grief or suffering. And Celia is so, so tired of being alone. 

A Mouthful of Dust by Nghi Vo

Chasing stories of a legendary famine, Cleric Chih and their hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant arrive in the river town of Baolin. But even though the famine passed years ago, old secrets and bodies refuse to stay buried. As Chih and Almost Brilliant search for the truth, something waiting in the shadows grows hungrier…

The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes

As an exterminator, Guy Moulène hunts the uncanny creatures that crawl up from the river and attempt to infest the walls of the city. But his latest quarry is different: a centipede the size of a dragon with a deadly venom and a ravenous taste for artwork, a monster that seeks to digest his city from the sewers to the opera houses. No sane person would hunt it, but Guy—struggling to provide for his sister—doesn’t have a choice.

Volatile Memory by Seth Haddon (@sethhaddonsblog)

Masks are military tech that can overcome the limits of human physiology, granting pilots and scavengers the crucial edge that could mean the difference between survival and death. Wylla, armed with nothing more than an outdated MARK 1 RABBIT and sheer desperation, plunges into the chase for an enigmatic MARK I HAWK—a mask that shouldn’t exist. A mask that may have a mind of its own…

Out in paperback on June 23, 2026!

Not enough books? Check out our other list!

[makingqueerhistory]

if you'd like to share, what is your favorite piece of queer literature of all time? no matter what genre, fiction or non fiction, whatever, just your subjective personal all time favorite. or a top three if you can't pick one? i love this blog so much, and you do such a wonderful job of giving a platform to such diverse queer perspectives. i've come to trust your taste and would love to hear what you personally really love. ♥️

Thank you so much for saying that! It means a lot to me to hear that. I was also able to immediately figure out my list as soon as I saw this question today, so I am excited to share! In no particular order:

The Bone People

Keri Hulme

This book really moved me in it's depictions of restorative justice, queer chosen family, asexual identity, and spirals are now a part of my own spiritual practice because of this book.

Beyond the Pale

Elana Dykewomon

The best queer historical fiction that I have ever read. It has an earthy and intense understanding of queer history that most books can't comprehend.

Dear Senthuran

Akwaeke Emezi

This book understood something about me that I still have yet to comprehend. Cannot sing its' praises enough.

Also I know no one asked, but as a bonus, my favourite non-queer book that I have ever read:

Right Story, Wrong Story

Tyson Yunkaporta

This book challenged my understandings of truth and storytelling. I would recommend it to anyone who prioritizes stories and storytelling in their own lives.

*Affiliate links above*

[torpublishinggroup]

The Maiden and Her Monster by Maddie Martinez (@maddiesmartinez) When Malka makes a deal to save her mother’s life, she must go into the woods to find the monster that haunts it. But upon meeting the inscrutable, disgraced golem, Malka’s bargains begin to unravel: protecting her people may force Malka to endanger the one person she left home to save. And the golem that she was raised to dread may not be the monster Malka always believed her to be.

What We Are Seeking by Cameron Reed No matter how little he wants to be a doctor on a planet where the local colonists practice the barbaric custom of marriage, Dr. John Maraintha doesn’t have a choice when he is assigned to the desert planet of Scythia. At least Sudharma Jain, the beautiful translation specialist, will be going with him as well… But on a planet where the transformations of the native wildlife baffle human understanding, the most treacherous machinations may still be the unpredictable patterns of human nature.

Fate's Bane by C. L. Clark As a child, Agnir Clan Fein is taken as hostage and ward by another clan and grows up among the enemy. More inconveniently, she starts falling in love with the chieftain's daughter, Hadhnri Clan Aradoc. When their burgeoning love for each other leads them both to an elusive spring deep in the Baneswood, a magic awakens in them that may unite the clans to face an outside threat—or destroy any hope of peace. 

Greta Gets the Girl by Melissa Marr When Kaelee and Greta meet on a dating app, they both think that the connection is casual, no strings attached. That is, until Kaelee walks into a meeting about her debut sapphic romance novel, and discovers that her new editor is none other than Greta herself. Between Kaelee’s secretive past and Greta’s future career, can they overcome the obstacles in their path, and write their happily ever after—together?

