LGBTQ+ Books

Hi I'm just an awkward bisexual bookworm who wants these great books to get more attention!

[thelgbtbookblogger]

Dearest Sonorous Sapphics,

I'm here to tell y'all about Sofi and the Bone Song by Adrienne Tooley.

You know that trope of the novice who enters a high-level competition and wins against all odds, despite competing against people who've been working all their life to that end? This is that, except the protagonist is Sofi, musical prodigy who's entire life is centered around winning this audition, and she's convinced that Lara used forbidden magic to sway the judges.

And then her father dies, and Sofi becomes determined to reveal Lara as the fraud she is and take her rightful position.

But the fraud is awfully pretty, and she treats Sofi as though she has worth beyond her abilities. Things might just get complicated...

[thelgbtbookblogger]

Dear Loveable (Latina) Lesbians,

Once upon a time, back in colonial South America, there was an influential mining city called Potosí that sourced a significant portion of the world's silver. Given the degree of exploitation of the native people that kept the mine in business, the majority of the people were impoverished and crime was abundant.

Enter Ana Lezama de Urinza and Eustaquia de Souza, the Valiant Ladies of Potosí. Eustaquia was a nobleman's daughter and Ana was a street urchin eventually adopted by the family. Together, the two lovers acted as vigilantes, fighting crime and protecting the weak of Potosí.

The best part of this? Those two were real people, and this book is based on their true story. Part murder mystery, part love story, this novel is a delight to follow.

[thelgbtbookblogger]

Dear Bi Buddies,

Have you been dying for a book with LGBTQ+ , POC main characters and supporting cast?

If so, boy do I have the book for you--let me present This Poison Heart by Kalynn Byron. The main character, Bri, is an African-American young woman with two moms and mysterious power over plants. They respond to her emotions and grow quickly and vibrantly when she's around, and she's immune to their poison. There's Greek mythology centering around Hecate and Medea, there's mystery, there's a beautiful woman living near by who may or may not be human...

Go read it. It's good.

[thelgbtbookblogger]

Hello my gays and guys,

I crawl from the ether to recommend the first of a trilogy--Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. It's a romance between main character Simon Snow (aka "the worst Chosen One ever to be chosen") and his probably-secretly-a-vampire roommate Baz. There's swords, magic, goats, inconveniently timed feelings realizations.... What more could you ask for?

[thelgbtbookblogger]

Hey Polyamorus Pals,

Recently I finished a relatively new book called Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao. The romance is between two men and a woman, with the woman--Wu Zetian--as the POV character. She's as ruthless as can be, wishing for nothing less than a complete overhaul of the oppressive, misogynistic system she lives under. The concept is like if Pacific Rim met ancient Chinese culture and they melded almost perfectly.

Anyone who's ever gotten mad at protagonists forgiving lifetimes of abuse at the first sign of remorse, this is for you. If you're frustrated by heroes getting thwarted by villains holding hostages, or believing out-of-the-blue accusations by cornered villains, this is for you. If you like cool magic and action and cathartic revenge, this book is for you.

[thelgbtbookblogger]

Dear Lesbians,

For all those people like me who are sick of the fairy tale tropes pervading everything, I highly recommend Malice by Heather Walter. It's a Sleeping Beauty retelling with a twist--the princess despises all the men she has to ceremonially kiss, and the main character is the villain.... I'm sure you all can see where I'm going here ;)

[thelgbtbookblogger]

My dear lesbians/gays/ambiguous queers,

I'd come across this fairly new fantasy book looking for simple pleasure in dragons, and I ended up with so much more!

The Priory Of The Orange Tree is a whopping 804 pages long, and boy is it worth the read. It features an incredible cast of four main characters, from all around its well made world, and--you guessed it--some of them are gay! One of them is a jaded old alchemist, somewhere on the darker edges of morality, and another is a sorcerer sent to defend a queen from the bad dragons. This one takes a while to develop, but it's worth the wait. I was shipping them immediately.

And are there any others? Well, read the book to find out!

[thelgbtbookblogger]

My Bisexual Buddies,

I recently found a book in my local library called Not Your Sidekick, by C. B. Lee. It's about a futuristic superhero society, and the main character Jess is both openly bisexual and Asian. It's well written and fun as well as relatable because Jess is incredibly oblivious.

[thelgbtbookblogger]

Woo, it's a trilogy! The second book, Not Your Villain, focuses on a support character from the first, Bells. He's a trans man, blessed with an incredibly useful shapeshifting power. This one is just as fun, dramatic, and romantic as the first, while still maintaining the dystopian vibe of the original.

[thelgbtbookblogger]

My Lovely Lesbians,

I know this isn't my normal sort of recommendation, as it's a book well into the series that had been lacking in gay before hand. But, since I personally am a huge fan of the series as a whole, I'll go for it.

The Poison Jungle by Tui T. Sutherland, from the Wings of Fire series. I believe it's the thirteenth book in the series, so catching up is not a task for the faint of heart, but it's honestly so good. As a huge dragon fan and a huge lesbian, this was my favorite thing since We Set The Dark On Fire (which will always have a special place in my heart as the first gay book I've read). Main character is in an already stable and established relationship from the beginning, which is never even questioned. The two of them are just adorable and I ship it HARD. The book is as well written and fun as all of Sutherland's other books, with a massive, beautiful twist at the end that I loved.

Sweet reading and stay proud!

[thelgbtbookblogger]

My Bisexual Buddies,

I recently found a book in my local library called Not Your Sidekick, by C. B. Lee. It's about a futuristic superhero society, and the main character Jess is both openly bisexual and Asian. It's well written and fun as well as relatable because Jess is incredibly oblivious.

[thelgbtbookblogger]

My Lovely Lesbians,

Recently in my school library I found a book called The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutski. I thought it looked neat--pirates, sea monsters, all that jazz--and lo and behold, the main character ended up being gay! I'd recommend this book for anyone who wants a more short and sweet read, less then 400 pages.

[thelgbtbookblogger]

My Wonderful Trans Friends,

There's an excellent book out there called Dreadnought, by April Daniels, which features a trans lesbian as a main character. As I'm not transgender myself, I can't say how well mc Danielle's dysphoria is written, but overall as a character she is compelling, relatable, and fun. The book itself is also well crafted, set in a futuristic world of superheroes, supervillains, and a mysterious, deadly power, the origins and intents of which no one knows.

I highly recommend to anyone looking for both LGBT issues and explosions.

[thelgbtbookblogger]

My Dear Genderfluid Friends

I recently picked up the second (last? I'm not sure) book in the Mask of Shadows series by Lindsey Miller, and I very much recommend it. The main character is a gender fluid, pansexual (I think) thief named Sal, and its set in a fairly well-developed fantasy world of swords and dead magic. I'm not gender fluid, so I can't say how well Sal was written with that in mind, but I'd 10/10 recommend to anyone looking for some representation in their reading material.

[thelgbtbookblogger]

Hey lesbians

I just read this great book called We Set The Dark On Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia; there's only one POV character, and she's a Latina lesbian. It's fantasy, feminist, and contains a considerable amount of politics for those who are into that. I'd 100% recommend it to anyone starving for a little gay.