Make Me Better by Sarah Gailey (@gaileyfrey)

Welcome to Kindred Cove: a beautiful, remote island famous for its miraculous ecology. Here, you can find healing and transformation; here, there is no grief or suffering. And Celia is so, so tired of being alone. 

A Mouthful of Dust by Nghi Vo

Chasing stories of a legendary famine, Cleric Chih and their hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant arrive in the river town of Baolin. But even though the famine passed years ago, old secrets and bodies refuse to stay buried. As Chih and Almost Brilliant search for the truth, something waiting in the shadows grows hungrier…

The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes

As an exterminator, Guy Moulène hunts the uncanny creatures that crawl up from the river and attempt to infest the walls of the city. But his latest quarry is different: a centipede the size of a dragon with a deadly venom and a ravenous taste for artwork, a monster that seeks to digest his city from the sewers to the opera houses. No sane person would hunt it, but Guy—struggling to provide for his sister—doesn’t have a choice.

Volatile Memory by Seth Haddon (@sethhaddonsblog)

Masks are military tech that can overcome the limits of human physiology, granting pilots and scavengers the crucial edge that could mean the difference between survival and death. Wylla, armed with nothing more than an outdated MARK 1 RABBIT and sheer desperation, plunges into the chase for an enigmatic MARK I HAWK—a mask that shouldn’t exist. A mask that may have a mind of its own…

Out in paperback on June 23, 2026!

Not enough books? Check out our other list!

[deathsmallcaps]

Okay lowkey highkey ive only found one Reddit thread on Black Leopard, Red Wolf but it’s driving me up the wall. Apparently there was a marketing mismatch and whatever so this book wasn’t as popular as it should’ve been. But people are saying the prose was difficult and unoriginal and shit and I’m like ??? One person said that fantasy generally attracts easy-reading escapists and it was more difficult to read than Brian Sanderson (who I found to be a similar level of literary and difficult, and I haven’t finished the first book). One person said “wow I always thought Africa would be a cool fantasy setting but words got in the way’

Jesus Christ. I’ll admit, I did find the beginning a hard start, and there is a lot of sexual assault of pretty much every kind, and the main character’s mother issues were strong, and I enjoy looking stuff up and am somewhat familiar with the broadest strokes of precolonial West Africa*, and it was written in a highly oral style, but what these people were really uncomfortable/disinterested was the AFRICAN-ness of it all.

They keep on dancing around it. They didn’t want to directly and indirectly learn more about other cultures’ storytelling styles and values as they went. Especially not in such a literary and stylized form.

Give me one fantasy book that is especially original**. This story was in the style of old. It was dense. It has a tragic top who loves fiercely but gods forbid (fuck the gods) that anyone gets to know that. Hes a hero not because he is always the best, but because hes the main character. He’s on a quest not for the money, but for the intrigue and excitement, and later, pain and vengeance. He’s a truly restless soul.

Maybe that shit is old. But it’s classic for a reason.

And then these people. They’re like. “Oh but I read for plot, I read for character and I don’t like him. I want new stuff”

He’s a Black gay sexual assault survivor with non-lightning powers*** who isn’t afraid to say anything to anyone, who adopts unusual children and can’t help but be kind if you give him a moment. AND that’s just the main character.

(Again, I’ll admit, the first part was a little difficult, and while you shouldn’t always have to like the main character, I found him hard to want to follow. But as the story goes on, you realize it’s because he was an annoying teen at that point, and also he hates the guy he’s talking to, and for good reason.)

It’s a good book. I heard one person found it more accessible via audiobook due to its oral style. But it is stories within stories and it is delightful twists of grammar and it is action and it I s sex and it is love and it is pain and it even has devastating character lists and helpful maps.

Fuck the gods. Yall should read Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James.

*I think this story takes place in an area that geographically probably best fits south of Ethiopia but north of ‘South Africa’, because of some of the words like Shogo, the trade with ‘Asia’, and especially with the prophecy about westerners and the one kingdom that stands despite it all. But I say West Africa because a lot of the African fantasy (contemporary or High) that I’ve read is largely based around West African cultures. And while this probably takes place in East Africa, there are some cultural crossovers (like Nasi/Anansi and so on) that I understand, likely because of the prevalence of West African-descended cultures (the author Marlon James is Jamaican and has lived and worked in both the USA and Canada). He literally cited the libraries of Timbuktu, a city built for scholars, in his author notes. But enough about me

**rhetorical device

***the joke is in superhero circles that there are many Black superheroes with lightning/electricity powers. Here, it’s kind of the opposite.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

Queer Books by Black Authors Releasing in 2026 ❤️

This year, I've seen so many book lovers set goals to read more queer (read queer all year!), BIPOC / diverse books (including more SWANA books!), and I love to see it. Too often, however, these books fly under the radar and fail to get the attention they deserve. Let's fix that. Here are a FEW of the amazing queer books by Black authors releasing in 2026! Get ready to stack that tbr! ❤️

Which of these queer books by Black authors are you excited to read? ❓ I'm currently reading a Julian Winters YA. Stay tuned for my review!❗ What queer books by Black authors would you add to this list?❓

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

Queer Books Coming Out in May 2026 🌈

Good afternoon, my fellow book lovers and bookish bats! If one of your bookish goals of 2026 is to read queer all year, don't worry -- I've got you covered! Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books coming out in May that you can add to your tbr. Let's stack those tbrs with queer books. Happy reading! 🌈

What was the last queer book you read? ❓ Which of these queer book releases will you add to your tbr? ❓

[ Release dates may have changed. ]

A Long and Speaking Silence - Nghi Vo ❤️ You Pierce My Soul - Jessica Mary Best 💛 As The World Falls Down - Jadzia Axelrod & Rye Hickman 💚 Being Aro: A Collection of Aromantic Fiction about Love, Connection, and Empowerment - Madeline Dyer, Rosiee Thor, Ann Zhao 💙 Score - Kennedy Ryan 💜 Running Home to You - Samantha Saldivar 💙 Platform Decay - Martha Wells 💚 The Miseducation of Caroline Bingley - Lindz McLeod 💛 All Hail Chaos - Sarah Rees Brennan ❤️

The Bone Door - Frances White ❤️ Love Beyond Reasonable Doubt - Swati Hegde 💛 Shapes of Love - L.V. Peñalba 💚 Plastic, Prism, Void - Violet Allen 💙 Smash or Pass - Birdie Schae 💜 Meet Me at the Picket Line - Jasper Sanchez 💙 A Star-Cursed Heart - Annie Mare 💚 Trick Shot - L.A. Jasper 💛 The Whole Truth - Haley Cass ❤️

The Fake Divination Offense - Sara Raasch ❤️ The Hanging Bones - Elle Tesch 💛 Marooned - Ben Chalfin 💚 I Accidentally Locked Down a Witch - Jessica Cage 💙 You x Me - Ayla Vejdani 💜 Queerleaders - Olivia A. Cole & Ashley Woodfolk 💙 In Your Court - Kit Haley 💚 Alecto Gray Will Hunt You Down - Laure Eve 💛 Waiting on a Friend - Natalie Adler ❤️

The Black Cat Detectives - Kit Gray ❤️ Between Sun and Shadow - Laura Genn 💛 Saturn Returning - Kim Narby 💚 Andromeda - E.S. McLeod 💙 Girls Just Wanna Have Sun - Rachel Lacey 💜 Ex Marks the Spot - Eleanor Vendrell ❤️

[torpublishinggroup]

We Burned So Bright by TJ Klune is a queer sci-fi novel about an elderly couple on an end-of-the-world road trip.

WHAT’S IT ABOUT Husbands Don and Rodney have lived a good long life. Together they’ve experienced the highest highs of love and family, and lows so low that they felt like the end of the world.

Now, the world is ending for real. A rogue black hole is coming for Earth, and in a month everything and everyone they’ve ever known will be gone. Don and Rodney race against the clock to make it from Maine to Washington State to take care of some unfinished business before it’s all over. Art by @meruz.

Read an excerpt from chapter one below.

Chapter 1

Don switched off the television. He’d spent the morning in the garden, those pesky weeds returning with a vengeance. All that spring rain, he thought. And for what?

His husband, Rodney, sat in a recliner a few feet away. At seventy-eight, Rodney was a gruff and quiet man, his bushy eyebrows doing most of the talking for him. Forty years together, and Don could tell what he was thinking without a word between them.

“I know,” Don said. “It’s time.”

Rodney grunted in response, leaning forward in his chair, hands on his knees. His back was bothering him, though he wouldn’t say as much. But Don knew. Of course he did. He knew everything about Rodney. Rodney, who looked over at Don, expression softening.

“You all right?”

“No, I don’t think I am.”

Rodney nodded and stood from the recliner, groaning as he did so, knees popping. “Stay right there,” he said.

Don did, staring off into nothing. He didn’t know how to feel. Frightened? Oh yes. Angry? Perhaps; a little spark that whispered how is this fair?

But mostly, Don felt relieved, and oddly so. Not over the fact that the entire world would be gone in thirty days, give or take. No, he wasn’t the type to revel in the misfortune of others. His relief came in knowing how it would end.

Getting older meant he was running down the clock as it was, thoughts sometimes straying to darker corners:

Would it be the colon?

The heart?

A little pop in a blood vessel of the brain that caused one to drop dead?

The human body was a miracle that was not meant to last. He felt it in the stiffening of his joints. Stretch wrong in the morning? That was a week’s worth of discomfort. Get a blood test? Ooh, what could be found in that?

Now, though. Now, it was different. Now, the mystery of death—when, how, why—was solved for everyone.

Rodney returned. Don didn’t know how long he’d been gone. He carried a small box with him—oak polished within an inch of its life, a brass keyhole in the front. Roughly the size of a jewelry box, it wasn’t large nor was it heavy, but Rodney was careful with it.

He said, “If we’re going to do this, we have to do it now.”

Don lowered his head. “I know. It’s . . . You always think there’s going to be more time.”

“We have enough,” Rodney said. “That’s what counts.”

Don looked out the window. Clouds in the sky, wispy clouds that stretched above a green forest. The sun, shining. Birds singing. And if the people who knew about these things were right, all of it would be gone in a month. Either the planet would be cracked apart, chunks of rock being pulled toward infinity, or it would be stretched and stretched and stretched until the entire world was a thin, straight line, unable to support life.

The cause? A rogue black hole. A one-in-a-trillion chance, they’d been told breathlessly. There was a one-in-a-trillion chance a black hole would find its way to our little corner of the universe. Astronomical odds, and yet, now a reality.

Which meant chaos, of course. Military vehicles in the streets of most cities and towns. Looting, rioting, the burning of cars and buildings and people, all of it had already happened. They’d known about the black hole for close to a year, and in those early days, more things were aflame than not. When backed into a corner, an animal could be dangerous. Humans were animals, and deadly ones at that.

Over the last year, they’d proven themselves as such. In Arizona, a group of people had doused themselves in gasoline. As a horrified crowd looked on, someone flicked a lighter, and up they went in fire and smoke, all in the name of leaving the world behind on their own terms. In Nebraska, thirty-four people attempted to take the capitol, but ten of them were shot before they could get inside. Six died from their injuries. In Paris, massive crowds filled the streets, storefront windows shattered as people looted everything that wasn’t bolted down. In Cape Town, hundreds of people walked into the ocean and drowned. Some held children. Others assisted the elderly. In Chengdu, dozens of people leapt from the tops of skyscrapers while others looked on with blank expressions, waiting their turn. In Denmark, a self-proclaimed prophet said that before the planet was destroyed, Heaven would open up for the chosen, and they would rise into Eternal Glory. He amassed crowds in the thousands, his voice carrying over a packed field. During one of his pulpit sessions, he was stabbed to death by a woman who cried as she raised and lowered the knife again and again. No one tried to stop her until it was already too late. The prophet died choking on his own blood. The woman—older, shouting and screaming—did not resist when the crowd descended upon her.

“We’ll be careful,” Don said, gaze going back to the chest in Rodney’s arms. “Take the back roads. Avoid major freeways.”

“When?” Rodney asked.

“Tomorrow.”

And so it was decided.

When they’d retired ten years ago, it’d been unexpected. Both had planned to work a few more years, but then life happened, and both were pulled away in a direction they hadn’t expected. Rodney had worked for the state in a thankless role, filling out endless reports for any little thing the government could think of. Don had managed the office for a physical therapist, doing so for damn near fifteen years. And then . . . well. An ending, of sorts, one they had both expected and dreaded in equal measure. Cut off, like a limb had been removed without discussion.

Seven months in, Rodney had bought an RV.

Don had not been pleased.

Their friends—all older—had been excited. RV life was a different breed, they said. Why, buying their own RVs had been one of the best decisions they had ever made for themselves. A hotel on wheels! Sure, you had to find a place to park for the night—avoid Walmarts if you could—but there were so many places made for RVs. Hell, there were thousands upon thousands of retirees who’d done the same and hadn’t regretted it.

Yes, it would be grand, except the RV was an ugly thing: old, with dented siding and rust around the wheel wells. White, with a fat dirt-brown line down the sides. Not one of the overpriced RVs that looked and traveled like a bus. No, this one was more akin to a camper slapped onto an old truck. But its worse sin was a set of hideous brown-and-pink knitted blinds that hung in the small bedroom. Don was not a fan of those blinds.

Small wonders, the RV ran, belching out thick black exhaust from the tailpipe. Registered, passed inspection (barely), and guzzled gas like it was an endless pit. But Rodney was charmed by it, saying he thought they could get on the road, taking in sights and people they’d never had the time to see before. Don had never really considered himself an RV person, but he could picture it in his mind: long summer days with nothing but the open road, the sun setting in the distance, making the sky pink and red and orange. An audiobook on the radio, one he’d always meant to get to, but hadn’t had the time.

He often thought about that: time. How interminable it could be, and then in a blink of an eye, years have gone by.

Oh, the places they’d gone: To Montana and water so clear, the deep lakebeds looked within arm’s reach. To Arizona, standing before the Grand Canyon, the rock burnt red, the air sizzling hot. To the Appalachian Trail, hiking a good eight miles before calling it quits. To Wyoming, the Grand Tetons rising in all their majesty. To Utah and the Painted Desert, the petrified forest, rocks in impossible hues. To Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains, trying to reach the top of Mount Le Conte.

Years of travel, years of doing what needed to be done. And now, at last, the trip they’d been putting off because that made the distance real, something they’d long avoided. They had no other choice.

Don was seventy-two years old.

[gayyyboykissrr]

Queer POC book recs to diversify your bookshelf!

Fifteen Hundred Miles From the Sun by Jonny Garza Villa [romance, YA] Mexican-American boy falls in love with Vietnamese-American boy after accidentally coming out. Heavy focus on how culture affects the safety of queer people

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas [fantasy romance, YA] trans Latine boy desperate to prove himself raises other Latine boy from the dead, chaos ensues. I love when books incorporate cultural folklore into fantasy.

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender [coming of age, YA] Black trans teen gets outed and falls in love. Also touches on transandrophobia and the idea of transitioning being seen as anti-feminist

Aristole & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Allire Sáenz [coming of age, YA] Two Mexican-American boys find friendship and love in 1987 El Paso.

Ander & Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa [Romance, YA] Nonbinary Mexican-American artist falls for the new Mexican waiter at their family's taqueria. Very cute. Very cultured. Very fuck ICE.

Futbolista byJonny Garza Villa [Coming of age, New Adult] Mexican-American football (soccer) player realizes he's not straight and is torn between his sport and who he loves. Bi x gay rep with a very helpful nonbinary side character. Heavy focus on being forced to choose between your dreams and your truth.

Celestial Monsters + The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas [fantasy, YA] Demigods have to go on a quest to stop the Gods of Destruction. This duology has an extremely diverse cast of trans, gay, and sapphic rep and while none of the characters have canon ethnicities iirc (I've only read CM), the worldbuilding is heavily based off of Mexican culture and folklore.

[aroaessidhe]

2026 reads / storygraph

The Iron Garden Sutra

sci-fi

a monk devoted to performing funeral rites is sent to an old generation ship that has suddenly reappeared, to perform the rites for the long-gone inhabitants

but finds a crew of academics already there, exploring its archaeological history, who aren’t all happy to see him

as he (and his AI companion implant) get on with his job, they discover there’s more left on the ship, that may be sentient and stalking them one by one…

m/m

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

Queer Books Coming Out in April 2026 🌈

Good afternoon, my fellow book lovers and bookish bats! If one of your bookish goals of 2026 is to read queer all year, don't worry -- I've got you covered! Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books coming out in April that you can add to your tbr. Let's stack those tbrs with queer books. Happy reading! 🌈

What was the last queer book you read? ❓ Which of these queer book releases will you add to your tbr? ❓

[ Release dates may have changed. ]

Vile Lady Villains - Danai Christopoulou ❤️ The Redwood Bargain - Markelle Grabo 💛 Our Rogue Fates - Sarah Glenn Marsh 💚 The Bloody and the Damned - Becca Coffindaffer 💙 Afternoon Hours of a Hermit - Patrick Cottrell 💜 The Impossible Garden of Clara Thorne - Summer N. England 💙 When You're Brave Enough - Rebecca Bendheim 💚 Sweet Clarity - Rhiannon Richardson 💛 This Dream Will Devour Us - Emma Clancey ❤️

Petty Roots - Cozy DuBois ❤️ More Like Enemigas - Stephanie Hope 💛 Summer Official - Rebekah Weatherspoon 💚 The Unruly Heart of Miss Darcy - Erin Edwards 💙 Year of the Mer - L.D. Lewis 💜 Reality Check - Lizzie Huxley-Jones 💙 Forgive-Me-Not - Mari Costa 💚 Maybe Tomorrow I'll Know - Alex Ritany 💛 Set Point - Meg Jones ❤️

[silliestbutch]

Transfem Butch Books:

The Scales of Seduction by Rien Gray [historical fiction, retelling, erotica]: An erotic lesbian monster novella reinterpreting the Medusa myth. Romance between Medusa and a basilisk warrior. Transfem butch protagonist.

Reverse Tomboy by Auto Anon [literary fiction, autofiction, essays]: A novella about a trans woman who struggles with relationships, familial dynamics, and reclaiming her masculinity after transitioning. Comes with an essay on transfeminine butchness and masculinities. Transfem Jewish butch protagonist and author.

Hot Girls with Balls by Benedict Nguyen [litfic, satire]: A contemporary satire novel about two trans lesbian volleyball players, who have to grapple with the anxieties of stardom as well as their their own off-court relationship drama. Transfem Asian-American protagonist. Transfem author.

Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) by Hazel Jane Plante [litfic]: A trans lesbian mourns her straight trans friend, and comes to terms with her death by writing a personalized encyclopedia/love letter about the latter's favorite obscure TV show. Transfem soft butch protagonist. Transfem author.

Herculine by Grace Byron [litfic, horror]: A disaffected and traumatized young woman arrives at an all-trans girls commune founded by her toxic ex-girlfriend, only to discover something sinister afoot. Transfem butch love interest and side characters. Transfem author.

Our Monsters by Jemma Topaz (mystery, erotica, satire): In a futuristic city inhabited by monsters, a human woman tries to solve a series of grisly murders, while romancing several monster girls. Transfem butch love interest (poly romance, not the only love interest). Transfem author.

Always open to recs. Transfem butches are loved and appreciated, and I don't tolerate invisibilization of transfeminine people when speaking of butchness and lesbian masculinity.

toss a coin to a silly butch 🐻

[queerliblib]

Some of our favorite titles we added in March

this was so hard to narrow down. truly. how delightful that there are so many amazing queer books to keep adding to the collection

Breaking from the Frame - slow burn! lesbian romance! 1969!

Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die - cowardly knight! prophecy! “in which many dangerous and homosexual things happen"

Crafting for Sinners - craft store! evil megachurch!

Tears in the Grass - intergenerational survival & courage

Slant - AIDS activism, Irish lesbians

Full metal indigiqueer - “a world where making love is akin to making live”! poetry! unearthing bones!

Four Minutes - post communist Bulgaria. bureaucratic horrors

Floodlines - multigenerational, intimate & epic, Iraqi-British sisters, art & memory

Local Fires - short stories! debut! wales!

Heap Earth Upon It - from the author of Sunburn!!

A Black Queer History of the United States - what it says on the tin. read this!

Steppe - russia? long haul trucking? bitter father/daughter relationships? read Steppe.

you can find all these & more in the ‘just added’ section of QLL’s libby

happy reading!